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.
When You Feel Miserable
Starflyer 59 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you, I'd wait for so long
But still I feel the times
Of your rolling eyes around here
Take a walk with a sweet girl
So sweet, you know it's true
But you're wasting away
Take a walk
Down a highway, down my way
Take a walk
When you feel miserable
One date you'll find
Your eyes and a woman who's kind
Could you still fill the day
If you ran out of me
Take a walk
Down a highway, down my way
Take a walk
When you feel miserable
The lyrics in Starflyer 59's song "When You Feel Miserable" are about waiting for someone who is not fully committed to a relationship. The opening line "Time waits for no one" sets the tone for the rest of the song, suggesting that time is a precious commodity that cannot be wasted. The singer mentions waiting for someone so long, but still feeling the times of their rolling eyes around here, suggesting that the person he's waiting for is not fully invested in the relationship.
The chorus of the song suggests that when the singer's love interest is feeling unhappy, instead of staying with him, they should take a walk down the highway. The singer seems to believe that a change of scenery might help clear their mind and improve their mood. The second verse brings up the possibility of finding someone else who is kind and wonderful, but the singer is still unsure if the person he's waiting for would be able to fill the day without him.
Overall, the song is bittersweet, expressing the desire for a deeper connection with someone who is not quite ready for it. It suggests that sometimes it's necessary to let go and try to find happiness elsewhere.
Line by Line Meaning
Time waits for no one
It's a fact that time moves forward regardless of anyone's situation
But you, I’d wait for so long
Despite the aforementioned fact, I am willing to wait patiently for you
But still I feel the times
Although I am waiting for you, I can feel time passing
Of your rolling eyes around here
I notice the way you look at me with disdain or disinterest
Take a walk with a sweet girl
I suggest that you spend time with someone kind and pleasant to lift your mood
So sweet, you know it's true
This person I recommend spending time with is genuinely nice, without ulterior motives
But you're wasting away
Despite my suggestion, you seem to be unhappy or unhealthy
I just wish it would stay
I hope that the happiness I believe spending time with this person will bring stays with you
Take a walk
I still suggest that you physically move and take a break from your current situation
Down a highway, down my way
Perhaps drive or walk down a road where you can clear your head and seek peace
When you feel miserable
This advice is particularly useful when you are feeling down or hopeless
One date you'll find
It's possible that in the future, you will meet someone new
Your eyes and a woman who's kind
This person you meet may be gentle and pleasant
Could you still fill the day
But even then, you still may not find true satisfaction without addressing your own emotions
If you ran out of me
I recognize the possibility that you may eventually not need me in your life
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Vega
Time waits for no one
But you, I'd wait for so long
But I still feel the times
Of your rolling eyes around here
Take a walk with a sweet girl
So sweet, you know it's true
But you're wasting away
I just wish it would stay
Take a walk down a highway
Down my way
Take a walk when you feel
Miserable
One date, you'll find
Your eyes and a woman who's kind
Could you still fill the day
If you ran out of me?
Take a walk down a highway
Down my way
Take a walk when you feel
Miserable
Take a walk down a highway
Down my way
jawzt
Playing this for a show next week. Very awesome song.
Mark Krey
I started listening to this album from start to finish this morning and this song so far is my favorite.
arciphera
@Patrick Larson
according to Bob Moon (the person who engineered Gold), Le Vainqueur does indeed hail from the Gold recording sessions, but Jason Martin felt the song was a bit too "large" and magnificent to fit in neatly with the rest of the songs. there's a reason Le Vainqueur is so "large" and magnificent, too: it is literally the only song Jason Martin has ever done (that he himself has written) which focuses entirely on Jesus Christ. lumping it in with another dozen or so songs which primarily deal with interpersonal heartache and relationship woes would pretty much diminish the entire purpose of Le Vainqueur in the first place. in Jason Martin's entire discography, Le Vainqueur stands out and alone as the most conceptually compelling thing he's ever done. it is an absolute monster of a song, both musically and lyrically, so it only makes sense that it would be an entire release unto itself. (hence also the reason the Le Vainqueur single features the most elaborate and optically lush artwork of any Starflyer 59 release.)
Patrick Larson
https://youtu.be/YOhNJOWEaTs
Patrick Larson
Check out Le Vainqueur. I think it came from this recording session, but was released as a stand alone single a little later. Fits right in with this album; not sure why Jason didn't include it.
DM .h
I'm tired
Tuzotonic
I would say this is the best song on the album.
noslowerdna
Fantastic track.
Crypto Deity
20 yrs + and this song is still fire
realpillboxer
The fact that there are 200 people that up-voted this while 0 voted against it says something.