Jejune

Jejune was an American emo band formed in 1996 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The band has been commonly identified with the emo genre and was heavily involved with the scene at the peak of the "second wave" of emo in the mid-1990s. The three founding members, Arabella Harrison (bass/vocals), Joe Guevara (guitar/vocals) and Chris Vanacore (drums), met while studying at the college. The band relocated to San Diego, California, in 1997. They released two albums on Big Wheel Recreation and several splits before disbanding in 2000. Guevara had previously been in I Was I, a hardcore punk band originally from San Diego. After moving to Massachusetts to go to Berklee, Vanacore met Guevara through a shared love of Unbroken. The two started writing music together, but needed a bassist. Guevara contacted Harrison, who he had met through classes. Harrison didn't have one, but borrowed a friend's bass to play. The band's first releases included a split with Garden Variety and appearances on a couple of compilations. They continued recording demos with the expectation of eventually recording their debut album but ended up issuing a compilation of the demos as their first album, Junk, in 1997 on Big Wheel Recreation. The title is said to come from what Arabella thought of the songs. A split single with Jimmy Eat World was released that same year. Vanacore tagged along with Jimmy Eat World as a roadie on the tour after the split's release as Jejune made their move down to San Diego. While the band enjoyed playing in San Diego, they admitted that the scene wasn't the same as Boston's. In 1998, This Afternoon's Malady was released. The album's reception was mixed upon release, but they were praised for improving on the sound shown in Junk. The mixed responses often came from the fact that the album was considered emo at a time when the word had a negative connotation. ...connotation. Throughout their existence, the band undertook several tours of the US, including stints with The Get Up Kids, Blacktop Cadence, Braid, Piebald, and a late 1998 tour with Jimmy Eat World. ...World. In early 1999, the band added Mark Murino on second guitar to expand their live sound. Not long after, the band undertook a European tour with Kill Holiday. Towards the end of 1999, several bands in the indie emo scene of the time attempted to distance themselves from the emo label. Jejune, as a band, started exploring more pop-leaning sounds and was planning to record their third album. However, internal tensions among the band members regarding the new direction led to the band's disbandment in early 2000. In September of that same year, Big Wheel Recreation compiled and released RIP, a compilation album featuring the completed demos for the third album, remastered or alternate takes of songs from previous releases, and a couple unreleased songs. After the band's breakup, Lovelight Shine was founded by Guevara, Murino, and Vanacore. The group released an EP through Big Wheel Recreation, and a second self-released EP, before disbanding. After that, Murino and Vanacore formed Dirty Sweet, while Guevara began playing piano for blues artist Lady Dottie. Following the split, Harrison joined The And/Ors and more recently, she pursued a solo career, with Vanacore occasionally joining her on the drums. Additionally, she is a member of the country band Bartender's Bible. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.