Eskimo Joe

Eskimo Joe biography

Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997.

Their debut album, Girl, was released in 2001, which peaked into the Australian Albums Chart top 30, and was certified gold. Their second album, A Song Is a City, was released in 2004 and reached No. 2. It was later certified double platinum. The first single from that album, "From the Sea", debuted in the top 40 of the Australian Singles Chart, as well as being voted No. 3 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004. Eskimo Joe issued their third album, Black Fingernails, Red Wine, in 2006, which peaked at No. 1 and was certified four times platinum. Its first single was the title track, "Black Fingernails, Red Wine", which became their first top 10 hit, and took out No. 2 in Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2006. The group's fourth album, Inshalla, was released in May 2009 and also reached No. 1. Its first single, "Foreign Land" peaked at No. 13. Their fifth album, Ghosts of the Past was released on 12 August 2011.

Eskimo Joe have won eight ARIA Music Awards, including four wins from nine nominations in 2006 for work associated with Black Fingernails, Red Wine.

History

Early years

Eskimo Joe founders Stuart MacLeod and Kavyen 'Kav' Temperley were school mates at John Curtin Senior High School. Temperley left school at sixteen to concentrate on writing music, moving into a share house with Simon Leach, who played bass guitar in a funk band called Carpet. The other members were his brother Stuart on drums and guitarist Joel Quartermain - all three were former students at Hollywood Senior High School. When Temperley joined Carpet they changed the name to Freud's Pillow. The band performed around Perth and Fremantle from 1995 to 1998, and released an EP, Pleasure Puppy in 1997. MacLeod, although not a member, is credited with co-writing "Mr Hoek" on the EP. Despite their modest popularity, Quartermain and Temperley were unhappy with the band's music style. While recording their EP, Temperley started jamming for a side project with MacLeod, writing several short simple pop, punk songs. They auditioned a number of drummers eventually settling on Quartermain - he was more musical.

Eskimo Joe was formed as an alternative rock group in 1997 in East Fremantle, initially they were a side project to Freud's Pillow, with MacLeod on guitar, Quartermain on drums and guitar, and Temperley on bass guitar and vocals. Eskimo Joe's first gig was in August at the University of Western Australia in a local heat for the National Campus Band Competition, they proceeded to the state finals in Perth and then the nationals in Sydney. For winning the national final, they were awarded a slot at the 1997 Livid Festival in Brisbane and a studio recording session in Sydney.

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