Jackson Firebird

Jackson Firebird. How do I explain what I’m seeing? A duo featuring one guy on guitar / vocals and the other beating the shit out of a box and tray like there is no tomorrow. Amazing. Thankfully for his own sake he moved to a drum kit and proceeded to beat that within an inch of its life. This is blues rock at its best, heavy rockin’ sound with great vocals and just a great vibe. Unbelievable. To me this is what Spiderbait should’ve sounded like. This band has talent and they should go far. They’ve just scored many a new fan this evening. - May The Rock Be With You

Jackson Firebird. How do I explain what I’m seeing? A duo featuring one guy on guitar / vocals and the other beating the shit out of a box and tray like there is no tomorrow. Amazing. Thankfully for his own sake he moved to a drum kit and proceeded to beat that within an inch of its life. This is blues rock at its best, heavy rockin’ sound with great vocals and just a great vibe. Unbelievable. To me this is what Spiderbait should’ve sounded like. This band has talent and they should go far. They’ve just scored many a new fan this evening. - May The Rock Be With You

The inaugural Wotnext Music Awards were unveiled at Wil and Toby’s this evening – and the surprise winner of the evening was Mildura band Jackson Firebird...

The band was crowned 2007’s Industry Choice winner and scooped up a prize pack worth $50,000 which will help them on the road to fame. The career launching prize includes studio recording of their winning track, production of a broadcast quality music video clip, services of music industry promoter Todd Wagstaff, as well as A&R, industry introductions and PR support.

Jackson Firebird’s winning track Bottle Bin was selected from a pool of finalists, determined by those artists who
1) received the most industry reviews from recognised music industry individuals;
2) were the most downloaded original music clip to mobile in a days in any 7 day period during the competition; and
3) received the most SMS votes and downloads in any 7 day period during the competition on the WOTNEXT MUSIC website.

According to Todd Wagstaff who headed up the judging panel of music industry players, Jackson Firebird received the highest accolade in the competition.
“The improvisation in the video clip and their whole package is so awesome, original and tight. They are going to go very, very far,” he said.

Spiderbait’s lead singer Kram, who hosted the WOTNEXT MUSIC Tour, and was also one of the judges couldn’t disguise his delight at all the band’s fresh, new sounds.
“I have travelled from Townsville to Mildura, from Melbourne to the Gold Coast trawling for talented Australian musicians. I’ve seen some amazing artists and some who should go back to their day jobs but every artist in the final pool has introduced something fresh, giving us a real hope that something wonderful and very exciting will be happening at a grass roots level in Australia for years to come,” he said.

Close to 200 bands have entered and uploaded their new music clips to WOTNEXT MUSIC . During the WOTNEXT MUSIC competition, the site has received over 17,500 SMS votes, close to 12,000 downloads and 265,000 pages have been viewed by 70,000 visitors.
WOTNEXT MUSIC is a video sharing site – so you can access clips from the freshest original musical acts; anything from a video of the artist performing in their garage, to an abstract arthouse music clip. Every time a clip gets downloaded to a mobile the artist earns 50% (50c) of the clip’s $1 purchase price. - Faster Louder

The inaugural Wotnext Music Awards were unveiled at Wil and Toby’s this evening – and the surprise winner of the evening was Mildura band Jackson Firebird...

The band was crowned 2007’s Industry Choice winner and scooped up a prize pack worth $50,000 which will help them on the road to fame. The career launching prize includes studio recording of their winning track, production of a broadcast quality music video clip, services of music industry promoter Todd Wagstaff, as well as A&R, industry introductions and PR support.

Jackson Firebird’s winning track Bottle Bin was selected from a pool of finalists, determined by those artists who
1) received the most industry reviews from recognised music industry individuals;
2) were the most downloaded original music clip to mobile in a days in any 7 day period during the competition; and
3) received the most SMS votes and downloads in any 7 day period during the competition on the WOTNEXT MUSIC website.

According to Todd Wagstaff who headed up the judging panel of music industry players, Jackson Firebird received the highest accolade in the competition.
“The improvisation in the video clip and their whole package is so awesome, original and tight. They are going to go very, very far,” he said.

Spiderbait’s lead singer Kram, who hosted the WOTNEXT MUSIC Tour, and was also one of the judges couldn’t disguise his delight at all the band’s fresh, new sounds.
“I have travelled from Townsville to Mildura, from Melbourne to the Gold Coast trawling for talented Australian musicians. I’ve seen some amazing artists and some who should go back to their day jobs but every artist in the final pool has introduced something fresh, giving us a real hope that something wonderful and very exciting will be happening at a grass roots level in Australia for years to come,” he said.

