Be Your Own Pet

The Profile

Be Your Own Pet is an American punk/garage band from Nashville formed in the mid-2000s, fronted by Jemina Pearl. They broke out with their self-titled debut (2006) and follow-up Get Awkward (2008), known for frantic, high-energy performances. After splitting in 2008, they reunited and released Mommy (2023) on Third Man Records.

Get Awkward was released in the U.S. via Ecstatic Peace! and produced by Steve McDonald (Redd Kross). The band’s live shows gained a reputation for wild, high-energy chaos. The censored U.S. edition of Get Awkward led to the companion EP Get Damaged collecting omitted tracks.

Three DeBaser reviews paint Be Your Own Pet as a high-energy Nashville punk/garage group with short, frantic songs and a standout voice in Jemina Pearl. The self-titled debut and Get Awkward are praised for immediacy and live-ready chaos but critiqued for repetition and thin songwriting. Highlights called out include Bicycle Bicycle, Bunk Trunk Skunk, Adventure, Super Soaked, Food Fight!, Becky, and The Beast Within. Production and label pedigree (Steve McDonald; Ecstatic Peace!) are noted, alongside the band’s notorious live ferocity.