Melbourne based punk rock and pop punk band Bodyjar did not produce consistent chart topping hits in Australia, nor did they have a significant and sustained longevity in the global music industry, but they can be most certainly considered an influential outfit within their genre and associated subcultures. Primarily active between 1991 and 2009 (under the name Damnation in 1991, then Helium prior to 1994), Bodyjar have adopted multiple approaches toward achieving commercial success in the music industry, to overall varying degrees of success. To be analyzed in this essay are the origins of Bodyjar’s unique sound, their subsequent association with a cultural scene, and how the two came together to create the music industry business model they adopted. Bodyjar were in a unique position of having subcultural capital within the punk rock, pop punk and skate punk scenes on a local and global level, so as a result their influences are widespread and not necessarily clear-cut.
global and local impact, and music industry model
