The Mess Hall were a two-piece drums and guitar combo based in Sydney, Australia, specialising in "raw, edgy bluesy rock." The band consisted of Jed Kurzel ( lead vocals/

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

) and Cec Condon ( drums/

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

) 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 compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', "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 An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

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 Something for Kate are an Australian alternative rock band, which formed in 1994 with Paul Dempsey on lead vocals and guitar, and Clint Hyndman on drums. They were joined in 1998 by Stephanie Ashworth on bass guitar and backing vocals. The gr ...

) and

Chris Joannou Christopher Andrew Joannou (born 10 November 1979) is an Australian musician best known as the bassist for the Newcastle-based alternative rock band Silverchair. He is a twin to sister Louise Kipa. He was the first of the three band members to ...

(

Silverchair Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big bre ...

), the short album earned an

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 ...

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 ''Notes from a Ceiling'' is the second album from the Australian two-piece rock band The Mess Hall, which was issued on 20 June 2005. It peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart. It won an ARIA Music Award for Engineer of the Y ...

''. 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 Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, the attending doctor was more interested in whether the band were touring on the next

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

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 Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia. History Ivy League Records is an Australian-based record label established in 1997 by three ex-musician friends: Pete Lusty (John Reed Club) (RIP), Andy Cassell (Youth Group) an ...

and released their third album, ''

Devils Elbow Devils Elbow is the third album from The Mess Hall and was released on 27 October 2007. It peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart. It provided a single, "Keep Walking", earlier in the same month. The album won the Australian ...

''. 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' 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 Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "ten ...

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

, the

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spenc ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and ga ...

and Jet as well as playing at the

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

, Homebake, Falls and

festivals. They have toured to Japan and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, including performances at SXSW in Austin. The band has such covers on their live set list such as

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

's " Breed" and Mudhoney's "

Touch Me I'm Sick "Touch Me I'm Sick" is a song by the American alternative rock band Mudhoney. It was recorded in April 1988 at Seattle's Reciprocal Recording studio with producer Jack Endino. "Touch Me I'm Sick" was released as Mudhoney's debut single by inde ...

". They also supported fellow Aussie rockers

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

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 The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , 2003 , ''Feeling Sideways'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...

, , , - , rowspan="2", 2005 , Matt Lovell for ''Notes from a Ceiling'' ,

ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Engineer of the Year, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Australian artists across all music genres", and have been given ...

, , rowspan="2", , - , Chris Joannou & The Mess Hall for ''Notes from a Ceiling'' ,

ARIA Award for Producer of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Producer of the Year, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by t ...

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to 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. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

(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. The 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 The Jack Awards were a set of popularly voted Australian music awards, sponsored by Tennessee whiskey company Jack Daniel's. The awards were conceived by Damien Wilson, former creative director of Peer Group Media to create a national platform t ...

, 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 New South Wales musical groups Rock music duos Punk blues musical groups