The songs comprising Sunshower—produced by the band and noted engineer Chris Ribando (The Black Crowes, Priestbird, Mary J. Blige)—blend contemporary styles with a myriad of classic influences, from Dylan and The Beatles to Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac to The Police and Talking Heads. But you wouldn’t immediately hear them. The band has a knack for combining all of those influences into something utterly vital and wholly their own, as they’ve done on first single “Flaming Arrow,” a shimmering, ringing acoustic folk tune shot through with a bumping bassline and New Orleans inspired drum groove.
Sunshower dazzles on tracks like the dancefloor-friendly “Simple Stones,” filled with handclaps and soulful economic riffing that boasts a bass line for the ages while blending ‘80s Stones and MGMT. The epic opener “Volcano” melds The Beach Boys with The Flaming Lips, while delivering one of the disc’s best choruses. If Ishibashi conjures The Shins on “Find Me a Place,” he drops vintage, finger-picking folk on disc-closer “People in the Mountain.” As guitarist Zac Colwell puts it: “We can sound like Simon & Garfunkel, The Kooks, or even from a webisode of Yacht Rock.”
If they had their way, listeners would ingest each track on Sunshower as they would a new chapter in a never-boring book. Says singer/multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi, “We approach every song like, ‘Will people be able to listen to this over and over again?’ ”
“Each song is like a little world,” adds Colwell. “We’re the same four guys playing the music on each track, but we just like to get way down in there and explore that little world.”
What K Ishibashi (lead vocals), Zac Colwell (lead guitar), Dave Heilman (drums) and Pat Dougherty (bass) have created as a result is a hook-heavy album tailor-made for our ADD times. And that mix-it-up mentality suits the band, as its songs are written by either Colwell or Ishibashi, each of whom have opposing approaches to lyric and melody.
“K leaves things a little more open for the listener,” says Colwell, who also plays keyboards and flute and adds backing vocals. “I consciously try to have a little narrative, and tell a story.” Counters Ishibashi, who plays guitar and violin in addition to singing lead on Sunshower: “His songs are pretty dark. I write bright, fun stuff, a lot of it stemming from one really big emotional experience. I’m more analytical, more left brain, he’s more right.”
“If there’s a theme to the album, it would definitely be bittersweetness,” Colwell continues.
“There’s definitely some humor, playfulness, but there’s also this twenty-something, we-have-to-temper-our-excitement sort of thing, especially being New Yorkers. Our elation is always checked, and some of the lyrics reflect that.” Bittersweet can be contradictory in terms, but in this case, these four unique personalities colorfully complement one another.
Although officially formed in 2003, the seeds for Jupiter One were planted in 2000 when Austin native Colwell and Ishibashi (raised in Virginia) met while working as touring musicians with a traveling circus, the Barnum Kaleidoscope. Bonding over their love for all music from soul to classical Indian, the duo began performing instrumental music in New York in the early 2000s, gradually working their way toward pop music incorporating vocals, and gigs at Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery and other reputable venues around Manhattan. “We noticed that once we started singing, girls started coming to shows,” laughs Colwell.
A former member of the popular STOMP performance collective, New Jersey-born drummer Heilman, caught an early incarnation of Jupiter One at a now-defunct bar in New York’s Lower East Side. “There was a unique, analog keyboard sound, something you don’t really hear anymore, especially then, in 2004,” he says, “and it just created this incredible sense of nostalgia. It made me feel like the band’s music was already history. It totally felt classic, and it made me sit up on the edge of my seat.” The current incarnation of the band coalesced with the addition of Delaware-raised bassist Pat Dougherty.
Taking its name from the spaceship in the ‘60s television show Lost in Space, Jupiter One made its recorded debut in 2005 with a self-titled EP, three songs from which made the transition—albeit in re-recorded form—to the group’s official self-titled debut album. The songs on Jupiter One scored the band a slew of high-level song-placements in TV and film projects (including the upcoming indie film Broken Windows, MLB Opening Day ‘09, NASCAR Talladega Race ’09 NBC’s Heroes Tribute, and the Sci-Fi channel’s Flash Gordon), as well as a number of video games (Madden NFL ’08, NHL ’08, etc.), and commercials (Payless‘09, Mazda ‘08).
