Mr. Gnome from Cleveland, Ohio has a certain peripatetic relationship as a band—they are a duo that absolutely love to travel.
Their dynamic relationship makes each note a potentially magic occasion. Mr. Gnome sound like an indie rock, psychedelia hybrid like early ’90s trip-hop and alt-rock (i.e. Potishead meets the Smashing Pumpkins). Lead by Sam Meister’s primal drums and the strong feminine voice of Nicole Barille, the two-piece produce a paired down, sweetly sonic indie sound that is aggressive yet beautiful like an aria at a Queen of the Stone Age concert.
On their most acclaimed song “Night of the Crickets,” Barille’s breathy vocals float over minimalist guitar repetition that is based on a, “rigid dichotomy of soft vs. loud and masculine vs. feminine.” Meister’s drums beat in the internecine dualities as Mr. Gnome walk the line between pleasure and pain, which Barille and Meister agree is all in their bi-polar minds.
Below, Nicole Barille and Sam Meister get in the groove and explain their two-dimensional sound, their love of TV’s dreamweaver Garth Marenghi and why they love being on the road and recording their latest album right here in Tucson.
AZNB: Your music often gets compared twofold in that it is soft and loud, male and female, etc. Tell us a little bit about embracing your bipolar sound and how your song writing process has come to reflect these dualities in your music.
NB: Music, like any art form, should be a true representation of your thoughts and emotions…in our minds. That may be why we are so bipolar in our songwriting. We never wanted to hold back or eliminate any of the sounds that were being created naturally, so we let our freak flag fly.
SM: I think any time we sit down to write a song we don’t ever put limits on where it can go. A lot of times that means within one song we end up expressing two completely opposite dynamics. We just try to be honest with what we’re doing and as natural as we can be and the end product tends to result in schizophrenic, psychedelic, drug-induced music.
Did you originally have this kind of sound “in mind” when you first started playing together or did it come about organically through the use of hallucinogens?
NB: We never had any sound in mind…quite frankly, we didn’t really have any idea of what we were doing. We were both just inspired by so many different types of music and never limited ourselves by trying to sound like a particular band, but instead embracing all of the sounds that were coming naturally from those influences.
In a blog you posted on your MySpace page with your BFF, Justin Smith, he describes you as, “the Enya of metal” and Meister as the “Yanni of drums.” This is an awesome description.
NB: Thank you.
Tell us a little more about your fascination with the brilliant spoof sci-fi show “Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place.”
NB: We actually just stumbled upon Garth Marenghi when we were recording our last album at Pink Duck. We were hooked from the beginning. It is ridiculous and made us laugh till our sides hurt. I can’t say enough good things about it…
SM: If someone were to ask us, “Compare your music to a television show” I would say, “Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place.” It may be the best show television has ever seen…next to “Murder She Wrote.”
If you had originally whistle a tune to Rick Dagless, Thornton Reed, Lucien Sanchez or Liz Asher, which one would it be and whom would you want to spend a meaningful night out with?
NB: I would have to choose Thornton Reed. If he played his cards right, I’d have to give it up that night. It’s all in his mustache.
SM: I would pick Lucien Sanchez because he’s got a beautiful voice. He seems to be a real caring, loving, nurturing person.
Is it true that Mr. Gnome is an officially homeless band?
NB: No, not any more, but if it makes us sound cooler, than we’ll say yes.
SM: With the way the economy is headed, we could be there again real soon.
What is it about being on the road that keeps you touring?
NB: The progression that we see in every aspect of what we do—our playing, the songwriting, the audiences growing, etc. It just seems to make sense to keep touring at this moment.
SM: The gas station hot dogs.
You just produced your first full-length album Deliver this Creature (El Marko, 2008) last year and you’ve been touring in support of that album pretty steadily. What else is on the horizon for Mr. Gnome?
NB: We just recorded our follow-up, which has yet to be mixed. We were hoping for an October release but it’s looking like we’ll have to wait until early next year to release it. Until then, we’ll finish this tour up, spend the summer in Cleveland and then head back out on tour this fall.
SM: We’ll continue to tour. Should be back out again in September/October. We’d love to try and head over to Europe for a tour. Just keep on keepin’ on…
You made a whole slew of top-whatever lists of 2008 with Deliver This Creature. Does that put a lot of pressure on you for the follow-up?
NB: Nah, not at all. Despite all the love we got from many “Best of Lists,” we’re still a pretty unknown band. Maybe if we were the Jonas Brothers—now those guys have some pressure.
Tell us all the details you have about your upcoming album.
NB: We got invited to record out in Los Angeles at Josh Homme’s (Queens of the Stone Age) Pink Duck Studios by Justin Smith, the studio manager. We spent seven crazy days tracking the album and then went back to Cleveland to finish up a bunch of vocals, guitar overdubs, etc. We have 13 songs tracked right now—not sure if every one is going to make the album.
SM: The new album feels to us like an extension of where Deliver this Creature left off. We expand on a lot of elements we only touched upon—a little more space, a little more melody, a lot more drugs and a lot more sex.
*After producing two highly acclaimed EPs, Echoes On the Ground in 2005
and the Self-titled EP a year later, you recorded your first full-length album right here in Tucson at Craig Schumacher’s Wavelab Studios. Kris Kerry of Lost Barrio Artists is also your booker. What’s with all the ties in Tucson?*
NB: Kris and Sam share a fond love of Bigfoot and misanthropes.
SM: We met Kris Kerry a few years ago and he’s been one of our earliest supporters. Him and Cathy Rivers have been behind us pretty much since day one. We met a lot of great people through them, including the folks over at Wavelab, plus Kris makes a mean hummus.
Is there anything you’d like to say to Tucson?
NB & SM: We love you, Tucson. Thank you for always being so good to us.
Come out and be good to Mr. Gnome who play with locals The Runaway Five and Sketching in Stereo this Friday, June 12. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and is only $5.