Philadelphia Grand Jury

Philadelphia Grand Jury
Philadelphia Grand Jury performing live in January 2011. L-R: Simon Berckelman and Joel Beeson
Background information
Also known as	The Philly Jays
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Indie rock, punk, soul
Years active	2008–2011; 2013–present
Labels	Normal People Making Hits/Boomtown Records
Associated acts	Art vs. Science I Heart Hiroshima The Paper Scissors
Website	http://www.philadelphiagrandjury.com.au
Members	Simon Berckelman Joel Beeson Dan Williams
Past members	Sullivan Patten Calvin Welch Ivan Lisyak

Philadelphia Grand Jury (The Philly Jays) are an Australian trio from Sydney, New South Wales. The band's current line-up consists of Joel "MC Bad Genius" Beeson on bass, keyboard and guitar, Simon "Berkfinger" Berckelman on vocals and guitar and Dan "Dan W. Sweat" Williams on drums. They play a mix of indie, punk and soul.

Beeson originally formed a band called Johnson in 2001 with his friend Berckelman, before creating the indie band label Motherlovin' Records in 2004. Subsequent bands included Malcolm X & the Black Auditorium and Berkfinger and The Sweats, the latter combining to form Philadelphia Grand Jury in early 2008.

In May 2009, the band signed a joint venture deal with Boomtown Records to release their records, on their own label, Normal People Making Hits, with distribution through Shock Records.

In June 2009, the band released "Going to the Casino (Tomorrow Night)" as a 7" vinyl EP. The EP was self-recorded, produced and released. "Going to the Casino" received significant airplay on Triple J and featured on the television mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, also appearing on the soundtrack album.

The band's debut album, Hope Is for Hopers, was released on 25 September 2009, reaching No. 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Williams departed from the group in September 2009. Williams' position was temporarily filled by Ivan Lisyak, aka 'Emergency Ivan,' before a permanent replacement - American session musician, Calvin Welch (Earth, Wind and Fire, Sonny Stitt) - joined the band.

At the fourth annual AIR Awards, held on 22 November 2009, Philadelphia Grand Jury won an award for 'Best Independent Single or EP' with their single Going To The Casino.

A music video "The Good News" was filmed in North Sydney and at Parsley Bay, Rowe Street-Bondi Junction & Lighthouse Reserve-Vaucluse. It was released in November 2009. The song ranked at number 57 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of that year.