Jupiter Zeus is a psychedelic space doom heavy rock band from Perth Australia. They’ve been around since 2009, they’ve released one EP, and now it is time to present their first full length release. This record’s name is “On Earth” and it’s worth your attention. Grande Rock caught up with guitarist Michael Lawson and vocalist/guitarist Simon Staltari to ask them a few questions about the album, the band’s history, their future plans as well as a few “weird” ones.
Hey Michael & Simon… welcome to Grande Rock! Since it’s the first time we speak, please introduce the band to our readers…
M: Jupiter Zeus are Simon Staltari on vocals/guitar, myself Michael Lawson on guitar, Jeremy Graham bass and occasional keyboards and Aidrian Vudrag on drums. We reside in Perth, Western Australia. Simon in Gooseberry Hill, Jeremy in Southern River, Aidrian in Gosnells and Michael in Secret Harbour to be more precise. Perth is a very spread out place.
Some may argue that “Jupiter” and “Zeus” are two names for the same planet or ancient Greek God. Care to tell us a few words about the band’s name? How did it come about and what exactly does “Jupiter Zeus” mean to you? Why did you change it from Nebula?
M: Aidrian and Jeremy have a large interest in mythology etc. and Aidrian discovered that the 2 words mean exactly the same thing. If you join them together they sound pretty cool so it’s been that ever since.
As for the name change, I’ve only been in the band since it’s been called “Jupiter Zeus” and I wasn’t in it when they were called “Nebula”. There was another band who popped up years ago called “Nebula” who a lot of people now know, so Simon, Aidrian and Jeremy where obligated to change the name which also effectively killed the momentum they had going as “Nebula” There’s a long and interesting history to this band which spans over 20 years. A Wikipedia piece is coming out soon with the bands in depth history. It’s a very interesting read.
Why did you choose “On Earth” as your album’s title?
M: That was Jeremy who came up with that. We had a huge variety of different album titles when we brainstormed it but that one really stood out as being something that is representative of the album sound. Gods and planets crashing into the earth haha. The album cover with that big ugly face really finishes it off well.
People have assigned many labels on your music, how do you describe your sound?
M: I would describe it as a bizarre hybrid of stoner rock, doom metal, psychedelic rock, and space rock. Because there is so much in the album it’s really hard to pick a genre that we fit into. Songs like “CoCreators”, “Divinity” and “Psychotic Seeds” are pretty much stoner rock, but at the opposite end there’s “Talkback Caller”, “Cosmic Rays” and “Waiting in a Line” which are almost 3 minute lighter radio songs. “State of Mind” has elements of space rock with the big instrumental ending with the guitar melodies and piano etc. “Waves” and “I Am” are kinda doom metal, and the “Sum of and Over” both have a kind of psych rock feel to them. Depends who you ask. Everyone’s got a different opinion lol. I think we just sound like us. 20 years of songwriting will do that.
What’s the little story behind each track?
M: Simon is the primary songwriter so I will get him to answer these.
S: “Waves” was originally written way back in 1999 just at the time Nebula was breaking up. At the time we were experimenting with open G tuning and I decided to also tune the E string from D to D#. This produced a cool sound and it allowed me to write the main riff in the song. Lyrically, the main theme is about myself wanting to be more assertive due to the fact that I am introverted and shy. Also self-empowerment and believing in one’s self are also similar themes in this song from someone who has had deal with self-confidence (lack of) issues. This is one of my favourite songs on the album.
“Over” deals with the classic rock/pop theme of a relationship break up. Lyrically, this song is simple and pretty straight forward, from the point of view of someone who is inexperienced in forming relationships i.e boy meets girl etc., and then having to deal with the aftermath and emotional pain from being “dumped”. The last verse of the song is the coming to terms and acceptance of the break up and having to move on, and saying goodbye. Obviously this is a universal experience that most people can relate to and therefore a classic song writing theme. This is another Nebula song from the latter period. The song also has a nice mellow change/bridge in the middle and breaks up the song nicely.
