Jupiter Sunrise is no more

Jupiter Sunrise is no more.
Jupiter Sunrise was just what the name says. A sunrise like no other, but unfortunately, on another planet. Jupiter Sunrise’s brilliance was the impetus for its downfall. Jupiter Sunrise was composed of five accomplished musicians who learned their craft separately. They gathered like a crowd in a football bleachers do who, though very diverse, realize they are sitting very close to each other and start to interact and get along. This group got along for five full years; five years of being on the road more than nine months, stopping at the homes of fans from the audience, eating beans and rice and throwing poverty in people’s faces by becoming evangelic vegetarians.
Ben, the life of the party. They guy that knows everyone’s name before the night is out, the guy who works up the room before you go onstage. He rarely went to the bus to wait for the gig, I’m sure. You did because you were tired from getting there and putting everything up and thinking about all the details, so I bet you basically veged out or ate.
Mark was the seed that created the tree. He was the child, however, of the family that evolved. Aaron was the Mother. Chris Snykus was the Father. Ben was the youngest child of whatever group hung around. People fascinated would hop on and off the bus for months at a time, mostly for one week. It must have been one amazing week. Just the one gig, one of the last, in Jamestown, N.Y. we saw in person, was amazing to us. I always said that Aaron had a job where he worked seven days a week, 12 to 18 hours a day and didn’t call it work. Anyone would kill for such an experience. You will treasure that forever, that you did that.
You mobile home literally, parked in three parking spaces, making it well known that a major band was in town, and then we set you up at the local hotel, so you were like real rock stars with a hotel room and room service! Wow. I bet that felt really good. You deserved it.
The bus drove around the block trying to find a parking place. Of course Chris was maneuvering into the no parking zone across the street, which, remember, had to be three spots. You all efficiently got to work setting up your equipment. I think you must stage it somewhere so it is ready to be brought up before your part of the gig. Then you say hello to the other bands and shake hands and say what a crazy drive it was from the last gig and how are things going or what are you playing tonight sort of things, and then one will pull you aside sometimes or you will find someone interesting and talk to them awhile, then you go back to the bus until it is like about 9:30 or so to start playing in the band.
The first band played, which is usually some local band that likes to shout. Then you say, hey man, that was really cool, and then another band goes up that is traveling with you and sings their gig and people sort of paid attention while they were drinking at the bar. Mostly people sat and talked and drank and the band was background music. The singer was very good in the next band. The writing and the rest of the band members was unfortunate. Then I think you played, which was early. Usually you are the last to play. But it was already 11:00 by then so we were happy you were not playing last. You set everything up and then did a sound check, and that is when everyone sort of looked up to see what was happening.
Then you started off with Mark’s song about his guitar being his pillow and everyone perked up and stood up and went, who is that? How are we hearing a band like that here in Podunk? So a select few of Jamestownites got to see Jupiter Sunrise in person and see them kill the house. It was amazing.
Amanda has such a presence. She is so beautiful and talented. Then handsome Mark with his gyrations and excellent guitar playing, the likes of which they had never heard, and Chris Snykus’ drums. That is something I will never forget, and maybe I won’t have to because we saw him drumming at Halloween in New York, so he was still up to his old tricks of throwing sticks and laughing and getting everyone in a good mood, no matter what was coming down. What a wonderful man to know. I feel so privileged to know him. I hope he is very happy. I know Ben is very happy now. Whatever he is doing, he will always be doing. He will never have a real job. He will never need to have a job. He will be a househusband and love every minute of it and he is just made for that. His kids will be amazing.
You were the real person that took care of the band. You made sure that everything was taken care of and managed and things actually happened. You were the go to guy. You got really good fixing motor homes, managing people, organizing equipment and people and food and gas, let alone drive the bus and play bass guitar. I hope you get a chance at times to really play still and show your talent.
Amanda was perfect for Jupiter Sunrise, but she will never make it on her own. She needed you. She lent some cohesiveness to the songs to hear her voice, but JS had been around now and you hadn’t made it and everyone knew you were really good and they couldn’t compete, but sometimes they would get the contract and not you. I don’t know what went on and why it didn’t happen, but I have my ideas.
The downfall of Jupiter Sunrise as I said was its strength. But my guess is it was too fractured in style. You don’t understand Mark’s dark view of life with its instrumental tones and crescendos and also understand Ben’s na la la la songs that lift you up and make you want to dance with your arms flung out at your side looking at the sky. Amanda, whether she was there or not, that schism between Mark and Ben alone was the downfall of Jupiter Sunrise. There had to have been a more cohesiveness to the music. You should have chosen one style and stuck to it. For example, if Ben was the style you chose, then Mark would be the person who did the instrumental for the whole thing, so they were still in control, each in his own world. But Mark can’t be a song writer too. Or vice versa.
Only Manic Depressives, like me, appreciate the music of Jupiter Sunrise. I can’t listen to it very often. It is too painful. But I love it. Thank you.
Aaron, I think you are the only person who understands how important to me being able to put away something in the kitchen and find it again where I put it is luxury!

This is a part of my life, the part where my husband and I, for five years, followed our oldest son’s band, Jupiter Sunrise, around the country, three months at our home in Alaska, performing in almost every state in the union. Their largest audience was 5,000, their usual audience 50. They played in All Age Bars, run down local bars, coffee houses, and even people’s houses to earn a buck and keep playing until they “made it”. Well they “Made it” in many more ways than a record career and money.