The Fish John West Reject play a rare gig with Blackbirds

Our special guests at the Ember Lounge, The Fish John West Reject, have a long history with Blackbirds dating back to Jeremy's old band Helvelln in the late 80's/90's.

At the time, the Fish were riding high on the success of their first single Left and a reputation for incendiary live shows but were kind enough to take us under their wing and give us support shows. 

Mark Narkowicz saw Helvelln play at the City of Malvern's Battle of the Bands and introduced himself afterward. It was exciting to have a band we admired pay us some attention and it gave us a lot of confidence. It's pretty amazing to still be playing gigs together three decades later.

The Fish made a huge name for themselves back in the late 1980s and early 90s as part of the burgeoning Australian indie scene, releasing two acclaimed albums and touring the country.

They reconvened as The Dunaways throughout the 2000s, releasing two albums for the Croxton Records label including the ARIA-nominated recording, Wanderin' Mind.

In 2013 they resumed as The Fish John West Reject after remixing and reissuing their fan-favourite debut album, SWIM. 

Since then, they’ve played a sold-out reunion show in their home state of Tasmania and are in the process of recording new material… soon to be released on their own ‘Southwesterly Records’ label. After the tragic death of guitarist Martin Witheford in 2020, The Fish continue as a 3-piece.

The Fish take great delight in playing their first show in two years with Blackbirds FC. Guitarist Harvey Saward (Tender Engines /The Odolites) will be joining the Fish as a special guest as well.

The Fish John West Reject are:

Mark Narkowicz – vocals & guitar

Andrew Viney – vocals & bass guitar

Graham Rankin - drums