Bodyjar

Formed in Melbourne, Australia, around 1991, the foursome that would become Bodyjar first operated under the name Damnation, delivering high-octane rock with guitarists Cameron Baines and Ben Petterson, bassist Grant Relf, and drummer Charles Zerafa. After completing two early demos the musicians adopted the name Helium for a third recording. By 1994 they had settled on Bodyjar, secured a deal with Shagpile Records, and issued their first EP, Time to Grow Up, followed shortly by the full-length Take a Look Inside. That same year Charles Zerafa exited and Ross Hetherington took over the drum chair.

Throughout the remainder of the decade the band built an audience across Australia, Japan, Europe, Canada, and the United States. Rimshot! appeared in 1996, Strange Harvest followed in 1997, and No Touch Red arrived in 1998. Between sessions Bodyjar supported tours by NOFX, the Offspring, blink-182, Face to Face, Spiderbait, and additional acts. In 1999 founding guitarist Ben Petterson departed, with Tom Read stepping in as replacement.

Signing to EMI Records in 2000, the group added bonus material to Take a Look Inside and tracked the new album How It Works, which later earned gold certification and featured the melodic punk-pop numbers “Running Out of Time,” “Five Minutes Away,” and “Good Enough.” Plastic Skies surfaced in 2002. Two years afterward Ross Hetherington left, succeeded on drums by Shane Wakker. With fresh management and a contract at Shock Records, Bodyjar delivered a self-titled album in late 2005 that highlighted their melodic instincts within a dense, guitar-heavy framework.