Interview with the Band of the Week: Jupiter Project
The Jupiter Project is a talented New Zealand duo that consists of singer Correia and music producer Marty Rich. They formed in 2009 while in college. 2012 has been quite the year for this pair! They released two hit singles entitled “Catch Me” and “Hook Up Girl”, and visited the US for the first time! We had the chance to chat with Jupiter Project while they were in New York. Check out our interview with them below and click here to see our full featured article on Jupiter Project!
Besides driving what about the US is the biggest change for you guys from the New Zealand?
“This is our first time in the US. We’ve been to Cuba and Hong Kong though. Everything in the US is so different. Each city has its own vibe and culture. Vegas is Vegas. New York has China Town, Little Italy, etc. It’s really cool. In New Zealand we have a lot of different cultures, but they’re all kind of in one big thing. In the US every city is completely different. Each city is like a brand new country to us. That’s so unique.”
You guys formed while in college. Was music something you always wanted to pursue? Or was college just not the right fit for you guys?
“Actually a bit of both. Both of us had been doing music since we were teenagers, so we both had that background. We both wanted to study too. During college something started pulling us away. The music became more serious to us. We figured it was something we needed to pursue. That’s how it happened. [laughs].”
What was it like working with Jessie G?
“She’s really cool man! We’ve only known her for a couple of months, but we’re like best friends now! She’s really talented. She’s been a part of the music scene in New Zealand longer than us, so she’s been really helpful. She’s been introducing to us to a bunch of people, and telling us the do’s and don’ts. She needs to come to the US!”
How did you come up with the karaoke premise for your “Hook Up Girl” music video?
“It’s actually a really cute song. Yes, it’s a club song, but the lyrics are cute. It’s about a guy and a girl having this interaction that they are both nervous about. What’s more cute and awkward than karaoke? We wanted to combine all the elements of the song together and so that’s what we did. We just want people to feel good when they see the music video, and I think we did that perfectly! Adam King is a genius.”
Who would you love to collaborate with in the US?
“Pharrell Williams, Kayne West, Phoenix, etc. Our music is quite diverse, and so are our influences. We just want to learn from anyone who is willing to teach us. Any opportunists that come our way; we will take!”
You guys reference a lot of American TV shows on your Facebook page. Do you have a favorite American TV show?
“For me, it is ‘The Wire’. That’s one of the most brilliantly written shows of all time, and the characters are all amazing. As a band we relate to ‘How to Make it in America’, but for us it’s actually “How to make it to America” [laughs]. That show is about having a dream and doing anything possible to make that dream come true. For us, the US is the first step of making it. We sometimes have to pinch ourselves to make sure we’re really here.”
Do you have any future shows coming up?
“We have a bunch of shows in New Zealand coming up. We are doing some shows with Oakland, Wellington Brass, and we’ve also just been booked for a really big festival. That’s really exciting! It’s about to be summer in New Zealand so that’s the peek time for shows for us. Hopefully we will do some shows in Australia as well. We played a show in LA, which was great! The crowd was amazing and really receptive, but we don’t have any US touring plans yet. I’d love to play a show in New York. Hopefully next time we are in the US we can do that.”
2012 has been a great year for Jupiter Project with the releases of “Catch Me” and “Hook Up Girl”. What are your plans for 2013?
“Hopefully bigger and better. We got our next single called “Celebration” coming out. We have been filming the video for that in the US. We are really excited for that to be released. We have new CD coming out. It’s a little bit different. It’s more intimate and shows a different side of us, but is still very easy to relate to. We’d love to come to the US and tour here!”