Spring 1996 issue of Access Magazine

Jupiter Sun Rising
Local Asian Alternative Band Shines in the Limelight
words. Francis Ladines photos. Jay L. Clendenin


"Darkness obscures everything except for the stage. Lights from the ceiling lay a yellow glow on the raised platform highlighting figures synchronously moving with the flowing music. “I’m over you.” croons front man Matt Murdock. He closes his eyes and deftly lets a guitar solo fly. Swaying his body emotions show with every note. Steve Chang plays funky bass line that runs along with the jangle of the guitar, while the pounding rhythm of drummer Rob Uytingco completes the mix of sound. This is the band Jupiter Sun.

“They’re just completely into it. It means a lot to me. It’s so honest,” says Collen Pon, San Jose State University public relations major, while at a Jupiter Sun concert.

“They’re extremely original band. They play pop music and they do it very, very well,” adds Todd Inoue, a music columnist for Metro.

Through their music speaks for itself, the band is unique because it helps to diminish racial stereotypes. As perhaps the only all Asian-American band in San Jose, Jupiter Sun shows that all Asians can be more than math majors, says Uytingco. Fans who commend the band on their music after shows notice the similarity in race. “You’re all Asians,” they say: “Yeah, we are.” Uytingco is Filipino. Chang is Korean, and Murdock is both Caucasian and Japanese.

“It’s very important,”says Inoue, commenting on their all-Asian band status. “That makes an impression. It may inspire some people.” Yet, Inoue says they should be heard for their music, not because of their race. “It’s not about politics or race bashing,” he says.

The band agrees, hoping to gain publicity as musicians first, not breaking the mold. “For a while I heard really bad music on the radio. I said, I can do better than that,” says Murdock, who came up with the bands name after he read “2010:Odyssey Two” by Arthur C. Clarke. In the book, the planet Jupiter turns into a sun.

Amid a swirling melodic pop sound similar to British pop bands Ride and Blur, Murdock sings lyrics of reflection and contemplation, unlike much of music that is popular today. “Not that things should be whimsical or light, but it (music) can have meaning. It can be intense, without being angry. I guess we’re just not that angry,” he says.

Though they have been together two years, Jupiter Sun band members are far from angry, not as they bask in the spotlight of local fame. Besides playing numerous clubs in the Bay Area and having their songs aired on radio stations like KSCU and Live 105, the three band members, who met in high school, have also managed to put a CD on the Parasol independent record label. With their CD being distributed by mail order, Jupiter Sun has also develop a following in Europe.

But their local fans keep them on the move, too. Last summer they opened for college radio favorite Matthew Sweet, and during their concert at Stanford University, Fred Savage (a Stanford student) watched them play. “The guy from ‘The Wonder Years’ watched us play,” Uytingco says.

It’s this brand of modesty that makes Jupiter Sun likable. During their noon show at the SJSU Student Union Amphitheatre, Uytingco was asked to autograph fans’ CDs. It’s bizarre for him, he says. “It’s like, ‘What the hell are you talking about? I’m just like you.’”

As with most of that crowd, Uytingco is an SJSU student majoring in art. Chang, a senior advertising major, also balances a juggling act as an SJSU student, part-time musician. As if studying for classes and playing in a band weren’t enough, Uytingco and Chang must also work to foot the bills. During school they practice two or three days a week (about six hours a week) at their Fourth Street studio. For the band members the most difficult part is agreeing on a time. Shows and social lives have to be planned around work and school. But these two say their music comes first, admitting that studying is sometimes put off.

Though they often resort to cramming like crazy just before tests, both intend to graduate soon. "My parents would kill me,” Uytingco says, if he didn’t graduate. Both agree that with a college diploma to fall back on, they can be serious about making it in the music business.

Murdock, who left the University of California, Berkeley where he was studying architecture, is certain of his direction. “At this point in my life, I want to music as a career,” he says, even though he has a side job at Old Navy to make ends meet.

Jupiter Sun band members know all too well that financing the recording of the CD, renting a practice place, buying equipment and even making Xerox fliers can drain collective funds. Murdock offers an analogy: “It’s like a business that you start, and you don’t make much money. You lose money essentially.” Jupiter Sun band members just hope the investment will eventually pay off. “You’ve made it, even if you’re not super famous, [when you can] make enough to eat.  I would still do it.I’m not that old.  I’ve got couple of years to keep trying,” says Murdock, who is 24 years old, as Uytingco. Chang is 23.

They’ve put a lot of hard work into their music, but for Jupiter Sun, this is the fun part. They’ll always remember the time they drove across the desert lat at night in a Jeep Cherokee, fully loaded with their gear, after doing a music festival in Arizona. As they go on creating music with drams of “making it” in the industry, they’ll remember the ride. “It’s not just the end result. It’s everything in between,” Murdock says."