“Cosmic Rays” is one of the highlights on the album and an important song due to the fact that it was one of the first decent songs that we wrote after the demise of Nebula. It has an up-tempo beat and a happy vibe. The lyrics touches on “the telling of how it is” view point, that is how I’m feeling at this moment in time. I am also expressing certain ideals that I yearn for and themes of self-exploration and self-reflection. The middle section is very trippy and very Pink Floyd-like. Michael Lawson (guitarist) created many of the very cool sounds in that part of the song with just his guitar and with heavy reverb and delay effects. We were able to spend extra time in the studio to experiment with different sounds in this part of the song. The song also features Jeremy Graham (bass) playing synth and keyboards which add a nice touch to the song.
“I Am” was one of the first songs that I wrote, expressing a positive spiritual message via the lyrics. The song has a typical grunge like structure, that is mellow verse heavy chorus. This is another open G tuning song, but this time tuning the E string way down to G, and therefore creating a really heavy sound. The riff change in the middle of the song is an absolute “corker” (Australian expression) with tones of “bottom end” sound. Lyrically, I contradict myself at the end of the song by repeating “can’t find a way” line. Despite my intention of being positive, reverting back to negativity is a very typical “human condition” experience.
“Psychotic Seeds” is one of heaviest songs on the album and also one of the oldest. Originally recorded on Nebula’s “Whirlwind” album that was never released, this is the most metal sounding song featuring a heavy chorus and Black Sabbath-like grooves. The guitar muting in the middle part of the song is one of my personal highlights. Very old school. The song features a blistering solo by Lawson and the lyrics delve into dark, depressing subject matters, which was very typical of my early days of song writing.
“Talkback Caller” is a rock song and a certified Jupiter Zeus composition. After listening to talk back radio for many years while working on an orchard, I decided that it was time to write a song about this subject matter. At first I became annoyed listening to right wing based viewpoints, believing them to narrow minded and failing to see the “big picture”, but later on I sometimes found it amusing. Also, when someone uttered the classic line “First time caller, long time listener”, for some reason it would make me smile. The harmony in the chorus is one of best on the album and I came up with it in the post production stage of the album. It was a revelation due to the fact that I would not have created that harmony had we rushed the whole recording process.
“Divinity” is another Nebula song and so has a metal vibe to it. The subject matters have a typically negative tone stemming from my angry young man stage, but the chorus has a positive spiritual message that we should celebrate the divinity within ourselves, hence the title. Lawson’s guitar solo is the best one on the album in my humble opinion. I never regarded this song as anything special and I even would refer it as “filler”, but this song has been singled out by some fans and critics as being the pick of the bunch, much to my surprise. This song was championed by Lawson (who was/is a big Nebula fan) to be included on the album and so deserves some credit for showing good judgment.
“The Sum Of” was one of the first songs I wrote on an acoustic guitar in the post Nebula period. In hindsight, it was a good decision to write songs on the acoustic guitar so as to develop my song writing. My mindset at the time was to play and record this song on acoustic guitar, but drummer Aidrian Vudrag was able to convince me that the song would work with distorted guitars and the rest is history. The acoustic guitar however was retained in the middle section on this recording and so making this part of the song hauntingly beautiful, and also adding contrast. The lyrical content in this song explores a familiar story of meeting someone with whom you “fall for”, but then discover their inner demons and flaws, and then experiencing the desire to help the person. More often than not this would not eventuate due to the realization that the person has to help themselves first…
“Co-creators” is the last of the "Nebula bunch" and was originally recorded on the doomed “Whirlwind” album and also re-recorded years later on Jupiter Zeus’ demo CD “Antiquity”. So you could say “third time lucky”. This is an up-tempo tune with some nice choice riffs. There is no real lyrical theme apart from exploring the belief that we are in fact “co-creators” with God and that we are not separate from Him/Her. Despite knowing this, many humans never realize their full potential and so have the proclivity to get caught up in material things, procrastinate and also I hesitate to say, “metaphorically masturbate” within life’s experiences. Hence, the chorus...
“Waiting in a Line” is a newer Jupiter Zeus song and has a grunge/moody feel to it. The chorus in this song is big and the ending is quite grand and spine tingling, especially with my falsetto vocals “swooping”. The song has no significant lyrical theme apart from just singing about “just existing” on this planet with a degree of self-reflection and melancholy.
“State of Mind” is the “ballad” of the album and one of my favorite tracks. William John, our guest keyboardist added some real class to this song by playing some simple, yet beautiful piano. I wrote this song the night before my brother’s funeral and so I was in a sad and self-reflective place. It proves the point that sometimes an artist will create their best work in times of tragedy and or upheaval with which I would regard this song to be in this category. This song ends the album in a quite poignant manner.
Where did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed & mastered the album?
M: It was recorded in Perth, Western Australia at Underground Studio’s and Beach House studio’s which is a name we came up with for Simons family holiday house and was recorded from May 2013 through to December 2013 on a part time basis. We could have done it quicker but had a lot of delays due to peoples and studio availability. Turned out good though as the whole process was extremely relaxed which in turn can lead to your best work without you realizing.
A nice guy named Simon Mitchell produced and mixed it. Seeing as our singer is also named Simon, we had to assign Simon Mitchell the nickname Simon Beard (after his excellent facial hair) to avoid confusion haha. Leon Zervos mastered it at 301 studio in Sydney Australia.
Can you please walk us through your recording process?
M: It took near on a year on a part time basis to record this album. First we did the drums over at Underground Studios in Perth which is one of the best drum rooms around to record in. We went and saw Black Sabbath at Perth Arena after the first day and got really vibed up after that. Aidrian just put in a killer drum performance after that.
Once the basic drum tracks where down we moved down to Simon’s family beach house in Madora Bay (which is about an hour to the south of Perth) and we did all the guitars. I live in Secret Harbour which is only 5 mins from Madora Bay so it worked out well for me lol. We had a few different amps and a stack of different pedals so we used heaps of different combinations for the various guitar sounds. We did all the rhythm guitars first, then layered the hell out of them lol. After that came the guitar solos and all the little flourishes here and there. Took a long time.
After that we went back to Underground studios again and Jeremy laid down the bass. Also did all the acoustic guitars there as well as we couldn’t quite get a good acoustic guitar sound at the beach house.
Then we went back to the Beach House again and Simon did all the vocals which took ages as well. After the vocals where complete, Jeremy and our friend William John did all the keyboard stuff.
So after all that was complete, Simon Mitchell took it all away for a while and mixed it. He did it almost spot on exactly how we wanted it. I gave him a 98% for a first mix lol. We then listened back to it a stack of times and got back to Simon Mitchell about some small minor tweaks to the mix. I also played a couple of small extra guitar bits in Simon’s home studio while we were discussing the mix as well.
Once it was completed, we sent it to 301 studio in Sydney where is was mastered by Leon Zervos who is better known for his work with Muse, Aerosmith, Beastie Boys and a whole stack of other big names.
The best thing is that we had no time limit. We just kept on going and really just making the album that we wanted to make. If anyone likes it, it’s just a bonus haha…
M: Jupiter Zeus are Simon Staltari on vocals/guitar, myself Michael Lawson on guitar, Jeremy Graham bass and occasional keyboards and Aidrian Vudrag on drums. We reside in Perth, Western Australia. Simon in Gooseberry Hill, Jeremy in Southern River, Aidrian in Gosnells and Michael in Secret Harbour to be more precise. Perth is a very spread out place.
Some may argue that “Jupiter” and “Zeus” are two names for the same planet or ancient Greek God. Care to tell us a few words about the band’s name? How did it come about and what exactly does “Jupiter Zeus” mean to you? Why did you change it from Nebula?
M: Aidrian and Jeremy have a large interest in mythology etc. and Aidrian discovered that the 2 words mean exactly the same thing. If you join them together they sound pretty cool so it’s been that ever since.
As for the name change, I’ve only been in the band since it’s been called “Jupiter Zeus” and I wasn’t in it when they were called “Nebula”. There was another band who popped up years ago called “Nebula” who a lot of people now know, so Simon, Aidrian and Jeremy where obligated to change the name which also effectively killed the momentum they had going as “Nebula” There’s a long and interesting history to this band which spans over 20 years. A Wikipedia piece is coming out soon with the bands in depth history. It’s a very interesting read.
Why did you choose “On Earth” as your album’s title?
M: That was Jeremy who came up with that. We had a huge variety of different album titles when we brainstormed it but that one really stood out as being something that is representative of the album sound. Gods and planets crashing into the earth haha. The album cover with that big ugly face really finishes it off well.
People have assigned many labels on your music, how do you describe your sound?
M: I would describe it as a bizarre hybrid of stoner rock, doom metal, psychedelic rock, and space rock. Because there is so much in the album it’s really hard to pick a genre that we fit into. Songs like “CoCreators”, “Divinity” and “Psychotic Seeds” are pretty much stoner rock, but at the opposite end there’s “Talkback Caller”, “Cosmic Rays” and “Waiting in a Line” which are almost 3 minute lighter radio songs. “State of Mind” has elements of space rock with the big instrumental ending with the guitar melodies and piano etc. “Waves” and “I Am” are kinda doom metal, and the “Sum of and Over” both have a kind of psych rock feel to them. Depends who you ask. Everyone’s got a different opinion lol. I think we just sound like us. 20 years of songwriting will do that.
What’s the little story behind each track?
M: Simon is the primary songwriter so I will get him to answer these.
S: “Waves” was originally written way back in 1999 just at the time Nebula was breaking up. At the time we were experimenting with open G tuning and I decided to also tune the E string from D to D#. This produced a cool sound and it allowed me to write the main riff in the song. Lyrically, the main theme is about myself wanting to be more assertive due to the fact that I am introverted and shy. Also self-empowerment and believing in one’s self are also similar themes in this song from someone who has had deal with self-confidence (lack of) issues. This is one of my favourite songs on the album.
“Over” deals with the classic rock/pop theme of a relationship break up. Lyrically, this song is simple and pretty straight forward, from the point of view of someone who is inexperienced in forming relationships i.e boy meets girl etc., and then having to deal with the aftermath and emotional pain from being “dumped”. The last verse of the song is the coming to terms and acceptance of the break up and having to move on, and saying goodbye. Obviously this is a universal experience that most people can relate to and therefore a classic song writing theme. This is another Nebula song from the latter period. The song also has a nice mellow change/bridge in the middle and breaks up the song nicely.
“Cosmic Rays” is one of the highlights on the album and an important song due to the fact that it was one of the first decent songs that we wrote after the demise of Nebula. It has an up-tempo beat and a happy vibe. The lyrics touches on “the telling of how it is” view point, that is how I’m feeling at this moment in time. I am also expressing certain ideals that I yearn for and themes of self-exploration and self-reflection. The middle section is very trippy and very Pink Floyd-like. Michael Lawson (guitarist) created many of the very cool sounds in that part of the song with just his guitar and with heavy reverb and delay effects. We were able to spend extra time in the studio to experiment with different sounds in this part of the song. The song also features Jeremy Graham (bass) playing synth and keyboards which add a nice touch to the song.
“I Am” was one of the first songs that I wrote, expressing a positive spiritual message via the lyrics. The song has a typical grunge like structure, that is mellow verse heavy chorus. This is another open G tuning song, but this time tuning the E string way down to G, and therefore creating a really heavy sound. The riff change in the middle of the song is an absolute “corker” (Australian expression) with tones of “bottom end” sound. Lyrically, I contradict myself at the end of the song by repeating “can’t find a way” line. Despite my intention of being positive, reverting back to negativity is a very typical “human condition” experience.
“Psychotic Seeds” is one of heaviest songs on the album and also one of the oldest. Originally recorded on Nebula’s “Whirlwind” album that was never released, this is the most metal sounding song featuring a heavy chorus and Black Sabbath-like grooves. The guitar muting in the middle part of the song is one of my personal highlights. Very old school. The song features a blistering solo by Lawson and the lyrics delve into dark, depressing subject matters, which was very typical of my early days of song writing.
“Talkback Caller” is a rock song and a certified Jupiter Zeus composition. After listening to talk back radio for many years while working on an orchard, I decided that it was time to write a song about this subject matter. At first I became annoyed listening to right wing based viewpoints, believing them to narrow minded and failing to see the “big picture”, but later on I sometimes found it amusing. Also, when someone uttered the classic line “First time caller, long time listener”, for some reason it would make me smile. The harmony in the chorus is one of best on the album and I came up with it in the post production stage of the album. It was a revelation due to the fact that I would not have created that harmony had we rushed the whole recording process.
“Divinity” is another Nebula song and so has a metal vibe to it. The subject matters have a typically negative tone stemming from my angry young man stage, but the chorus has a positive spiritual message that we should celebrate the divinity within ourselves, hence the title. Lawson’s guitar solo is the best one on the album in my humble opinion. I never regarded this song as anything special and I even would refer it as “filler”, but this song has been singled out by some fans and critics as being the pick of the bunch, much to my surprise. This song was championed by Lawson (who was/is a big Nebula fan) to be included on the album and so deserves some credit for showing good judgment.
