Jebediah

Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. The band consists of 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. They are named after Jebediah Springfield, the fictional founder of Springfield on the American TV cartoon series, The Simpsons. Daymond and Mitchell had met in a theatre class at Leeming High School in their final year, while Daymond and Thornton knew each other from childhood and had been members of Hybrid.

By early 1995, Kevin's older brother, Brett Mitchell, replaced Fulurija because the latter would not turn up to practice sessions, Brett had been a drummer with various groups including The Jerk Offs. In May that year Jebediah performed their first gig, for a Leeming High School formal, at the Perth Sheraton Hotel, where they played cover versions of material by Green Day, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins, and one original.

They won the Western Australian semi-finals of the 1995 Australian National Campus Band Competition and in October they won the national final in Lismore. This led to an opening slot on the Summersault Music Festival before high-profile bands, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth. Brett explained in a 2011 interview: "In the very early days, everything was just a bit of a shock ... to us; it was like, it was either a shock, if it, if it actually happened, or it was, it seemed kind of absurd if someone was, ah, you know, putting an idea forward about how things would go".

In August 1996 Jebediah issued their debut five-track extended play, Twitch, which was produced by Chris Dickie (The Pogues, Morrissey, Header). 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. They followed with a national tour alongside Snout, and Automatic. In 2004 Daymon recalled "our very first EP came out through Murmur. Right from the very start we never really self-financed any of our early material ... Thinking about it now, over the years, a lot of being in a band – for us – is touring and playing the shows; that's always done independently anyway". At the West Australian Music Industry Awards of 1996 they won their first WAMi for Best Stage Presence. Twitch debuted at number one on the local Perth singles chart. It appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart in the top 100.

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. It received national airplay on the Triple J radio network. The group's appearances at Homebake and the Big Day Out concerts as well as support slots for Soundgarden, Everclear, The Presidents of the United States of America, Silverchair and You Am I, further raised their public profile. Another single, "Leaving Home", was issued in June and reached the top 50. 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. The album's title is "a comment on the slightly odd way they feel they approach life as well as music". It peaked at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained in the top 50 for 54 weeks. Popular tracks included "Leaving Home" and the third single, "Military Strongmen" (November 1997). Slightly Odway also reached number two on the ARIA alternative charts, and within four months it was certified gold.

Jonathan Lewis of Allmusic felt it showed them "as a talented young band, despite the flimsy songwriting and the lack of light and shade on the album". 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".

"Leaving Home" was rated number 10 in the Triple J Hottest 100 music poll for 1997. Slightly Odway eventually received a double-platinum certificate (140,000 units shipped), with two more top 50 singles, "Teflon" (March 1998) and "Harpoon" (on the EP of the same name, June), adding to the group's chart success. Murmur label mates, Something for Kate, provided a cover version of "Harpoon" on the EP. Murmur also issued a split-EP with both versions of "Harpoon" backed with Something for Kate's "Clint" and Jebediah's cover version of that track.

Jebediah supported United States alternative rockers, The Smashing Pumpkins, on the Australian leg of their 1998 tour in May. Jebediah released their second album, Of Someday Shambles, in November 1999, with producer Mark Trombino (Knapsack, Blink 182). McFarlane noted that it "was brimming with youthful exuberance and feisty, melodic, guitar-based fuzzy punk-pop perfectly suited to the post-grunge alternative generation". Lawrence felt it was "sporting tonnes more light and shade than their first effort and stretching out in the studio ... honing its craft, growing up in public in the most enviable of ways".

The album peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart – their highest peaking release – and remained in the top 50 for 25 weeks. While its lead single, "Animal" (August 1999), reached number 16 and is their highest charting single to date. The band toured Canada and New Zealand and won further WAMi awards with Best Video for "Harpoon", and Thornton winning Best Bass Player. By December 2000, Of Someday Shambles received a platinum certificate from ARIA.