Jupiter Coyote is an American rock band from Macon, Georgia. Operating as an independent group from the late 1980s into the 2020s, they have sold more than one million records.Jupiter Coyote biography, AllMusic Given their early history and use of electric interpretations of bluegrass themes, some Jamband historians consider them the forefathers of what is now known as “Jamgrass.” , Louisville Music News
History Band members Matthew Mayes and John Felty were childhood friends in Brevard, North Carolina, and assembled the group after completing undergraduate studies and moving to Macon, Georgia.Deep Inside the Cosmos Factory: Jupiter Coyote Jams. Gritz, Summer 2002. The group was initially a cover bandEntry for "Jupiter Coyote". Dean Budnick, Jambands: the Complete Guide to the Players, Music, & Scene. Backbeat Books, 2003, pp. 95-96. known as the Rockafellas and released its first album of original material as Jupiter Coyote in 1991, incorporating southern rock, bluegrass, funk, and country into their sound and touring the jam band circuit. The group refers to its music as "mountain rock" and features the guijo, a guitar-banjo hybrid invented by Matthew Mayes.Entry for "Jupiter Coyote". Dean Budnick, Jam Bands: North America's Hottest Live Groups, Plus How to Tape and Trade Their Shows. ECW Press, 1998, pp. 148-149. Two members left the group and were replaced in 1991.Jupiter Coyote Yips for Columbus. The Lantern, February 7, 2000. The group's own label, Autonomous, released albums such as Wade (1994),Review of Wade. Louisville Music News, January 1994. Lucky Day (1995),Paul Verna and Marilyn A. Gillen, "Review of Lucky Day". Billboard, May 27, 1995, p. 58. and Here Be Dragons (1998).Review of Here Be Dragons. Louisville Music News, October 1998. Autonomous had a distribution deal with Roadrunner Records and helped launch the careers of Strangefolk and Sister Hazel.Doug Reece, "Popular Uprisings". Billboard, July 4, 1998, p. 18. With Steve Trismen's addition in 1999 the group added fiddle to its sound, and in the 2000s they expanded to a septet when guitarist John Meyer and drummer Noel Felty came on board.
The group remained active as a touring ensemble in the 2010s and 2020s in addition to recording. Performances included repeated concerts at the Windjammer in Isle of Palms, South Carolina,Jupiter Coyote. The Post and Courier, August 7, 2012. a 2018 show at the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga,Jupiter Coyote brings mountain rock to Songbirds Guitar Museum. Chattanooga Times Free Press, February 7, 2018. and a 2021 headlining performance at the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.An Interview with Sunday in the Park Headliner Jupiter Coyote. Historic Oakland Foundation, September 10, 2021.
Members
Current Matthew Mayes - guitar, guijo, vocals John Meyer - guitar Gene Bass - drums (1992-2000, ?-present) Noel Felty - drums (2000–present) Sanders Brightwell - bass (1992–present) Steve Trismen - fiddle, vocals (1999–present) Kevin "Ponchito" Scheyer - percussion Robert Soto - percussion
Former John Felty - vocals, guitar Ned Grubb (c. 1988-1992) Matt Trevitt (c. 1988-1992) David Stevens, Jr. - percussion (1993-1997)
Discography Cemeteries and Junkyards (Stolen Records, 1991) Wade (Autonomous Records, 1993) Lucky Day (Autonomous/Roadrunner, 1995) Ghost Dance (Autonomous, 1997) Here Be Dragons (Autonomous/Roadrunner, 1998) Live (Coyote Recordings, 2000) Waxing Moon (Coyote Recordings, 2001) The Hillary Step (Coyote Recordings, 2004) Sage with Toad (MBM Records, 2011) Life Got in the Way (Self-released, 2018) The Interplanetary Yard Dog (Self-released, 2020)
References