2001-Nic CesterVocals, guitar
Chris CesterDrums
Cameron MunceyGuitar
Mark WilsonBass
Brothers and Jet bandmates Nic and Chris Cester grew up in Dingley Village, a small suburb just outside Melbourne, Australia. The brothers discovered rock n' roll on a steady diet of their father's classic rock records - The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Faces - even as grunge hit big in the mid-'90s. Of the imported Seattle sludge sound, Nic Cester says, "I couldn't stand the stuff. To me, that was real slit your wrists music."
The Cester brothers teamed up with guitarist Cameron Muncey, an old school chum of Nic's, and bassist Doug Armstrong, whom the boys met while working at their father's spice factory, to form Jet in 2001. The original lineup didn't last long - the band soon plucked Marc Wilson from another local act in Melbourne to replace Armstrong and self-released their debut EP
Dirty Sweet. With a title culled from the T. Rex anthem "
Bang A Gong (Get It On)," this initial pressing of 1000 vinyl records sold out quickly and lead to another 1000 to meet demand in the UK. It wasn't long before the band inked a deal with Elektra Records who re-released the EP in the states.
In 2003 Jet entered Sunset Studios in Los Angeles to record their debut full-length album with producer Dave Sardy. Halfway through the recording process, a big-break came in the form of a call from The Rolling Stones offering Jet a support spot on the Australian leg of their upcoming tour. The album
Get Born was completed and released later that year, and the band's popularity soared on the back of singles like "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and "
Rollover DJ." The record would go on to sell well over three million copies worldwide.
Jet is often accused by critics of riding down a well-worn musical path, essentially ripping-off their rock n' roll predecessors. The boys have always been quick to acknowledge their influences, from The Rolling Stones to AC/DC and The Beatles, but at times some mock the shocking similarities. For one, many have cited the beat in Jet's big hit "
Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and its striking likeness to Iggy Pop's "
Lust For Life." But Chris Cester shot back at the press on this one, citing a conversation he had with Iggy himself on the subject: "He said I was crazy. If you listen to a song like 'You Can't Hurry Love' by The Supremes I think you'll find its closer to 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' than 'Lust for Life' ever was. And that's what Iggy said as well."
Jet teamed up with Iggy Pop in 2008 to record "The Wild One," a tribute to Australian rock n' roll legend Johnny O'Keefe and his old school jam of the same name. O'Keefe's original was the first Australian rock song to reach the national charts in March of 1958. Pop also recorded a version of the song under the title "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" for his 1986 album Blah Blah Blah. That version was featured prominently in several memorable '80s movies including Crocodile Dundee II, Adventures in Babysitting and Problem Child.
In 2011, with Jet on an unspecified hiatus, Chris Cester and Marc Wilson formed the "doom disco" side-project DAMNDOGS. Jet's touring keyboardist and percussionist Louis Macklin and Cester's cousin Mitch McIvor rounded the lineup, and the group released their debut digital EP Strange Behaviour on August 9th exclusively on iTunes. Their first gig was a last minute, awkward performance at the LA strip club Crazy Girls.
Most Americans heard Jet for the first time when their song "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" was used in a 2004 commercial for Apple's innovate music-playing device, the iPod. By the time the ad aired, the song had been out for six months without getting any attention in the US, but when the ad started airing, radio stations added the song to their playlists and it entered the charts, giving Jet their Stateside breakthrough.
In 2016, Jet frontman Nic Cester spent two days auditioning for AC/DC, who needed a new lead singer when Brian Johnson suffered hearing loss. Cester lost the gig to Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses.
Nic Cester met his wife Pia in 2004 and they got married in 2016. During pandemic lockdown, he worked on a children's book and solo album called The Skipping Girl that were inspired by their young daughter Matilda. They were released in 2021.
After a hiatus that lasted from 2011-2016, Jet returned to action to open some Australian shows on Bruce Springsteen's 2017 tour. They remained active as a live band and in 2023 launched a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Get Born.
