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Some years after honing his musical chops in the same Portland, Oregon hotspots where giants like Alice in Chains, Sweaty Nipples and Everclear made their marks, singer/songwriter John O’Mara had the sinking feeling he had made the wrong decision to sell out and go the straight route. Listening to Talking Heads’ classic track “Once In A Lifetime,” the multi-talented singer and musician heard David Byrne’s voice telling him he was “letting the days go by.” Coming to a creative crossroads, O’Mara left his tech job and set out on a Five Year Mission—the name of his compelling debut solo album--to bring his explosive mix of alternative/electronic influenced rock (which some have dubbed “post punk” and “post new wave”) to the world.
Every worthwhile musical journey involves a few exciting pitstops. For O’Mara, that was Fuzzmonkey, a duo with a drummer in which he mixed synth with electric and acoustic guitars to create an amalgamation of 80’s-pop and alt-folk. Now on his own, he’s found the perfect, seductive blend of acoustic drums with electronic beats, atmospheric and acoustic guitar with synthetic driving bass and vocoder, all very much in the vein of 80s pop and alt-folk rock. The emotional center is his soulful vocals which have reminded his growing fan base of some of his classic influences like Joy Division, Talking Heads and The Cure.
O’Mara has long equated performing live to a “Zen-like” experience, and building on the audience he cultivated during his year playing out with Fuzzmonkey, he’s been a popular solo act in Portland at coffeehouses and nightclubs, including stints at hotspots like The Someday Lounge and The Know (whose vibe he compares to that of the classic NYC club CBGB’s). This summer, he’s touring on his own for the first time, performing throughout California, up in Seattle and as far East as Salt Lake City. That’s just the start—true to its title, there are really no limits to the excitement O’Mara plans to generate on his Five Year Mission, which was produced by Sean Flora, whose extensive credits include working with The Shins, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Franz Ferdinand.
Making it a point to be both sparse and lush, mixing pop sensibilities with the sensitivity of folk traditions, O’Mara is happy to say he’s not some emo kid looking to bum out an audience, but a seasoned pro who’s fun, accessible and well-suited to share the stage with anyone. He tends to write the melodies first and then compose lyrics based on the vibe of the song. A fan of literary giants James Joyce and William S. Burroughs, the singer employs in his lyric writing their unusual technique of taking prose and narrative, cutting it to pieces and rearranging it in an intriguing fashion that requires some thought to fully grasp.
His sensuous, ambient track “Drowning” uses the term as a rich metaphor for the sense of powerlessness we all feel when we fall in love that includes both joy and the fear of getting in over your head. The hypnotic “Happy Hour” reveals the singer as a keen observational songwriter, as he reveals the dark irony that a bunch of cheap drinks isn’t really the key to lifting people’s spirits; it was inspired by imagery of dark bars with velvet wallpaper. On the lighter side, the David Bowie influenced “Satellite Radio” starts out with a dark, martini bar feel and ends up “with bell bottoms and a lightning bolt painted across your face.” The lyrics explore the idea that when you really care about someone, there’s a connection where you can feel what they’re doing from miles away. .