Article from Rave Magazine, March 5th 2001.
“If it didn’t sound like a smash hit, it got the arse!” Jebediah’s Kevin Mitchell jokes. His statement is clearly playful exaggeration, but the singer/guitarist of Perth’s ultra-popular guitar pop quartet firmly believes their upcoming self-titled album is the work of a band at the peak of its powers. “I think this is the most happy we’ve been coming out of a record. We just felt more confident,” he explains. “We were way more prepared this time around. We were demoing heaps and we had a really long time to write and get as much material together as we could. With the last album (Of Someday Shambles), we were still writing songs in pre-production. This time, we went into pre-production with all the songs pretty much finished.”
The result is a sleek, high-quality selection of Australian rock ‘n’ roll, with the production skills of Brisbane’s own Magoo. Its consistency was helped by a prolific burst of songwriting that happened for Jebediah when masterminding the new album. “We had about 25 songs to choose from,” recalls Kevin. “The process of elimination started when we were writing. The quality control was a lot higher this time over. There Are quite a few tracks we demoed that will come in pretty handy as B-sides!”
Just prior to the release of the album comes the new single, Nothing Lasts For-ever, which includes a video where nature truly makes its presence known. “We went south of Perth, around the Margaret River area,” says Kevin. “It was all filmed on location in lush forest and on the beach and everything and we captured sunrise and sunset. And on the last day of filming, the weather just turned and there was this massive electrical storm, no shit, the biggest storm I’d ever seen in my life. There was lightning every ten seconds. It was supposed to be sunny and everyone was getting worried about continuity and all that sort of stuff. But we decided ‘Fuck it, let’s just keep shooting the video clip’. So we kept filming and it pretty much runs the gamut of seasonal activity, from really nice sunsets to massive Lightning strikes.” And one drenched band? “I don’t know about the other guys, but I think I destroyed a pair of shoes when I was walking along the beach and singing to cam-era,” says Kevin. “I wasn’t looking at the water coming in. Then I felt the water moving over my leg. Here was me in shoes and trousers!” Nothing Lasts Forever, the follow-up single to Fall Down, is a far more low key affair than its boisterous predecessor.
The bagpipe led stomp is re-placed by melodic guitar rock with a wistful, reflective edge. “Making each single different from the one before it, has al-ways been an important part of Jebediah,” says Kevin. “Fall Down was really simple and kind of throwaway and this one is really poppy too, but there’s a bit more to it. It’s a little deeper.” Going back briefly to Fall Down, I feel I Have to ask whose idea it was to use the bagpipes. “I don’t know. Let’s just say it was my idea!” says Kevin. “When we were demoing it, Chris’ guitar was almost sounding like bagpipes. Eventually we just decided, yeah, let’s have bagpipes in it!”
On an album not shy of trying different directions, one of the highlights is the uncharacteristically epic and brooding Yesterday When I Was Brave. “That’s one of my favourites,” Kevin enthuses. “There was a grand piano in the studio and whenever there’s an instrument in a studio, I always feel like we have to play it. So Yesterday When I Was Brave was an opportunity to make use of this grand piano.”
And like all Jebediah recordings, it was also the product of a distinctly democratic group of musicians. Not to mention a line-up that has remained unchanged since its inception in 1995 (joining Kevin are his brother Brett on drums as well as guitarist Chris Daymond and bassist Vanessa Thornton). “It’s kind of an unspoken agreement,” Kevin explains. “Well, not even an agreement. If someone didn’t want to play anymore, the band would break up, we’d go off and do our own thing. Jebediah just wouldn’t be the same without one of the original members. This is the only band I’ve ever played in, so it’s difficult for me to imagine Jebediah with anyone else.”
- Matt Thrower