Since being inaugural winners of the Triple J Unearthed competition, Grinspoon have become one of Australia's best rock outfits. Hailing from the Northern New South Wales town of Lismore, the band members Phil Jamieson (vocals), Pat Davern (lead), Joe Hansen (bass) and Kristian Hopes (drums) met during a jam night held at The Gollan. They then heard about the new competition Triple J was holding and decided to record the song Sickfest. The song won Grinspoon the competition and propelled them into the national rock scene.
After the unearthed drama was over, Grinspoon released few early EP's that contained some very good tracks (one such track being the song Champion, Phil always stirs the crowd into a frenzy when he screams the opening line: "So you wanna be a champion?"). Combined with a very vigourous touring schedule, Grinspoon became regulars on Triple J and a household name on the alternative scene. Their big mainstream break came when they released the single Just Ace. This coincided with the release of their first album Guide To Better Living. This album went platinum over the summer of 1997/98 after a debut in the charts of number 11. Grinspoon also carried out a tour to the US on the back of this album supporting bands such as Creed and Godsmack. The name "Guide To Better Living" was taken from a Sunbeam whitegoods booklet with the same name. One of my favourite tracks off the album is DCx3 (Dead Cat Three Times). Phil often announces the song as the anthem for cat haters.
Grinspoon's second album, Easy, was released in November 1999 and continued in the same way as their previous productions by selling well. The songs Ready 1, Secrets, and Rockshow were released as singles. The third album from the Spoon was released earlier this year in June entitled, New Detention. The slower ballad of Chemical Heart was the first single off this album with the tunes, Lost Control and No Reason soon following. Grinspoon as always are playing heaps of shows all round Australia and New Zealand promoting the album.
The band's name is taken from the pro-marijuana activist, Dr. Lester Grinspoon. Grinspoon show no disdain at the use of mind altering drugs, most explicitly seen by frontman Phil Jamieson being eternally drunk. Phil has accquired the habit of throwing the microphone stand into the crowd in front of him on many occasions, one theory as to why is rumours that were spread of him being gay after wearing pieces of somewhat feminine clothing on their video clip of Just Ace. Grinspoon shows are always good and their mosh pits rival those of some of the best worldwide.
Discography
Albums:
EP's:
http://www.grinspoon.com.au
One of the most diehard fans of the Spoon lives on my street, he has a VS Commodore with the numberplate EASY and GRINSPOON as a decal on both sides.
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