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Rocket from the Tombs

November 28, 2023

Rocket from the Tombs (or RFTT) is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003.

Rocket from the Tombs
Also known asRFTT
OriginCleveland, Ohio, United States
Genres
Years active1974–1975, 2003–2017
MembersDavid Thomas
Craig Willis Bell
Steve Mehlman
Gary Siperko
Buddy Akita
Past membersPeter Laughner
Chris Cuda
Glen "Thunderhand" Hach
Charlie Weiner
Tom Foolery
Johnny Blitz
Cheetah Chrome
Richard Lloyd

Heralded as an important protopunk group, they were little known during the band's original lifetime, although various members later achieved renown in Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys. Billy Bob Hargus wrote, however, that "The sound of the Rockets is much more ferocious than Ubu or the Dead Boys."[2]

Band history edit

The band played their first show June 16, 1974 at the Viking Saloon in downtown Cleveland. The original line-up was David Thomas (then known as "Crocus Behemoth" (vocals, bass), Kim Zonneville (bass, vocals), Glenn "Thunderhand" Hach (guitar, vocals) and Tom "Foolery" Clements (drums).[3]

There was some fluctuation of the group's personnel, but what has come to be known as the "classic" lineup included, Thomas, Peter Laughner,[4] Craig Willis Bell (a.k.a. Darwin Layne), Gene O'Connor (a.k.a. Cheetah Chrome), and Johnny Madansky (a.k.a. "Johnny Blitz").

When RFTT disbanded, the personnel split and formed three different musical groups:

  • O'Connor and Madansky joined with singer Stiv Bators (who made a guest appearance on-stage at the last RFTT show) to form Frankenstein, which later morphed into the Dead Boys, a more straightforward punk rock group.
  • Laughner and Thomas went on to form the more experimental Pere Ubu with bassist Tim Wright (RFTT's soundman). Laughner died in 1977, of acute pancreatitis brought on by years of drinking and drug use.[5]
  • Bell moved to Connecticut and started a band called Saucers

All three bands used songs first written or performed by Rocket From The Tombs as parts of their repertoires: the Dead Boys were known for "Ain't It Fun," "What Love Is," "Down in Flames," "Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth" (done by RFTT as "I'm Never Gonna Kill Myself Again") and "Sonic Reducer"; Pere Ubu went on to reinterpret "Final Solution," "Life Stinks" and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"; Saucers played "Muckraker”, and “Frustration”.

Rocket From The Tombs never recorded an album in their initial timespan, but various live recordings and demos circulated occasionally as bootlegs. Most of these were collected on a single CD by Smog Veil records, and titled The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs (2002).

San Diego punk band Rocket from the Crypt chose their name after being inspired by hearing Rocket from the Tombs bootleg recordings.[6]

Reunion edit

The Smog Veil Records CD rekindled interest in Rocket From The Tombs, and they reformed in 2003 with original members Thomas, Chrome, and Bell, joined by Richard Lloyd (guitar), and Steve Mehlman (drums). Some claim that decades earlier, when Lloyd briefly quit the New York-based band Television, Laughner was seriously considered as his replacement. However, on his website richardlloyd.com, Richard Lloyd asserts that Laughner "was never even close to being in Television, unless I was way out of town for a month, and I don't think so."[7]

On June 10, 2003 they played their first live radio concert since the 1970s (when two shows live from the Agora club aired on WMMS) on Brian Turner's program on WFMU.[8]

In 2004, Smog Veil and Morphius released Rocket Redux, consisting of Rocket From The Tombs originals performed in studio by the 2003 lineup. It received mostly positive reviews; one critic declared that Redux "never sounds like a complacent reunion record, and in a way, I suppose it's not really a reunion record in the first place so much as it's a debut album, played with all the hunger and fire of a band eager to make their mark on the world."[9]

In 2006, Thomas announced that the band had again reunited, this time to work on new material. The band toured the United States in the summer of 2006 and debuted some new songs, but no further activity occurred until 2009 when the band contributed a song to the Mark Mulcahy tribute album Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy. An album of new material, Barfly was released on September 13, 2011 with a tour scheduled to begin in November 2011. However, Richard Lloyd was replaced in the band prior to the tour's launch, and Cheetah Chrome announced his departure from Rocket From the Tombs on December 30, 2011, leaving David Thomas and Craig Willis Bell as the only remaining original members.