Close to 200 bands have entered and uploaded their new music clips to WOTNEXT MUSIC . During the WOTNEXT MUSIC competition, the site has received over 17,500 SMS votes, close to 12,000 downloads and 265,000 pages have been viewed by 70,000 visitors.
WOTNEXT MUSIC is a video sharing site – so you can access clips from the freshest original musical acts; anything from a video of the artist performing in their garage, to an abstract arthouse music clip. Every time a clip gets downloaded to a mobile the artist earns 50% (50c) of the clip’s $1 purchase price. - Faster Louder

Get Bob Log III. Clone him. Cryogenically freeze the original Bob Log III until the new Bob Log III has aged enough to similarly master the guitar and/or drums. Defrost the older Log, put both them both together on the back of the vintage ute from Spiderbait’s Black Betty, and get them to play Mess Hall songs. That’s the way a millionaire scientist would go about creating some cracker wildeyed bluesy rock. There’s nothing wrong with that method, sure, but given that reasonably few of Rave’s readership are either millionaires or scientists, we might have to look at finding another way to get our guitar lickin’, skin thumpin’, barefoot tappin’ fix. So here’s one we prepared earlier. Jackson Firebird the band’s called, and not a more appropriate name could Chooka, the God of Things With Flames Up The Side, envisage. The band’s story is a long, interesting and rural one, with the happy ending (spoiler alert) involving Kram discovering the Mildura locals in a band competition, the duo winning $50K and bringing the beardo on board to produce their debut EP. Bottle Bin starts with the sort of rock you have to concentrate hard not to slap your thigh to, and four tracks later ends the same way, while your hand and upper leg need some ice on. - Rave Magazine

Get Bob Log III. Clone him. Cryogenically freeze the original Bob Log III until the new Bob Log III has aged enough to similarly master the guitar and/or drums. Defrost the older Log, put both them both together on the back of the vintage ute from Spiderbait’s Black Betty, and get them to play Mess Hall songs. That’s the way a millionaire scientist would go about creating some cracker wildeyed bluesy rock. There’s nothing wrong with that method, sure, but given that reasonably few of Rave’s readership are either millionaires or scientists, we might have to look at finding another way to get our guitar lickin’, skin thumpin’, barefoot tappin’ fix. So here’s one we prepared earlier. Jackson Firebird the band’s called, and not a more appropriate name could Chooka, the God of Things With Flames Up The Side, envisage. The band’s story is a long, interesting and rural one, with the happy ending (spoiler alert) involving Kram discovering the Mildura locals in a band competition, the duo winning $50K and bringing the beardo on board to produce their debut EP. Bottle Bin starts with the sort of rock you have to concentrate hard not to slap your thigh to, and four tracks later ends the same way, while your hand and upper leg need some ice on. - Rave Magazine

The most obvious reference point for Jackson Firebird’s dirty blues is The Black Keys, but they transcend the comparison with inventiveness and a playful willingness to take chances, almost all of which come off. The two piece open their Brisbane debut with drummer Dale Hudak using his hands to wail on a plastic container and its metal-reinforced lid. It’s a pity he can’t stay there for the whole set, but his wrists would break fairly quickly. Even once he’s back behind the kit, the band shine, adding a metal-intro to a pop song, which then turns into a speed rock number before closing out with the metal thrash again. This willingness to play with expectations and take songs in completely different directions just because they can lends an unpredictable air to the set, which the small crowd loves. It’s clear why Spiderbait’s Kram loves these guys – they’re pretty much the manifestation of the voices he hears in his head, not to mention the find of the festival.
- Faster Louder

The most obvious reference point for Jackson Firebird’s dirty blues is The Black Keys, but they transcend the comparison with inventiveness and a playful willingness to take chances, almost all of which come off. The two piece open their Brisbane debut with drummer Dale Hudak using his hands to wail on a plastic container and its metal-reinforced lid. It’s a pity he can’t stay there for the whole set, but his wrists would break fairly quickly. Even once he’s back behind the kit, the band shine, adding a metal-intro to a pop song, which then turns into a speed rock number before closing out with the metal thrash again. This willingness to play with expectations and take songs in completely different directions just because they can lends an unpredictable air to the set, which the small crowd loves. It’s clear why Spiderbait’s Kram loves these guys – they’re pretty much the manifestation of the voices he hears in his head, not to mention the find of the festival.
- Faster Louder

FOUR years ago, Mildura’s Dale Hudak and Brendan Harvey entered a music competition that would ultimately propel their careers onto an entirely new course.



While the $50,000 prize was a fair incentive, Harvey admits he entered Wot Next, a nation-wide unsigned talent search, because it was headed up by Spiderbait’s organic drum machine, Kram- a Harvey idol since his youth.



After taking the competition, and given studio time for a five-track EP, Hudak and Harvey hit it off with the voice behind Spiderbait’s biggest commercial hit, Black Betty.



“We got along with Kram well so we thought it would be only right to get him to produce it with us,” Harvey says.



