SCREAMING JETS BIO'S

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April 2001

"Looking back, it's hard to believe that the Jets have been together for 12 years. But I guess now we will be able to take stock of all that we've done, all our achievements and failures, both professional and personal, because when you're constantly touring and stuff, it sometimes gets fucking impossible to keep track of everything." So says Dave Gleeson, frontman for The Screaming Jets when asked about the extended hiatus the band were about to impose on themselves. So let's cast our minds back, and see if we can't help the boys piece together at least some of the last decade. Formed in 1989 from the ashes of a few well known local bands, The Screaming Jets had a plan to break out of Newcastle and take their brand of Rock 'n' Roll to the world and elsewhere. They worked their arses off around the Hunter Valley for long enough to know they had something different, something alive and raw that the Australian music industry, nay, the world industry was lacking - guts, honour and a work ethic second to none. After winning the JJJ national battle of the bands at the end of '89, the focus of attention was turned to the Jets, and they have not stopped touring, both nationally and internationally since. The names of the acts that The Screaming Jets have toured and played with, read like a who's who of music in the last twenty years. From playing on bills such as the Rock-am Ring in Germany alongside Faith No More, Robert Plant, INXS (who incidentally asked Dave to perform a rendition of the INXS classic Don't Change with them at said concert) and The Black Crowes. To remembering their first live performance in LA at the legendary RIP magazine party at the Hollywood Palladium alongside such acts as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Spinal Tap. Right up to the present day, where their latest exploits have been the national support for KISS, and a support slot with Alice Cooper. Five gold and platinum albums, three gold and platinum singles, 2000 plus live concerts and a hoarde of loyal Jets fans both here and abroad, are some of the accolades that The Screaming Jets have attained for themselves over the years, but by far the most prized by the band is that people know they are the Real Deal. Hard working, hard partying, committed guys who do this thing called ROCK for one reason, and one reason alone. They love it. "Without it," says Gleeson, "I don't think any of us would have developed to the stage we have musically or as people…. for better or for worse." He adds after short contemplation. "We have too much respect for the band and for each other to let 'it' kill us or to have us kill 'it'. We have gone harder and faster than you could believe and we need to get out for a while in order to evaluate ourselves and our band, in order to take our crusade to the next level", guitarist Grant Walmsley said. The Jets personnel has not always been stable, but for the three founding members - Grant Walmsley, Paul Woseen and Dave Gleeson, and for these three it has not only been the constant touring, but the day to day running of a band that has brought them to a point where they need to sit back, relax and re-join the human race. The new members that have come into the fray along the way, have each re-invigorated the band in some way, and each persona that comes along is infected with the Jets' extreme work ethic. Dave Gleeson says, "The decision to take The Screaming Jets off the road was a difficult decision for all of the members to make. However we all agree that to take a year or two off and be able to stand back and take a look at where we are going, will quite possibly be the best thing that's ever happened to the group." The Screaming Jets' motto was taken from The West Side Story, and to those who are believers, it will always ring true… "When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dyin' day. "Maybe when we are gone for a while, Australian music fans will wake up and realize that bands such as Limp Bizkit, KORN and Prodigy are not and never were gonna be the biggest thing Australia has ever seen, then the time will be right for the true prophets of Oz rock to return, til then, you's can choke on Fred Durst's Soggy Sao for all we care!"

1989

Australian rock band the Screaming Jets originally comprised Dave Gleeson (vocals), Grant Walmsley (guitar), Paul Woseen (bass), Brad Heaney (drums) and Richard Lara (guitar). Their caustic, brutal rock and extravagant stage show brought early attention, which increased with the release of their debut album, All For One. After supporting Thunder on UK dates through 1992 a second collection followed, the similarly bombastic Tear Of Thought. Support spots with the Quireboys and their own headlining club dates ensued. Their popularity in Europe was climaxed by an appearance at the Rock Am Ring Festival in Germany in front of 50,000 rock fans. They returned home to Australia but in early 1994 lost the services of both Heaney and Lara, replaced by Craig Rosevear and Jimi Hocking, respectively. They continued to play around 300 shows a year on their domestic circuit, and enjoyed a surprise national chart success with a rare ballad, 'Helping Hand', in 1994. As a consequence both the group's first two albums were eventually certified platinum in Australia. They embarked on sessions for a third album in 1995, accompanied by producer Robbie Adams, whose track record included engineering two U2 studio albums.
2000

