Jebediah

Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa Thornton on bass guitar. They were joined a year later by Kevin's older brother, Brett Mitchell, on drums. After winning the National Campus Band Competition, the group were brought to national attention when their 1996 single "Jerks of Attention" received heavy airplay on Australian alternative radio station Triple J – which was followed by their breakthrough debut album, Slightly Odway (8 September 1997).

The band released four studio albums by 2004: three entered the top ten on the ARIA Albums Chart; their second album, Of Someday Shambles (3 October 2000), is the highest charting at number two. After touring to celebrate their tenth anniversary, the band went on hiatus in 2005. Kevin Mitchell continued solo work under his pseudonym, Bob Evans. Kevin also appeared on a self-titled album in July 2010 by the Basement Birds, a supergroup which he formed with fellow musicians, Kavyen Temperley, Josh Pyke and Steve Parkin. Jebediah reconvened in 2010 and released their fifth studio album, Kosciuszko, in the following year, which charted in the ARIA top ten.

History

1994–1996: Formation, Twitch EP

Jebediah was formed in Perth in 1994 by Chris Daymond (ex-Hybrid) on lead guitar, Almin Fulurija on drums, Kevin Mitchell on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa Thornton (ex-Hybrid, lead guitar) on bass guitar, whilst they were still students at Leeming Senior High School. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, Twitch contained "quirky tracks like 'Mister Masonic' and 'Tracksuit' and was a strong taster for the band's fuzzy pop".

In April that year they had signed to Murmur, a subsidiary label of Sony Music, on the basis of their live performances.

1997–2000: Slightly Odway, Of Someday Shambles, Jebediaries

Jebediah's first single, "Jerks of Attention", was released in December 1996 and appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart top 100 in the following month. The group won two WAMi awards in 1997: Most Popular Band and Most Popular Song for "Jerks of Attention".

In September Jebediah issued their first studio album, Slightly Odway, with Neill King (The Smiths, Madness, Elvis Costello) producing. While Greg Lawrence at WHAMMO.com.au noted that it provides "a mature, complete range – from the early-penned punk mayhem of 'Blame' to the delicacy of the 'Twilight=Dusk', from the dark tones of 'Jerks of Attention' to the bright strains of radio hit 'Leaving Home'. The album does a great job of capturing the amazing live dynamic of the band".

The album peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart – their highest peaking release – and remained in the top 50 for 25 weeks.

The group started 2000 by playing its second Big Day Out tour. They continued touring internationally playing the US, Canada and New Zealand. Daymon recalled "There have been times, especially after Someday Shambles, when our popularity in Australia had really surprised us and we were playing to huge crowds at the Big Day Out and we'd had two really successful records. We were a little dismayed as to why we couldn't push it further into the overseas area. Unfortunately it seemed to be the politics of working with a record on a major label that held us back. It's not much of an incentive for a label overseas to make you a priority if a lot of the profit is going back to the company where the band is from".

In October 2000 Sony issued a video compilation album, Jebediaries, in VHS format for PAL systems, which contained their music videos and concert footage. It was followed in December by the DVD version which added a bonus track, "Animal" (live). Andrew Siers at MichaelDVD described it as "mainly a collection of the band's greatest hits in video clip form, but in between songs it is also a documentary. These sections of the feature are quite interesting and kept my attention at all times". The album was not released until March the following year. Lawrence opined that it "sees a band in their element, brimming with confidence. Led by the tracks 'Fall Down' and 'Nothing Lasts Forever'". On 25 May 2002 the group were guest programmers on ABC-TV's video program, rage, and played 12 of their music videos including "Fall Down" and "Nothing Lasts Forever". and the band subsequently left Sony in the following month to continue as an independent act.