“The Sum Of” was one of the first songs I wrote on an acoustic guitar in the post Nebula period. In hindsight, it was a good decision to write songs on the acoustic guitar so as to develop my song writing. My mindset at the time was to play and record this song on acoustic guitar, but drummer Aidrian Vudrag was able to convince me that the song would work with distorted guitars and the rest is history. The acoustic guitar however was retained in the middle section on this recording and so making this part of the song hauntingly beautiful, and also adding contrast. The lyrical content in this song explores a familiar story of meeting someone with whom you “fall for”, but then discover their inner demons and flaws, and then experiencing the desire to help the person. More often than not this would not eventuate due to the realization that the person has to help themselves first…
“Co-creators” is the last of the "Nebula bunch" and was originally recorded on the doomed “Whirlwind” album and also re-recorded years later on Jupiter Zeus’ demo CD “Antiquity”. So you could say “third time lucky”. This is an up-tempo tune with some nice choice riffs. There is no real lyrical theme apart from exploring the belief that we are in fact “co-creators” with God and that we are not separate from Him/Her. Despite knowing this, many humans never realize their full potential and so have the proclivity to get caught up in material things, procrastinate and also I hesitate to say, “metaphorically masturbate” within life’s experiences. Hence, the chorus...
“Waiting in a Line” is a newer Jupiter Zeus song and has a grunge/moody feel to it. The chorus in this song is big and the ending is quite grand and spine tingling, especially with my falsetto vocals “swooping”. The song has no significant lyrical theme apart from just singing about “just existing” on this planet with a degree of self-reflection and melancholy.
“State of Mind” is the “ballad” of the album and one of my favorite tracks. William John, our guest keyboardist added some real class to this song by playing some simple, yet beautiful piano. I wrote this song the night before my brother’s funeral and so I was in a sad and self-reflective place. It proves the point that sometimes an artist will create their best work in times of tragedy and or upheaval with which I would regard this song to be in this category. This song ends the album in a quite poignant manner.
Where did the recordings take place and who produced, mixed & mastered the album?
M: It was recorded in Perth, Western Australia at Underground Studio’s and Beach House studio’s which is a name we came up with for Simons family holiday house and was recorded from May 2013 through to December 2013 on a part time basis. We could have done it quicker but had a lot of delays due to peoples and studio availability. Turned out good though as the whole process was extremely relaxed which in turn can lead to your best work without you realizing.
A nice guy named Simon Mitchell produced and mixed it. Seeing as our singer is also named Simon, we had to assign Simon Mitchell the nickname Simon Beard (after his excellent facial hair) to avoid confusion haha. Leon Zervos mastered it at 301 studio in Sydney Australia.
Can you please walk us through your recording process?
M: It took near on a year on a part time basis to record this album. First we did the drums over at Underground Studios in Perth which is one of the best drum rooms around to record in. We went and saw Black Sabbath at Perth Arena after the first day and got really vibed up after that. Aidrian just put in a killer drum performance after that.
Once the basic drum tracks where down we moved down to Simon’s family beach house in Madora Bay (which is about an hour to the south of Perth) and we did all the guitars. I live in Secret Harbour which is only 5 mins from Madora Bay so it worked out well for me lol. We had a few different amps and a stack of different pedals so we used heaps of different combinations for the various guitar sounds. We did all the rhythm guitars first, then layered the hell out of them lol. After that came the guitar solos and all the little flourishes here and there. Took a long time.
After that we went back to Underground studios again and Jeremy laid down the bass. Also did all the acoustic guitars there as well as we couldn’t quite get a good acoustic guitar sound at the beach house.
Then we went back to the Beach House again and Simon did all the vocals which took ages as well. After the vocals where complete, Jeremy and our friend William John did all the keyboard stuff.
So after all that was complete, Simon Mitchell took it all away for a while and mixed it. He did it almost spot on exactly how we wanted it. I gave him a 98% for a first mix lol. We then listened back to it a stack of times and got back to Simon Mitchell about some small minor tweaks to the mix. I also played a couple of small extra guitar bits in Simon’s home studio while we were discussing the mix as well.
Once it was completed, we sent it to 301 studio in Sydney where is was mastered by Leon Zervos who is better known for his work with Muse, Aerosmith, Beastie Boys and a whole stack of other big names.