Now boarding. . .The Screaming Jets' next studio adventure: SCAM All you frequent flyers will know that The Jets have a dozen top 40 singles, five albums (including a first-decade anthology) that have gone platinum or gold, multiple ARIA nominations, countless sold-out tours and a constantly expanding fan base that brings new meaning to the term loyalty. Now there's a word, loyalty. Gleeson, Walmsley and Woseen have remained faithful to each other and the group cause since launching The Jets with victory in the Triple J National Battle of the Bands more than a decade ago. They have stuck together through enough record-company, management and industry hogwash to suck the life out of any young idealistic rock band. But true to their Novocastrian (that's what Newcastle people call themselves) heritage, The Jets keep rising to the challenge and beyond - this time with a 14-part sonic chapter called SCAM. "Scams are the deadly enemy of reality. And 'reality' has always been the supreme 'scam' used by society to subdue the lust for freedom in its citizens." Australia's most credible and incredible rock band, The Screaming Jets, have released another long player with substance. Belying its title, SCAM is a real album. It's not just a couple of singles padded out by pretend tracks. Listen to it and you'll realise there's no bullshit about the music. There is a strength in the numbers - something about the songcraft that smacks of experience and smokes with exuberance. The Jets acknowledge that the times they still are a'changing. They reflect this in their songwriting without compromising their sense of solidarity. While The Jets have never been slaves to fashion, rock'n'roll is back in vogue and nobody wears it better than founding band members Dave Gleeson (vocals), Grant Walmsley (guitar) and Paul Woseen (bass). Just ask the friendly staff at Brisbane airport!" Subterfuge does not feature in The Jets' arsenal - propaganda maybe. That's probably why they say it like it is on Scam. After 15 years in a biz with one of the world's highest burn-out rates, The Jets reckon it's time to blow a few whistles (and we're not just talking about those exposed on the album sleeve). "The music industry thrives on scams, greed, back-patting and back-handing, so The Jets thought the title was more than apt," Walmsley explains. "We've seen more than our fair share of sharks but we believe you get there if you stay in a pack." Responding to recent reams of publicity, the ever-gregarious Gleeson adds: "The term 'band' is used rather loosely these days, but this band means virtually everything to us. We still all hang out together, we work together and we play together. You need to remain a tight unit or this bloody industry will milk you for everything you're worth then drop you like a bag of shit if you run dry. It's always been us against them. That's an attitude you're brought up with in Newie. That, and learning how to start singalongs. Everybody now . . . 'If you're happy and you know it . . . " " The band recorded the bulk of the album at Melbourne's Sing Sing Studios over several week-long blocks with Australian rock statesman Ross Wilson (Main man of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock and producer of Skyhooks' first four albums). His copilot was engineer, and producer in his own right, Kalju Tonuma (28 Days, The Mavis's, Deadstar, ). Then, almost as if on impulse, the band moved into Mangrove Recording Studios, the new farmland studio owned by INXS bassist Gary Beers on the NSW Central Coast. The Jets touched base again with distinguished British exile Steve James, who produced earlier Jets' albums All For One (1991), Tear Of Thought (1992) and World Gone Crazy (1997). Three tracks were cranked out with James (Sex Pistols, Thin Lizzy, Teletubbies) during the weekend session. They were mixed by Dave Nicolas (Sting, Elton John, Rod Stewart). One of those songs, the next single, Higher With You, was written and recorded just two weeks prior to the delivery date. "We felt we needed a few more tracks so it was great to get Steve in to finish the album," Walmsley says. "I really think that extra session rounded out the record. "Recording with Steve, to us, is like going to Mum's for a roast dinner. That kind of familiarity breeds content." As with past Jets' efforts (World Gone Crazy and the self-titled 'Gorilla' album), most of Scam was mixed in New York by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (silverchair, Aerosmith, Black Crowes). While some partnerships were revisited, others were started. Scam is the first album from The Jets since linking with the Universal Records label Grudge (Grinspoon, The Cruel Sea, Skunkhour). A new millennium commercial survey listed "Better" (The Jets' breakthrough smash hit) as the most popular Australian song (and fourth top amidst international company) on domestic airwaves during the 1990s. But you are only as good as your last single. Many music industry pundits were genuinely excited to be serviced with Scam's lead single, "Shine Over Me" (with Individuality and I Need Your Love having already been aired via Hits & Pieces). Radio networks added the "sunny yet overcast song" almost immediately across-the-board and it was sitting pretty in a national retailer's top 10 as The Jets (who also include gun guitarist Ismet Osmanovic and new drummer Col Hatchman) prepared for their much-anticipated Scam tour. Among other album tracks vying for single contention are the self-explanatory Protest Song, retro feel-good number Don't Be Sorry, experimental epoch Realise, the emotionally grounding Overexcited, and the poignant Fred Hollows tribute Thinking About You. Then there's songs such as Maggots and No Way Out busting a gut to take the crowd-chanting live mantle of Jets classic FRC. "Right now, the band is the best it's ever been," Gleeson enthuses.

