The band formed in 2003 out of the ashes of The Sex, which was the project of drummer Jamin Orrall and his bassist brother Jake, eventually being joined by guitarist Jonas Stein - who was in another band on the Infinity Cat label, which Jamin and Jake ran at the time - and eventually Jemina Pearl herself.
On August 1st 2008, the band announced on their website that after finishing a small tour of England, they would be breaking up. Jemina signed off the bands last gig by saying "...thank you to you guys for coming to our show! It's been a fun time, it's been the best of times, it's been the worst of times, but most of the best of times though."
Most of the former members of Be Your Own Pet are now working on other projects, joined most recently by 21-year-old Pearl, the group's unequivocal centerpiece and go-to shit-kicker, who although no longer a member of side project Cheap Time, was until recently involved with band Rare Form, from Brooklyn, New York. Consisting of two friends credited only as Dani and Lauren, as well as Max from "The Trashers", they were - for a time - joined by Jemina, likening themselves to a "sloppy Weezer" and listing their influences as, "animals in sunglasses", "the woman eating a tub of ice cream on the bus" and, "when you open up a bar tab for karaoke, get trashed, forget to close the bar tab and leave your debit card at the bar, call your friend and tell them to close it for you, and it is only $7 'cos the bartender messed up so they just pay it for you 'cos the credit card minimum is $10." As of February 2009 however, their Myspace indicates that Jemina is no longer involved with the band.
Since BYOP's last show, Pearl's major or mainstream appearances have been limited namely to an appearance on American television teen drama "Gossip Girl", singing a version of Ramones' "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" which she recorded with Thurston Moore, best known as the guitarist of Sonic Youth, and for running Ecstatic Peace! records, with which Pearl is now affiliated.
Speaking recently, The Village Voice's Dan Weiss said of Pearl, "Jemina Pearl is one of the few world-class rock 'n rollers right now, especially if you factor in her age or breed -- that is, riot grrrls, or riot anyone, who want the world and have the confidence, wit and sound to execute all three. Comparable visionaries all took longer to emerge than Jemina's 21 years: there's Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hutz, Jack White, and the lady-men of Sleater-Kinney, who quit rocking for the most loathsome reason of all -- maturity. You could factor in the Hives' excellent Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, who's really a robot and someone only half-charged his battery last time out. Or Beth Ditto, who has the style, cred and outlandish goals to defrock American Idol-obsessed America if she only had even a single damn song to match."
She is currently working on music for her new, as yet unnamed band, which she has referred to only as "Jemina and the Somethings" following an interview with Pitchfork Media. When asked, "So is this new project an official Jemina Pearl solo thing or are you still trying to think of a new band name?" she responded to Pitchfork’s Ryan Dombal saying, "I guess it goes by my name, but I think of it as a band. It's hard to come up with a band name. Every time I come up with one I like someone's already taken it. I like to think of us as something similar to Iggy and the Stooges... but right now it's just Jemina and the Somethings."
According to her personal blog, she has - along with John Eatherly, former BYOP drummer, with whom she had been writing songs while the band were still together - spent time in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA, recording demos for their Myspace. According to Pearl, the demos sound, "quite righteous" and include new tracks such as "Kids Stuff", "D Is for Danger", "Heartbeat", "After Hours" and "I Hate People" (purportedly her first love song), with her suggesting that the new sound will be similar to that exhibited on BYOP's popular track Becky, which she and Eatherly co-wrote, and will not involve her, "sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar singing about [her] troubles". She did, however, go on to say, "I'm going to sing about my troubles but in an aggressive way; in my own way."
Along with Pearl and Eatherly (with whom she has been sharing an apartment, prompting questions as to whether they might be romantically involved, living together as friends, or purely for the purpose of working on new material), the final line-up for her the new band looks likely to include Turbo Fruits bassist Max Peebles (AKA Turbo Max), and Ryan Sawyer, drummer for Brooklyn country-folkers Tall Firs.
Continuing his interview, Ryan Dombal went on to ask what people can expect to hear, going forward, from Pearl and crew, to which she responded, "They can expect to hear the most awesome music ever! I'm really happy about it. It's going to be kind of similar to Be Your Own Pet; I mean, it's still my dumb voice and John. But he's playing guitar now instead of drums. Hopefully it's some kind of growth from Be Your Own Pet. It's hard to describe your own music... I'm sure I sound like a bumbling idiot right now."
Pearl played her first post-BYOP show opening for The Fluid on January 17th 2009 at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg. She took to the stage with her new shorter, brown hair, leather pants and denim vest with huge Lou Reed pin, along with (as expected) John Eatherly on guitar, Turbo Fruit's Max Peebles on bass, and the Tall Firs' Ryan Sawyer on drums. According to recent interviews, it looks like "Jemina and the Somethings" are set to record their debut album in March 2009, with a view to playing regular gigs around New York and New Jersey in the run up to, and during, this period.
