Omnigone
Omnigone formed just five years ago and just released their third album this year, the politically-tinged hardcore-meets-ska sounds of Feral.
We talked with founding member and vocalist Adam Davis about their growth as a band, his past with Link 80, and Five Star Pizza.
Scene Point Blank: First, how many times have you played The Fest?
Adam Davis: Omnigone has played The Fest three times.
Scene Point Blank: How many times have you personally attended (if that # is different)?
Adam Davis: I’ve only attended The Fest when Omnigone played. As I understand, The Fest started in 2002, which was coincidentally the same year I stopped touring heavily with Link 80. I remember sitting at my desk at my boring office job feeling extremely jealous of the bands playing those early years.
Scene Point Blank: There are a million festivals these days. What makes The Fest stand out?
Adam Davis: I don’t really care for normal festivals. I never enjoyed Warped Tour, the last time I got into an all day metal festival for free I went home early. Fest feels like a small town invading Gainesville: so many people I know from so many different times in my life all on one place. It’s more non-stop than most festivals but you can truly choose your own adventure. I usually just stay on West Coast time and go to sleep around 3:30am, and wake up around 10am.
Scene Point Blank: Omnigone has some direct ties to Link 80. Do you explain the band as a new project, or a continuation? Or something in-between. Maybe you just share a universe, to use modern parlance.
Adam Davis: When Link 80 played the Asian Man Records 20th anniversary in 2016, I realized while we were on stage that this was final. It was odd to have that realization in the moment, to be able to appreciate what was happening but know that it would be over soon. As much as I would like to play those songs again, other members have moved on. Omnigone is my opportunity to build on what we started while leaving Link 80 alone. In some ways, I think if Link 80 had continued, there’s a chance we would have made an album that sounds like Against the Rest.
Scene Point Blank: Tying to that last question, do you find that crowds expect a tie-in to the past when Omnigone hits the road? Is that different at home?
Adam Davis: Enough time has passed since Link 80 was an active band that nearly no one who currently attends shows saw Link 80. At this point, people are just coming to see Omnigone. In the UK, we had a few old friends come out to the shows, but no one really expected to hear Link 80 songs. We did include “Nothing New” in the set and I saw some ears perk up when we played it, but thankfully no one shouts Link 80 songs at the stage. A few months ago Joey Bustos (Link 80’s drummer) filled in for two shows at Gilman. We didn’t have time to practice before the show, so we played a few Link 80 songs because we can do that in our sleep. It was cool to play those songs, especially in that room.
"We just wanted to play ska-punk again."
Scene Point Blank: How did you pick the name Omnigone?
Adam Davis: An omnigon, as I understand it, it a theoretical shape with an infinite number of sides. I heard the term used as the name of an inner circle for a secret society. The band feels like a secret society, with many members spread out geographically and between other bands. When it came time to come up with a band name, adding the “e” felt appropriate. I also stole the zero from the Link 80 logo for the O in Omnigone.
Scene Point Blank: In many ways Link 80 was ahead of their time. Ska hybrid bands were all the rage in the late '90s, but few mixed in hardcore (maybe Suicide Machines). But today it feels seamless. It just fits. Did something change in the scene, or is it just me?
Adam Davis: Since Link 80 ended, so many bands [have] started that took the amalgamation of ska and hardcore further: Folly, Flaming Tsunamis, and The Best of the Worst to name a few. Something has definitely shifted and it’s now commonplace to hear heavy riffs and breakdowns from a ska band. I definitely prefer where we are now.
Scene Point Blank: Feral is your third album. How has the band consolidated its sound? What stands out to you when you think about the first album compared to where you are now?
Adam Davis: On No Faith, our first album, we just wrote a bunch of songs. There was little thought put into it, we just wanted to play ska-punk again. We were surprised when it was well received. With Feral, we made a real effort to create a cohesive album, from the songs to the album artwork to the overall vibe of the videos. We allowed the songs to be a little longer, and we purposely didn’t include horns this time around. We love horns, and the people who usually play horn with us (shout-out to Jer, Emily and Andrew), but without a consistent horn section it felt important to have a batch of songs we could play without horns. Feral feels more like a hardcore album than a ska album, even though every song has ska in it.
Scene Point Blank: What song on the new record is the most fun to play live?
Adam Davis: ”Modern Medicine” by School Drugs. They wrote a killer hardcore song, and getting to add ska to the second verse was a lot of fun. That song is a ripper: every time the intro starts, my heart starts racing. School Drugs rules. The first time I saw them was at Fest and it was a highlight of the weekend for me. They surprised me by covering an Op Ivy song. Their singer Josh wound up in the rafters at the end of their set. Incredible set.
"Fest feels like a small town invading Gainesville: so many people I know from so many different times in my life all on one place."
Scene Point Blank: Is there a song on Feral that took a surprise turn from start to finish?
Adam Davis: ”Bad Radio” probably went through the most changes. The original demo sounded very East Bay punk rock, to the point where we were like, “Can we put this out?” We made a lot of changes, we probably have 5-6 different demo versions of that song. The final version sounds more like a (very poppy) Omnigone song. It probably still sounds pretty East Bay, but less so than the original version.
Scene Point Blank: The Bay Area is legendary for its punk scene. What keeps it going from generation to generation?
Adam Davis: I think the biggest strengths of the Bay Area are access to all ages spaces, good weather, public transit and the population density. Any time a new band starts to blow up here, it’s because the youth have the freedom to express themselves in a space that allows it. Sometimes that is a venue like 924 Gilman, Stay Gold Deli or Balazo Gallery, sometimes its house shows in West Oakland, and sometimes it’s a generator show on the beach or at a skate park. Each generation has their own brand of chaos, and while venues close, crowds disperse and bands break up, the bands who persevere continue on.
Scene Point Blank: Building off that last question, Gainesville has a lot of significant contributions to the larger punk scene and its history. Any similarities or nuances you see?
Adam Davis: I honestly don’t know enough about Gainesville to draw similarities in a meaningful way, other than I know Gainesville also has a prolific punk scene. I believe Florida gets a bad rap, I like Florida a lot. I have always affectionately said that Florida is Mutant California, and I mean that in a good way. We have Disneyland, Florida has Disney World. We have one coast, Florida has two. California has nice sunny weather, Florida has nice sunny weather but also totally insane weather. I always enjoy visiting Florida, and Gainesville in particular.
Scene Point Blank: Anything you'd like to add?
Adam Davis: I’m really sad that the High Dive was closed. What a great venue. RIP. If you have never seen us before, please come see our set this year. We’ll be playing most of our new album Feral. Also please listen to our new album. Thanks.
Now, a rapid fire Fest-focused Q&A:
