It all started with a racy t-shirt. Sophomore and bass player Max Rudkin , who was a freshman at the time, was at a party when he noticed that Eugene Iattcheni, a sophomore, singer and guitarist, was wearing what he thought to be a hysterical shirt. Rudkin asked Iattcheni if he played any music, and thus developed a friendship and an idea for a band that would have many antics to follow.
Fate would have it that when Rudkin and Iattcheni went to Staller Center to have a jam session, senior and drummer Jon O’Rourke was already using the room. The band was growing, but they were still missing a key element to give them the sound they were looking for. That key element was senior and keyboardist Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs liked their sound and knew he wanted to be a part of the band, but after losing Dobbs’ number, they feared they wouldn’t be able to find him again.
After looking through previous video recordings, they found Dobbs on tape and were soon able to get into contact with him. The band was finally complete. A singer from Moscow, bassist from Blue Point , drummer from Amityville, and keyboardist from Stony Brook joined together for a common cause: to rock and have fun while doing so. They are a group of sarcastic, fun loving, and crazy guys who are just trying to have a good time.
Now all they needed to do was create their own music and a name.
Statesman: How did you come up with the name Hello Jupiter?
Jon O’Rourke: It was really the first name we all agreed on. We were brainstorming ideas through texts and someone said ‘Jupiter’ and someone else said ‘hello’. It just really fit well with all of us.
SM: What genre would you categorize Hello Jupiter?
All: Fun.
Eugene Iattcheni: Or other.
Max Rudkin: I have a blatant disregard for genres. We write what we want and have a lot of influences. You can hear our music is really different.
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SM: Who are some of your influences?
Rudkin: We all have different ones. Some of mine are Radiohead, The Beatles, Wu Tang Clan, and Biggie.
Iattcheni: Well I’m still fighting over whether I should pick Kanye or Taylor Swift. But I do like Fall of Troy, This Town Needs Guns, and Portugal the Man.
Joshua Dobbs: I’m into Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, Phish, Prince, MMW, Air, Michael Jackson, and Herbie Hancock.
O’Rourke: I like Incubus, Queens of the Stoneage, John Coltrane, and really everything they said.
SM: This question is for Eugene, Josh and Jon. How would you describe Max?
O’Rourke: He’s creative and crazy. He’s loud, but in a good way.
Dobbs: He’s honest, true and good. He’s got such a spark of life.
Iattcheni: He’s well endowed.
SM: How would the rest of you describe Eugene?
Rudkin: He makes the WORST first impression and he’s absolutely hilarious. He’s also a perfectionist and insanely creative.
O’Rourke: He is so creative, but is the most awkward person and can make any situation awkward.
Dobbs: He’s an antagonist, has good morals, but you have to know him to know him. He’s also amazingly generous.
SM: How about Josh?
Rudkin: He is our responsible publicist. He knows the right things to say to the public and makes us look legitimate.
Iattcheni: He has a legit facial hair structure, good taste in women, charismatic, and is really intelligent when it comes to music.
O’Rourke: He’s multi-talented and a really good public speaker.
SM: And Jon?
Iattcheni: He’s incredibly modest. He’s the best drummer on the planet, practices all the time, has so many aspirations, and anything he wants to do he’ll get done. He’s also got the best girlfriend in the world.
Rudkin: He really is modest and genuine. He’s also go the most raw talent out of’hellip; insaneness. And he’s got the abs of a greek god.
Dobbs: He’s nice, has gorgeous eyes, smart’hellip; and nasty, nasty, nasty.
Iattcheni: He’s also the only one in the group that knows all the technical stuff when we’re on stage.
SM: How many songs do you have out right now?
Dobbs: We are currently working on an album right now, but I’d say we have at least 30 songs.
Rudkin: We are proud of all our music.
SM: Where does your band usually play?
Rudkin: Usually the University Caf’eacute; for the RockYoFaceCase series, practice at Jon’s house, we are trying to get into the TAC, and sign up for events that allow bands on campus to play. On Friday, November 13th, we are going to possibly play at the Once And For All Caf’eacute; in Patchouge.
SM: What do you want the public to know about your band?
Rudkin: We’re ballin’. Come to our shows! You’ll have a good time!
Dobbs: We are recording our EP this semester, but please come talk to us after the shows too.
Rudkin: Except for Eugene. We don’t want anyone to get in a fight.