As of Monday 1st June 2009, three new tracks have been posted on Jemina's official Myspace. These are "Heartbeats", Ecstatic Appeal" and "Nashville Shores", all of which are available to stream now at http://www.myspace.com/jeminapearl.
Heartbeats
Jemina Pearl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
not the chemical imbalance in my brain
that's making my heartache pain
that's driving me insane
got too many thoughts to chew
got nervous system blues
My chest explodes in you
racing hard it's something new
this late at night, the only sound is
heartbeats
can't make the sounds, instead we listen
heartbeats
and once we get alone (it is only)??
heartbeats
and now we concentrate, concentrating on
heartbeats
electric lone and I
can't tell if we're all right
wanna kiss like dark meets light
trapped in paranoia pride
heart to heart your just my kind
but words are hard to find
our bodies beat in time
your eyes penetrate my mind
this late at night, the only sound is
heartbeats
can't make the sounds, instead we listen
heartbeats
and once we get alone (it is only)??
heartbeats
and now we concentrate, concentrating on
heartbeats
??? speeding fast
sweaty palms that people grasp
that's why the stars they always pass
torture with you's such a blast
your fingers swirl my hair
calm me down forget all cares
walking dead, oh what a pair
morning breaks it's just not fair
this late at night, the only sound is
heartbeats
can't make the sounds, instead we listen
heartbeats
and once we get alone (it is only)??
heartbeats
and now we concentrate, a-concentrating
The lyrics to Jemina Pearl's song Heartbeats describe the overwhelming rush of emotions that comes with falling in love. The first verse references the physical symptoms of anxiety that occur when one's emotions are heightened, such as racing thoughts and a pounding heart. The second verse details the uncertainty and fear that can arise in a new relationship, as the phrase "trapped in paranoia pride" speaks to the feeling of not knowing whether or not to trust one's feelings. However, despite these challenges, the chorus emphasizes the power of the connection between two people in love, represented by the sound of their heartbeats. In the final verse, the lyrics suggest that even though the experience of falling in love can be intense and overwhelming, it is ultimately worth it.
Overall, the lyrics to Heartbeats convey a sense of vulnerability and rawness that comes with opening oneself up to another person. Jemina Pearl's use of vivid imagery and sensory language heightens the emotional impact of the song, creating an intense and immersive listening experience.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not all the cocaine
The reason for my heartache is not only due to cocaine.
not the chemical imbalance in my brain
It's not just the chemical imbalance in my brain that's causing me distress.
that's making my heartache pain
That's what's causing my heartache and pain.
that's driving me insane
That's making me feel like I'm going crazy.
got too many thoughts to chew
I have so many thoughts and worries that I can't process them all.
got nervous system blues
My anxiety and stress are affecting my nervous system.
My chest explodes in you
When I am with you, my chest feels like it's going to explode with emotion.
racing hard it's something new
My heart is racing faster than ever before, and I'm not used to it.
heartbeats
The only sound I hear right now is our heartbeats.
can't make the sounds, instead we listen
We can't speak, so we're just listening to the sounds of our hearts beating.
and once we get alone (it is only)??
When it's just the two of us, there's nothing else to distract us from the sound of our hearts.
and now we concentrate, concentrating on
We're focusing all of our attention on our heartbeats.
electric lone and I
I feel electrified and alone with you.
can't tell if we're all right
I'm not sure if we're doing the right thing by being together.
wanna kiss like dark meets light
I'm drawn to you even though we seem like opposites in many ways.
trapped in paranoia pride
I'm caught between feeling insecure and feeling too proud to admit it.
heart to heart your just my kind
You are perfect for me, and we have a strong emotional connection.
but words are hard to find
I can't express my feelings in words.
our bodies beat in time
Our hearts are beating in sync.
your eyes penetrate my mind
I feel like you can see into my soul when you look at me.
??? speeding fast
I'm not sure what this means without more context.
sweaty palms that people grasp
I'm nervous and anxious around other people.
that's why the stars they always pass
I can't enjoy the beauty of the stars because I'm too wrapped up in my own thoughts and feelings.
torture with you's such a blast
Even though being with you is challenging, it's also exhilarating.
your fingers swirl my hair
Your touch is comforting to me.
calm me down forget all cares
When I'm with you, I feel less anxious and forget about my worries.
walking dead, oh what a pair
We both feel numb and disconnected from the world.
morning breaks it's just not fair
The morning comes too soon, and I don't want our time together to end.
Contributed by Nathan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.