The band's sound has varied considerably over the years. Loud and lush shoegaze, heavy guitar rock, dream pop, chamber pop, new wave, synth pop, post-punk, garage rock, pop rock, soft rock, lounge music and blues rock all play significant roles in SF59's ultimate sonic palette.
While Martin has written all of Starflyer 59's music and is the principal musician, the band has included numerous contributors over its life. For the better part of 15 years, beginning in the mid-00s, SF59's lineup stabilized with Steven Dail on bass and Trey Many on drums. In recent years, drumming duties have been handled by Charlie Martin, Jason's son, who was 16 when he recorded on SF59's 2019 album, Young In My Head. Other notable contributors over the years have included Jeff Cloud, Richard Swift, Frank Lenz, Josh Dooley, Wayne Everett, and others.
Starflyer 59 was signed to Tooth & Nail Records, their original and current label, after Jason Martin gave a demo to Brandon Ebel when the two met at a music festival in 1993. Shortly afterwards, Ebel contacted Martin and offered him a record contract. By the end of the year, Starflyer 59's debut album, Silver, was recorded and released. In 1995, Starflyer 59 released their sophomore album, Gold. Both of these albums are actually eponymous releases, but are colloquially known by the colors of the plain, monochromatic album art.
Starflyer 59's next album, Americana (1997), continued with the minimalist cover art, but marked the first of many significant sonic shifts for the band. While Americana is still loud, heavy and guitar-forward like the previous releases, layered ambient shoegazing is replaced by crunchy, catchy blues rock-inspired riffs and more traditional song structures. Several changes to the band lineup were also made for this album. Bass player Andrew Larson departed, replaced by Eric Campuzano (The Prayer Chain). In addition, Wayne Everett (The Prayer Chain) became the band's studio drummer, a role previously held by Martin. High tensions in the studio during the recoding of the album led Campuzano to leave the band before it began touring to support the new album. Replacing him was Jeff Cloud, who had been Starflyer's touring manager.
The release of The Fashion Focus in 1998 signaled a major change in the direction of the band's sound, largely due to the influence of Gene Eugene. Where previous albums had emphasized guitars and loud, shoegazing rock and roll, The Fashion Focus was a significantly softer album, drawing its main influences from pop rock, loung music, arty indie rock and synthesizer music. Everybody Makes Mistakes, released the next year, continued in the same direction as The Fashion Focus.
On Nov. 21st, 2000, Starflyer 59 released Easy Come Easy Go, a two disc set that contained songs from throughout their career up to that point. 2001 saw the release of Leave Here A Stranger, Starflyer's next full length album. It saw the band's sound continue to soften. After the untimely death of Gene Eugene, Martin called on long-time musical hero Terry Scott Taylor to take over production of the new album. In an effort to be different, Leave Here a Stranger was recorded in mono. In addition to Martin and Cloud, Leave Here a Stranger featured Josh Dooley on keyboards and Joey Esquibel on drums.
Beginning in 2003, Starflyer 59 would release one full length album every year for three years, all of them self-produced. The first of these albums was Old. Old features heavier guitars than Leave Here A Stranger; however, the music was still significantly softer than the band's early work. In 2004, I Am the Portuguese Blues was released. With this album, Starflyer 59 returned to the heavy guitar format that was so prominent on their early albums, as well as the monochromatic album covers that had characterized these albums. I Am the Portuguese Blues was not a true follow-up to Old, but instead was a set of older songs that Jason Martin had written for a follow-up album to Americana. The material was originally shelved when the band shifted gears and instead recorded The Fashion Focus. This was a treat for fans of Starflyer 59's older material, but confused many newer fans and critics who were familiar with Starflyer 59's more recent pop-friendly work.
2005's Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice saw the band change their sound yet again, to a style that seemed a more natural follow-up to Old than I Am the Portuguese Blues had been. For this album, Starflyer 59 was cut down to two members: Jason Martin and drummer Frank Lenz. It would be the first studio album since Americana to be recorded without bassist Jeff Cloud. Despite having only two band members, the songs on Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice have a full sound. This is largely due to the inclusion of guest string players on many of the albums tracks.
Also in 2005, Starflyer 59 re-issued digitally re-mastered versions of Silver and Gold with bonus tracks. The re-issue of Silver came with the tracks of the band's follow-up EP, She's The Queen. Gold was reissued with the "Goodbyes Are Sad" 7 inch single and three of the four tracks from the Le Vainqueur EP.
In September 2006, Starflyer 59 released their latest album My Island. My Island is yet another evolution in the Starflyer sound. While Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice relied on the warmth of synthesized bass and live strings, My Island's"strength comes from its catchy guitar hooks and live bass.
