Gomez, the hard-to-pigeonhole English band with the Mexican name, are returning to New Zealand this month with a bit more Americana under their belt. Drummer Olly Peacock talks to Dave Williams of NZPA.

Wellington, Oct 5 NZPA - The story goes that Gomez played its first public performance in Leeds in 1996 without a settled name. They stuck a sign outside saying "Gomez, the gig's in here" for a friend with the surname Gomez. The name stuck.

"It normally confuses the hell out of people, which is good, it was always meant to be a bit stupid and ambiguous, and it is even more appropriate that it confuses people," says the band's drummer Olly Peacock, on the phone from his home in Brooklyn, New York.

But there is no confusion when he says New Zealand fans will get a good show. Following their last visit here in 2007 Peacock promises something a little different this time.

"We are on pretty good form at the moment," he says.

The show will feature a lot of the new album (A New Tide, out earlier this year) but they have done a lot of work on the older stuff.

The band has just toured for a short time with Pearl Jam in the United States.

Peacock describes the experience as "absolutely incredible" and cites part of the wonder as Pearl Jam singer Eddy Vedder's ability to go through two bottles of red wine, smoking and then sing like he does.

Some people may think it a bit of an odd fit but its often a good thing to be a bit different to the main act, and Peacock believes Gomez held its own.

"I think we are one of those bands that can fit into many different worlds. We do have a lot of songs that are pretty rocky and Ben's voice is pretty potent when it wants to be."

Singer and guitarist Ben Ottewell, Tom Gray and Paul Blackburn still live in England but Peacock has lived in New York for about three years, with his American wife, while guitarist and vocalist Ian Ball is in Los Angeles.

So Gomez, originally from Southport in England, are now firmly part American.

And the name Gomez, which might normally associated with a Mexican band, causes some confusion in the States.

Another long-term befuddler is trying to describe Gomez's music. Any description of the band is likely to include the term "hard to classify". Peacock doesn't give a hoot.

"It's definitely an eclectic thing. It's different actors and that's the sort of the whole point of what we were doing in the first place, that it's indefinable to some degree, that and that in itself is original and interesting and the people that generally do that in my mind are far more entertaining."

And part of that variety, t heir music is now getting a wider American audience, thanks to television and movies.

Grey's Anatomy's producers are apparently Gomez fans and the song Little Pieces played during one episode.

The band has also had some success on the big screen. The band's song Tijuana Lady was featured in Playing by Heart and We Haven't Turned Around was it on the soundtrack for 1999's American Beauty.

Years ago they might have frowned upon being seen or heard in such a way but unfortunately the way the business is all these kind of sideline music appearances are necessary to survive, Peacock says.

He describes it as "weird".

"We instantly connect with a very much different audience. Most of the people watching that show wouldn't particularly buy our music, so its good.

"Any means to get extra exposure is good and is somewhat the norm nowadays."

And the fact two band members live in the States has not proved disruptive , in fact it may have helped.

"We do so much touring it makes very little difference," Peacock says.

"And in terms of recording it's pushed us to be a little more inventive in terms of being able to work outside of the studio time."

That means a lot of work on computers, sending music files back and forth.

And Peacock says that for him the music scene in New York is very healthy and inspiring.

"It's just amazing. It's never ending the shows you can go to."

Which he says is a lot more enjoyable than what he gets from the English music scene.

"In England the nature of music has come to the point where bands are like a fashion item and unfortunately one week you are in and the next it's all over.

"It's got to the point where it's actually f***ing boring as s**t, and nobody supports anybody who has anything good to sing or play.

"Unfortunately, nowadays you have about one albums or two albums before you are not flavour of the month and the game is over."

Peacock admits something a little similar happened with Gomez, which has been together since 1996 and won the Mercury Music Prize for the enormously successful debut album Bring It On in 1998, but is still one of the few bands that started out around that time and is still going.

"We have been through many times when we have suffered through record companies being consumed by other record companies and being shafted in some way."

But we are still going, and getting better, he says. "We couldn't play our instruments the first time we got together.

"But if we didn't think we had any value in what we did we probably would have given up by now."

Gomez plays:

* The Bedford, Christchurch, supported by The Chills, on Friday October 16

* The Opera House, Wellington, with Cairo Knife Fight, Saturday October 17,

* The Powerstation, Auckland, supported by Pluto, on Sunday October 18.