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Justin Heazlewood
Heazlewood in Burnie in 2020
Heazlewood in Burnie in 2020
BornJustin Marcus Heazlewood
(1980-06-12) 12 June 1980 (age 44)
Burnie, Tasmania, Australia
Occupation
  • Writer
  • singer-songwriter
  • comedian
  • journalist
  • radio DJ
The Bedroom Philosopher
OriginBelconnen, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
Years active2002–2017
Labels
Website
justinheazlewood.com

Justin Marcus Heazlewood (born 12 June 1980),[1] p.k.a. the Bedroom Philosopher, is an Australian author, songwriter and performer. He has released several albums of musical comedy, toured Australia extensively, been nominated for an ARIA Award and published books about his experiences in the entertainment industry.

Recording career

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2002–2005 Living on the Edge of My Bed

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The Bedroom Philosopher began in 2002, Heazlewood submitted a three-minute radio piece for the ABC Heywire competition about his passion for folk music, which led to him becoming a regular guest on Triple J's The Morning Show.[2][3] He also filmed two pilot episodes of The Bedroom Philosopher Show for ABC Fly TV, a now defunct digital youth television station.[4] He also secured his first major musical gig, playing support for Bodyjar and The Bumblebeez at Triple J's Unearthed concert later that year.

The Bedroom Philosopher has performed in past years at the Big Day Out,[5] Falls Festival,[6] Melbourne Fringe Festival,[7] Adelaide Fringe Festival,[8] National Folk Festival, Perth International Arts Festival[9] and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His first three Melbourne Comedy Festival Shows included Living on the Edge of My Bed (2003),[10] In Bed with My Doona (2004), and Pyjamarama (2005). In 2006 he teamed up with Josh Earl to form The Renegades of Folk, performing a Melbourne Comedy Festival show of the same name.[11]

The Bedroom Philosopher's first album, Living on the Edge of My Bed featured tracks which had earlier been played on The Morning Show, and was released in 2003. This unmastered collection was only sold at live shows until it was released digitally in 2022.

2005–2008 "I'm So Post Modern"

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In 2005 the Bedroom Philosopher released his first retail and studio album, In Bed with My Doona,[12] produced by his uncle Ken Heazlewood. This release was taken to strongly by Triple J's audience, with the first single "I'm So Post Modern" becoming a high-rotation hit, reaching number 72 in the Hottest 100.[13] The Bedroom Philosopher was the only unsigned artist to make the list in 2005.[14] His self-produced film clip of "I'm So Post Modern" (by Dan Ilic) also featured on the Hottest 100 DVD.[15]

2007 saw the introduction of 'The Awkwardstra', composed of Andy Hazel on bass and Hugh Rabinovici on drums. Late 2008 saw the addition of Jamie Power on percussion and Gordon Blake on sitar.[16] This coincided with the release of second single "Wow Wow's Song (La La La)" which quickly became a YouTube hit,[17] and featured popular comedy trio Tripod featuring as backing vocalists. This was released as a precursor to his second album Brown and Orange.

2008–2009 Brown and Orange

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After performing at Perth International Arts Festival The Bedroom Philosopher completed his second album Brown and Orange with producers Chris Scallan and Martin "Moose" Lubran, released in February 2009.[16] The first single from this was "The Happiest Boy", released in October 2007.[18] The video clip of "The Happiest Boy" was made by David Blumenstein at Nakedfella Productions.[19]

The album was promoted with a national tour.

2009–2010 Songs from the 86 Tram

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April 2009 saw The Bedroom Philosopher debuting his show Songs from the 86 Tram in the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[20] He won the Director's Choice award for outstanding show and reprised it in the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Songs from this show comprise his third album Songs from the 86 Tram, recorded in August and September 2009. The show was nominated for three 2009 Green Room Awards winning for best cabaret production.[21] The show was revised for a sold-out run at the 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Heazlewood appeared as "Re-enactment John" in the ABCTV series John Safran's Race Relations in late 2009.[22]

Songs from the 86 Tram album was presaged by the single "Northcote", released to radio in February 2010. The single peaked at number 12 in the Australian Independent Singles charts and received high rotation on Triple J. The album was released 16 April 2010.

An accompanying Australian national tour to promote the album ran from 12 August until 5 September 2010.

On 28 September 2010 the album was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.[23]

"Northcote (So Hungover)" music video

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The music video for song "Northcote (So Hungover)" was created by director Craig Melville and produced by David Curry. The video satirises hipster culture which is currently popular in inner-city Melbourne, with humorous stereotypes and pretension thought to be present in neo-hipsterism. The Bedroom Philosopher has since recorded a version of the song composed entirely of comments made on the film clip's YouTube page.

