Jason Davis (born 15 September 1973 in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), known professionally as Jabba, is an
Australian actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...
,
media personality,
video jockey
A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, MuchMusic and Channel V.
Origins
The term "video jockey" co ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
and
radio host, who first made a name for himself as part of the launch of subscription television in Australia in 1995. He was a host for music television station "Red" on the now-defunct
Galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...
subscription television network, before the channel changed its name to
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Dis ...
. Jason the jabba was part of a famous Incubus live performance at a secret gig in Bondi 2002.
Early life
Born Jason Davis, Jabba attended Hunters Hill Primary School, where he gained his name, and
James Ruse Agricultural High School. He also played with the All Saints Hunters Hill soccer team, and Parramatta Waterpolo Club.
Career
Jabba began presenting for Foxtel's
Channel ">in 1994.
He hosted a variety of shows including ''The Joint'' and ''Jabba's Morning Glory'', which featured performances and interviews with prominent musicians including
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
and
Beastie Boys . During his time with
he played the role of "Davo Dinkum" in the
SBS television comedy show ''
Pizza'' and
Swift and Shift couriers.
In 2004, Jabba participated in the
Band in a Bubble project with Australian
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
Regurgitator, which involved him being locked in a ''
Big Brother
Big Brother may refer to:
* Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control
** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
''-style environment with the group and their engineers while they produced an album under 24-hour surveillance. During this time, it was revealed that he had separated from his long-term partner and mother of his children. Following the projects conclusion, Jacquie Riddell of XYZ Networks, announced that Jabba would be taking an extended break, stating that "(the bubble) was a pretty big deal".
In 2005, he left
and began presenting for
Nova FM in Brisbane.
Jabba later moved back home to Sydney, working at
Nova 96.9
Nova 96.9 (call sign: 2SYD) is a commercial radio station operating in Sydney, Australia.
The station is owned by NOVA Entertainment along with sister station, smoothfm 95.3
Audience
In 2014 Nova had a 4% share of the Sydney audience on ...
hosting ''The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel'', while still also hosting the ''
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
ARIA
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
Charts'' show on Sunday afternoons, which is Nova's only national show. Jabba also writes a column for the Australian edition of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
''. Although, in November 2008 Jabba and Mel left ''The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel'' they were replaced by
James Kerley and Maz Compton.
Jabba was also the host of ''
Great BBQ Challenge'', a competition series on
Foxtel's
LifeStyle Food channel. It was a contest to find Australia's best BBQer, who would win $25,000 and go on to host their own show on Lifestyle FOOD. He has been named by some (one actually) as a 'Social recalcitrant'. "It sort of slid when he left the international passport to smoking pleasure behind"
Jabba's next career move in March 2010 was as host of a new Breakfast radio program with Mike Goldman called "Macarthur Breakfast" on the Win TV Network's
C91.3 FM in Campbelltown, NSW. Jabba and Mike left the station in December 2010 as they have refused to move to Campbelltown, as it was important for the station to be as local as possible.
In 2011, he appeared on two SBS sitcoms: ''
Swift and Shift Couriers'' and ''
Housos''. In 2014 he was featured in the motion picture ''
Fat Pizza vs. Housos''.
Collection of works
Filmography
Television
*''The Joint'' (as Himself-Host) (1999)
*''
Pizza'' (as Middle Class Homeboy & as Davo Dinkum) (2000–2007)
*''Jabba's Morning Glory'' (as Himself-Host) (2002)
*''
Pizza Live'' (as Davo Dinkum) (2004)
*''
World Record Pizza'' (as Davo Dinkum) (2006)
*''Pull Up Selecta'' (as Himself-Host) (2006)
*''
Great BBQ Challenge'' (as Himself-Host) (2006–2007)
*''
20 to 1
''20 to One'' (known as ''20 to 1'' before 2016) is an Australian television series on the Nine Network from 2005, that counts down an undefined "top 20" of elements or events of popular culture, such as films, songs, or sporting scandals. The ...
'' (Himself) (2007–2010)
*''2008 National Musicoz Awards'' (as Himself-Host) (2008)
*''
Swift and Shift Couriers'' (as various recurring characters) (2008, 2011)
*''
Dirtgirlworld'' (as Hayman) (2009)
*''Jabba's Curious World'' (as Himself-Presenter) (2011)
*''The Essential 20'' (as Himself-Presenter) (2011)
*''
Housos'' (as Dazza) (2011)
Awards
Jabba was nominated for and won the Best Music Personality at the 2007 Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at Crown Casino.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabba
1973 births
Australian music critics
Australian music journalists
Australian male television actors
Australian television presenters
People educated at James Ruse Agricultural High School
Living people
Australian VJs (media personalities)