The best thing is that we had no time limit. We just kept on going and really just making the album that we wanted to make. If anyone likes it, it’s just a bonus haha…
Are there any interesting or funny stories in the studio while recording etc. that you would like to share with us?
M: Plenty! The first day at Underground obviously things are a bit tense trying to get all the drums down as quick as possible. We were doing ok then Jeremy suddenly said “oh there’s a photographer coming to do a photo shoot in an hour” so the timing was really not the best seeing as we were on limited time to get the drums done. But she came and started taking pictures when we were trying to lay done a track. I remember we were recording “Talkback Caller” and she was running around putting the camera in your face etc. lol. But hey the pics came out OK. They on our website.
Another time at the Beach House, Simon was doing some guitars upstairs with Simon Mitchell and the rest of us we were downstairs just drinking beers and relaxing. I didn’t think I’d be playing any guitars that night but Simon Mitchell suddenly came downstairs and said “I need you to come upstairs now and do a guitar solo over this part”… no pressure lol. I’d had heaps of beers but went up and just made up the little solo in the middle part of “I Am” just off the top of my head. Really captured how I was feeling at the time – full of beer haha…
Are you planning to release a music video for any of the songs? Any plans for touring in the near future?
M: Yeah we should be doing a few videos in the near future. Deciding which songs is the tricky part. We looking into touring now. Trying to line it all up with all our personal lives is quite difficult. We’re looking at doing an extensive Australian tour later in the year. When the album comes out on vinyl a bit later on we will look at going to Europe and US. If we could get some shows with bands like Monster Magnet, Red Fang, Orange Goblin, Helmet etc. it would be worth our while. Some festivals would be good as well. If anyone has any touring or festival proposals send us an email through our website.
How did your collaboration with Magnetic Eye Records come about?
M: I was at home one night goggling random stoner rock bands and watching them on YouTube. I really liked Ironweed and I goggled them and found an interview with Mike Vitali. In the interview he said he was starting a label. We were looking for a label so I tracked down his details and sent him some stuff which he liked and we’ve gone from there.
Do you consider “On Earth” a continuation of the “Green Mosquito” EP or do you find you’ve taken a new path musically?
M: All of the songs on “Green Mosquito” and “On Earth” have been written for ages. “The Green Mosquito” EP was kind of rushed as we only had a few days to do it because of the budget. We just picked songs for each that we thought where appropriate for each release. I would say “On Earth” is a more in depth extension of what we started with “Green Mosquito”.
What are the band’s future plans? When can we expect another album from you guys?
M: We have probably at least 3 albums worth of material already written. That said, Simon’s just come up with 3 absolutely killer new tunes – full of those big huge riffs that everyone seems to like in “On Earth” so I would say the next album will have those 3 new songs on as well as the older stuff. We need to really get out and promote this album properly ie touring etc. first before we start thinking of the next one.
People say that today’s technology makes it a lot easier for bands around the world to record and promote their work using the internet and site/apps like bandcamp, spotify etc. Do you agree with that?
M: The internet is great for bands like us. We live in the most isolated capital city in the world (Perth, Australia) and for us to go touring is a very expensive exercise. There is practically no touring structure for band in Western Australia unless you’re a cover band (Perth and Western Australia in general is known as the cover band capital of the world unfortunately). So using a tool like the net to get our stuff out there has been incredibly useful for us.
How do you see this “free downloading issue” of our time? In a world where people easily download music for free and hardly pay for it what can we do in order to change things? Is it different now that you can see things on the inside?
M: I think online streaming is probably the worst thing so far. Spotify pay $0.0084 per stream in royalties which is ridiculous. However if it introduces us to new a new audience then it’s not quite as bad I suppose. Once upon a time people would have to purchase a CD instead of getting it for free on Spotify. Maybe if Spotify etc. paid more for their streams it would be fairer. It’s weird when you spend a 5 figure sum on recording a good album like we did, making it sound as good as we can and then see it practically being given away for free. Doesn’t seem fair. If people paid for their stuff it wouldn’t be so bad as some of the money would go back to artists. I always pay for my downloads.
If someone told you that you could only keep 3 albums from your record collection, which would those be and why?
M: Metallica – “Master of Puppets”. No album has ever blown me away as much as that did when I heard it for the first time at 15 years of age.
