2011 ARIA Awards
2011 Jameson IF Awards
PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY - Hope Is For Hopers
The story of Philadelphia Grand Jury (or The Philly Jays as their fans affectionately refer to them) is a simple one: Two normal childhood buddy dudes - and a rotating ensemble of drummers - writing, recording and touring their own indie punk soul hits around the country and winning fans everywhere they go.2009 has been a pretty busy year for multi-instrumentalists Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius - yes those are their real names. This year has taken them to all corners of the country to play live, and sometimes even to record - not by design however. This year the band has spent literally more weeks on the road than off. In between featuring on Underbelly, playing the Big Day Out and Laneway Festivals, touring with Manchester Orchestra, Dappled Cities, Yves Klein Blue, the Unearthed Tour, Bluejuice, and selling out their own national headline tour there hasn't been time to do much else. Yet even amidst all of that touring they have managed to squeeze out a self-produced, self-engineered and self-released hit EP on their own label called Normal People Making Hits, which months after release is still sitting pretty in the top 10 of the independent charts.The band and are now releasing their debut album 'Hope Is For Hopers'. Recording and mixing for 'Hope Is For Hopers' was completed by Berkfinger in various places with a recording budget of less than $5,000. It was done during night time lock out sessions at Big Jesus Burger Studios (where Berkfinger works as an engineer); in the day times at Berkfinger's grandparents' basement; and on the road wherever they could find electricity to plug the pro-tools recording rig in - for example at MC Bad Genius' Uncle Trevor's lounge room in Brunswick.The term DIY comes to mind. And so do the words authentic, genuine, fun, and real. Philadelphia Grand Jury are a 'real' breath of fresh air in a musical climate where many acts will blur into each other. 'Hope Is For Hopers' is available now.
The story of Philadelphia Grand Jury (or The Philly Jays as their fans affectionately refer to them) is a simple one: Two normal childhood buddy dudes - and a rotating ensemble of drummers - writing, recording and touring their own indie punk soul hits around the country and winning fans everywhere they go.
2009 has been a pretty busy year for multi-instrumentalists Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius - yes those are their real names. This year has taken them to all corners of the country to play live, and sometimes even to record - not by design however. This year the band has spent literally more weeks on the road than off. In between featuring on Underbelly, playing the Big Day Out and Laneway Festivals, touring with Manchester Orchestra, Dappled Cities, Yves Klein Blue, the Unearthed Tour, Bluejuice, and selling out their own national headline tour there hasn't been time to do much else. Yet even amidst all of that touring they have managed to squeeze out a self-produced, self-engineered and self-released hit EP on their own label called Normal People Making Hits, which months after release is still sitting pretty in the top 10 of the independent charts.
The band and are now releasing their debut album 'Hope Is For Hopers'. Recording and mixing for 'Hope Is For Hopers' was completed by Berkfinger in various places with a recording budget of less than $5,000. It was done during night time lock out sessions at Big Jesus Burger Studios (where Berkfinger works as an engineer); in the day times at Berkfinger's grandparents' basement; and on the road wherever they could find electricity to plug the pro-tools recording rig in - for example at MC Bad Genius' Uncle Trevor's lounge room in Brunswick.
The term DIY comes to mind. And so do the words authentic, genuine, fun, and real. Philadelphia Grand Jury are a 'real' breath of fresh air in a musical climate where many acts will blur into each other.
'Hope Is For Hopers' is available now.
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