In January 1996, three bored teenagers came up with a plan. They resolved to create a band with flare, style and sound despite that a) the singer had never sang, b) the guitarists had never played and c) they had no drummer.
 
Shitfish formed originally with Jacob on lead guitar, Paul on vocals and Mookie on acoustic rhythm guitar or drums depending on the locale. For the first few sessions, the band mainly jammed in Jacob's bedroom or at Jacob's old school because they had a drumkit and an extra amp.
 
Needless to say, the drumkit was destroyed.
 
After several pitiful attempts at original material.. 'Lonely little boy,..' - and an exhaustion of all available Nirvana songs with two chords, the band decided to step up the pace. To follow through a recurring theme, the band recruited a drummer with no previous drumming experience: Andrew Kelly. Mookie moved to strictly rhythm guitar and got his hands on an electric guitar.
 
The band struggled on.
 
At several times in late 1996, it looked like the band would split before having played a gig. Undeniably, there were creative differences and it felt as though there was no way to smooth the ridges of friction that riddled the fabric of the band. The members of the band each wanted to take the band in a different direction, and it threatened to tear them apart.
 
In the end, the band decided to stick it out but compromised by purchasing new equipment. Paul bought an amp, and found a real mike. Jacob and Tim bought amps and Andrew, now a skilled drummer, bought an impressive kit. More challenging covers began to seem conquerable, and suddenly the creative juices of the band started to flow in what has been to date the most productive era for Shitfish: early 1997.
 
In mid 1997 there were calls from within the band to adopt a new 'more serious' name. Several names were tossed around; after all, Shitfish was only ever a temporary name. In the end, Incentive was chosen as the new name, because no-one actively cared about it.
 
Now, in September 1997, Shitfish have accomplished much of what they set out to achieve. With impressive equipment, Shitfish now jam in Jacob's 'rumpus room' or at the school Multi Purpose Building on Mondays. Their songlist is now extensive, with several reputable original songs. On the 26th August, Shitfish played their first gig, as part of the 'Big Gig' organised at the Plenty Campus of Ivanhoe Grammar School by Jacob Uljans, and David Sirianni, lead singer of Shitfish's 'brother band', Haemoglobin. Only several days before the event, Mookie began a band revolt against the name 'Incentive', and Shitfish was reinstated. With an impresive sound, on that day Shitfish established themselves as one of the premier bands to come out of the Plenty Campus.
 
Shitfish's success at the Big Gig has led to several offers for parties and several recording opportunities, and they are now in intense preparation for these events. Rock on, Shitfish!