On 23 September 2010 the clip won the Australian Director Guild award in the music video category.[24] On 20 November 2010 it won a silver Australian Cinematographers Society music video award,[25] Best Independent Production Award at the St Kilda Film Festival[26] and Best Music Video Award at the 15 Minutes of Fame Festival in Florida.[27] The filmclip was also voted in Rage's Top 50 film clips of 2010,[28] and the song in the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2011.[29]

2011–2012 Wit Bix

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2011 saw the release of the songs "Leaving My Hairdresser" and "Tram Inspector", the film clip for the latter charting at 19 in Rage's Top 100 Filmclips of 2011. The Bedroom Philosopher embarked on several solo tours, including opening for The Dresden Dolls on their national tour and performed his show Wit Bix at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. The A Very Beddy Christmas EP was released in November, with a modern adaptation of the Christmas carol "Twelve Days of Christmas" released as a radio single.

Discography

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Albums

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List of albums
Title Album details
Living on the Edge...of My Bed
  • Released: 2003 (Rereleased 2022)
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records
  • Formats: CD, download
In Bed with My Doona
  • Released: 2004
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records
  • Formats: CD, download
Brown and Orange
  • Released: 2009
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records (NANPOP002)
  • Formats: CD, download
Songs from the 86 Tram
  • Released: 2010
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records (NANPOP003)
  • Formats: CD, download
A Very Beddy Christmas
  • Released: 2011
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records
  • Formats: CD, download
Funemployed LP
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Nan & Pop Records (NANPOP006)
  • Formats: CD, download

Literary career

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Under his own name, Justin Heazlewood has published three books and written for a number of Australian publications and a television show.

From 2002 until 2012, Heazlewood wrote a fortnightly column for Canberra streetpress BMA called "Struth Be Told".[30] From 2007 until 2011 Heazlewood was a senior writer for Frankie Magazine. Since this time he has contributed to Australian magazines The Big Issue and JMag. His works have also appeared in Australian publications Sleepers Magazine,[31] Rattapallax,[32] Going Down Swinging,[33] The Sex Mook,[34]Mess + Noise and The Death Mook.

From 1999 to 2005, Heazlewood was a regular contributor and editorial committee member for Voiceworks.[35]

From 2005 to 2006, Heazlewood was a full-time writer for the Network Ten sketch comedy program The Ronnie Johns Half Hour.[36]

As The Bedroom Philosopher, Heazlewood published a monthly ezine LapTopping from 2005 to 2012.[37] A regular ezine under his own name entitled Justin Heazlewood's Fuzzy Logic was launched in 2021.

In 2009 Heazlewood created the sketch radio show 'Lime Champions' on Melbourne community radio Triple R. He co-hosted it with Melbourne comedians Damien Lawlor, Josh Earl and Eva Johansen. He left the show in 2010.

In 2012 Heazlewood published his first book The Bedroom Philosopher Diaries. The E-book was published by Affirm, earning praise from Tony Martin, Benjamin Law, Dave Graney and Neil Gaiman.

2014–2015 Funemployed

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Heazlewood spent 2013 and much of 2014 working on his non-fiction book Funemployed, about the challenges faced by people in the Australian creative industries was published in May 2014. The book was adapted into a radio series broadcast on ABC Radio National and accompanied by an album of the same name. A single "I Don't Know What I'm Doing With My Life" was released under his own name from an EP accompanying the book. The "Funemployed LP" album (later released as The Bedroom Philosopher) features spoken word pieces from interview subjects Brian Ritchie, Tim Rogers and Sam Simmons.[38]

2018–2022 Get Up Mum

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From 2015 Heazlewood went into hiatus to work on his childhood memoir Get Up Mum. This was a deeply personal work about the experience of growing up as a child carer for a parent with schizophrenia. It is set in his hometown of Burnie, Tasmania and spans one year in his life from 1992 to 1993. To write in the voice of his 12-year-old self he drew from a collection of diaries and cassette recordings made of himself and his family. Get Up Mum was published in May 2018 with launches at Melbourne Writers Festival and Brisbane Writers Festival. In 2019 the book was adapted into a 10-part series for the ABC Radio National program Life Matters. The series was performed entirely by Heazlewood and featured samples of his childhood cassette recordings.

In 2020 Heazlewood was commissioned to produce a live theatrical version of Get Up Mum by Adelaide-based Far and Away Productions. Heazlewood relocated to his hometown Burnie for an extended period and received several grants from Arts Tasmania. The new work premiered at the Theatre Royal, Hobart in March 2022.

In 2020 Heazlewood gave a witness statement for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Since 2018 he has been an ambassador for Satellite Foundation who support young people caring for a family member with a mental illness.