I-MUSIC SHOWCASE

I remember the first time I saw The Screaming Jets like it happened yesterday. Actually, it was 1991 and I'd arrived in Sydney after a whole day on a 747, interrupted by only a stop-over in Singapore where I got to stretch my two legs and a cockroach did the same with his six as he walked across the bar and right up to the beer I was cradling. Nice. When I finally made it to a Sydney hotel room, I threw a travelling bag and considered the far distant memory known as sleep. A nightmare glance in the mirror confirmed I was doing a fair impression of a bit-part extra in The Night Of The Living Dead, but when the phone rang unexpectedly, instinctively I answered "yes" to the voice that asked me if, although I must be "a little tired", I would like to go - like, now - to see The Screaming Jets play at a college ball. As I stumbled into the college grounds, I was greeted by a scene straight out of Bedlam. An attractive courtyard lawn was ankle-deep in bottles and beer cans. Pairs of human legs, presumably still attached to their owners, stuck out from beneath shrubs and tent flaps. Those too far gone to fall over held each other up. And in the corner a stage was suddenly invaded by the band I had flown God knows how many thousand miles to watch. I've seen more bands than I care to count, many more than I could possibly remember. But that night I saw something I'll never forget. Simply one of the best live acts I'd ever witnessed. The band were stunning. Dave Gleeson was awesome. I watched much of the set open mouthed, which meant I dribbled a lot of my beer, but as I pushed my way forward I was utterly convinced. Surely international megastardom was just around the corner, throwing up under a hedge, even? Almost, but not quite. "I don't want to be just an Australian band. I think that's what's made bands like Midnight Oil, INXS and maybe Hoodoo Gurus, have had some sucess outside of Australia. They all flogged their guts out for 12 years. That's all I can put it down to. You just keep slogging it out, getting in peoples faces. If you rest, you get fat and old " Dave Gleeson, The Screaming Jets So you thought you'd heard the last of The Screaming Jets? Reckon their frontman Dave Gleeson had run out of steam? Figured it was safe to turn on the radio and hear the same-old, lame-old, tame-old song and dance? Sorry my friend, but it's time to think again. After almost two years since the release of their last album. The Screaming Jets are back. New, improved and hungrier than ever. There's the fourth album you hold in your hands, a new guy in the line-up, and a sense of something altogether more exciting. This time The Screaming Jets have got it right. Since their second album Tear Of Thought was released in 1992, The Screaming Jets have played in well over 20 countries all around the world, a massive tour from which they returned with a new sense of purpose and an even more lethal approach. It's an approach that's designed to run and run as Gleeson explains: "The Screaming Jets is the last band I'll ever be in. We might as well make a go of it. I don't want to be just some dude in the Australian Music Industry in years to come. When the Screaming Jets get as bad as that I'll go and do something-else...." But "something else" isn't even on the horizon because in 1995 the band are even better placed than ever to make a name for themselves on a global scale. They came close to it before but this time they know what to expect. "You get all these big notions" reflects Gleeson. "Like when we did real well in Australia with our first album we thought, "Unreal, people are gonna go berserk, we're gotta be huge.'' But of course success doesn't translate Depends, of course, on how you measure success. The Screaming Jets did indeed go around the world and people did go berserk. It happened twice, first with their 1991 All For One debut - a fine souvenir of the band's hard rock power welded to the genre's rarest commodity: proper songs - and again in 1993 with it's broader and more mature successor Tear Of Thought. Both albums are now certified Platinum in Australia, but for The Screaming Jets that isn't enough. They are always conscious of the need to up the pace and take things to the next level. "The Stones and AC/DC, and probably Aerosmith are the three biggest bands I've ever been into", says Gleeson. "They've all got the same story - they've all fucked up and done shithouse things and they've been scorned in the public eye - but mainly they never give in - they just keep doing it". All those acts have been able to keep doing it because each stands on a foundation of an unimpeachable live reputation. Just like The Screaming Jets. These days Gleeson is consciously toning down his notorious on stage rants and pouring even more emotion into the words he sings "Actually", he dead pans, his eyes twinkling, "on stage, I'm much funnier than I used to be. I think I've let go of the spitting evil venom thing and I just tell people what I think I find funny. I think that's a better way. I start off' with lines like,. "Call me strange, right, but..." Call me strange, right. but.. how come The Screaming Jets are the best band in Australia right now, and the rest of the world ain't caught on yet? Ah, but they will when they hear the new album... (Taken from web-site I-music Showcase)

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