Jason Martin's side projects have included Bon Voyage with his wife, Julie, Enemy Ships (formerly known as The Emergency), Pony Express, The Brothers Martin with his brother Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric fame, Neon Horse, Low & Behold, Lo Tom[/artist), and others. The Martin brothers also worked together in Morella's Forest (1998 band, not to be confused with the 90s band of the same name) and Dance House Children, which predate their famous solo projects. Jason has also produced albums for Fine China, MAP, and Upside Down Room and performed work as a studio musician and guest musician on several albums.
Their official website is located at www.sf59.com. Their official myspace is located at www.myspace.com/starflyer59.
I Drive A Lot
Starflyer 59 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm talking just to waste my day
I drive a lot
I drive a lot
Think of things I'd be
With time to kill and just had lots of money
Time to kill and just had lots of money
Friends of mine now 35
Time to kill and just had lots of money
And if you need it a lot
I'm talking just to hear myself
I drive a lot
I drive a lot
The lyrics of "I Drive A Lot" by Starflyer 59 are open to interpretation. The song has a melancholic quality to it that speaks to being stuck in a rut and doing things just to pass the time. The repeated line "I drive a lot" emphasizes the monotony of the singer's routine. It is as if driving is the only way they can escape the mundane aspects of their life.
The mention of having lots of money and time to kill indicates that the singer is not working, and perhaps has no clear purpose in their life. The reference to friends who are now 35 adds to the feeling of being stuck; as if the singer has not moved forward in their life and is still stuck in the same place they were years ago.
The line "I'm talking just to hear myself" adds another layer to the idea that the singer's life is lacking in substance. They are so bored that they are talking just to fill the silence. The song is a reflection on the aimlessness and lack of direction that can be present in life, with driving serving as a metaphor for moving forward without a clear sense of where one is headed.
Line by Line Meaning
And if you need it a lot
If you require my presence frequently
I'm talking just to waste my day
I speak purely to occupy my time
I drive a lot
I spend a significant amount of time driving
I drive a lot
I spend a significant amount of time driving
Think of things I'd be
Imagine what I could accomplish
With time to kill and just had lots of money
If I had excess free time and money
Time to kill and just had lots of money
Excess free time and money
When I'm all worked up I think of
When I am overly stressed or anxious, I reflect on
Friends of mine now 35
My acquaintances who are currently 35 years old
Time to kill and just had lots of money
Excess free time and money
And if you need it a lot
If you require my presence frequently
I'm talking just to hear myself
I speak solely to listen to my own voice
I drive a lot
I spend a significant amount of time driving
I drive a lot
I spend a significant amount of time driving
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@blackmonster4708
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out is in
F-sharp minor [G#, A, B, C#,D]
I Drive A Lot is in B Bb Gb Bbm
ive always thought that Circles were derivitive of Ovals, Rectangles are so similar to Squares.
Good job with recognizing shapes.
The Martin Brothers are there own musicians, making their own music; comparing musicians in this manner is rude.
@disoarcanjo
this song saved and carried me through a REALLY hard time. I can't thank starflyer 59 enough. I'll never be able to
@SemiShweet
It saved Ted Bundy yes
@SemiShweet
Never getting sick again, out of the mouth nor the other side yes. I still promise yes. The most in love yes. Ted REALLY is staying yes. Love you like a daughter.
@scootover7
This song is so calming, and my favorite Starflyer 59 song. When Starflyer 59 decides to stop making music, I hope they come out with a great hits or very best of , and it has 59 of their best songs, I Drive A Lot is definitely one of those songs.
@pikachuyoshipines1646
The one person who disliked doesn't drive a lot, I guess. Like, seriously, who would dislike a Starflyer 59 song?!
@labtob
what a jerk. OH SHIT THERE'S 2 OF THEM NOW.
@fogerty8227
Such a beautiful and fun song. Why did these guys stay so underground?
@DanmakuNyanNyan
I guess if they were mainstream, we couldn't enjoy them like we can now. Think of the bands that went too popular. So let's just have our fun with Starflyer 59 all to ourselves yeah?
@shanewirkes
I remember seeing them at a dive bar in central Illinois in 2008 and I thanked Jason after the show for all the years of amazing music. He said, "sure man, we didn't have anything better to do." :) Love this band!
@migol1984
@shanewirkes I met Jason on 6th st in austin when the parish was still on 6th st. Must've been 2006. I think I caught him off guard. It was an hour or so before the show and he was chilling smoking a cigarette. I had a little q&a session with him. I think I annoyed him a little lol but he was a nice dude.