The Mess Hall were a two-piece drums and guitar combo based in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, specialising in "raw, edgy bluesy rock." The band consisted of Jed Kurzel ( lead vocals/

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

) and Cec Condon (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

/ backing vocals) for most of its tenure. The band was often praised for its live shows: "When plugged in and turned up," wrote ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', "the duo produce enough energy to power a house full of floodlights." The band released four studio albums before amicably parting in 2011. They reunited for a series of shows in 2015.

History

2001-2004: Early days

The Mess Hall originally formed as a trio: Jed Kurzel on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Justin on bass, and Anthony "AJ" Johnsen on drums and backing vocals. After Justin's departure a few months after forming, Jed Kurzel and Anthony Johnsen began playing shows as a duo in 2001. They quickly gained a reputation as a live act. They also recorded their self-titled lo-fi album, to distribute at live events. In 2003, the band signed with Shock Records and released the EP, '' Feeling Sideways''. Produced by Matt Lovell ( Something for Kate) and Chris Joannou ( Silverchair), the short album earned an

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

nomination for Best Independent Release. In early 2004, Johnsen left the band and was replaced by drummer Cec Condon of The Tremors and Mexico City.

2005-2006 :''Notes from a Ceiling''

In 2005, The Mess Hall released their second studio album, '' Notes From A Ceiling''. Jed Kurzel said the only recollection he has of recording the album is that Cec Condon nearly set fire to the studio whilst barbecuing, and that while he was suffering vertigo, the attending doctor was more interested in whether the band were touring on the next Big Day Out than attending to his illness.

2007-2011: ''Devil's Elbow'', ''For the Birds'' and hiatus

During September 2007, The Mess Hall signed to Ivy League Records and released their third album, '' Devils Elbow''. Soon after its release, the album won the Australian Music Prize, gifting the band $25,000 in prize money. As their momentum started, the Mess Hall also won the support slot for the

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

' Australian tour. The Mess Hall released their fourth and final album, '' For the Birds'', on 13 November 2009 in Australia. The first single released from the album was "Bell". Kurzel and Condon last performed together in 2011, as members of Noah Taylor & The Sloppy Boys. Condon joined The Cops, while Kurzel focused on film scoring full-time.

2015: reunion

The band returned to playing shows in 2015. The band performed on New Year's Day at Sydney's Vic on the Park and at Wollongong's Farmer & The Owl Festival before returning to inactivity.

Tours

The band have played on the same bill as Tenacious D, You Am I, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Strokes, Kings of Leon and Jet as well as playing at the Splendour in the Grass, Homebake, Falls and Big Day Out festivals. They have toured to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the USA, including performances at SXSW in Austin. The band has such covers on their live set list such as Nirvana's " Breed" and Mudhoney's " Touch Me I'm Sick". They also supported fellow Aussie rockers Wolfmother on several dates of their 2005 Dimensions tour.

Discography

Albums

Extended Plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , 2003 , ''Feeling Sideways'' , Best Independent Release , , , - , rowspan="2",

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Matt Lovell for ''Notes from a Ceiling'' , Engineer of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , Chris Joannou & The Mess Hall for ''Notes from a Ceiling'' , Producer of the Year ,

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005. ! , - , 2005 , ''Notes from a Ceiling'' , Australian Music Prize , , rowspan="3", , - , 2007 , ''Devils Elbow'' , Australian Music Prize , , - , 2009 , ''For the Birds'' , Australian Music Prize , , -

Jack Awards

*2006 Jack Awards, Best Live Band *2006 Jack Awards, Best Lead Guitarist - ''Jed Kurzel''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mess Hall, The ARIA Award winners Australian indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from Sydney Rock music duos Punk blues musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2015 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 2001 establishments in Australia 2011 disestablishments in Australia 2015 establishments in Australia 2015 disestablishments in Australia