Tell us a little bit about where you’re from?
Well to ask me where I am from is a tricky question. It could mean where I was born, where I grew up, where I lived the longest, where I live now, where I feel the most at home…? I was born in the state of Wisconsin in the USA. In my life I have lived in many cities across the USA including Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Phoenix, Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee & Cleveland, as well as, shorter spells in Australia, Paris, London and Belgium. I started Jupiter In Velvet while living in London back in 2012. I recently moved back to the USA.
How has your location affected your music?
Whatever I experience very often finds its way into my music. So the energy and feel of where I am living colours and intensifies my moods and thus spills into my songs. My new album ‘The World Didn’t Start With U’ was mostly written while I was back in London last fall.
What genre would you describe your music as?
Because my music seems to straddle so many different genres, I have simply made up my own as the best general description I can offer. I call it ‘Electro Dance Rock’. If you listen to any of my 4 albums the song genre will go from rock to alternative rock to indie rock to pop rock to psychedelic rock to pop rock and even a little glam rock. I seem to have an unusual ability to blend new and old influences into something fresh and evocative.
What are you listening too? What are your influences?
I listen to anything and everything, always looking for something that catches my ear and speaks to me on an emotional level. I like songs where the melody is quirky, the chords take an unexpected turn, or the lyrics are clever and profound. My influences stretch the gamut of modern rock & pop music, some of whom would include The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Little Richard, Led Zepplin, The Hollies, David Bowie, Jethro Tull, The Pretenders, Duran Duran, The Ramones, Prince, U2, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Oasis, Green Day, The Black Keys, The White Stripes…
Where can we see you play?
I am currently putting together a new group of musicians to tour. Should be on the road later this Fall on the east coast and hopefully over to the UK after that. I’ll keep you posted!
Are there any evocative personal experiences that come through in your music?
I have been through a lot in my life. My intensity and drive make It feel as if I have lived a couple of lifetimes already. All along the way, since I was young, I have been asking questions of why this and why that? How come things are the way they are, what is it really all about? Why such inequities in the world? Traditional Religions didn’t quite add up in my mind and heart, part of the story seemed to be missing. I have been searching for God and that yearning along with what I have learned all these years is reflected in my music.
What’s next?
Touring is the next step and focus right now in my career. I have gone about Jupiter In Velvet quite different than the normal mode of building a career. In previous bands I had done the normal touring route, starving on the road. So I took a very different approach with Jupiter In Velvet. Other than a couple of loose shows in the very beginning – there have been no performances. I have focused my energies instead on building a fan base online, getting radio play and establishing media presence, in order to create an awareness, credibility and demand for my music. Jupiter In Velvet’s popularity has grown so much in the last 3 years that the time has finally come to perform live.