In July 2004 Jebediah issued their fourth studio album, Braxton Hicks, which was produced by the band itself and appeared on their own record label, Redline Records, distributed by Shock Records. The album is named for the intermittent weak contractions which some pregnant women experience. Daymond reflected on the recording process "Because it was self-produced as well, there was no one in the producer's chair to tie the whole thing together. We've had to do that ourselves. We're a very close band but it was even more of a bonding experience in the recording studio, where we had to motivate each other to do our best and I think it's paid off". While a member of Jebediah, Kevin Mitchell had started a parallel solo career using the pseudonym, Bob Evans, from 1999. Following Mitchell's 2007 solo tour, he said that Jebediah would return to start recording their next album. They returned for a festival appearance at the Rollercoaster 07 Music Carnival, held at the Western Foreshore in Mandurah on 29 December, where they appeared alongside Hilltop Hoods, The Black Keys, Shihad, Kisschasy, Birds of Tokyo and Ash Grunwald. In September 2008 the group also played gigs in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The shows were sold out despite little advertising and largely relying on word of mouth.

Kevin released his third studio album, Goodnight, Bull Creek!, in April 2009. The following year, he formed Basement Birds with Kavyen Temperley of Eskimo Joe, Josh Pyke, and Steve Parkin (studio musician for Goodnight, Bull Creek). They released their debut self-titled album in July 2010 and played a headlining tour in addition to festival dates. Due to Kevin's other musical commitments, recording for the album had occurred sporadically since early 2008. Kevin also reflected on making the album:

It's a very different record for us and I'm really excited about it. It's the first real "studio" album we have ever made. Every other album has been recorded quite traditionally. We write a bunch of songs, play them live a bunch of times and then go in to studio and bash them out in a few weeks. This time round we had barely played the songs live, we wrote a few of them in the studio and we really used the studio as an instrument.</blockquote>

The album debuted at number six and stayed in the top 50 for five weeks. number 47 on the ARIA Singles Chart,

The group toured nationally to promote the album throughout the remainder of 2011, playing at the Splendour in the Grass festival and then visiting regional locations from Broome to Mount Hotham. They also performed at the National Youth Week 2011 launch event in Melbourne and appeared on morning TV program, Sunrise, to perform "She's Like a Comet".

Released following the band's hiatus, the documentary serves as both a re-introduction of the band to the public arena, but also a reflection upon the past. Thornton described her perspective:

We were so caught up in our own wild ride that we were being swept along doing what we were doing, and, I mean, at the time, we were meeting all these bands that we idolised and, and, were big fans of ... and, um, got to play gigs with them all ... The first tour we went on, then led into the next tour and, before we knew it, we were on the road to pretty much ten years solid. On 24 November they played at the Super Saturday horse racing event at the Ascot Raceway, Perth.

In January 2013 on web-based publication, Tone Deaf, Kevin described the songwriting process with his "best mates" as "a real democratic process, it's like trying to pass legislation".

During January 2014 the band played locations in New South Wales, from Dee Why to Ulladulla. On 23 August 2014, Jebediah was the headline act at the Eaton Hills "FMX Extreme Weekend" in Queensland, Australia.

In March 2015 Jebediah announced that they would be undertaking a 20th Anniversary tour in June that year, performing fan favourites and surprises in the first set, then their 1997 debut album Slightly Odway in its entirety. To coincide with the tour they announced that they would be releasing a new compilation album, Twenty, on 29 May.

In September 2023, Jebediah released "Gum Up the Bearings", their first new single in over a decade. Following a national tour in support of "Gum Up the Bearings", the band announced their sixth studio album OIKS. It is set for release on 12 April 2024 via Cooking Vinyl Australia. To coincide with the announcement, the band also shared a new single entitled "Rubberman".

Cover versions

In June 1998 Something for Kate recorded a cover version of "Harpoon" which was released on the Harpoon EP alongside Jebediah's version. Jebediah provided a cover version of Something for Kate's track "Clint" on a split EP which also had each bands' versions of "Harpoon". In September 1998 Australian band Ratcat covered "Blame" from Slightly Odway and released it as a B-side.

Jebediah performed a cover version of the Bacharach and David-written track, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", for Triple J's "Like a Version" radio segment – it was compiled on the various artists' album Like a Version, which was issued in 2005. In the following year Gyroscope covered "Monument" (B-side of "Leaving Home", 1997) which was compiled on Like a Version: Volume Two. Jebediah's version of "Apartment" (1995 single) by Custard appeared on Like a Version: Volume Eight (2012). In 2011 The Grates performed a cover version of "Please Leave" for a "Like a Version" segment.

