Jibe began in late 1993 after friends Joe Grah and Toby Bittenbender met bassist Sean Robinson while working at Guitar Center in Dallas, Texas. Drummer Ben Jeffries joined the other members upon moving to Dallas in February 1994. Jibe played their first show at a club called “The Basement” in Dallas in April 1994. The group soon became known for their energetic and intense live shows and relentless touring schedule, playing well over a thousand concerts in their first five years. Jibe released their first album, a live concert recorded at Trees in Dallas, in 1994. The self-titled LP Jibe followed in 1996.
The band received their first taste of success in 2000 with their single "I’ll Meet You Halfway" from their second studio album In My Head, which reached the #1 spot on college radio stations in Texas and Louisiana. Although compared by the press to classic rock acts such as James Gang and Led Zeppelin, the band cited contemporaries such as U2, Pearl Jam, and Jane’s Addiction as the primary influences on their developing sound.
In 2003 Jibe released their third album Uprising. The single "Yesterday’s Gone" received significant national airplay and spent nine weeks in the top 30 on the national rock chart, peaking at #26. The song soared to #1 at radio stations in Dallas, Austin, and Shreveport, and reached the top 10 at dozens of stations across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana and made the top 20 in several other markets nationwide. "Yesterday’s Gone" charted at #71 on Radio & Records year-end list of the top 100 rock tracks of 2003 and was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys as the music bed for their 2003 season. Uprising was also a critical success, earning awards for alternative album of the year, male vocalist of the year, producer of the year, and song of the year at the 2003 KEGL local show awards.
Jibe quickly found themselves in high demand as an opening act for popular nationally touring post-grunge rock acts of the day such as Creed, Staind, Sevendust, Shinedown, Seether, Saliva, Ours, Oleander, Lit, and Our Lady Peace. Jibe toured with Nickelback, Jerry Cantrell, Josh Todd, Kings of Leon and Marilyn Manson and established themselves as one of the premier rock bands in the Dallas scene.
Breakup and hiatus
After playing over 2,500 concerts, Jibe suddenly broke up in June 2004, much to the dismay of their fans. According to the Dallas Observer, the band seemed to be “perpetually perched on fame’s doorstep” and after the success of their most recent album, by all accounts were “on their way up”. According to Jibe frontman Joe Grah, one night he simply got in his car and drove to Los Angeles and didn’t tell anyone for three days. During his time in Jibe, Grah had become addicted to drugs and alcohol and believes that if he hadn’t left Dallas and broken up the band, he probably would have died.
After leaving Jibe, singer Joe Grah joined the band Loser in Los Angeles, which also featured guitarist John 5. Loser was signed to Island Records and released the album Just Like You in 2006. Following the dissolution of Loser, Grah fronted the bands South of Earth and I Am The Wolf. He also formed the electronic rock project Dead Girls Don’t Lie.
Ben Jeffries drummed for the band The Feds from 2004 to 2008 before leaving the band to attend college.
Toby Bittenbender joined Zayra Alvarez’s backing band and played on her 2006 album Ruleta. Later he played with Dallas rock band Overscene.
Corey Tatro played bass in the metal band DownLo, and also plays lead guitar in the Whiskey River Ramblers.
Legacy
Jibe’s reputation in the Dallas scene has become legendary. The legacy of the band is inextricably tied to the pinnacle of the Deep Ellum music scene of the 1990s and early 2000s. Along with other prominent Dallas bands such as Tripping Daisy, The Toadies, Drowning Pool, Flickerstick, Edgewater, Old 97's, Slow Roosevelt and Reverend Horton Heat, Jibe are revered as standard-bearers of a bygone era when rock fans packed the clubs of Deep Ellum.
Jibe played their first concert in eleven years on September 25, 2015 at Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill in Dallas. The show was free, but required tickets which could be reserved at Dallas rock radio station KDGE’s website. The tickets sold out in less than ten hours, and the concert was moved to a larger venue, where tickets again sold out. In 2016 the band wrote and recorded a new album, Epic Takes of Human Nature with producer Matt Noveskey and mixer Toby Wright. The first single from the album ,"We've Only Just Begun", was released November 8, 2016. The song "Release" is the second single. The full album was released to fans who pre-ordered on June 9, 2017 and had a wider release on October 6, 2017. Along with the new album, Jibe also released a collection of B-sides and rarities, and are also working on a documentary film about the band's history and reunion.
