Be Your Own Pet

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Be Your Own Pet (also known as BYOP) was a four-piece garage rock group from Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Members

• Jemina Pearl – vocals
• Nathan Vasquez – bass, backing vocals
• Jonas Stein – guitar, backing vocals
• John Eatherly – drums

Former members

• Jamin Orrall – drums
• Jake Orrall – guitar

Biography

The band formed in 2003 out of the ashes of The Sex, which was the project of drummer Jamin Orrall and his bassist brother Jake.^[1] The pair practiced in their basement and also ran the label Infinity Cat; and eventually joined forces with guitarist Jonas Stein—who was in another band on the label, Jimmy Cushman?, at the time—and singer Jemina Pearl, a friend from Nashville School of the Arts. Playing house shows and gigs at the all-ages venues Guido's Pizza and Bongo Java, the group honed its sound. When Jake Orrall left the band to explore Iceland, Nathan Vasquez entered the band's ranks as their new bassist, and the quartet rechristened themselves Be Your Own Pet, taking the name from a song by fellow Infinity Cat group Art Circus. With a firmly established lineup and new name, Be Your Own Pet began working on demos with a handful of producers, including Jacquire King and Jamin and Jake's father, singer/songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall. (The rest of BYOP's members also have musical pedigrees: Jemina Pearl's father is rock photographer Jimmy Abegg, Vasquez is the son of guitarist Raphael Vasquez, and Stein's father is manager Burt Stein.) The band released their first single, "Damn Damn Leash" -- a hooky, punky, whip-smart song that echoed the best of Blondie and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs—as a CD-R on Infinity Cat; the track made its way to BBC Radio One presenter Zane Lowe, whose support for Be Your Own Pet won the band an early U.K. following. Meanwhile, attention-getting gigs at 2004's CMJ and 2005's South by Southwest began creating a buzz for the group stateside. A string of EPs for Rough Trade and XL followed, including a re-release of Damn Damn Leash and Fire Department in 2005, and Let's Get Sandy (Big Problem) early in 2006. Thurston Moore, another early fan, signed Be Your Own Pet to his Ecstatic Peace imprint to release the band's material in the U.S.; Redd Kross' Steve McDonald produced the sessions for the group's full-length debut. Summer Sensation, a collection of Be Your Own Pet's demos and EP tracks, became the band's first widely distributed U.S. release and arrived in spring 2006, just before Adventure was chosen as the lead single from Be Your Own Pet, which was issued that summer. The band returned to the studio in summer 2007, and returned the following spring with Get Awkward, a heavier but still mischievous set of songs inspired by punk, new wave and girl group pop.

Record label

The band was signed to XL in the UK since 2005 and were later signed with Thurston Moore's label, Ecstatic Peace in the US. Be Your Own Pet originally released early singles and EPs with Nashville-based Infinity Cat Records.

Side projects

All of the members of Be Your Own Pet are involved in various other musical projects. Jonas Stein and John Eatherly play together in a band called Turbo Fruits, along with their friend Max Peebles. Their debut album was released in 2006 in the UK and they also played at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the summer of 2006. Nathan Vasquez plays in a band called Deluxin. Jemina Pearl also has side projects: although no longer a member of Cheap Time, she is notably a member of Rare Form. Former members Jake and Jamin play in JEFF the Brotherhood.

Break up

On August 1, 2008, the band announced on their website that after finishing a small tour of England, they would be breaking up.^[2] The band posted the following message on their website; "To all of our fans, we are sad to bring you the news that our upcoming shows in the UK are going to be our last as a band. We thank you for all your love and support these past few years. It's been a blast, but the time has come for the four of us to go our separate ways.".^[3]

Final shows

During both the Dingwalls and Liverpool Carling Academy shows, there have been reports of "official looking cameras" in between the crowd and stage^[4] which suggests the possibility of either a dvd or live video, reminiscent of the "Mini Tour Wrap Up" appearing in the near future. Their final show as a band was at Dingwalls in London on the 26th August 2008 (see here [1])

Jemina Pearl solo career

The debut album of Jemina Pearl, Break It Up, was released in on October 6, 2009 by Ecstatic Peace Records. The album is co-written by John Eatherly and has guest appearances from Thurston Moore, Iggy Pop, Dave Sitek and Derek Stanton.

Discography

Studio albums

• Be Your Own Pet (March 27, 2006) (Ecstatic Peace/XL) (UK #47)
• Get Awkward (March 18, 2008), (Ecstatic Peace/XL) (UK #101) (UK Indie #7)

EPs

• Damn Damn Leash EP (2005) (Japanese release) (Infinity Cat/XL/Rough Trade)
• Summer Sensation (April 18, 2006) (Ecstatic Peace/Infinity Cat)
• Extra Extra EP (2006) (Infinity Cat)
• Not Rocket Science (May 8, 2007) (Infinity Cat)
• Get Damaged EP (2008) (Ecstatic Peace/XL)

Singles

Appearances

• SXSW (2005)
• Glastonbury Festival (2005)
• Reading and Leeds Festivals (2005)
• Siren Music Festival (July 16, 2005)
• Summer Sonic Festival (August 2005)
• Coachella Festival (April 30, 2006)
• Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival 2006
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (June 13, 2006)
• Subterranean Guide (MTV2, July 30, 2006)
• Lollapalooza 2006 (August 5, 2006)
• MTV Live (Canada) (June 3, 2008)
• Reading and Leeds Festivals (2008)

References

1. Jam, James. Review. NME.
2. Raposa, David. Review. Pitchfork Media. June 6, 2006.
3. "The 50 Greatest CDs of 2006" Blender Online. Jan/Feb 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.

External links

• Artist's official website
• Be Your Own Pet at MySpace
• Be Your Own Pet at Last.fm