Redline Records

In July 2000 Jebediah, in partnership with Naked Ape Management (run by their talent manager, Heath Bradby), launched an independent licensing label, Redline Records, which was distributed through the Australian company, Shock Records. Kevin explained:

I think we were all pretty naive about what we, what we were achieving—we were having too much fun to get kind of caught up. We'd just released our second album overseas on an independent label; and, spent time in America as an independent act. And that was around about the time where we started our own label, just to, um, release, maybe, release a few, some bands of friends of ours, in bands.

Other projects

Jebediah members have been involved in various other projects. Kevin has achieved commercial success with his solo project, Bob Evans. His fourth studio album, Familiar Stranger, appeared in March 2013. It was preceded by an EP, The Double Life, in November 2012 and a national tour of Australia. Kevin stated during an "Unplugged and Wired" performance for Google+ on 28 November 2012 that the EP's title applied to both his concurrent work with Jebediah, in addition to his new role as father and husband.

Brett and Thornton have joined an English singer–songwriter, Addison Axe, to form a group, Axe Girl; which is based in Perth. They have performed at local venues, including Hyde Park Hotel. They released their debut EP, Ghost Romance, as a free download in October 2012, which was launched at The Norfolk Basement Hotel, Fremantle.

Ghost Romance was accompanied by a video scrapbook showing excerpts from the recording process, which was uploaded to the band's YouTube page. By 24 October 2012, the band had signed with Perth music management company, Tyranocorp (Cal Peck & The Tramps, Fear of Comedy). In September 2013, they published photos from a video shoot for their track, "Give Me Your Tee Shirt", which was filmed in Perth. The band's self-titled debut album—funded by a crowdfunding campaign—is scheduled for an 8 November 2014 release, followed by a national Australian tour.

Thornton has also played with other Perth-based groups: End of Fashion, and Felicity Groom and the Black, Black Smoke. In a September 2009 interview, Thornton revealed that "Chris mostly keeps to himself and does his crazy paintings". As of 2012, Daymond is a member of a Nirvana cover band, Nirvanarama (not to be confused with an Ipswich, United Kingdom band of that name), alongside members of other groups, Gyroscope and Karnivool. Nirvanarama's debut live performance was in December 2011 at The Hen House, Perth. The group maintains a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account.

Personal lives

Kevin married long-term girlfriend, Kristen, in November 2006 and in December 2008 they relocated from Perth to Seddon, an inner-west suburb of Melbourne. As of March 2013, Kevin and Kristen are the parents of a baby, and reside in Deer Park. Speaking on his personal life prior to the release of Familiar Stranger, Kevin revealed "I have zero social life. I have no hobbies, I have nothing else except making music and being a father". Kevin relocated with his family to coastal Victoria in early 2014.

Daymond married his partner, Belinda, in a Western Australian outdoor location, The Quarry, in December 2012, with Kevin and Thornton in attendance. An Irish dance performance was part of the wedding ceremony.

Members

Chris Daymond – guitar, backing vocals, percussion
Brett Mitchell – drums, backing vocals
Kevin Mitchell – lead vocals, guitar
Vanessa Thornton – bass guitar

;Former members

Almin Fulurija – drums

Discography

Slightly Odway (1997)
Of Someday Shambles (1999)
Jebediah (2002)
Braxton Hicks (2004)
Kosciuszko (2011)
Oiks (2024)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

Jebediah have received two nominations for Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards.

| rowspan="3" | 2012 || rowspan="3"| "She's Like a Comet" (Christopher Daymond, Brett Mitchell, Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans), Vanessa Thornton) || Most Played Australian Work ||

| Rock Work of the Year ||

| Song of the Year ||

ARIA Awards

Jebediah have received five nominations for Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards.

| 1997 || "Jerks of Attention" || Best New Talent ||

| 1998 || Slightly Odway || Breakthrough Artist – Album ||

| rowspan="2" | 2004 || Braxton Hicks || Best Independent Release ||

| Matt Lovell – Braxton Hicks || Engineer of the Year ||

| 2011 || Kosciuszko || Best Rock Album ||

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Jebediah has won eight awards