It's not often that an indie blues-rock combo from Northwest England go from garage band to a Mercury Music Prize, but that's exactly what happened to Gomez nearly a decade ago. Formed for fun in late 1996, the band's demos ignited a bidding war in the post-Britpop era and produced a classic debut album, Bring It On (hear two singles by clicking on the YouTube links below.) Since then, the band has produced four more full-length albums, most recently the critically acclaimed How We Operate featuring producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters). Gomez have built their fan base the old-fashioned way; not through blogs or hype but from incessant club and festival touring. Along the way, they've accumulated enough hits to produce both an ace singles collection (Five Men In A Hut) and a live record in recent years.

Gomez are spending the summer as openers on an arena tour by popsters The Fray, but are swinging by The Parish Room this weekend for a low-key gig on a night off from the sheds. During a rare break in the Gomez tour calendar, Austinist exchanged emails with drummer Olly Peacock (center above). We inquire about his best night out in Austin, riding out the British hype, and living on a bus in the questions below.

Gomez seems to roll through Austin annually like clockwork - do you guys ever get to go home and rest?

We have toured our arses off for the last year and half, and I think we've been everywhere three or four times. The sense of deja-vu has now become terribly unfunny. (I am presently on the couch at home, after a month's European holiday, by the way.)

What makes the band so willing to tour the USA repeatedly? Most British bands seem to dread the prospect of this.

We took time out from the States after our second album, so when we returned to find everyone as enthused as before, we knew we had to take advantage of such an audience. In doing so, we realised the size of the States and took to touring it realistically. So many British bands misconceive that because they receive so much praise back in England, they can hop over the pond and have the same success.

How did you get involved with taskmaster Gil Norton on your last album?

Our label (ATO) suggested we try a producer for the first time. We had deliberated it before, but never felt comfortable with someone poking around with our music. It becomes a very precious thing. Gil made sense, since he was from our neck of the woods (near Liverpool) with a clear concept of what he liked and thought we were as a band.

Do you personally think that How We Operate is the best Gomez record to date?

No, yeah, no, ar yeah! Most of the tunes we don't release are our best tunes!

Back when Bring It On was released in the late 90's, the band was thrown into a big 'hype' cycle in the UK press and touted as the next big thing. How did you guys survive all the attention and improve as the years went on?

When we signed we were a bunch of guys with instruments, a couple of mics, and a garage to make noise in. We fell into the music business. We played the part of a band and never took ourselves or the music too seriously. It felt far more natural for us to deal with the business in such a way. People liked the unpretentiousness of the band, and appreciated that we loved the music we made.

You are currently touring with pop-rockers The Fray - how are the arena audiences responding to Gomez? It's got to be quite a change from your regular tours.

The crowds are amazing, absolutely crazy! ([As I write this] we haven't started the tour yet!)

It's great playing to another band's crowd, and it is challenging to try to win over fans. I love playing a gig when the people in the front row don't give a rat's ass about you. You start the show with the front row wearing a painful expression and by the end we've won them over.

We've heard Gomez songs in quite a few television shows and films lately - how do you feel about music licensing as a means of exposure?

When we started out, it wasn't so cool to be associated with adverts/TV/movies but with the current situation of the music biz, it's a means for many smaller bands to survive. With all of us knicking music nowadays, there are fewer ways for artists to make money.

Finally, do you have a memorable experience from a previous Austin visit (at ACL Fest, SXSW, or otherwise)? If so, please tell us about it.

I think my favourite memory would be playing La Zona Rosa after ACL 2004. We'd had a good show at the festival and intended to have another good show that night. Unfortunately it wasn't until midnight, so we had few hours to kill. Being the professionals that we are, we consumed a few too many beers...so much so, that a few songs in, Ian (one of our guitarist/singers) fell off the stage! Naturally we carried on, amused while our band member rolled around on the floor.

Gomez play The Parish Room on Saturday, July 14th. Tickets are on sale now via Frontgate Tickets for $25.

[Gomez official site]
[Gomez MySpace]

Image via Gomez's Myspace page; photographed by Jay Blakesberg.