John Piotrowski, lead singer for Shadow Of Jupiter, hopes the band’s sound, feel, vibe, and attitude capture the experience of flipping through vinyl at a record store that year. It does not get more passionately precise than that, right?
Immediately, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon should come to mind. After that, arguably the greatest releases from The Who and Genesis, Quadrophenia and Selling England By The Pound. You also have debut albums from Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd. And, you also had the critical releases of Houses Of The Holy and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as well.
But while Shadow Of Jupiter’s already distinctive tone, which has become more evident on their second release, Bones, is rooted in classic hard rock and well-placed prog elements, the band is a collective that cannot be defined even with all their influences and inspirations.
Their whole, as the popular saying goes, is bigger than the sum of their parts. The problem with even that is that the quote, which was attributed to Aristotle, is not correct. The word ‘sum’ was never used in that phrase found in Metaphysics.
The word was ‘beside’ and the whole sentence reads like this from a 1908 translation.
In the case of all things which have several parts and in which the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts.
This ‘whole’ in terms of the creative size and songwriting that Shadow Of Jupiter bring to the table is magically captured from this excerpt from a review of their album:
This is music with sand in its gears, blood on its fingers and fire in its veins. Bones does not simply move from song to song… Hell no. It drifts. It crawls. It runs. It explodes. It stretches massive riffs across wide open landscapes where crushing weight meets mighty grooves and, at certain times, a cosmic atmosphere. Colin Peterson’s guitars carve out towering walls of sound, Scott Brakebill’s bass rolls like distant thunder, Adam Kazragys’ drums lock into deep, primal grooves, and John Piotrowski’s vocals rise like a weathered storyteller yelling from a high and weathered peak. Joop Konrad, Stoner Hive
Shadow of Jupiters is something well beyond their parts, and this was organically and warmly unravelled in my one-hour interview with all four members.
My first question feels like a question that would be further down the list. But, I know Colin (guitarist) and John (vocalist) really well. In fact, we had a friendship that was already forming prior to me seeing them live at RippleFest in Austin in 2024.
Friendship. The whole stoner/desert/doom scene is built on this. Connection transcends the music–because of the music.
That’s why I wanted my first question to be kind of a curveball. There is lots of baseball fandom in the band.
Since I have all four members of Shadow of Jupiter here, I am going to ask you a question about musical influences that is different. You each have to, without repeating another band member’s choice, give me an artist that is an influence that the audience would probably not expect.
Also, try to stretch the collective “perimeter” of the band’s influence with your selection.
John: Minor Threat.
Colin: Thin Lizzy
Scott: Grateful Dead
Adam: Toto
Attitude. Guitarists. Jams. Precision.
In many ways, the band plays within the territory of those words, with deep complexion and personality. It was hard not to go off on a serious tangent when Colin mentioned Thin Lizzy, my favourite band of all time.
We managed to mention all the great guitarists of the band without getting too derailed!
My next question birthed an answer that led to the opening of this article–1973.
Who designed the album cover?
John: “Well, we wanted to go with a vibe that conveyed original art and original work. We knew the raven was going to be a central theme to the cover, and we wanted to convey something that you might flip through when searching for albums back in 1973. (John remembered the artist’s name, Fajar Rahadian, later in the interview)
So, who then designed the logo?
Colin: I am going to have to go back and check on that, as the name escapes me now. However, we loved what was created because it has this feel of something you might associate with an absinthe house in France.”
Even the standard questions around album and logo design yielded answers that were doused in old school memories. My closing question on this topic was one that was prefaced by my reluctance to “always know the answer”, removing the mystery associated with origins of musical ideas.
The band’s name. What does it mean?
Scott: “I was hoping you would ask that question, because I don’t even know!”
Adam would also chime in, but not before giving some wrong answer about it being a reference to the size of this head. Yes, we were all laughing at this point!
Adam: “I also don’t know. I just got a text message from you guys (John and Colin) that I was interested in playing in your little project.”
Thankfully, yes, thankfully, the story behind the band’s name was kept a mystery on my small insistence.
I then moved onto the title track of the album, Bones. And, not too surprisingly, the conversations that came out of my inquiry into this song were deep and satisfying. I didn’t have a question so much, but I wanted the band to comment on anything related to the creation of this opening track, which has so many things going–even in the first 90 seconds. My sister heard The Beatles. I heard Soundgarden and Jane’s Addiction.
Colin: “John and I have a long history, and some of that involves taking psychedelics while listening to Ravi Shankar. We just wanted the main riff of the song to be placed later in the song, building up to it. Also, the song is a pure collaborative effort of the whole band.”
My brain goes to weird places for associations when discussing music or mathematics. So, I reached for the show Better Call Saul in describing the band’s music. It is a slow burn. I also shared this quote from the photographer Glen Friedman on his definition of punk: “An intense obligation to the truth of your innermost self”
John: “That reference to Better Call Saul was epic, and made my heart swell. We’re able to create music that is like this because the scene is so cool. The scene is so wild and eclectic! From day one, we’ve been welcomed by so many bands, and we’ve been allowed to be as creative as we want. Let us play what we want to play from the heart”
What is your go-to Zeppelin and Sabbath albums in 2026?
Colin: Physical Graffiti and Mob Rules
Adam: Led Zeppelin II, because of Moby Dick and Black Sabbath
Scott: Song Remains The Same (Soundtrack) and Black Sabbath
John: Led Zeppelin III (my go-to!) and Mob Rules
What is your non-musical inspiration in your life?
Colin: “Ed Pashke, a local Chicago artist. I love his modern and twisted style.”
Scott: “My job as a pipe construction fitter has been an inspiration between building complex structures from small parts, and how it relates to creating a song.”
Adam: “Frank Lloyd Wright. I love the order and structure of his designs and how he used space to inspire creativity.”
John: “Commitment to social justice. I am constantly inspired by activists who are involved in projects to better the lives of others.”
What is your favorite song on the new album, but you can’t say Bones?
Adam: Rumblestrip
Scott: Riot Dog
Colin: For Heaven Above
John: For Heaven Above
The whole interview goes much deeper into a band that exudes depth of inspirations, creativity, and connection through music, friendship, and community.
This is Shadow Of Jupiter’s humble orbit, and I was lucky to go on board with the full crew for 60 minutes.
Today is Bandcamp Friday. For 24 hours, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, Bandcamp waives its normal revenue share on music and merchandise purchases. The money goes to the artist or label, minus payment-processing fees and, where relevant, the artist’s label or fulfilment costs.
You can find Bones at shadowofjupiter.bandcamp.com.
Shadow Of Jupiter are:
John Piotrowski — Vocals
Colin Peterson — Guitars
Scott Brakebill — Bass
Adam Kazragys — Drums
