For Hometown Heroes, This is Juniper
The Nashville-based indie-rock band Juniper sat down with Pleaser a few days before their show at the Mercury Lounge to discuss what’s new in their world
PHOTOS BY EMMA FISCHER
Finding a tangential connection with budding musicians is one of my secret obsessions. Whether it be a neighbor, distant cousin or a friend of a friend’s friend, if there’s a musician in my social web, I will be interviewing them for Pleaser Magazine. This time, I spoke with Juniper, an indie-rock band whose lead singer and guitar player Scott Johnson graduated from Wellesley High School in 2017, the year before I did. Dummer Alejandro Marin is from the neighboring town of Brookline and guitar player David Sessions is from upstate New York.
I made the initial connection with Juniper when I realized they were playing their fourth show at the Mercury Lounge, just a 20 minute subway from my place in Brooklyn. (Back in December 2023, before my Pleaser days.) The audience shimmered under the low lights and colored LEDs that bounced off the stage. I was standing at the front barricade, enjoying the weight of the crowd behind me.
This year’s show was no different. It was cold as hell outside, but fans still waited to move through the metal detector, still showed the top of their hand for a stamp and made their way into the bar for another Friday night show. The bar area doubles as a narrow passageway to the back room, which is barricaded by big, black double doors. Once those are swung open, the whole stage appears on display.
Anywhere you stand in the square shaped room provides a direct view of the performance. Always at the perfect capacity and equipped with an enthusiastic crowd that loves an encore, the Mercury Lounge is the place for a concert. I’ve seen many bands at Mercury, but Juniper solidified themselves as one of my favorites this year.
In an interview with Pleaser a few days before the show, Marin told me he felt the band’s September 2022 single “Listen to the Moment” represented them best to new listeners. Being the inaugural work of Juniper as the tri-member band it is today, the single has an infectious, light beat infused with danceability and charm.
“The song represents a bunch of different influences from each of us,” Marin said.
Johnson mentioned one of his favorites to share is “Pennies,” the title track from the band’s June 2024 EP Pennies in the Driveway. He said the song demonstrates the full range of skills the band is capable of, making it a great work to show new fans.
PHOTOS BY EMMA FISCHER
At the Mercury Lounge that Friday night, “Pennies” was the seventh song on the set list. The gentle guitar strums that back the melody create a delicate and emotive introduction to an introspective piece. The minimalist arrangement cultivates an intimacy with the audience, each note feeling purposeful and intentional. Sessions led the way by playing his inaugural strums with rounded edges, easing the audience in. Johnson continued to develop the sound by infusing a subtle softness into his voice, and Marin backed him up by maintaining the accompanying beat.
Not that every song Juniper played at Mercury wasn’t amazing, but the band’s performance of “Pennies” was really when they started to gel. The nerves of the first few songs had subsided, the crowd was engaged, and Juniper capitalized on the moment.
Making connections and new sounds
Johnson said he likes to point to Juniper’s most recent work as the best of their catalogue. As a band that is continually working to become better, their latest track will usually reflect fresh skills. Released on September 27, “Wasted Time” is the band’s newest single, which Johnson said is a follow up to “Pennies in the Driveway.” The track deals with what it means to waste time, what that looks like, and if it's really even possible.
“We had the song come out at the end of the summer to represent the struggle of comparing your summer plans to everyone else's extravagance, especially on social media,” Scott said.
On the note of social media, Marin said he has a love-hate relationship with posting content. He mentioned that utilizing online platforms is really helpful in terms of increasing streaming numbers and generating a fanbase and “it’s like, 80 percent of the puzzle.” Sessions added that it has also been a great place for both fans and for the band to learn about each other.
“Everyone’s trying to get the most interaction possible, but you have to be authentic with yourselves as a band,” he said.
Johnson recognizes that social media is a pain point for some artists, but for Juniper, it's been a way to personally connect with fans from all over the world.
Juniper was officially named in 2017, originally as a mix of four musicians from my very own Wellesley High, including Johnson and one person from a neighboring town. Their debut three-song release, Juniper, from September 2017 features an album cover of Juniper Rd., the street in Wellesley the band derives its name. Scott grew up a few streets over from Juniper Rd., and he’s neighbors with Evelyn from my Tale of Two High School Besties Who Ended Up In Utah; Kilby Block Party Review Edition story! We love a crossover episode!!
In all seriousness, I probably account for about half of the 1.3 million streams on “Staring ‘Cross the Water,” one of the tracks from Juniper. The sweet melody is carried by guitar strums that feel almost like a lullaby. Since its original formation, Juniper has been through four iterations, including the current group of three that was solidified in September 2022. Inherently, these changes impact Juniper’s sound. Marin said that the sound of the band is changing all the time, even more often than the members that come and go.
“Our sound stems from what we’re all listening to at the moment,” he said, “There are a lot of moving parts, the band changes, but we’re never complacent with where we are. We always want to be trying to do the next big thing. So, we actually sort of want our sound to develop over time.”
Back to the Show!
At the Mercury Lounge, the band brought back one of their early tracks, the 2020 single “Please Stop Calling.” As one of my favorite Juniper tracks, I was thrilled to see it on the set list before the show. I patiently waited through seven songs, and once the pianist hit the first chord, I knew what was coming. Johnson said on stage that they’d never performed this song live, but what better place to make it happen than in New York City? Maintaining the authenticity of the original track, the female pianist sang the first verse. It begins with minimal instrumentals, allowing the vocals to remain unobstructed.
The track builds through the two verses into the final crescendo, a dramatic, almost manic representation of the frustration being represented lyrically. Every time I hear this song, I think about how much I wish it continued for another verse. Hearing it live reaffirmed my wish.
Johnson, Marin and Sessions all have very different musical inspirations, which contributes to Juniper’s diverse sound. Johnson said he draws a lot of his songwriting techniques from Coldplay and John Mayer, while Marin saidthe band Pinegrove has been instrumental in building his sound. Sessions likes “all different kinds of stuff,” but mostly indie-psychedelic artists like Mk.gee.
PHOTOS BY EMMA FISCHER
The band has also worked with a lot of different producers, and each time it really “builds the character” of a song, according to Johnson.
“[Producers] sometimes act like a quasi-member of the band, and that collaboration is really inspirational,” he said.
In 2023, the band moved to Nashville, which Sessions said has been an “inspiration capital” for them. Johnson added that their connection with the people in their lives is represented sonically, and being so close to friends has been essential. Nashville itself is also ripe with opportunities to learn from and play with some of the best musicians around.
“It’s the best place to be around music,” Marin said.
Juniper is planning on releasing a whole lot of new music in 2025, so make sure to keep them on your radar!
