biography

Holy shit!... Just watch the video for Jerks of Attention and prepare to have your punkpop mind blown. It's all there. Four minutes of anarchic bliss. Share House madness. Shot for $800, it's a scene you just wanna be a part of. 

The frantic attack of the band says it all and it's exactly what I remember of Jebediah from their first shows. They'd come off stage dripping with sweat, having given everything for 75 minutes - Chris often with his hands bloodied from having strangled his guitar, falling over, lost in a trance. Kevin and Vanessa looked exactly like Chris, totally wasted... Brett on drums up the back, sitting upright, holding things together. 

Jebediah started in '94 in Perth. They moved quickly, winning the Australian National Campus Band Competition (yes, it was a thing) in late 1995. I remember in early '96, Tim Rogers from You Am I phoned me to say "take care of them, they're special... like really special" and he waxed poetic about a handful of shows they'd just played, supporting You Am I in southern W.A.  It was impossibly sweet and vaguely threatening. Tim loved them. 

In April '96, they signed to my murmur label (thru Sony Music) and released their first EP in August 96, having already tracked it... It was solid, with some great songs ('Tracksuit', 'Mister Masonic' etc) but 'Jerks of Attention' (Dec '96) was the lightning-in-a-bottle breakthrough. I saw them at Homebake at Sydney Uni in late December and the song had just been added to Triple J and the groundswell was starting. Dudes were already reacting to the song, singing along... people moshing.  

1997 was their year. They recorded Slightly Odway in Melbourne with Neill King producing (he'd engineered Dookie for Green Day and Dear You for Jawbreaker). It captured the incredible jubilation of the band's live set and was brimming with alterna-hits - including Triple J anthems 'Leaving Home' , 'Military Strongmen', 'Teflon' and the aching ballad 'Harpoon'. 'Harpoon' was issued as a double 7" single (and CD) with labelmates Something For Kate doing a genius version of 'Harpoon' and Jebs reciprocating with a killer take on SFK's 'Clint'.  The band toured incessantly and Slightly Odway grew to be a genuine hit, selling over 150,000 copies (officially certified Double Platinum). All of the singles from Odway ended up in the then very influential Triple J Hottest 100 list for 1997 and 1998 - with 'Leaving Home' peaking at #10 in 1997 and 'Harpoon' featuring twice in 1998, once by Jebediah (#7) and once by Something For Kate (#85) - the first time the same song appeared twice. 

The teenage spark of Odway was infectious but the band had grown and were determined to reflect that on their sophomore masterpiece, Of Someday Shambles which was released in November 1999. Still buoyed by great, memorable melodies, main lyricist Kevin Mitchell was determined to mine a darker, more mature vein with Shambles. The album's first single was the hi-speed, lustful 'Animal' but the heart of the record was the dark stuff like 'Star Machine' (with its comment on celebrity culture), the beautifully downbeat 'Please Leave', the ambitious and wounded 'Run Of The Company' (about a certain record company overlord) and the emotional 'Feet Touch The Ground', which dealt with the early death of Kevin's and Brett's father. 

Of Someday Shambles was certified Platinum, but the real triumph was in their growth. All of 2000 was spent entirely on the road, circling Australia many times and including their first forays into the US, Canada and New Zealand. 

In mid 2001, Jebediah re-entered the studio to record album number three, this time with Australian producer Magoo. They were determined to keep things fast and live and energetic. The self-titled album was released in March 2002 and gathered a broad, sprawling collection of songs, from the upbeat, poptastic 'Fall Down' (bigpipes ahoy), the electric "NDC", the bold and heavy 'Yesterday When I Was Brave' and the brash folk of 'October'...heck, there was even some country in there. Perhaps it was Jebediah's eclectic nature, but despite its great strengths it performed less well than their first two albums, eventually nudging gold sales. I had left murmur by then and relationships between Sony and the band had become strained, or maybe just tired and familiar. The band's last gesture for Sony was Glee Sides and Sparities, a great collection of B-sides and rare tracks, released in January 2003. 

The band continued on, releasing the potent album Braxton Hicks in 2004 which also marked their first foray into releasing their music independently. Braxton Hicks was co-produced by the band and Matt Lovell (who has worked with fellow murmur stablemate Silverchair) and featured the tracks ‘First Time’ and ‘No Sleep.’ As the album title suggests, the band was feeling constricted by the endless touring and recording cycles and in need of some time-out.

And then, between hiatuses, solo projects…and life the 2011 gem Kosciuszko was released, which featured the band's return hit, the Gold accredited single with 'She's Like A Comet' marking another gear shift. You could literally feel the weight of expectation lift from the band’s collective shoulders as they realised, over many years of performing and recording together, that they could do things their way. And after a 7 year break to have a commercially successful return and sold-out tour seemed to re-energise the band.

Once again, there was a long pause punctuated by occasional shows and then in April 2024 Jebs returned with the best of their later period albums, the incredibly spirited OIKS (released via the Civilians label). OIKS debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and a sold-out Australian tour with local legends Magic Dirt followed along with an invitation to perform at the Sounds Australia ‘Summerstage’ in the middle of New York City. It really did signal the band’s intent to keep the Jebediah flame burning!

Through it all the band has stayed with the same line-up: Kevin Mitchell on vocals and guitars; Chris Daymond on guitar and vocals; Vanessa Thornton on bass and Brett Mitchell on drums and vocals. There’s been awards, gold and platinum albums and a legion of loyal fans. And just as life can often give you moments of genuine clarity and reflection, so it seems Jebediah have reached one of those moments, bringing a sense of satisfaction for what they’ve achieved but a renewed energy and purpose for whatever lies ahead.

I remember flying to Perth and having a small party with all of their families and friends and presenting them with Platinum plaques to recognise the sales of Slightly Odway. I made a little  speech that spoke about how I'd never worked with a band that liked each other as much as Jebediah - and that's still the case today, 30 years later. That bond, those friendships are just as strong and positive as ever. And so is the music. 

John O’Donnell

Music Journalist & author

Founder of the murmur label

Artist Manager & music industry executive