Non Intentional Lifeform – “Uische”. My friends band from Perth who were signed to Roadrunner for a brief period in the 90s. Just one of those totally mind blowing albums about 20 years ahead of its time.
Daft Punk – “Musique”. Just to break it up and not just have heavy stuff. I love Daft Punk. Jeremy and I both get right into electronic music and sometimes we have big dance music synth jams at his place lol…
If you could live in any decade in human history which would you choose and why?
M: I would live right where we are right now. I love all the technology etc. that’s around now. I’d get bored out of my wits living in the past. I’m always one to look to the future, not dwell in the past. The human race has it best still yet to come…
If you could share the stage with any person or band (alive or dead/ still together or broken up), who would it be and why?
M: Now that’s a really tough one. Maybe an old school thrash band like Anthrax or early Metallica? Maybe my friends in the now defunct legendary Perth band Non-Intentional Lifefom? Actually I love playing in Jupiter Zeus so I’m kind of sharing the stage with one of my fave bands every gig we do lol. I’d love Jupiter Zeus to tour with Monster Magnet, Red Fang, Orange Goblin and /or Helmet That would be a killer tour. Mind you it would be cool to play with Black Sabbath and Soundgarden as well.
Describe in 5 or fewer words what the following bands mean to you…
M: Black Sabbath: Birthplace of the heavy riff…
Soundgarden: Simply fkn awesome…
Alice In Chains: Trippy as hell…
AC/DC: Best live band in the world…
Pink Floyd: Flying beds…
Kyuss: Started a whole new genre…
Nebula: Stole our name ha ha…
Jupiter Zeus: Got a whole lot more yet to come…
Karnivool: Getting Perth on the map…
S: Led Zeppelin: Favourite, heavily influential God-like rock…
Deep Purple: Influential, seventies heavy rock metal…
Electric Wizard: Sludge, doomy, fuzzy stoner rock…
Spiritual Beggars: Groovy, riff infused hard rock…
Tool: Epic, soaring, massive, progressive rock...
David Bowie: Legendary, unique, rock pop icon…
Thx Michael & Simon for talking to Grande Rock… Any last words?
M: It’s been a pleasure. If anyone wants to get in touch re touring proposals/festivals etc. get in touch via our website www.jupiterzeus.com or www.facebook.com/jupiterzeusrock.
M: Plenty! The first day at Underground obviously things are a bit tense trying to get all the drums down as quick as possible. We were doing ok then Jeremy suddenly said “oh there’s a photographer coming to do a photo shoot in an hour” so the timing was really not the best seeing as we were on limited time to get the drums done. But she came and started taking pictures when we were trying to lay done a track. I remember we were recording “Talkback Caller” and she was running around putting the camera in your face etc. lol. But hey the pics came out OK. They on our website.
Another time at the Beach House, Simon was doing some guitars upstairs with Simon Mitchell and the rest of us we were downstairs just drinking beers and relaxing. I didn’t think I’d be playing any guitars that night but Simon Mitchell suddenly came downstairs and said “I need you to come upstairs now and do a guitar solo over this part”… no pressure lol. I’d had heaps of beers but went up and just made up the little solo in the middle part of “I Am” just off the top of my head. Really captured how I was feeling at the time – full of beer haha…
Are you planning to release a music video for any of the songs? Any plans for touring in the near future?
M: Yeah we should be doing a few videos in the near future. Deciding which songs is the tricky part. We looking into touring now. Trying to line it all up with all our personal lives is quite difficult. We’re looking at doing an extensive Australian tour later in the year. When the album comes out on vinyl a bit later on we will look at going to Europe and US. If we could get some shows with bands like Monster Magnet, Red Fang, Orange Goblin, Helmet etc. it would be worth our while. Some festivals would be good as well. If anyone has any touring or festival proposals send us an email through our website.
How did your collaboration with Magnetic Eye Records come about?
M: I was at home one night goggling random stoner rock bands and watching them on YouTube. I really liked Ironweed and I goggled them and found an interview with Mike Vitali. In the interview he said he was starting a label. We were looking for a label so I tracked down his details and sent him some stuff which he liked and we’ve gone from there.
Do you consider “On Earth” a continuation of the “Green Mosquito” EP or do you find you’ve taken a new path musically?