Behind the new wave-inspired Jupiter One, the band members—having quit their day jobs—criss-crossed the States, building a fan base and surviving on Subway’s five-dollar footlong special, laughs Heilman. “We spent 14 months sluggin’ it out in the clubs,” he says. “We did not want to be some sort of boring web sensation. We wanted to meet our fans face to face.” And the work has paid off. “It’s definitely a show we’ve put time into, so it’s not just four guys playing a song, it’s supposed to be a spectacle,” says Colwell.
With producer/engineer Ribando at the controls, Sunshower embraces warmer, analog sounds and vintage recording techniques. “It’s the sound of the four of us playing together, rather than layering in the studio,” says Colwell. “Instead of piecemeal, it’s the way we actually sound live.”
Forgetting the sound for a minute, and thinking about the songs, Ishibashi adds: “We just want people to internalize them. We want Sunshower to be a journey.”
Find Me A Place
Jupiter One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'll kiss you again
And I'll kiss you again
Under the tree on the side of the road
And I'll love you again
I'll learn to love you again
All the magic
Call it tragic
The only thing I had was the memory of you
All the worries were buried inside a deeper part of me
These are chapters in the saddest story
When I met you
You were the only song I'd ever want to sing
When I touched you
I couldn't think of any better place to be
But when I missed you
It's the only time I felt a part of me
That was living its life that's meant to be
The song "Find Me A Place" by Jupiter One is a heart-wrenching piece that portrays the feelings of lost love and longing. The first stanza talks about finding a place where the wind never blows, a place of shelter and peace, where the singer can kiss their lover again. The second stanza talks about a tree on the side of the road, a symbol of a place of rest and hope, where the singer can learn to love again.
The chorus of the song captures the essence of the message, as the singer recounts the pain of losing their love, the bitterness of time erasing their memories, and the only thing they have left is the memory of their love. The bridge of the song highlights the various emotions that come with love, from the joy of finding someone to love, the comfort in their embrace, the pain of missing them, and the constant longing to be with them.
Overall, "Find Me A Place" is a beautiful take on the complexities of love and highlights the struggles that come with lost love. It's a song that touches the heart and speaks to the soul, reminding us that despite the hurt, love is worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
Find me a place where the wind never blows
A wish to escape from the harsh realities, the struggle to find a peaceful haven from the turbulence of life.
And I'll kiss you again
In this utopian world, the reunion of two lovers after a period of distance and separation.
Under the tree on the side of the road
A picturesque setting infused with meaningful memories and emotions.
And I'll love you again
A sense of renewal, starting afresh with love and affection.
I'll learn to love you again
Acknowledging the hardships and struggles, and striving to reignite the flame of love and passion.
All the magic
Amidst the chaos and uncertainties of life, the moments of joy and love represent magic, which is fleeting and ephemeral.
It was so suddenly a different shade of blue
Abruptly, life took an unexpected turn, adding a layer of melancholy and sadness to what was once a happy existence.
Call it tragic
Describing the despair and despondency associated with love and loss.
The only thing I had was the memory of you
When everything else fades away, the memories of a loved one remain, providing solace and comfort.
All the worries were buried inside a deeper part of me
The struggles and challenges of life are often buried deep within, beyond the surface level emotions and experiences.
These are chapters in the saddest story
A deep sense of sadness and tragedy, an emotional wound that never truly heals.
When I met you
The beginning of a beautiful journey, a time filled with wonder and excitement.
You were the only song I'd ever want to sing
Describing the transformative power of love, where a person can become the center of one's universe.
When I touched you
Physical intimacy and closeness expressed through a simple touch, evoking strong emotions and sensations.
I couldn't think of any better place to be
The feeling of complete contentment and happiness, where everything else fades away and momentary bliss takes over.
But when I missed you
The void left in one's life in the absence of a loved one, leaving one incomplete and longing for their presence.
It's the only time I felt a part of me
The realization that one is incomplete without the other, and only in their presence, do they feel like a whole.
That was living its life that's meant to be
A sense of destiny and fate, where two individuals are meant to be together, living their lives to the fullest.
Contributed by Evan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.