Grinspoon

Grinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales. The group forms in 1995 and consists of Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar, Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. They are associated with alternative rock and post-grunge.

Early recognition and name

In 1995, Grinspoon win the Triple J-sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore with the post-grunge song “Sickfest”. The band takes its name from Dr Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supports the medical use of marijuana.

Albums and chart success

Grinspoon shift towards a more mainstream rock sound by the time of New Detention, which reaches No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their 2004 album Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills peaks at No. 4 and wins the 2005 ARIA Music Award for Best Rock Album. Alibis & Other Lies, released in 2007, also reaches No. 2.

Recordings and wider exposure

The band signs to Universal Records in the United States by late 1998. Their songs and recordings circulate through several releases and compilations: “Champion” appears in Gran Turismo 3; “Post Enebriated Anxiety” appears on the international version of Guide to Better Living; “Chemical Heart” is promoted via the internet; and their cover of Prong’s “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck”, from the Pushing Buttons EP, appears on ECW: Extreme Music.