M: All of the songs on “Green Mosquito” and “On Earth” have been written for ages. “The Green Mosquito” EP was kind of rushed as we only had a few days to do it because of the budget. We just picked songs for each that we thought where appropriate for each release. I would say “On Earth” is a more in depth extension of what we started with “Green Mosquito”.
What are the band’s future plans? When can we expect another album from you guys?
M: We have probably at least 3 albums worth of material already written. That said, Simon’s just come up with 3 absolutely killer new tunes – full of those big huge riffs that everyone seems to like in “On Earth” so I would say the next album will have those 3 new songs on as well as the older stuff. We need to really get out and promote this album properly ie touring etc. first before we start thinking of the next one.
People say that today’s technology makes it a lot easier for bands around the world to record and promote their work using the internet and site/apps like bandcamp, spotify etc. Do you agree with that?
M: The internet is great for bands like us. We live in the most isolated capital city in the world (Perth, Australia) and for us to go touring is a very expensive exercise. There is practically no touring structure for band in Western Australia unless you’re a cover band (Perth and Western Australia in general is known as the cover band capital of the world unfortunately). So using a tool like the net to get our stuff out there has been incredibly useful for us.
How do you see this “free downloading issue” of our time? In a world where people easily download music for free and hardly pay for it what can we do in order to change things? Is it different now that you can see things on the inside?
M: I think online streaming is probably the worst thing so far. Spotify pay $0.0084 per stream in royalties which is ridiculous. However if it introduces us to new a new audience then it’s not quite as bad I suppose. Once upon a time people would have to purchase a CD instead of getting it for free on Spotify. Maybe if Spotify etc. paid more for their streams it would be fairer. It’s weird when you spend a 5 figure sum on recording a good album like we did, making it sound as good as we can and then see it practically being given away for free. Doesn’t seem fair. If people paid for their stuff it wouldn’t be so bad as some of the money would go back to artists. I always pay for my downloads.
If someone told you that you could only keep 3 albums from your record collection, which would those be and why?
M: Metallica – “Master of Puppets”. No album has ever blown me away as much as that did when I heard it for the first time at 15 years of age.
Non Intentional Lifeform – “Uische”. My friends band from Perth who were signed to Roadrunner for a brief period in the 90s. Just one of those totally mind blowing albums about 20 years ahead of its time.
Daft Punk – “Musique”. Just to break it up and not just have heavy stuff. I love Daft Punk. Jeremy and I both get right into electronic music and sometimes we have big dance music synth jams at his place lol…
If you could live in any decade in human history which would you choose and why?
M: I would live right where we are right now. I love all the technology etc. that’s around now. I’d get bored out of my wits living in the past. I’m always one to look to the future, not dwell in the past. The human race has it best still yet to come…
If you could share the stage with any person or band (alive or dead/ still together or broken up), who would it be and why?
M: Now that’s a really tough one. Maybe an old school thrash band like Anthrax or early Metallica? Maybe my friends in the now defunct legendary Perth band Non-Intentional Lifefom? Actually I love playing in Jupiter Zeus so I’m kind of sharing the stage with one of my fave bands every gig we do lol. I’d love Jupiter Zeus to tour with Monster Magnet, Red Fang, Orange Goblin and /or Helmet That would be a killer tour. Mind you it would be cool to play with Black Sabbath and Soundgarden as well.
Describe in 5 or fewer words what the following bands mean to you…
M: Black Sabbath: Birthplace of the heavy riff…
Soundgarden: Simply fkn awesome…
Alice In Chains: Trippy as hell…
AC/DC: Best live band in the world…
Pink Floyd: Flying beds…
Kyuss: Started a whole new genre…
Nebula: Stole our name ha ha…
Jupiter Zeus: Got a whole lot more yet to come…
Karnivool: Getting Perth on the map…
S: Led Zeppelin: Favourite, heavily influential God-like rock…
Deep Purple: Influential, seventies heavy rock metal…
Electric Wizard: Sludge, doomy, fuzzy stoner rock…
Spiritual Beggars: Groovy, riff infused hard rock…
Tool: Epic, soaring, massive, progressive rock...
David Bowie: Legendary, unique, rock pop icon…
Thx Michael & Simon for talking to Grande Rock… Any last words?
M: It’s been a pleasure. If anyone wants to get in touch re touring proposals/festivals etc. get in touch via our website www.jupiterzeus.com or www.facebook.com/jupiterzeusrock.