We were just hating each other” – Jet reveals all ahead of Byron Bay gig

THEY shot to stardom in the early 2000s with hits like Are You Gonna Be My Girl and Cold Hard Bitch, riding a wave of success that carried them for more than a decade.

But the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle eventually took its toll, with Jet calling it quits in 2012.

“We were just hating each other,” lead guitarist Cameron Muncey said. “Everyone just needed a break. There was something broken in the group and how we interacted. It was a bit of a rug pull, but I’d just turned 30 and had a baby on the way so it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We got together a couple of years later and recorded a bunch of demos, but someone would blow up, then we’d get together again when things cooled down. Maybe we all just needed to grow up a bit.”

Muncey – now a father of three – spent the next few years focusing on his family.

“You don’t write on your headstone, ‘I wish I’d spent less time with my kids and more time at work’,” he said.

But after the band reunited in 2017 to support Bruce Springsteen on his Australian tour, Muncey found his passion for performing reignited.

“Watching a guy like Springsteen who’s been doing it for 50 years was inspiring,” he said. “I hate to use that word – it feels so corny – but it was. Life can feel a little bit flat without shows. There’s these big adrenaline spikes.”

The band regrouped again in 2023 to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album Get Born, coinciding with their induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame – and they haven’t slowed down since.

“We’re touring lots again and we’re really enjoying it,” Muncey said. “Being on stage is easy.”

He reflects fondly on the band’s early days, from forming in Melbourne in his early 20s to their rapid rise to success.

“We were kind of on the crest of a wave,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll was back, which suited us down to the ground. That’s all we could do. We got to live our dream, go to the States and record an album with a producer we admired.”

That producer, Los Angeles-based Dave Sardy, helped shape the raw, high-energy sound that has helped them sell more than six million albums worldwide.

“We were pretty cocky and confident in what we wanted,” Muncey said. “We didn’t want it to be too polished.”

While the band still thrives on the “shock and awe” of performing in front of huge crowds, such as a recent festival performance in Chile in front of 100,000 people, Muncey says there’s equal value in smaller, more intimate settings.

“Everyone can see your face and you have these quiet moments with the crowd,” he said. “It’s all worthwhile as a performer.”

Jet is at Beach Hotel in Byron Bay as part of The Rumblin’ Regional Revue Tour on Thursday 7 May.

For more information and tickets, visit livenation.com.au