For Jacob Pachasa, drumming in Equipment has been a constant, but there was always another side of his songwriting waiting to surface. My Own Desert Island started as his solo project, a place to work through personal themes that didn’t fit elsewhere.
Over the past year, it evolved into a full band—Pachasa on guitar and vocals, Penny Scott on bass, Joy Sitler on guitar, and Steven Warstler on drums. Now, their debut album, Spinning Around The Sun, Though My Feet Still Touch The Ground, is out today!
The record is built around loss—of faith, of family, of friendships—and the slow, often painful process of trying to reclaim them. Some songs date back to 2017, a long stretch of patience and persistence.
“I was patient with writing this record. I wanted it to have a clear theme and feel like a cohesive listen from start to finish,” Pachasa says. His goal was to fuse personal, sharp-edged lyricism with layered, guitar-driven instrumentals, pulling inspiration from City and Colour, Conor Oberst, and Death Cab for Cutie. The sonic foundation takes cues from bands like Microwave, Rival Schools, Sugar, Wilco, The Sidekicks, and Smashing Pumpkins—gritty, melodic, and direct.
While Pachasa handled a majority of the recording, Spinning Around The Sun reflects a more collaborative approach than My Own Desert Island’s early EP. “Steve and Joy played drums and guitar respectively on a good chunk of the tracks,” Pachasa explains. “Our first EP was all me, and I wanted the full length to be more of a collaboration. That is how we will work moving forward.”
Warstler, who has recorded nearly every one of Pachasa’s projects over the last seven years—including Equipment, Waving, Brown Maple, and Whisper Disco—helped lock in the sound. “He really understands the direction I want to go and how to get the sounds just right. Having him in the band has only given me more confidence to work as a full band as opposed to a solo project. I want people to hear the range of influences from all the members, not just my perspective. We are a band, not just one person.”
The Toledo-based group has been playing full-band shows locally and hitting DIY fests, including Fauxchella in Bowling Green, OH, and PUG Fest in Ferndale, MI. Pachasa, who works for Little Elephant Custom Vinyl, recently pressed limited 7” vinyls for the album’s first double single, Even Green/Kamikaze. The band plans to integrate new material into their live set while navigating Pachasa’s Equipment commitments. “We plan on adding the new songs from the album into the live set and playing as many shows as we can outside of my touring with Equipment.”
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More than just a collection of songs, Spinning Around The Sun is a document of struggle and survival, laid out in uneasy lyrics and raw memories. “This is the first full-length record I’ve ever written. I wanted to dig deep and sing lyrics that made me feel uneasy,” Pachasa says. “All of the songs evoke specific memories or strong emotions from me, and I hope listeners can feel that authenticity.”
