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MORPHEUS MUSIC INTERVIEW - BALLIGOMINGO

15.03.09 - on release of Under An Endless Sky.
     
 

Q: How did Balligomingo become a "band"?   Musical magnetism between the 3 of us.
I originally moved to Canada and payed Delerium 25% of my life savings ($4k) to produce a few songs on my album, which already had a recording contract.
At the same time, Vic Levak was working with one of their singers and we met at her show. We hit it off and I began to work with him on the side.
The songs with Delerium sounded like Delerium, and the songs with Vic felt like they could be Balligomingo. Long story short, Vic and I recruited singers and Jody was one of the last. She was in Hush Sound working on her solo material when I walked in and heard her voice.
Over the last few years, Jody has been a critical element in writing lyrics and vocal melodies with us.
It was a no brainer that we were a group - whether we wanted to be or not.
The first album was more of my own project with Vic really helping to make it happen, and this album relies more heavily on the talents all 3 of us, and I believe the results speak for themselves.
   Q:  What kept Balligomingo off the radar for so long following the first album?   Nothing other than life just happening.
The project was something that hit quickly and we rushed to deliver the first album with really no idea of what we were doing. There was just this record deal in place that put a deadline in front of us were were all racing to meet. After which - we went our separate ways and were countries apart.
Clive Davis took over BMG & nixed the sub-label we were on, leaving our project homeless for the 2nd album.
I got married, started a business and had a baby and Jody did the same.
Vic & Jody worked together in Canada on their own material and we kept in touch trying to keep the idea of another Balligomingo album alive.
Vic vacationed in my home town of Sedona, and we worked on a few ideas that didn't take root for another year, mainly because my business was eating all my time. I really thought the 1st album was it and there wouldn't be another. Vic was really the driver pushing us all to get back to work. Life gets busy and its hard to find the time to coordinate the variables you need to make an album - but Vic handed out deadlines and we all pushed hard to meet them.
       
             
Q:  What lead to the commencement of the new album?   In my opinion, the first album was the realization of an idea I had before I knew I had an adequate amount of musicianship. There was always a strong urge to create sound tracks to my own adventures either through my favorite bands or creating the sounds myself.
'Beneath the Surface' was the first attempt at being creative and in my opinion nothing more than a finger painting that a parent puts on the fridge. Its nice - but there is so much more possible once you learn more skills. I think many bands have scores of songs written before any get released - we really didn't.
Most of our first songs went out right away and in retrospect, I feel we needed lots more polish.
When people compare us to other bands - it really tells me I tried too hard to recreate what I liked in other bands rather than coming up with something new - a distinctive Balligomingo sound.
Vic & I both agreed that we needed to tell our own story in our own way and that involved getting Jody on board full time. Its much easier to stay on track when you are a cohesive group and not working with different vocalists over & over. That was actually an inhibiting factor that caused more problems than it solved.
To us - its about creating a journey that hasn't been traveled before. We felt obligated to not let the first album define who we are or want to become and thus felt a new album was paramount.		   Q: What can the fans expect from the new material?

 

Under an Endless Sky is organic - a recording of live instruments whenever possible with a story to each song. Vic has an amazing ability to make an electric guitar sound intoxicating & ethereal and its really become the core sound of this album. Jody & Rebecca's vocals really pull it all together and I've done my best to arrange the parts into an intricate journey.
When Vic first sent guitar parts with hypnotic delay settings under Jody's voice - I instantly felt a new sonic journey and I felt a reason to keep going. I'm very happy with the results and feel good that we tried our best to be original, and I hope the fans like it.
For example - my favorite track is "Letting Go" because just when you think you know where its going - you head into another dimension and the song takes the listener somewhere completely new.
             
Q:  How would you say your sound differs now from 'Beneath The Surface'?
 

90 degrees different on some songs and 180 degrees on others. For one, the worst part of the first album was the endless hours of programming sounds.
Not only did I hate the experience, I felt they weren't much different than some other great bands of our genre, making us always following, rather than heading off into our own direction.
Vic's guitar brought new possibilities for unique sounds and ironically required much less programming. I would say this album is much simpler yet more complex.
I just hope our listeners enjoy the results of the work that went into layering the guitar the way we have.

   Q:  What's happening with the Balligomingo website - can we expect a relaunch?   Its a work in progress. We currently have posted updates and hope to have samples up shortly.
             
 
        
Q:  When can we hope to get our hands on the finished product?
  We initially signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis and intended to release it independently.
However, our previous BMG A/R rep has signed us to his label which should extend our reach.
We're sure to have the album out in a month or two - it is ready!		       This interview will hopefully be followed up by a more complete discussion on release of the album in due time.
We're looking forward to this one.

 

Thanks to Garrett, Vic and Jody for allowing us that interview.