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Philadelphia Grand Jury
Also known asThe Philly Jays
OriginSydney, Australia
GenresIndie rock, punk, soul
Years active2008–2011; 2013–2020, 2024–present
LabelsNormal People Making Hits/Boomtown Records
MembersSimon Berckelman
Joel Beeson
Dave Jenkins, Jr.
Past membersDan Williams
Sullivan Patten
Calvin Welch
Ivan Lisyak
Websitehttp://www.philadelphiagrandjury.com.au

Philadelphia Grand Jury (The Philly Jays) are an Australian trio from Sydney. The band's current line-up consists of Joel "MC Bad Genius" Beeson on bass, keyboard and guitar, Simon "Berkfinger" Berckelman on vocals and guitar and "Handsome Dave" Jenkins, Jr. on drums. The band has self-described as playing music that blends "indie, punk and soul."[1]

Biography

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2001-2009: Hope Is for Hopers

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Beeson originally formed a band called Johnson in 2001 with his friend Berckelman, before creating the indie band label Motherlovin' Records in 2004. Subsequent bands included Malcolm X & the Black Auditorium and Berkfinger and The Sweats, the latter combining to form Philadelphia Grand Jury in early 2008.[citation needed]

In May 2009, the band signed a joint venture deal with Boomtown Records.[2]

In June 2009, the band released "Going to the Casino (Tomorrow Night)"[3] where it received significant play on Triple J[4] and featured on the television mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, also appearing on the soundtrack album.[5][6]

The band's debut album, Hope Is for Hopers, was released on 25 September 2009,[7][8] reaching No. 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[9]

Williams departed from the group in September 2009.[10] Williams' position was temporarily filled by Ivan Lisyak, aka 'Emergency Ivan', before a permanent replacement – American session musician, Calvin Welch (Earth, Wind and Fire, Sonny Stitt) – joined the band.[10][11]

At the fourth annual AIR Awards, held on 22 November 2009, Philadelphia Grand Jury won an award for "Best Independent Single or EP" with their single "Going to the Casino".[12][13]

2010-2011: Break up

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In October 2010, the band announced that Welch had left the band, as the 'rigours of the road have proved too arduous for the 55-year-old drummer'. Welch's replacement was Berlin-based/Brisbane-born Sullivan "Susie Dreamboat" Patten (of I Heart Hiroshima),[14] who performed with the band on their tour of the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Patten finished touring with the band in January 2011.

In March 2011, news surfaced that the band had abandoned work on the follow-up to Hope is for Hopers.[15] When FasterLouder sought a follow-up, they were met with the following statement in regards to the band's current status.[16] "Philadelphia Grand Jury are on something of a hiatus. No need to make it a bigger deal than it is. Creative individuals tend to have more than one project and Philadelphia Grand Jury is just one of Berkfinger's musical personas. Berkfinger is currently focusing on other projects, including moving his recording gear to Berlin to finish the recordings that he has been working on in the various incarnations of studios that he has built over the years." On 2 November 2011 the band posted on their Facebook page that the band had broken up.[citation needed]

2013–present: Summer of Doom, second hiatus and reunion

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After the split, Beeson moved onto production and remix work under the moniker of Boyhood, while Berckelman relocated to Berlin and began working on a solo project entitled Feelings. Feelings released their debut album, Be Kind Unwind in October 2013. In 2013, Berckelman assembled Beeson and Williams to join him on tour in Australia under the Feelings moniker. The three playing together for the first time in nearly four years immediately sparked rumours of a Philadelphia Grand Jury reunion, which were confirmed with a midnight performance by the band at the 2013 BIGSOUND festival in Brisbane. The band then announced a tour for December 2013, incorporating songs for both Feelings and Philadelphia Grand Jury across two sets.[17]

In late 2014, it was revealed the band would be heading to Berlin in 2015 to record new material. The sessions resulted in the band's second studio album, which had the working title of Ulterior Motif. A new single, "Crashing and Burning, Pt. II," was released in August 2015. The album, now titled Summer of Doom, was released in October 2015. The band would continue to tour infrequently across the remainder of the 2010s, but no new music surfaced until 2019 with the release of stand-alone single "$10K". A second single, "Nervous Breakdown", followed in 2020. The band entered a second hiatus period due to COVID-19, but announced their reunion in 2024 to commemorate the 15-year anniversary of Hope is for Hopers.[18]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[19]
Hope Is for Hopers
  • Released: October 2009
  • Label: Boomtown (BTR 046)
  • Format: CD, CD+DVD
 34
Summer of Doom
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Normal People Making Hits (Normal003cd, Normal003lp)
  • Format: CD, LP
 —

Singles

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Year Title Album
2009 "Going to the Casino" Hope Is for Hopers
"The Good News"
2010 "I Don't Want to Party (Party)"
"Save Our Town"
2015 "Crashing and Burning, Pt. II"[20] Summer of Doom
2016 "Spend More Time"[21]
2019 "$10K"[22] Non-album singles
2020 "Nervous Breakdown"[23]

Awards

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AIR Awards

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The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009[24][25] "Going to the Casino" Best Independent Single/EP Won
2010[26][25] "The Good News" Best Independent Single/EP Nominated
Philadelphia Grand Jury Breakthrough Independent Artist Nominated
Most Popular Independent Artist Nominated

J Award

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The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009 Hope is for Hopers Australian Album of the Year Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Triple j Unearthed - Featured Artist". Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Boomtown Records signs Philadelphia Grand Jury". Boomtown Records. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  3. ^ "Philadelphia Grand Jury – Going to the Casino". Faster Louder.com.au. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Going to the Casino (Tomorrow Night)". J Play. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities soundtrack". Chaos music. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Underbelly soundtrack". Channel Nine. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Philly Jays hit the road". Mess+Noise. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  8. ^ Dibbs, Lisa (18 August 2009). "Philadelphia Grand Jury announce debut album". The Dwarf.com.au. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Hope is for Hopers – Philadelphia Grand Jury". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  10. ^ a b "TheVine Radio Player Feature – Philadelphia Grand Jury". TheVine.com.au. 30 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Philly Jays recruit new drummer". Mess+Noise.com. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  12. ^ "2009 Air Awards". AIR. November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  13. ^ Cashmere, Paul (24 November 2009). "The Drones Take Home The Major Air Award". Undercover.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  14. ^ "Philly Jays announce drummer No. 4". Mess+Noise.com. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Industrial Strength: March 16 - Industrial Strength - The Music Network". www.themusicnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011.
  16. ^ "Philadelphia Grand Jury "on hiatus"". 17 March 2011.
  17. ^ "Philadelphia Grand Jury on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.[user-generated source]
  18. ^ "Philadelphia Grand Jury Announce 2024 Reunion Tour". Music Feeds. Evolve Media. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Philadelphia Grand Jury on Australian Charts". Australian Charts. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  20. ^ ""Crashing and Burning, Pt. II" - single". Apple Music. August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  21. ^ ""Spend More Time" - single". Apple Music. May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  22. ^ ""$10K" - single". Apple Music. March 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Nervous Breakdown - single". Apple Music. June 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  24. ^ "AIR Nominees". 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  25. ^ a b "History Wins". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  26. ^ "Jagermeister Independent Music Awards Nominations Announced!". 1 September 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
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