Jebediah

Infobox musical artist
Name = Jebediah


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genre = Alternative rock
Years_active = 1994–present
Label = Redline Records (2003-present)
Murmur (1996-2003)
URL = [http://www.jebediah.net/ Official website]
Current_members = Kevin Mitchell
Chris Daymond
Vanessa Thornton
Brett Mitchell
Past_members =

Jebediah is a four piece alternative/pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia.

History

Formation (1994-1995)

Jebediah was formed in Perth in 1994 with Kevin Mitchell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Vanessa Thornton on bass, Chris Daymond on lead guitar and Almin Fulurija on drums. Kevin's brother, Brett Mitchell replaced Almin on drums because Almin didn’t turn up to practice. Kevin, Vanessa and Chris met at high school while Brett Mitchell had been a drummer with various bands. The band took their name from Jebediah Springfield, the fictional founder of Springfield on The Simpsons.

Jebediah played its first show at the Leeming High School formal at the Perth Sheraton Hotel under the name "Jebadiah", where they played covers by bands such as Green Day and the Smashing Pumpkins, and one original. At their seventh gig, the band took out the Western Australian semi-finals of the 1995 Australian National Campus Band Competition and with their thirteenth ever gig had won the national final in Lismore, New South Wales. This led to an opening slot on the Summersault Music Festival before higher profile bands such as the Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth.

Wonder Years (1996-2002)

The band recorded the "Twitch" EP shortly before signing to Murmur, a label of Sony Music, in 1996. That year the band also won its first WAMi award for Best Stage Presence. "Twitch" was released in August 1996, debuting at number one on the Western Australian ARIA Chart. The band's next single, "Jerks of Attention", received substantial airplay on the Triple J radio network. High profile work on Homebake and the Big Day Out as well as support slots for Soundgarden, Everclear, The Presidents of the United States of America, Silverchair and You Am I further raised the band's profile.

The band won two WAMi awards in 1997 for "Most Popular Band" and "Most Popular Song" for "Jerks of Attention".

In 1997, The band recorded and released its first album "Slightly Odway". The album reached a peak of number seven on the national Australian charts due to the success of tracks like "Leaving Home" and "Military Strongmen" and number 2 on the ARIA alternative charts, within four months it was certified gold. "Leaving Home" was rated number 10 in the Triple J Hottest 100 music poll for 1997. "Slightly Odway" eventually went double-platinum (140,000 sales), with "Teflon" and "Harpoon" adding to its success. Jebediah also supported the Smashing Pumpkins in their 1998 Australian tour.

The band started recording its second album "Of Someday Shambles" in Melbourne in 1999. "Animal", the first single, reached number 16 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The band started touring Canada and New Zealand and won further WAMi awards for best video for "Harpoon", and Vanessa Thornton winning Best Bass Player. "Of Someday Shambles" debuted at number 2 on the Australian album charts, reaching gold status and then platinum.

Jebediah started 2000 by playing its second Big Day Out tour. It continued touring internationally playing the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Jebediah released a split EP with Jimmy Eat World in the US through Big Wheel Recreation.

Jebediah recorded its self-titled third album in late 2000 and 2001. The first single "Fall Down" reached number 24 in late October 2001, the "Jebediah" album however was not released until five months later in March 2002. Whilst the album debuted at number 8 on the charts, it didn't quite reach gold status (with only 35,000 sales).

plit with Sony (2003-2005)

Jebediah and Sony Music both agreed to part company in 2003 with Jebediah to record future albums as an independent act. "Gleesides & Sparities", a collection of B-sides and rare tracks was their final release through Sony recorded in 2003.

In 2004, Jebediah produced their fourth album "Braxton Hicks" and later released it on their own record label, Redline Records in conjunction with Shock Records. It debuted at number 26 on the Australian album chart while the first single "First Time" made the top 50.

In June 2005, Jebediah launched their 10 year anniversary tour and an EP to coincide. Their shows consisted mainly of b-sides and rarities that fans had requested on the bands official forums.

Hiatus (2006-2007)

2006 and 2007 has seen Kevin Mitchell release and promote his second solo album, "Suburban Songbook" under his pseudonym Bob Evans. Brett Mitchell is currently drumming for a local band, The Fuzz.

Kevin Mitchell has recently announced that following his solo tour he will return to the studio (early 2008) with Jebediah and start recording the band's next album.

2008 Return

The band has returned to the studio to rehearse old hits and write new music for their next album, expected to be out late 2008.