World records

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  • Longest continuous performance of Daryl Braithwaite's "The Horses" while riding on a horse carousel on Melbourne Cup day in Canberra – (30 minutes).[39]
  • Longest continuous performance of John Farnham's "You're The Voice" in Melbourne – (9 hours).[40]
  • Longest demonstration of 'BoonRapping' (reading David Boon's autobiography in a hip hop style) in Hobart – (12.5 minutes).[4]
  • Artist with the most performances at the venue 'Stage Door: The Cafe' in Burnie, Tasmania.

Awards and nominations

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ARIA Music Awards

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The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2010 Songs from the 86 Tram (as The Bedroom Philosopher) Best Comedy Release Nominated [41]

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

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The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2009 Songs from the 86 Tram (as The Bedroom Philosopher) Director's Choice Award Won [42]

Green Room Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2009 Songs from the 86 Tram (as The Bedroom Philosopher) Best Cabaret Production Won [43]

References

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  1. ^ "Life Story". Justin Heazlewood's Fuzzy Logic. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  2. ^ Benny Walter interviews Justin Heazlewood, Cordite Press Inc., archived from the original on 30 March 2005
  3. ^ The Bedroom Philosopher – The Groggy Squirrel Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b Waterfront Records
  5. ^ ~Rip It Up – Adelaide's leading street press magazine Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Falls Festival – Funny Buggers on FasterLouder.com.au". Archived from the original on 10 August 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  7. ^ The Bedroom Philosopher – On the Edge of my Bed – The Groggy Squirrel Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Laughingstock Productions : Heath Franklin's Chopper in Make Deadsh*ts History
  9. ^ Lawrence Leung – Beck's Music Box – Perth International Arts Festival 2008 – Perth, Western Australia
  10. ^ The Age 2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival – Show – The Bedroom Philosopher in 'Living on the edge...of my bed' Archived 28 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Melbourne Fringe 2005". Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  12. ^ "IN BED WITH MY DOONA (BEDROOM PHILOSOPHER): music4me: play4me.com.au – The World's Entertainment Superstore". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  13. ^ Monitor Online -Bedroom Philosopher shares wisdom at commencement Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 of 2005". Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  15. ^ ABC Shop – triple j – Hottest 100: Vol 13
  16. ^ a b http://www.bedroomphilsopher.com[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "YouTube – The Bedroom Philosopher – Wow Wow's Song (La La La)". Au.youtube.com. 2 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  18. ^ MySpace.com – The Bedroom Philosopher – Self-conscious Melbourne, AU – Indie / Folk / Comedy – www.myspace.com/thebedroomphilosopher
  19. ^ "Broadcast Yourself". YouTube. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  20. ^ "The Bedroom Philosopher – Songs From the 86 Tram | Melbourne International Comedy Festival – 1–26 April 2009". Comedyfestival.com.au. 26 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  21. ^ "2009 Nominations and Recipients". Greenroom.org.au. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  22. ^ "ABC TV: John Safran's Race Relations – About the Show". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  23. ^ "ARIA Awards 2009 : About: Fine Arts & Artisan Awards". Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  24. ^ "Australian Directors Guild unveils 2010 award winners".
  25. ^ "Australian Cinematographers Society 2010 award winners". Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  26. ^ "SOUNDKilda...And the Winners Are..." Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  27. ^ "15 MInutes of Fame Film Festival Winners".
  28. ^ "Rage Top Fifty". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  29. ^ "Triple J Hottest 100 2010". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 January 2011.
  30. ^ "BMA Mag 314 13th Nov 2008". Issuu.com. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  31. ^ "Sleepers Publishing". Sleepers Publishing. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  32. ^ "Rattapallax". Rattapallax. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  33. ^ "G o i n g D o w n S w i n g i n g". G o i n g D o w n S w i n g i n g. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  34. ^ Ivy (24 October 2007). "North of the latte line: Sex Mook launches in Melbourne and Canberra". Northline.blogspot.com. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  35. ^ "Virgule". Expressmedia.org.au. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 19 March 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  36. ^ KL (30 September 2005). "This Man is a Genius | The Kilbot Factory". Kilbot.net. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  37. ^ "LapTopping – 51 – "Cruskits! Cruskits! Cruskits!" ... The Bedroom Philosopher". Bedroomphilosopher.com. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  38. ^ Frangos, Daniela (29 May 2014). "Heazlewood releases new book and accompanying EP". Rip It Up. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  39. ^ Triple J Hottest 100 – Forum – Elefant Traks[permanent dead link]
  40. ^ The Bedroom Philosopher ... who am i?
  41. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  42. ^ "Melbourne Comedy Festival Awards".
  43. ^ "2009 Green Room Award Winners". 16 March 2010.
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