Документальный фильм о группе Jebediah: тридцатилетняя дружба и борьба с зависимостью

Are We OK? Candid Jebediah doco is a moving portrait of Perth rock band Early in Jebediah: Are We OK?, a career-spanning documentary on the beloved Perth alt-rock band, frontman Kevin Mitchell offers: "The success or failure of the band has never been the glue that held the band together. It was that mateship that existed before the band started." It's essentially the thesis statement of a film that examines the deep, enduring bonds tying four friends together for more than 30 years. But also, a surprisingly emotive second half where that proverbial glue risks disintegrating. Each member — Mitchell, his drumming brother Brett Mitchell, bassist Vanessa Thornton and guitarist Chris Daymond — gets equal footing in a doco that will entertain and enlighten viewers who might only be familiar with Leaving Home or She's Like A Comet. Dedicated fans will appreciate the revealing insights of a doco that's both a joyful celebration and a serious look at the sobering realities of rock stardom. "Seeing it all together was like, 'Wow, we actually did some really cool stuff,'" bassist Vanessa 'Ness' Thornton tells Double J. After meeting director Arlo Dean Cook while shooting a music video, she later asked him to capture Jebediah's 20th anniversary tour, back in 2015. Cook ended up becoming part of the inner circle, chronicling the band both on- and off-stage. "It was pretty obvious they had something special," says Cook, drawn to Jebediah not just as a fan but to their mateship and "pure" motivations. "It wasn't about ego or money or fame or anything like that. Their integrity was so strong and the bond they had together was such a joy to watch." The halcyon days Are We OK? kicks off revelling in a vivid period of Australian music history: The '90s alt-rock boom. An era where a healthy musical patriotism was cultivated via touring festival Big Day Out, ABC TV's Recovery and triple j. Jebediah was championed by all three. Hailing from Perth, a city historically isolated from the East Coast's music industry hubbub, was to Jebediah's benefit. Only a year after forming, to play their year 12 ball, the high school mates had "every major label in the country wanting to sign us", remembers Mitchell. Under the management of Heath Bradby, they inked a deal with Murmur, an imprint of major label Sony. The rave reception to Jebediah's 1997 debut album Slightly Odway, was "almost instantaneous," remarks triple j royalty Richard Kingsmill. They became the first Perth band to reach the top 10 in triple j's Hottest 100 (with Harpoon in 1997), paving the way for WA acts — everyone from Eskimo Joe and John Butler Trio to Tame Impala — to populate the annual countdown's pointy end. This vibrant period is showcased through exhaustive archival footage, much of it framed through the kind of rumpus room TV set guaranteed to give gen X viewers flashbacks. From humble beginnings to hardship Securing more than 1,300 legal approvals for various press shots, street press articles, and footage was "quite the undertaking. [It] took months and months", says Cook. But it proved essential to showcasing this "beautiful, youthful band". "The theme of the film ended up being growing up. We really needed to drop the audience back there; soak that up and relive it." The doco remains engaging as it enters a new decade, one where "pop used to be a dirty word", but came back in vogue right as audiences looked to internationally prompted garage and indie rock revivals for new sounds. So did Sony, who folded Murmur back into the corporate fold and by 2004, following the lukewarm reception to their fourth album Braxton Hicks, Jebediah took a sabbatical where 'real life' overtakes the band. Unlike your typical rockumentary, humble scenes of day jobs and domesticity are featured, underscoring larger patterns of renewal following fallow periods. The quartet's commitment to each other endures, be it through the "difficult second album", managing their independent label Redline Records, or re-fastening frayed relations after Kevin Mitchell's ARIA winning solo sojourn as Bob Evans. Helping pull back the curtain on the not-so-glamorous elements are members from contemporaries like Spiderbait, You Am I, Grinspoon, Magic Dirt and more. Providing a textured commentary that authenticates Jebediah's harder challenges, they offer praise but also echo the temptations and surrealism of the touring lifestyle. "Everything you'd possibly ever need to become an alcoholic is provided," confesses Mitchell. Early on, he describes Jebediah as a "functional band surrounded by dysfunction". In a bit of foreshadowing, he adds: "I honestly thought we were immune … but we're not." Addiction and the bigger picture Eleven years in the making, Cook was halfway into the project when "some drama" surfaced. Without spoiling the impact of a key reveal, Are We OK? wades into heavy territory concerning a band mate dealing with alcohol and substance abuse issues. We witness, in sometimes uncomfortable detail, the band at their most fraught. During a co-headline tour with You Am I, they stage an intervention, urging one of their own to seek professional help. "We just kept the camera rolling," says Cook. "There were a few years there where we didn't know what was going to happen … "The edit was years and years long because we initially thought it was going to have to be this dual narrative." Thornton was "shell-shocked" watching the first cut with Cook. "It put me right back there to that intense time. I started to feel nauseous watching." For his part, Cook developed a deep trust with everyone involved but also an anxious physical tic from the stress. "I made it clear it was never going to be a puff piece," he says. Similarly, he wasn't interested in a cliched "drugs and alcohol in rock" story. "I didn't really have any interest in that." Instead, Are We OK? is concerned with, and animated by, the relationship between four people who are friends first, musicians second. "That's what I cared about most. This band is so funny, so full of life, that when it got heavy it really did change the film's dynamic." 30 and thriving The slow recovery and repair of Jebediah's connection leads to a hard-won denouement. The effect is like watching a wound heal in real time, alongside candid reflections on the scars left behind. Even the way Cook juxtaposes imagery of the young, rakish members with the modern-day paints a thousand words about the tolls paid on their mind and bodies. Lesser documentaries would sensationalise, or even sanitise, such tough truths. But here, "it still supported this same notion of why we started making the film", says Cook. "Let's celebrate this bond these guys have together. And when one of them fell down, they just did what they always did and rallied behind them and supported them. It only heightened this beautiful story about a family we were trying to tell." The darker, candid revelations don't overshadow the good times, they augment them. The 2024 comeback album OIKS resulted in the "busiest year we've had since the '90s", Thornton notes. Are We OK? expertly navigates a tricky tightrope, sincerely conveying both the thrills and cautionary perils of success. The takeaway is that meaningful friendship, like a rewarding career or sobriety, takes perseverance. Something you work on, even in the good times. With a film to promote and gigs filling the calendar, Thornton is most looking forward to reconnecting with her lifelong buddies. "We haven't played a show since December. Seeing everyone: that's what I'm most excited about because once we're all in a van together, it's always going to be fun." Jebediah: Are We OK? premiers at Melbourne International Film Festival on Thursday August 13, with additional screenings throughout August. It opens in cinemas nationwide Thursday October 8.