Much to several cities' delight and surprise, Rocket From The Crypt played a number of small venue gigs over the summer as 'special guests' of Delta 72. The word spread quickly and the result was a bunch of sold-out, sweaty, true to life, rock-n-roll shows in an intimate setting. We were lucky enough to witness three of these shows--two in Philadelphia and one in New York. We also had the chance to catch up with the boys in the band who informed us of their plans for the next record. But, before we spread the gospel of Rocket, let's go back over a year to a chilly November Chicago-style, where the band played two nights at The Aragon Theatre, opening up for Soundgarden...
Chicago, November 1996. The Windy City struck mayhem on two wayward girls who travelled a few hundred miles to catch up with Diego's finest. The one, the only, Rocket From The Crypt. It was a brutally cold day, the wind almost strong enough to rip us to shreds. And we nearly froze to death while waiting for the band to show up at The Aragon Theater (for the interview) when JC 2000 - trumpeter, primo tambourine player, suave mover-n-shaker, and the only member around - decided to be a gracious host and invite us on the bus to get "toasty".
So that begins our Rocket From The Crypt adventure. And what brings the hottest punked out slice of rock'n'rockabilly pie to Chicago to support the mecca of RAWK bands, Soundgarden? RFTC balladeer Speedo (and the closest thing to Elvis San Diego's got) shed some light on that rather perplexing situation in a post-soundcheck chat session.
"It's basically our farewell tour for this record ["Scream Dracula Scream"]. We were going to go out by ourselves...[but] there aren't many bands of this size that we'd want to go and play with. And this is just something like 'yeah, maybe people who like them might like us'.
"We look at it as a challenge," he continues, "but at the same time, we're not going anywhere. We're going to be a band for a very long time. We don't throw temper tantrums, walk off in the middle of the tour, we're all the best of friends...We're kind of about bringing people together and we like the challenge of going out to people who may not understand what we're about."
But Speedo, any chance we may find you walking through the arena to greet your newfound 'fans'?
"I'm not going to stroll through the crowd...I probably stand more of a chance of getting my ass kicked than someone coming up and talking to me...You're one of those faggots in those shirts up there."
And how about those shirts? It seems as if you've been sportin' those silver sequined ones quite a bit lately...
"The Warped Tour was the first time we wore these, so this is only the second time," quips Apollo 9 -saxman, Chelsea supporter, and resident Anglophile. But Speedo, as usual, elaborates. "These are also the most expensive shirts we've ever made...they're our favorite ones." Besides, as ND, the quietly handsome guitarist, says "We were only home for 5 days."
And that five days covers the time between now and this past summer, when the band travelled over to ol' Blighty, where they rocked out so hard at Reading that the power blew, and holding an illustrious slot on Top of the Pops.
JC: "It was fun, we got to hang out with The Smurfs too, with their chart-busting song [Wonderwall]."
Speedo: "They're more popular than we are...I remember the last time we toured the States, we were playing the same city as The Smurfs, in every fucking town. They completely took away from our audience."
Well boys, you better watch out, because those lovable blue creatures are making a grand comeback.
"I always hated it..."Speedo claims, "There was only one chick out of them. That was a bit weird."
And how about Baby Smurf, what's up with that?
JC: "The smurf stork brought him&emdash;Storky Smurf."
Speedo: "I think Brainy pretty much foreshadowed Urkel [from that fantastic sitcom Family Matters] ...I think Urkel's sad, the guy's like 35."
JC: "America's watched Urkel grow up."
Speedo: "And stay the same."
Okay then, on to more important matters, namely, alcohol. When in a bar, we always look for the bottle of Absolut Kurant. What about the members of Rocket?
Speedo jumps at the chance to enlighten us. "I look for the green one with the dead lizard at the bottom...[it's] a low level of gasoline with tequila and a dead lizard at the bottom. It's really expensive, it's like $20 a shot. And it's always really dusty, too, cause there's a lizard in it.
"The first thing I look for actually is a Budweiser neon clock. Or posters with girls in bathing suits, little flags like racing flags [or] football helmets with brands of beer on it."
JC, on the other hand, has a different view altogether. "I don't remember what I look for. I usually drink to forget, so when I go in there, I don't remember anything."
Speedo: "You look for the person who's going to buy you a drink."
JC: "Yeah, and that's the only detail that I care about."
Well hopefully the band isn't spending all their time in a bar, getting belligerently drunk, because they've got new songs to record. But Speedo reassures that all is well in the camp.
"We wrote some [songs] and recorded them while we were over [in the UK]...We're just going to finish this tour, do the Australian and Japanese tours as well, and then go into the studio and record the rest...We've already recorded nine songs that we like a lot...We were really inspired that tour...When we finally got in [the studio] with a bunch of new songs, it was really fresh, it had a lot of energy. It just felt really good and different from anything we've done, but at the same time, not necessarily a departure. We're just being different."
And all willing, with the new record the band will have a slew of new tales and anecdotes about the formation of the band and whatnot, because we all know how these boys like to bullshit...
"I don't know what you're talking about," argues Speedo.
"Where'd ya hear that," grins Petey X, with a devilish look in his eyes and a snicker in his voice, "we don't lie...what have you heard."
Well nothing immediately comes to mind...besides the obvious stories.
"Well there you go."
Speedo: "The other day we were playing and I said, "We're really happy to be here.' That was a lie."
What city had that unfortunate greeting?
"I don't know, I say it every night."
It's now November 1997 and New York has just waved goodbye to Rocket From The Crypt. For six weeks the seven hotshots from San Diego invaded our bars, inhabited our clubs and É well, they found the time to record a new album too. And on top of drinking a few of the guys under the table on a few occasions (they will most likely deny the charges, but we didn't have debilitating hangovers the next day), Erika and I got the scoop on the new record.
For their new release, Rocket From The Crypt hooked up with Kevin Shirley, the producer responsible for Aerosmith's latest effort. The schedule was relaxed, the session was live, the band was at ease (if they weren't still feeling the effects of the previous night's debauchery), and they managed to record 18 tracks. Although the title is still being debated, at least they've decided on including 13 cuts on the forthcoming album, scheduled for a spring release.
And even though the band didn't play any shows while in New York, they did manage to catch a few when they weren't holed up in the studio. Some of them caught Clawhammer at the Knitting Factory, and (gasp!) Oasis at Hammerstein Ballroom. One of the guys even managed a photo op with Ray Davies on a West Side street corner.
It could be said that their New York jaunt was a successful one. We will just have to wait an see what is to come of Rocket From the Crypt's next full-length. It's bound to be brilliant thought innit?
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