Joel Turner (musician)

As of 2010, Turner has released two full-length albums and toured extensively. He has also appeared in several television commercials, most famously for Drumstick Loaded ice cream.

Life and career

Early life (1987–2002)

Turner had an underprivileged childhood, growing up in the lower-middle class suburb of Acacia Ridge in Brisbane's south. His mother Grace struggled to raise five children on a sole-parent pension. According to Turner's brother Tim, "we grew up with nothing. You know – nothing. St Vinnie's clothes, no food in the pantry, nothing. Mum would get paid on Thursday and the food was gone Saturday."^[4]

Turner's father, also a guitarist (who played in

Turner is said to have shown an aptitude for music from a young age. He began playing drums at the age of seven but was unable to afford a drum kit of his own. He thus began using his mouth to sound the rhythms as a means of practice, initially creating beats by grinding his teeth together.[7] Turner was originally inspired by the vocal techniques of pop star Billy Ocean on his track Love Zone. In 2001, after being informed by a friend that what he was doing was an artform known as "beatboxing", Turner was inspired to develop his skills further, studying the genre and its artists, practising constantly and competing in battles. In addition to his background in percussion, Turner has reportedly sung since the age of seven and played guitar since nine.^[8]

Australian Idol, Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets (2003–2005)

Turner began performing and writing songs with his family members as a child. Along with his cousin, he joined his brother in the group Modern Day Poets, which was later changed to "Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets" to capitalize on Turner's fame through Australian Idol. It was Turner's cousin who suggested the trio audition for the show, as nothing more than a bit of a fun and an opportunity to gain exposure.^[9]

The genesis of the song "These Kids" occurred in December 2001 when Turner's brother asked him to compose some music for the lyrics he had written.^[10] The track was originally recorded in Cairns, Queensland, with funding from a family friend.^[11] It was this demo recording that would later help the group to secure a record contract with Mark Holden, who had been impressed with Turner's beatboxing and guitar skills and had asked to hear some songs from him.^[12] After the track's release, the group received a great deal of feedback from young people who identified with the issues mentioned in the song,^[13] such as drugs, depression, suicide, and living on the streets.

Following his signing to Holden's label Dream Dealers in early 2004, Turner spent the year recording and promoting his debut album and appearing at events such as the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards,

Turner's first single "These Kids" was written by DubLT after a friend committed suicide and was later dedicated to Joel Turner's troubled childhood neighbour and friend. It debuted in the top 5 of the Australian singles charts in October 2004. The single reached number one on the Australian singles chart^[14] and remains the highest-selling release by an Australian hip-hop act ever.^[15]

The self-titled

On 29 July 2007, Turner suffered a badly broken jaw after being struck in the face with a fence paling while attempting to break up a fight at a party in suburban Brisbane.^[25] He was admitted to hospital where he underwent surgery to have his jaw wired back together. Turner subsequently resumed performing less than a month after the incident occurred, in spite of doctors' orders.^[26] He later maintained in the August edition of S-press magazine that the attack had not fazed him.^[27]

August 2007 saw the release of a new single "City of Dreams" featuring C4 (Modern Day Poets) and KNO (Beatbox Alliance, Modern Day Poets). It debuted at No. 60 on the ARIA singles charts, but promptly rose to No. 30^[14] despite an absence of airplay. The video for the song (showcasing Turner's hometown of Brisbane) was released online in conjunction with a 15-minute documentary titled This Kid. Along with an uncensored version of "City of Dreams", the documentary included footage of Turner revisiting his old neighbourhood of Acacia Ridge and previewing forthcoming tunes on acoustic guitar.

Turner's much-delayed second album Out of the Box was eventually released on 6 October 2007 through Central Station's hip-hop sub-label Hardwax. It included collaborations with members of De La Soul and the Modern Day Poets, as well as UK rapper Mystro and Australian artist Preech. Although Turner considered it to be superior to his debut release,^[28] the album was overlooked by critics and did not achieve the commercial success of its predecessor.

Having recovered from his injury, Turner set about touring his second album Out of the Box, performing in schools and venues in cities across Australia. He headlined events such as the Urban Youth Arts Warehouse Fest, Xposed, and the Buzz Monkey National Breakdancing Championships, then spent early December performing several shows a day at the ASIMO exhibition in his hometown of Brisbane. Turner also received a further two nominations in the Urban division of the APRA Awards held in mid-June 2008.^[29]

Aside from occasional television appearances, Turner spent most of 2008 away from the public eye, his only prominent performances taking place during De La Soul's set at the Gold Coast's Summafieldayze Festival in January and Melbourne's "Make a Change Concert" in April.

In October the same year, Turner submitted a victim impact statement to the