Jif

Biography

It was the year 2002, Martyn Blackwell, Adam Mitchell, Terry Fenlon, Michael Boucher and Joe Weston decided to embark on a new project that was to be JIF but they were confused about what direction to take the bands music. Most members already had other bands but for all of them it was a new beginning and a fresh start.

The first practice session was arranged and was to be held in their home village of Stoney Stanton at the legendary Stoney Stanton Social Club in Leicestershire, England. The first initial sound that came from that practice was highly influenced by punk but most members agreed that this was not the path to take and took a step back from that sound and decided to try something new. In the weeks to come the band started working hard at home and in the practice sessions and developed a heavy metal sound and things shaped up quickly combining intense riffing with laid back mellowness.

Gradually momentum was building, the band played some local gigs and the younger generation of Stoney Stanton grew fond of the JIF sound but the brakes were soon to be applied to the bands progress. In 2004 there was a big set back when bassist Joe left the band leaving a hole that needed to be filled. No body wanted to jump in at the deep end and just choose anyone that could play the bass, they wanted someone who was a friend and someone who would fit in without any complications and that man was to be Chaz.

Chaz was mainly known around the area for his guitaring talents and at the time the only musical instruments he possessed were electric and acoustic guitars but with the use of foot pedals he got a sound that was very similar to that of a bass guitar. The breaks we’re eased off and so the journey of JIF was to continue. Instantly things came together with Chaz, a new bass guitar was purchased and the writing process began to pick up.

During 2005 JIF made a self recorded demo simply to promote their music locally but unfortunately the recording didn’t have the quality that they desired. Still the demo was sold at local gigs to the people that were interested and the amount sold bought surprise amongst the JIF boys. Throughout the rest of the year the band continued to play local gig slots and continued to write more material always thinking about the path that lay ahead.

And so six years had passed since the millennium and how time flies, four years since the birth of JIF and almost two years since the arrival of Chaz. There was tension in the camp and a feeling that performances were not reaching their full potential. A meeting was called in the summer of 2006 and a decision was made to draft in a second singer to accompany Bilby on lead vocals. Adam already knew of a singer who was not only interested in the job but was someone who had been a fan of what JIF had achieved musically since the beginning and that man was to be Glyn White.

Glyn White began singing in Leicester rock n roll outfit Ellza back in 2000 but due to their split in 2005 he became available and once he heard of what JIF had to offer he wasted no time in contacting Adam and arranging his first practice with the band. Already aware of most of the group’s material Glyns arrival went a lot smoother than first thought and so took his permanent roll as a lead vocalist alongside Bilby. Working together at first was tough for both singers but soon got use to the company, help and support that each other would provide.

Now a six piece band, JIF wrote new material with their new line up and produced arguably their best music yet forcing the band to book recording time in the studio. They chose to record the tracks at Secret Lab Productions, which was based in Burbage, Leicestershire. ‘J’ the producer at Secret Lab had followed the JIF progress over a few years and described their style and sound as ‘original’ and he took a great interest in wanting to produce their debut EP and so it was to be. At the end of 2006 the band began the recording of their eagerly awaited debut EP.

The EP, ‘APPOINTMNET AT THE END OF THE WORLD’, took about six months to complete consisting of five songs. ‘J’ , the producer, did an amazing job and not only was he happy with the whole recording process, he was that proud of his work that he decided to take parts of the EP and use them for his portfolio.

Since then the ‘APPOINTMNET AT THE END OF THE WORLD’ has been released and the JIF fan base has once again grown recruiting followers from all over Midlands.

JIF hope that the EP is like nothing you’ve heard before and keep checking out the Myspace page and the website.

The steam train that is JIF will be coming your way some time in 2008 and onwards so keep your eyes peeled...

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