How long as the band been together and how did you come together?:
As this line up, the band has been together about a year. Three of us, Lauren, Lauren and Kristin have all known each other since high school. We scouted the other two, Roxie and Kelly, on MySpace, actually! It was an automatic match made in heaven, we are all so different but I think that’s what makes us unique as a band.
Where did the name come from?
Lead-singer Lauren Rocket just sort of made it up on the spot! We were hanging around Spaceland (a club in Silverlake, Los Angeles) all the time (underage of course) and told a rock-writer that we were in a band so we could get into a local paper’s rock-gossip column. It was then that Rocket was born...we weren’t even a sparkle in rock n’ roll’s eye yet.
All about Rocket:
When you think of Rocket, think of driving along an L.A. beach in an open-top, bright pink, 1964 Cadillac. Rocket is a revolutionary concoction of fun, parties, candy, bubblegum, and beating hearts. Coquettishness-meets-bombast, kittens-meet-rattlesnakes; Rocket is the launching pad for a new generation of glam/pop flounce.
The all-girl band mixes 60’s girl group innocence with 70’s decibel-damaging boulevard beat, combined with 80’s glam wham swagger. A volatile combination that leaves one wondering what the results would be if the Shangri-Las crash landed onstage at the Starwood during an early Motley Crue gig. Starting out as a threesome of Laurens, Rocket released their first album in the summer of 2005. Evolving into a five-piece rock n roll circus later that year, their first-ever live show was a headlining, sold-out smash at the legendary Viper Room.
Opening for such acts as The Sounds, Morningwood, Kill Hannah, The Ark, SuicideGirls and Diamond Knights, Rocket’s only option is to move further up the totem pole of rock n roll hierarchy. The Summer of 2006 also marked the girl’s first tour. Asked to join in on 2006’s VAN’S WARPED TOUR, Rocket traveled day and night on the highways of America attracting the attention of boys and girls eager for Rocket’s demanding, raw and heart-pounding action!
Southern Californias reigning princesses of summertime party brattiness invite you to experience thier songstress vibrations with “Girls With Candy Hearts,” a brand new E.P. featuring seven more slices of deliciously bright n tight tunes guaranteed to jam the jukebox. All fuzz n buzz and junk shop pop production, the E.P. contains a newly-penned pair of powerpop gems in Not That Kind Of Girl and Breakup Season, plus Guitar Center Love Song, a sweet and sour ballad that sounds like the runaway teenage daughter of Pet Sounds and the Pooh Sticks.
Sound best described as:
The New York Dolls meets the Runaways; Rock and Roll with fuzzy, glam-inspired pop.
Influences:
Boys, parties, bubblegum, bubble baths, werewolves and the T.V. show “Mr. Belvedere”.
Do you find any significant advantages and/or disadvantages of having an all female band? If so, what are they?
Really, there are a lot of advantages to having an all-female band. None of us could imagine touring for months on end with a smelly boy in the car. Plus, boys are no fun, you can’t borrow their shoes or their makeup or their blow-dryer. however, there are some disadvantages of course. For instance, no matter what we are always placed in the genre of “girl band”. It would be nice if people could see past that and just call us a “band”, unfortunately that will always be our number one genre. Whatever. Girls are the coolest and there needs to be more of them breaking the barriers and playing really great music that they write themselves. YOU CAN DO IT!
Best Gig:
We all have favorites, but one that sticks out is from Warped Tour in San Diego when Pat Smear and all of the Germs came out and watched our set from the front row. They danced the whole time!
Worst Gig:
We played Bakersfield. Nothing against Bakersfield, but that gig kind of sucked.
Dream Tour:
There are so many bands that we would die to tour with, but traveling with Turbonegro would make all our lives complete. Turbonegro...or maybe Motley Crue. Or perhaps David Bowie.
What sets you apart from other bands of today?
What sets us apart from most bands is that we’re not afraid to call ourselves pop music.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?
The music industry clearly went through some growing pains during the past few years, but bands who make records and fans who want to buy those records are not going anywhere.
You did a leg of the VANS Warped tour this summer, what was that experience like and can you share any road stories with us?
We actually did two legs of the Van’s Warped Tour! It was the greatest experience we’ve had so far. It was our first tour, which was incredible, and it was INSANE. We’ve never done anything so hard, and I don’t think any of us fully comprehended exactly what we were getting into when we signed onto the tour. It was days and nights of no sleep...driving hour upon hour to the next venue and waking up at 7 every morning. It was like shock-treatment and rock and roll boot camp. We were sleep deprived, hungry and soar from sleeping in a goddamn 15 seater van with all of our equipment in it (we didn’t have a trailer). It was tough, plus on top of that too much estrogen can really make people act silly...but it was the best experience of our lives.
If we had the chance to do it over again exactly the same way, none of us would turn it down. And seriously, from now on, every tour we do will be a piece of cake. As for funny stories...hmmm....well, we befriended many bands on the Warped tour that while at first seemed scary and different from us stylistically, actually turned out to be some of our best friends! For example, Aiden, Thursday, Bullet for My Valentine and 30 Seconds to Mars are some of Rocket’s biggest fans! You would never expect it, but its totally awesome and true.
Give us one word to describe each member of the band:
Lauren Rocket - Heartbreaker
Lauren C. Rocket - Boy Crazy
Kelly Rocket - the HOT one
Kristin Rocket - Hilarious.
Roxie Rocket - Classy
You were in a Converse commercial, how did that come about?
Two female directors were looking for some music for their ad, and came across our music on MySpace and contacted us. It was such a great opportunity and they ended up winning the competition and the commercial was aired on all music TV channels nationwide! We were simply lucky.
I’ve never seen a picture of you guys when you aren’t looking great. How the hell do you manage to rock so hard all the time while still being fashionable?
Aw, thanks! That’s so nice to hear considering I actually have about a million photos that might prove otherwise.
Okay, word association, I give you a word, you list the first thing that comes to mind:
Los Angeles - Rocket’s stomping ground
Pink- underwear
The Lashes- Cutest boys in rattle
Bubblegum- Tour necessity
The Pink Spiders- Cutest boys in Nashville
Tequila- Patron!
Too Hot To Be Bothered - Corn dogs!
MySpace- Greatest invention of the 20th century
Rocket on MySpace
Official Rocket Website
Go See Rocket Live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oct 2 Spaceland - October Residency *FREE* Silverlake, CA
Oct 7 Skate the Lake Festival lake tahoe, CA
Oct 9 Spaceland - October Residency *FREE* Silverlake, CA
Oct 16 Spaceland - October Residency *FREE* Silverlake, CA
Oct 22 Henry Fonda Theater w/RANCID! Hollywood
Oct 23 Spaceland - October Residency *FREE* Silverlake, CA
Oct 30 Spaceland - October Residency *FREE* Silverlake, CA
Nov 4 TBD Carson City, NV
Nov 5 TBD Boise, ID
Nov 6 TBD Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 7 TBD Denver, CO
Nov 8 TBD Amarillo, TX
Nov 9 Launchpad Albuquerque, NM
Nov 10 Club Congress Tucson, AZ
Nov 11 Club Celebrity Las Vegas, NV
Nov 14 Brick by Brick San Diego, CA
Nov 15 The Key Club West Hollywood, CA
Nov 17 The Galaxy Santa Ana, CA
*All Photos used courtesy of Rocket’s website and MySpace
Rocket rules!!!!!!!!!! Boys Drool!