The
Jessica Fletchers was formed during 1997. The
original set up was: Bjrn Rune Lie, Vegard Syrstad, Andreas
Mastrup, Thomas Innst and Rune Somdal. The guys had just about had enough of the music scene in suburban Drammen outside Oslo, consisting mainly of metal, prog-rock and punk bands, and decided to do something about it. After playing some local pubs and clubs it didn’t take long before they headed for the studio, recording their self financed "unofficial" debut album "I can shoot you from here" (1998) and so the story goes.
The CD was picked up by Perfect Pop Records and The Tables guru Bartleby, at a Tables gig in Oslo. Here is his exact words: "They first came to my attention in '99 when I was handed a CD by some enthusiastic youngsters at a gig in Oslo. Who were these guys? I gave the CD a listen and soon realized that the guys were major talents doing their own thang with a heap of songs, strongly melodic, seasoned with feeling, different moods and imagination. And these guys only lived a stone's throw from Oslo without me knowing about it! It was clear that the Jessica Fletchers would have to be the next band out on Perfect Pop Records. The band was duly signed, and it was first suggested that Clancy B. Grass IV would produce a single, but Clancy was out of town, so the work fell on me. And I'm glad it did 'cause these songs are pure magic to my ears. "
The Jessicas was signed on Norway’s biggest underground indie label and soon got the opportunity to record an EP. This spawned the creation of "Sorry about the noise!" (2000). Bjrn Rune Lie now quit the band for studying fine arts in England. He plays on some of the tracks on the EP. Jan Henning Srensen took over the drumsticks, and has played ever since. With good distribution more people got to hear The Jessica Fletchers, live and on the radio. "Sorry about the noise!" became a small hit! In 2001 The Jessicas did a remarkable gig at Paragrafen, Oslo, and was later offered to play on Zoom. Which is a band contest where the winner gets a tour in reward.) The Jessica Fletchers won, and together with two other bands they toured Norway, north to south and back.
"(Come On) it’s Only Nine" (2002) was recorded just before the tour, and was brought along as a promo. The recording of "Bloody Seventies Love" was actually part of the zoom reward, and was produced by radio broadcasting legend Harald Are Lund! That Summer Vegard Syrstad played his last gig with the Jessicas, at the Quart festival, Norway. He was then replaced by Ivar Chr. Johansen that had previously played in bands like Jaga Jazzist and Briskeby. Ivar contributed by changing the sound a bit, more or less because he aided Thomas in writing songs, and his organ played a bigger role in the new Jessicasound. In the meantime The Jessica Fletchers toured Sweden, Denmark, UK, Germany, doing festivals like yafestivalen, supported the Hives, The Apples in Stereo and featuring s of compilations!
The year is 2003 and "What Happened To The?" had just been released in Norway and the record got a tremendous amount of excellent reviews! The record was recorded in newly named Breakin Studio in Oslo. As the name reveals the studio was visited by burglars that stole equipment, but fortunately not the tapes!
This year also brought another major surprise. TJF got signed by New York indie label Rainbow Quartz and their recently released album got re-released by RQTZ in Europe, Canada & USA. The Jessicas went international. They were now visiting cities like Vienna, Liverpool, London, New York, Madrid and Barcelona to promote the new album on Rainbow Quartz Records.
Ivar, the keyboard player decided to quit this year as he didn’t have spear time, now working with his own hip-hop project. Without any further drama they decided to call Thomas' younger brother Mats, who incidentally played keys. Mats Innst decided to join the band, and a few rehearsals later they had a new member. April, 2004, with a new line-up - the first big tour in Europe started, including Italy, France, GAS, Benelux, Slovenia. TJF also played the famous Norwegian Wood Festival together with Bright Eyes, Ash and The Cardigans. Another highlight was when they where invited to SXSW - the biggest music conference in the world, with bands like the B52s, The Hives, N.E.R.D. among others. Later that year they also supported the big act Franz Ferdinand. The new album "Less Sophistication" was recorded during early 2004 in Notodden with Steve Wold, in the old Stax studio brought from USA. Steve is known for being the producer for Modest Mouse and for playing several live shows with The Beach Boys back in the 70s. The record was planned to be released internationally one year later through their label Rainbow Quartz , since TJF already were busy promoting "What Happened To The?" in Europe & USA.
"Less Sophistication" was released in Norway, November 2004. The single from the album, “Summer Holiday & Me” became a big radio and live hit in Norway. Between the Christmas holidays TJF did some gigs in Norway. A tour was now planned for the international release. April 2005 they started touring Europe, then North America, and then back to Europe, making sure as many people possible got the chance to catch their infamous live show. From warming up for Weezer and Oasis at the FM4 Frequency Festival (main stage), headlining Imagine Festival in Switzerland in front of 14000 people, to playing in Los Angeles clubs for whoever showed up. The response was great. Live reviews confirmed the success.
Booking Germany: Mightytunes
Booking Austria: Ink Music
Booking Norway: Goldstar
