Weekly Nostalgia: Bodyjar - AbsolutePunk.net

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Weekly Nostalgia: Bodyjar

Bodyjar never really found substantial success here in America, but the Australian punk rock band went through a whole hell of a lot to maintain their sanity and deliver six excellent full-lengths. You could say Bodyjar was Australia's version of Millencolin, and while the band hoped to revitalize themselves with a new record in 2008, it was short-lived and the group parted ways after their tour late last year. Whether this is your first official introduction to Bodyjar or you were a fan back when they were making music, we'd love to hear your thoughts and reflections. Respect your elders: check the replies.

Weekly Nostalgia: BodyjarBig thanks to our very own KissTheBottle for the suggestion! He's got great taste in music, is very handsome and will charm the pants off of you before you're even dressed - befriend him immediately!

Hailing from Melbourne, this Australian group of pop-punk stalwarts got their start recording and touring under the tremendously metal names Damnation and Helium. After recording their debut LP in 1993 under the Helium name, they changed it to Bodyjar and established themselves as the Australian counterpart to the burgeoning skate-punk scene in America.

Take a Look Inside was the first official Bodyjar full-length in 1994, which led to touring with SoCal-based bands like Pennywise and blink-182. Bodyjar slowly started to see a rise in their popularity after recording Rimshot, which saw them take their well-received live show to North America and Japan (the latter nation latching tightly onto their sound & style).

In 1998, No Touch Red saw them at the height of their Australian musical peak. The album was recorded in under two weeks, but firmly planted them as the new big thing in Aussie punk rock. At this time, guitarist Ben Peterson decided to leave the band and it was the first real challenge the band faced, nearly breaking up. However, Bodyjar found a new member in Tom Read and would soon sign with a new label - a major label.

Now working with EMI/Capitol, the band recorded a plethora of material for what would be the highlight of their catalogue, How It Works. For a band who was primarily well-known for their independent efforts, it was a monumental achievement to turn into one of Australia's fastest rising and hottest bands. How It Works debuted in the ARIA's top 20 chart, would reach gold status (selling 35,000 copies) and the lead single, "Not The Same," was featured in commercials & video games.

Their next album, Plastic Skies, would be their last major-label record after it failed to connect with audiences the way How It Works did. The retrospective album Jarchives, a collection of unreleased material, also saw release - mostly for longtime and die-hard fans. In 2004, the band decided it was time to start over and go back to where they began, Shock Hound Records.

Before the band recorded what would become their last album, drummer Ross Hetherington left the band mid-tour. Shane Wakker, a drummer from fellow Aussie outfit Channel 3, would soon replace Hetherington as Bodyjar's full-time drummer. The following year, the band released their self-titled album and still managed to find themselves a big draw on both festivals and touring gigs across Australia & Japan. While America never truly embraced the band, they did manage to find some minor success on small club tours.

In 2007, vocalist Cameron Baines and Wakker set out on a new, more aggressive project named Cola Wars. Other members Tom Read and Grant Relf went on to form Burn This City. Initially starting as side projects, the band found themselves engulfed in new frontiers. While they did announce a new record was in the making in early 2008, the band retracted the announcement before confirming their 2009 tour would indeed be a "farewell tour."

"Ordinary Lives"

"Not The Same"

"One In A Million"

"Lights Out"

"Fall To The Ground"

"Is It A Lie"

"You've Taken Everything"

Buy Bodyjar music on Amazon.com

Couldn't find it on Youtube, but if you've never heard the song "Calling Orson," get on it. That's definitely my favorite Bodyjar track. How It Works and No Touch Red - hell yes.

Growing up as just a punk kid in Adelaide Australia, my heroes were Foramusementonly, One Dollar Short and Bodyjar. Seemed like anyone who was into punk loved Bodyjar, and there was this real feeling like maybe they'd make it big....Never really did though.
Saw 'em on their last tour...was so impressed, they never lost their spark! Great band. Lotta memories ;)

I remember this group from what seems like ages ago. I loved their album How It Works, but for some reason after that I just lost track of them. It was about the time that I was getting into Blink & New Found Glory pretty hard, and it just became one of those great cd's that I would listen to, but got lost amongst the masses.

Just might have to dip further into their catalogue...

It seems like someone is just going down the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack. Love this band though.

After many years I still listen to "how it works" and get the same feeling. Love this band!

Finally this band is getting reasonably big time recognition, needs to keep happening!

Bodyjar released great underrated pop punk recods. I found the other day no touch red for like five bucks... What a great record

I think I bought No Touch Red in 1999. Such a classic. Return To Zero and You Say are my favorite tracks.

Never really got into them. Although to me "Not The Same" was Goldfinger's "Superman" of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

I'll give them a shot and check out some of their records, they definitely were good. And the video for "One in a Million" sure did it for me.

Holy shit...thanks for posting this. Bodyjar was a great band, wish more people would have caught onto them.

Bring me straight back to Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. "Not the Same" is such a great song!!!! Their album How It Works was pretty freakin' solid.

I saw them with blink in asbury park nj at convention hall...maybe 1998? Great live show

Not The Same on Tony Hawk, classic. So awesome to hear that song again!