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Bodyjar
 Bodyjar were
Australia's premier new age pop punkers.
Founding
members Cameron Baines, Ben Peterson and Grant Relf grew up in the same
Melbourne suburb and have been friends since primary school, and formed the
band Helium in 1992.
For his
part singer Cameron Baines came to the music via his passion for
skateboarding. Watching skate movies the soundtracks invariably featured
groups like the Descendant and Bad Religion, the new era punk with a strong
moral fibre attached to the youthful hijinks and meaty guitar riffs. One
thing led to the other and before long Baines was heavily into the music as
well. But the pop punk Helium forged for themselves was not in vogue at the
time when, inspired by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, everyone else seemed to want
to be in a grunge band.
Helium
released one album ' You Can't Hold Me Down' in October 1992 before
changing their name to Bodyjar. Drummer Ross Hetherington joined in 95,
compared to the rest, a veteran. Five years older than the other members of
Bodyjar, he had played with bands since his mid-teens, notably hardcore
punk outfits the Bastard Squad and the Swamp Rats.
With the
help of punk fanzines and all-ages gigs at pubs Bodyjar managed to build a
formidable reputation despite grunge. They also formed valuable allegiances
with like-minded bands and record labels worldwide. Bill Stephenson and
Stephen Egerton from All produced the first Bodyjar album 'Take A Look
Inside' while on tour in Australia. No Fun At All took Bodyjar to Japan,
Europe and Canada in 95/96. Blink 182, Pennywise and Bodyjar triple-headed
a tour of Australia in 95.
The
'Rimshot' album followed in 96 and Bodyjar took to the world again: Canada,
Japan, America's east coast, one step ahead of the So-Cal skate-punk
bandwagon. Album three, 'No Touch Red' was recorded in Montreal over 12
days and mixed by All's Bill and Stephen in Colorado.
Guitarist
Ben Peterson decided to opt out after the finale of the 1998 Big Day Out
with Marilyn Manson, Hole and Korn. It might have been the end of the band
completely, if they hadn't already demoed eight songs they considered some
of the best song songs they'd ever done. Instead of breaking up, in May 99
Bodyjar added guitarist Tommy Read (ex-180 Discord). At the same time the
band decided to consolidate their recording career by signing with one
company rather than stay with the now-unmanageable collection of labels
they now found themselves on worldwide. While all that was being sorted
out, Bodyjar found themselves with uncustomary time to prepare the new
album. By the time they signed with EMI there were 33 song demos in the can
towards the album that became 'How It Works', in the end almost two years
in the making.
While
'How It Works' proved to be the band's biggest album to date, and made the
rest of the world take even more notice, in the end the band thought the
album was probably a bit too slick, and for the follow-up, 'Plastic Skies'
the band just miked up the PA in search of more of a live sound. The album
was recorded the house featured in the movie 'Mad Max'.
In May
2004 it was Ross Hetherington's turn to gracefully bow out, on the eve of a
national tour supporting Offspring. He was temporarily replaced for the
tour's duration by Frenzal Rhom drummer Gordy Forman until Shane Wakker of
Melbourne band Channel 3 was named the group's new drummer in August.
"With a name like Wakker", claimed Bodyjar "he was half way
there". In fact more than 40 drummers were auditioned before the
choice was made.
At the
beginning of 2007, Baines and Wakker launched their new harder-edged side
project Daughters Of The Rich, with Mark Brunott (ex-For Amusement Only)
and Mikey Juler completing the lineup. Read and Relf's side project with
Harish Chabria and Pete Cerni is know as Burn The City.
Bodyjar
itself played a handful a gigs in in 2008 promising a new album, but
finally in September 2009 announced a farewell tour. "It just feels
like a good time to put a full-stop on it all. We wanna go out on our own
terms" Cam said. They stuck to their word but came out for a one-of
gig in April 2011 to farewell the Artillery Hotel, and have announced a
one-of gig in March 2012 to mark the rerelease of ‘No Touch Red’.
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