Band members
Joe Grah – lead vocals (1993–2004, 2015-present)
Toby Bittenbender – guitars (1993–2004, 2015-present)
Corey Tatro – bass (1998–2004, 2015-present)
Todd Harwell – drums (2017–present)
Sean Robinson – bass (1993-1998)
Ben Jeffries – drums (1993-2004, 2015-2017)
Uprising
Jibe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a car crash coming through in stereo
We climbed high from beneath the wreckage
Soldiers of the new day coming
Rise up all kindred souls
Tonight's the night we're going home
You were there when it broke
We can fly high above this message
The time has come, there I said it, and I'll say it again
Rise up all kindred souls
We're gonna take it back
Tonight's the night we're going home
We're gonna take it back
We've got the numbers a million to one
We're gonna take it back
Dead end vultures we are no more
Rise up
Rise up
Rise up
We're gonna
Rise up
Rise up
Rise up
We're gonna
We're gonna
We're gonna
Rise up all kindred souls
We're gonna take it back
Tonight's the night we're going home
We're gonna take it back
We've got the numbers a million to one
We're gonna take it back
Dead end vultures we are no more
We're gonna take it back
We're gonna take it back
We're gonna take it back
We're gonna take it back
The lyrics of Jibe's "Uprising" speak of a new consciousness arising, possibly in response to a significant event- "like a car crash coming through in stereo" - that has derailed the world "we knew" and heralded the beginning of a new era. The song speaks of people uniting- "soldiers of the new day coming" - and rising up against the previous regime- "dead end vultures we are no more". It's a song of hope, of a better future that is within reach, if only people are willing to join together, and to stand up to the challenges that confront them.
Furthermore, the phrase "tonight's the night we're going home" may represent the idea that this change is leading people to a place of safety and stability, perhaps one that they have been seeking for a long time. The song's repeated use of "rise up" serves as a call to arms- it is a battle cry to mobilize people and ignite their passion for making a change. Overall, "Uprising" celebrates a new era of consciousness, action, and unity.
Line by Line Meaning
A new consciousness awoke
We have reached a new level of understanding and awareness
Like a car crash coming through in stereo
Our awakening was sudden and impactful, like the jarring sound of a car crash in surround sound
We climbed high from beneath the wreckage
Despite the chaos and destruction around us, we have risen above it and moved forward
Soldiers of the new day coming
We are the warriors of a new era, ready to fight for a better world
Rise up all kindred souls
Let us band together and lift each other up in this revolution
Tonight's the night we're going home
We are going to achieve our ultimate goal and find a sense of belonging and peace
The world we knew is not the world we know
Our perspective has shifted drastically and the way we see and interact with the world has changed
We can fly high above this message
We have the power to rise above the negativity and resistance to our message
The time has come, there I said it, and I'll say it again
We have been waiting for this moment and it is now here, and we will not stop fighting for it
We're gonna take it back
We are going to reclaim what has been taken from us and demand change
We've got the numbers a million to one
We are many and powerful, and our voice cannot be ignored
Dead end vultures we are no more
Those who have held us back and profited from our struggles will no longer have power over us
Rise up
Stand tall, be proud, and fight for what is right
We're gonna
We are determined and committed to our cause
We're gonna take it back
We will not back down until we have taken back what is rightfully ours
We're gonna take it back
Our power and determination will lead us to success
We're gonna take it back
We will not stop until we have achieved our goal
Contributed by Declan E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mekkiepoo
Rewind is one of my favorite songs of all time <3
@JoeGrah
Great song!
@jonathangorden6080
I miss the old days of Deep Ellum! Such a great album! Yesterday’s Gone is a fitting song to kick this album off. Nothing beats Rewind though.
@JoeGrah
true... thank you
@stormrhode2330
Badass. Makes me think of Alien Ant Farm, Nonpoint, and American Pearl, yet they still have their own sound. A super great album. :)
@JoeGrah
Sweet! Thanks man
@rogersadler7434
takes several times listening, BUT once you connect....AWESOME!!!!!!!
@JoeGrah
Thx for taking the time...
@homermatamoros
Man my homie cory was killing the bass .
@user-jd9ft7nh6q
One of the best live shows of all time every time the band jibe gave 1000%