About Trial Kennedy

Trial Kennedy were an alternative rock band from Melbourne, Victoria that formed in 2002. The band's name came from a music teacher, Mark Kennedy. When the band met in high school, they were all seeing Kennedy as their guitar tutor."We all 'trialled' off him", noted guitarist Stacey Gray. He also notes- "I don't think we ever really took it (the band) seriously, until we decided to change our name to `Trial Kennedy'. After that, things started to happen." The band initially released an independent EP, Present for a Day, in 2004. However, it was not until 2006's Pictureframe EP that the band received prope recognition. A chance inclusion of the band's song "Damage on Parade" on a sampler for Blunt Magazine roused industry attention. Shortly afterwards, the band found themselves with both a manager and a national booking agent. The band initially toured with local Melbournian acts. As their reputation increased, tours would involve a variety of popular Australian rock bands, including Gyroscope, The Hot Lies, Kisschasy, Cog, and Horsell Common, whom the band would later record the split EP The Birds and The Bees. The band would also tour with popular international bands, such as Fall Out Boy and Yellowcard. The band played the 2007 and 2008 Soundwave Festival tours at various dates. On May 31, 2008, the band released their long awaited debut album, New Manic Art. The album was produced by Nick DiDia, who has worked with Powderfinger, the Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus and Audioslave. It was followed up by a second LP, Living Undesigned, in 2011. On April 16, 2012, the band announced via Facebook that "For a number of reasons all of us in the band have chosen to close down the project that is Trial Kennedy." They played their last shows in June 2012.