JAB

This article is about the band. For the German private investment firm, see JAB Holding Company. For other uses, see Jab (disambiguation).
JAB
Origin Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genres
Years active 1976 (1976)–1978 (1978)
Labels Suicide Records
Associated acts
  • Models
  • Bohdan and the Instigators
Past members Bohdan X
Ash Wednesday
Janis Friedenfelds
Bob Stopa
Peter Sutcliffe

JAB was an Australian punk rock that band formed in Adelaide in 1976. The band's original lineup consisted of Bohdan X (Bodhan Kubiakowski) on guitar and vocals, Ash Wednesday playing bass guitar, synthesizer and tapes, and Johnny Crash (Janis Friedenfelds) on drums and vocals. The band took its name from the first initials of the founding members. In 1977, Bob Stopa was recruited as a second guitarist, and Pierre Voltaire (Peter Sutcliffe) joined on bass, allowing Wednesday to concentrate on keyboards. JAB defied strict categorization and split audiences with their abrasive sound. The catchcry label for JAB among Adelaide's early music press was "synthetic shock rock";[1][2] one contemporary critic described them as "experimental, confrontational synthpunk".[1] JAB have since been recognized as perhaps the first Australian band to marry electronica with a punk aesthetic and hard-edged guitar sound.[1]

The band relocated to Melbourne in August 1977, joining the city's burgeoning punk scene and frequently playing live alongside local bands such as The Boys Next Door and X-Ray-Z. Bohdan later recalled, "They were very exciting times, we were changing the face of the music scene and we all knew it. .... All the bands on the scene just kind of found each other. Usually it was through playing together at places like the Tiger Lounge in Richmond, Bombay Rock in Brunswick and of course Bananas down in St Kilda."[3] JAB signed to Suicide Records in January 1978, and two of their songs, "Blonde and Bombed" and "Let's Go", were included on the Lethal Weapons compilation.[3] The band played their final show in August 1978 at the Crystal Ballroom (then known as the Seaview Ballroom), which was also the first gig ever played at the now iconic venue.[4]

Bohdan X joined members of The Chosen Few to form Bohdan and the Instigators. He later issued several solo records, including the four-track, 12-inch EP, Fear of Flying, on Rumour Records in December 1983 and the mini-album, Kingsnake on Rampant Records in 1988. He also hosts a long running show on the community radio station 3RRR-FM.

Wednesday, Crash and Voltaire joined Sean Kelly (ex-Teenage Radio Stars) to form the first line-up of Models. Wednesday stayed with Models for a year, after which he played with The Metronomes, Modern Jazz and Crashland. He also issued a solo single in 1980, "Love by Numbers"/"Boring Instrumental", and became a touring member with the German band Einstürzende Neubauten.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Best, Sophie. "Can't Stop It! Australian Post-Punk 1978-82". Beat Magazine, Issue 785. Retrieved on 16 December 2010.
  2. ↑ Nichols, David (22 October 2007). "Lethal Weapons" 30 years on, messandnoise.com. Retrieved on 15 December 2010.
  3. 1 2 Honeysuckle, TJ (4 October 2007). Suicide by Lethal Weapon? Corporate LP in punk clothing still prompts debate, 30 years on, i94bar.com. Retrieved on 15 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Bringing back the Ballroom blitz, The Age. 16 February 2005. Retrieved on 15 December 2010.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.