WA Muso Battling 'Uncontrollable' Bushfires As Volunteer Firefighter

The Shakeys bassist and beekeeper Jessica Predovnik has added another job to her impressive resume: firefighter.

Yesterday, the Perth garage band posted the above image of their bandmate and wrote in the caption, “While most of us in WA have been in airconditioning trying to avoid the heat, The Shakeys' bass player Jess has been on the fireground at the Wanneroo bushfire this weekend as a volunteer firefighter helping keep the blaze under control and keeping people, their houses and animals safe. What an absolute legend!”

On the importance of her work as a firefighter volunteer, the band’s post continued, “We're in for a long hot summer this year, so if you'd like to help, consider donating to amazing charities like EASE WA that save animals through their emergency bushfire evacuation services or even volunteering at your local volunteer fire brigade, as brigades are always short staffed and looking for volunteers.”

Commenters on Facebook called Jess a “champion” and “absolute legend”, and we’re inclined to completely agree.

On Friday, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA posted a terrifying photo of the fire Jess and other volunteer firefighters were battling, describing the bushfire as “uncontained and uncontrolled” and a threat to the Wanneroo community.

The Shakeys, who recently won the industry-voted award for Best Punk/Hardcore Act by Hammer Ink at the 2023 WAM Awards, played a free show earlier this month (17 November) as part of WAMFest.

In November 2016, The Music reviewer Steven Knoth caught The Shakeys at Perth’s Badlands Bar with a bunch of other rocking bands, noting that their set contained “garage rock from hell with a nice MC5/Stooges vibe mixed in for good measure.” Knoth also complimented “the ever-captivating Claire ‘Bear’ Hodgson”, who was “spitting beer on a loving crowd” for their first gig in nine months. “They ain't taking no prisoners.”

In a complimentary review of their EP White Lightning, The Music’s Scott Aitken wrote that “the band are firing on all cylinders, sounding tighter and more aggressive, recounting tales of partying until dawn and taking aim at everyone from poseur rockers to shithead friends.”