When it comes to their overall vibe, Omingome errs on the side of odd. But it seems that their oddities have inspired Savannahians to listen up.
After playing only a handful of “official” shows, they’ll be opening for Star Period Star at Taco Abajo tomorrow night.
Star Period Star started their parking-lot jam prog-rock sound in 1993. Omingnome, on the other hand, “didn’t really rehearse” for their first show.
Tyler Cutitta says, “We just pulled material from what we all wrote and jammed on them and made them into full songs.” Since then, the group has played at The Wormhole and other venues downtown.
So what exactly is jamming? Eric Braun, a third-year visual effects major, says it’s about “not giving a [care].” Melissa Hagerty, an illustration graduate, says it’s about “feeling more than thinking … when you all kind of connect and feel it out.”
Both Cutitta and Tony Bavaro think that jamming is about getting in touch with their inner gnomes.
“Jamming is when everyone gets together and dresses up in gnome costumes … and uses their little fingers to cast spells at each other,” says Bavaro. Cutitta adds that the group is simply “harnessing thousands of years of what previous gnomes have set out for us.”
And it seems that what past gnomes have in store for the group culminates in their groovy, trippy sound that incorporates drums, the bass, electric guitar, the theremin, and whatever else suits the “gnoment.” All four members argue that their music is just one big “ohm,” which, according to Cutitta, “is everything.”
But as funny as the band’s feelings are on their music, Cutitta admits that they don’t really take themselves seriously. “I think Omingnome is the first project I’ve taken so lightly, and that’s why we’ve had some great responses. We just gnome a song up and it works for some reason.”
When they’re not working together on Omingnome, they are each involved in separate projects both musical and otherwise. Cutitta, who works as a music producer for bands around Savannah, calls himself a “musical slave for hire.” He also works on a separate project with Hagerty called
YonahBug, who recently played at
Sicky Nar Nar‘s opening.
Hagerty is also a member of the locally famous group
Word of Mouth. Braun spends time studying the habits of the Azez. Bavaro has been working on his own “mystic crystal revelations” along with trying to improve his posture.
Each member seems equally excited about the show. Cutitta says that sometimes they “can be so awkward” that it “makes people get loose,” while Hagerty insists they should start treating every show they play more like a circus.
Star Period Star seems just as dedicated to a funky experience as Omingnome’s members are. While it’s impossible to know what to expect from the group of reincarnated gnomes tomorrow night, their set will take show-goers to a great “ungnome” before Star Period Star’s “older alterna-teen” rock-out.
The show begins at 9 p.m. and is open for all ages. For more information, check out the event’s
Facebook page.
