Philadelphia Grand Jury
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2008 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Founder | Joel Beeson, Simon Berckelman |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Philadelphia Grand Jury (also known as The Philly Jays) was an Australian musical group originating from Sydney, New South Wales. The central duo featured Joel Beeson, who contributed bass, keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals, alongside Simon Berckelman, who provided lead vocals and guitar under the monikers MC Bad Genius and Berkfinger. The ensemble collaborated with various drummers over time, with Dave Jenkins, Jr. being the most recent. Their sound combined elements of indie, punk, and soul genres.
2001-2009: Hope Is for Hopers
In 2001, Beeson initiated the band Johnson with Berckelman and later established the independent label Motherlovin' Records in 2004. Early projects such as Malcolm X and the Black Auditorium and Berkfinger and the Sweats eventually merged to create Philadelphia Grand Jury in early 2008. By May 2009, they secured a joint venture agreement with Boomtown Records.
The single "Going to the Casino (Tomorrow Night)" was released in June 2009, receiving extensive airplay on Triple J and being included on the soundtrack for the television mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities. Their first album, Hope Is for Hopers, came out on 25 September 2009 and peaked at No. 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Drummer Dan Williams departed in September 2009, with Ivan Lisyak ('Emergency Ivan') serving as a temporary replacement before American session drummer Calvin Welch joined permanently. At the fourth annual AIR Awards held on 22 November 2009, Philadelphia Grand Jury earned the accolade for "Best Independent Single or EP" with "Going to the Casino".
2010–2011: Break up
In October 2010, Welch left the band citing touring commitments. He was succeeded by Sullivan Patten (I Heart Hiroshima), a Berlin-based musician originally from Brisbane, who toured with them across the UK, US, and Australia until January 2011.
By March 2011, work on their follow-up to Hope Is for Hopers had ceased as the band entered a hiatus. During this period, Berkfinger shifted his focus to other endeavors and moved his recording setup to Berlin. On 2 November 2011, Philadelphia Grand Jury formally announced their disbandment.
2013–present: Summer of Doom, second hiatus and reunion
Following the split, Beeson engaged in production and remixing under the name Boyhood, while Berckelman relocated to Berlin to develop a solo project called Feelings, releasing Be Kind Unwind in October 2013. Berckelman reunited with Beeson and Williams for an Australian tour performing as Feelings, which sparked speculation about a Philadelphia Grand Jury reunion. This was confirmed when they performed a surprise set at midnight during the 2013 BIGSOUND festival, followed by a December tour featuring tracks from both projects.
Towards the end of 2014, the band recorded new songs in Berlin that culminated in their sophomore album initially named Ulterior Motif. The single "Crashing and Burning, Pt. II" was unveiled in August 2015 ahead of the album Summer of Doom, released in October. Throughout the late 2010s, Philadelphia Grand Jury played occasional shows and issued standalone singles such as "$10K" (2019) and "Nervous Breakdown" (2020). After entering another hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they announced a reunion tour planned for late 2024 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Hope Is for Hopers.
Albums
| Album Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||
| Hope Is for Hopers |
|
34 |
| Summer of Doom |
|
— |
Singles
| Release Year | Single Title | Corresponding Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Going to the Casino" | Hope Is for Hopers |
| "The Good News" | ||
| 2010 | "I Don't Want to Party (Party)" | |
| "Save Our Town" | ||
| 2015 | "Crashing and Burning, Pt. II" | Summer of Doom |
| 2016 | "Spend More Time" | |
| 2019 | "$10K" | rowspan="2" Template:Non-album singles |
| 2020 | "Nervous Breakdown" |
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (AIR Awards) celebrate and highlight achievements within Australia's independent music industry each year.
| Year | Entry | Award Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Going to the Casino" | Best Independent Single/EP | Won |
| 2010 | "The Good News" | Best Independent Single/EP | Nominated |
| Philadelphia Grand Jury | Breakthrough Independent Artist | Nominated | |
| Most Popular Independent Artist | Nominated |
J Award
The J Awards are an annual set of Australian music honors initiated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-oriented radio station Triple J starting in 2005.
|- | 2009 |Hope is for Hopers | Australian Album of the Year |
External links
- Australian indie rock groups
- Musical groups from Sydney
- Musical groups established in 2008
- Musical groups disestablished in 2011
- Musical groups reestablished in 2013
- 2008 establishments in Australia
- 2011 disestablishments in Australia
- 2013 establishments in Australia
- Australian punk rock groups
- Australian soul musical groups