Jebediah returned for a festival appearance at the [http://www.heatseeker.com.au/gigs.aspx?id=Rollercoaster%2007&tid=2&iid=1317 Rollercoaster 07 Music Carnival] held at the Western Foreshore in Mandurah on the 29th of December, 2007. Where they appeared alongside Hilltop Hoods, The Black Keys, Shihad, Kisschasy, Birds of Tokyo and Ash Grunwald. [http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22679019-5005364,00.html]

Members

Jebediah consists of:

* Kevin Mitchell - vocals, rhythm guitar
* Vanessa Thornton - bass guitar
* Chris Daymond - lead guitar
* Brett Mitchell - drums

Discography

Albums

*"Slightly Odway" (September 8, 1997) Murmur #7 Australia
*"Of Someday Shambles" (November 1, 1999) Murmur #2 Australia
*"Jebediah" (March 3, 2002) Murmur #8 Australia
*"Gleesides & Sparities" (October 20, 2003) Murmur
*"Braxton Hicks" (July 12, 2004) Redline Records #26 Australia

ingles

From Slightly Odway:
#"Jerks of Attention" 1997 single
#"Leaving Home" 1997 single No. 48 Australia
#"Military Strongmen" 1997 single
#"Teflon" 1998 single No. 41 Australia

From Of Someday Shambles:
#"Animal" 1999 single No.16 Australia
#"Feet Touch the Ground" 1999 single
#"Please Leave" 2000 single
#"Star Machine" 2000 promo single

From Jebediah:
#"Fall Down" 2001 single No.24 Australia
#"Nothing Lasts Forever" 2002 single No.50 Australia
#"N.D.C." 2002 single
#"October" 2002 promo single

From Braxton Hicks:
#"First Time"2004 single No.50 Australia
#"No Sleep" 2004 promo single

EPs

*Twitch (1996)
*"Harpoon" (1998) EP/Single No.46 Australia
*Split EP (2000) EP (with Jimmy Eat World)
*Anniversary EP (2005) No.86 Australia

Compilation appearances

Tracks from Jebediah featured on:
*"Edible '96", 1996 - "Smiler"
*"On The Edge Of The World", 1996 - "Tracksuit"
*"Kiss My WAMi '97", 1997 -"Bosco"
*"Indie 2000 Volume 1", 1997 - "Jerks of Attention"
*"Recovery: Hits From The Back Door", 1998 - "Invaders (live)"
*"Homebake 98", 1998 - "Puck Defender"
*"Indie 2000 Volume 2", 1998 - "Military Strongmen"
*"Sony PlayStation Xtreme Games", 1998 - "Military Strongmen"
*"Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 5" 1998 - "Leaving Home"
*"Kiss My WAMi '98", 1998 - "Invaders"
*"Lust For Live:Triple J Live At The Wireless", 1998 - "Military Strongmen"
*"Homebake 99", 1999 - "Military Strongmen"
*"Sony PlayStation Xtreme Games 2", 1999 - "Spoil The Show"
*"Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 6", 1999 - "Harpoon"
*"UnDone: Songs Of Duran Duran", 1999 - "Hungry Like the Wolf"
*"Homebake 3", 2000 - "Suppose To Say"
*"bigdayout 00", 2000 - "Slot Car Racing"
*"Planet X Volume 1", 2000 - "Trapdoor"
*"Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 7", 2000 - "Animal"
*"Indie 2000 Volume 7" 2000 - "Please Leave"
*"Planet X Volume 2" - "Star Machine"

Awards and nominations

* 1996 WAMi Awards - Best Stage Presence
* 1997 WAMi Awards - Most Popular Band
* 1997 WAMi Awards - Most Popular Song - "Jerks of Attention"
* 1997 ARIA Awards Nominee - Best New Talent - "Jerks Of Attention"
* 1998 ARIA Awards Nominee - Breakthrough Artist - Album - "Slightly Odway"
* 1999 WAMi Awards - Best Local Video Clip - "Harpoon"
* 1999 WAMi Awards - Best Female Bass Player - Vanessa Thornton
* 2002 WAMi Awards - Best Female Original Bass Player - Vanessa Thornton
* 2004 ARIA Awards Nominee - Engineer Of The Year - "Braxton Hicks"
* 2004 WAMi Nominee - Best Independent Release - "Braxton Hicks"
* 2005 WAMi Awards - Nominee - Best Commercial Pop Act
* 2005 WAMi Awards - Best Bassist - Vanessa Thornton
* 2006 WAMi Awards - Nominee - Best Bassist - Vanessa Thornton

External links

* [http://www.jebediah.net/ Official band website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/jebediahrock MySpace website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ku5gtq8znu4a~T1 Jebediah on All Music Guide]
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