The Glass Army sound began to take shape at the turn of the century, when atmospheric British rock was peaking. Records like Rock Action, Asleep In The Back and Kid A were deconstructing what had become a conservative format for the songs and albums of the time, and in a way that was both accessible and refreshingly creative. These records were an exciting alternative to the boy bands and post-grunge white bread that many young musicians were tired of spitting out. Three of these young musicians were just graduating from high school and entering the workplace in Newcastle, Australia.
Newcastle had traditionally been a steelworks city, without much interest in new music. The working-class population upon which the city was based still enjoyed its classic bands like Hunters and Collectors and Cold Chisel, but seemed to have little time for anything else. While many of their peers moved straight from school to uni and focussed on such secure careers, Jore, Jesse and Al would take lowlier jobs and occasionally meet for long jams with various other young musicians. These jams usually incorporated soft beats, simple bass and organ lines and guitar riffs looped over and over again, each element changing very gradually from one thing to another. A kind of musical instinct began to develop between them, but as people drifted away from the group the jams became fewer and farther between until they stopped altogether.
Over the next few years, Jesse and Al worked in whatever positions were available to unqualified young men. They also began playing solo material around Newcastle, as well as writing and playing in a few local bands. When Jesse stopped filling in on drums for The Karl Kennedy Affair and Al's band Chinese New Year broke up, both were keen to start something new. Jore had been writing and recording experimental work in a makeshift home studio. While accompanying Jesse at solo gigs, he'd also begun to swap demos with Al and before long all three were on board.
Early gigs in Newcastle were well received by local musicians, but their sound only garnered a niche interest in a small city. And a handful of live broadcasts and demo spins on local radio wouldn't take them much farther. As they kept writing, they collaborated more. They also found innovative ways to refine some of their first tunes, many of which were originally demo songs and rough arrangements brought to the table by individual members at the beginning. They began to play more shows in Sydney as well, to small but appreciative audiences.
Having gigged for a while with school mate Lewis as live bassist, Al, JB and Jore decided to start playing as a trio and to produce a record of some of the most suitable Glass Army songs. Recording was done over the hot summer in small, sealed rooms using leftover fragments of time between work and sleep. Al would knock off labouring, head straight to Jore's and track for a few hours in the heat, then go home and try to sleep with the windows open and earplugs in. JB and Jore would spend hours setting up amps and running various leads between the rooms of absent housemates, then do take after take on each pickup from morning 'til night. When tracking was finally finished, Jore made a lifestyle of mixing until 6AM and sleeping until God knows when. Then, after all manner of frustration with design, manufacturing, couriers and deadlines: in April 2006, the BIOS Baby EP was released independently and the band headed north on its inaugural east coast tour of Australia.
They played most major east coast centres except Byron Bay and, funnily enough, Newcastle. But gigs in Brisbane, Surfer's Paradise, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Melbourne, Lithgow and Katoomba proved that there was definitely an audience for Glass Army's music. Their reputation had preceded them in some cities via the internet, and they were met with big audiences. In more regional areas they played to virtually empty rooms but sold CDs to impressed locals that just happened to be drinking at the venue.
Returning home from tour was both a drag and an epiphany. Never again could the young musicians be satisfied with any other way of life. They put their efforts back into writing and beefing up their live sound, and booked immediate gigs in Sydney and Newcastle.
Looking to the future.