“The competition also allowed us to shoot a film clip for our track Bottle Bin and we managed to sort a distribution deal with MGM which allowed our disc to end up in record stores all over Australia.”



The success of Bottle Bin, the tune, the EP and the instrument (the slightly crude piece of musical weaponry of a black recycle bin, coupled with washboard) which Hudak belts with borderline insanity, has made a Jackson Firebird live show a major drawcard.



“They dig it man, the uniqueness, and the simplicity of it still blows minds,” Harvey says of the bottle bin.



Like a lot of bands before them, the explosive, dirty, sweaty rock of Jackson Firebird began as an excuse to cover a few tunes, and chug a few brews.



“We just started jammin’ so we could make some noise and punch out tracks that we liked at the time whilst having a few beers,” Harvey says.



“It then progressed into getting a gig at the local pub (which had beer) and it all snowballed on from there!”



Like most musicians in tight regional towns like Mildura, Hudak and Harvey go a long way back.



“We have known each other for years - growing up in a small town you end up knowing people that are into the same things,” Harvey says.



“Dale and I first met back in the mid 1990s. We ended up playing in a local band together, l was on the bass and ‘Hudes’ was called in to smash the skins.”



They jammed on and off until Jackson Firebird eventually formed in 2006.



On the back of Bottle Bin, a Most Promising award at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, slots at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, One Movement and Pyramid Rock, and support for fellow sweaty, rock stars Airborne, Jackson Firebird moved to Melbourne in March. And it’s been a pretty seamless transition so far, picking up a residency at the Esplanade Hotel on Thursday nights, and name building slots at Cherry Bar, The Retreat and Pony.



No strangers to Bendigo, the Mildy boys will tune up for their appearance at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival later this month with an east coast Shot To Kill tour with King Cannons. Their debut album is also due out in January.



“Jackson Firebird are keen to play more shows all over,” Harvey says of the band's immediate plans.



“It will be exciting to get it out there and tour the ass of it (the album) around the country.”













Jackson Firebird play the Newmarket Hotel on Saturday, November 26 and the Corner Venue on Sunday, November 27 at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival.
- Bendigo Weekly

FOUR years ago, Mildura’s Dale Hudak and Brendan Harvey entered a music competition that would ultimately propel their careers onto an entirely new course.



While the $50,000 prize was a fair incentive, Harvey admits he entered Wot Next, a nation-wide unsigned talent search, because it was headed up by Spiderbait’s organic drum machine, Kram- a Harvey idol since his youth.



After taking the competition, and given studio time for a five-track EP, Hudak and Harvey hit it off with the voice behind Spiderbait’s biggest commercial hit, Black Betty.



“We got along with Kram well so we thought it would be only right to get him to produce it with us,” Harvey says.



“The competition also allowed us to shoot a film clip for our track Bottle Bin and we managed to sort a distribution deal with MGM which allowed our disc to end up in record stores all over Australia.”



The success of Bottle Bin, the tune, the EP and the instrument (the slightly crude piece of musical weaponry of a black recycle bin, coupled with washboard) which Hudak belts with borderline insanity, has made a Jackson Firebird live show a major drawcard.



“They dig it man, the uniqueness, and the simplicity of it still blows minds,” Harvey says of the bottle bin.



Like a lot of bands before them, the explosive, dirty, sweaty rock of Jackson Firebird began as an excuse to cover a few tunes, and chug a few brews.



“We just started jammin’ so we could make some noise and punch out tracks that we liked at the time whilst having a few beers,” Harvey says.



“It then progressed into getting a gig at the local pub (which had beer) and it all snowballed on from there!”



Like most musicians in tight regional towns like Mildura, Hudak and Harvey go a long way back.



“We have known each other for years - growing up in a small town you end up knowing people that are into the same things,” Harvey says.



“Dale and I first met back in the mid 1990s. We ended up playing in a local band together, l was on the bass and ‘Hudes’ was called in to smash the skins.”



They jammed on and off until Jackson Firebird eventually formed in 2006.



On the back of Bottle Bin, a Most Promising award at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, slots at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, One Movement and Pyramid Rock, and support for fellow sweaty, rock stars Airborne, Jackson Firebird moved to Melbourne in March. And it’s been a pretty seamless transition so far, picking up a residency at the Esplanade Hotel on Thursday nights, and name building slots at Cherry Bar, The Retreat and Pony.



No strangers to Bendigo, the Mildy boys will tune up for their appearance at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival later this month with an east coast Shot To Kill tour with King Cannons. Their debut album is also due out in January.



“Jackson Firebird are keen to play more shows all over,” Harvey says of the band's immediate plans.



“It will be exciting to get it out there and tour the ass of it (the album) around the country.”













Jackson Firebird play the Newmarket Hotel on Saturday, November 26 and the Corner Venue on Sunday, November 27 at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival.
- Bendigo Weekly