Jebediah

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Jebediah

Background information
Origin	Perth, Australia
Genre(s)	Alternative rock
Years active	1994–present
Label(s)	Redline Records (2003-present) Murmur (1996-2003)
Website	Official website
Members
Kevin Mitchell Chris Daymond Vanessa Thornton Brett Mitchell

Jebediah is an alternative/pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia.

1 History
2 Members
3 Discography
4 Awards and nominations
5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

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, Vanesssa 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 lead to an opening slot on the Summersault Music Festival before higher profile bands such as the Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Split with Sony

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.

2006 has seen Kevin Mitchell release and promote his second solo album, Suburban Songbook under his pseudonym Bob Evans.

[edit] Members

Jebediah consists of:

Kevin Mitchell, (vocals, rhythm guitar);
Vanessa Thornton, (bass guitar);
Chris Daymond, (lead guitar); and
Brett Mitchell, (drums)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Slightly Odway (September 8, 1997) Murmur #7 Australia	Of Someday Shambles (November 1, 2000) 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