In November 2015, the band released Black Record.[10][11]

Discography edit

Albums edit

  • Rocket Redux (2004)
  • Barfly (2011)[12]
  • Black Record (2015)[10]

Live albums edit

  • When It's Too Late To Die Young (download only) (2011)
  • Extermination Night (download only) (2012)
  • Strychnine (download only) (2012)
  • That's What I Call Rock Music (download only) (2022)

Other albums edit

Single edit

  • "I Sell Soul" / "Romeo & Juliet" single (6 April 2010)

Bibliography edit

  • Clinton Heylin, From the Velvets to the Voidoids: A Pre-Punk History for a Post-Punk World (1993), Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-017970-4

References edit

  1. ^ "Rocket from the Tombs - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Ain't It Fun: Rocket From The Tombs". Furious.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
  4. ^ . ClePunk.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  5. ^ Bangs, Lester. "Peter Laughner is dead," in Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic Greil Marcus, ed. Anchor Press, 1988. (ISBN 0-679-72045-6)
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  7. ^ "Re: (TV) Richard, Richard says". Obbard.com. 2003-01-20. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  8. ^ "Brian Turner: Playlist from June 10, 2003". Wfmu.org. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  9. ^ [1][dead link]
  10. ^ a b Mark Deming (2015-11-13). "Black Record - Rocket from the Tombs | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  12. ^ "Rocket From The Tombs". Rocketfromthetombs.net. Retrieved 2016-01-23.

External links edit

  • Rocket From The Tombs Official website
  • Ain't It Fun: Rocket From The Tombs, by Billy Bob Hargus
  • Tomb Raider: Before Pere Ubu, before the Dead Boys, there was Cleveland's Rocket From the Tombs

November 28, 2023
rocket, from, tombs, rftt, american, rock, band, originally, active, from, 1974, 1975, cleveland, ohio, united, states, band, reconstituted, several, times, with, various, line, starting, 2003, also, known, asrfttorigincleveland, ohio, united, statesgenresprot. Rocket from the Tombs or RFTT is an American rock band originally active from mid 1974 to mid 1975 in Cleveland Ohio United States The band was reconstituted several times with various line ups starting in 2003 Rocket from the TombsAlso known asRFTTOriginCleveland Ohio United StatesGenresProto punk 1 garage rockpunk rockhard rockYears active1974 1975 2003 2017MembersDavid ThomasCraig Willis BellSteve MehlmanGary SiperkoBuddy AkitaPast membersPeter LaughnerChris CudaGlen Thunderhand HachCharlie WeinerTom FooleryJohnny BlitzCheetah ChromeRichard LloydHeralded as an important protopunk group they were little known during the band s original lifetime although various members later achieved renown in Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys Billy Bob Hargus wrote however that The sound of the Rockets is much more ferocious than Ubu or the Dead Boys 2 Contents 1 Band history 2 Reunion 3 Discography 3 1 Albums 3 2 Live albums 3 3 Other albums 3 4 Single 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksBand history editThe band played their first show June 16 1974 at the Viking Saloon in downtown Cleveland The original line up was David Thomas then known as Crocus Behemoth vocals bass Kim Zonneville bass vocals Glenn Thunderhand Hach guitar vocals and Tom Foolery Clements drums 3 There was some fluctuation of the group s personnel but what has come to be known as the classic lineup included Thomas Peter Laughner 4 Craig Willis Bell a k a Darwin Layne Gene O Connor a k a Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Madansky a k a Johnny Blitz When RFTT disbanded the personnel split and formed three different musical groups O Connor and Madansky joined with singer Stiv Bators who made a guest appearance on stage at the last RFTT show to form Frankenstein which later morphed into the Dead Boys a more straightforward punk rock group Laughner and Thomas went on to form the more experimental Pere Ubu with bassist Tim Wright RFTT s soundman Laughner died in 1977 of acute pancreatitis brought on by years of drinking and drug use 5 Bell moved to Connecticut and started a band called SaucersAll three bands used songs first written or performed by Rocket From The Tombs as parts of their repertoires the Dead Boys were known for Ain t It Fun What Love Is Down in Flames Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth done by RFTT as I m Never Gonna Kill Myself Again and Sonic Reducer Pere Ubu went on to reinterpret Final Solution Life Stinks and 30 Seconds Over Tokyo Saucers played Muckraker and Frustration Rocket From The Tombs never recorded an album in their initial timespan but various live recordings and demos circulated occasionally as bootlegs Most of these were collected on a single CD by Smog Veil records and titled The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs 2002 San Diego punk band Rocket from the Crypt chose their name after being inspired by hearing Rocket from the Tombs bootleg recordings 6 Reunion editThe Smog Veil Records CD rekindled interest in Rocket From The Tombs and they reformed in 2003 with original members Thomas Chrome and Bell joined by Richard Lloyd guitar and Steve Mehlman drums Some claim that decades earlier when Lloyd briefly quit the New York based band Television Laughner was seriously considered as his replacement However on his website richardlloyd com Richard Lloyd asserts that Laughner was never even close to being in Television unless I was way out of town for a month and I don t think so 7 On June 10 2003 they played their first live radio concert since the 1970s when two shows live from the Agora club aired on WMMS on Brian Turner s program on WFMU 8 In 2004 Smog Veil and Morphius released Rocket Redux consisting of Rocket From The Tombs originals performed in studio by the 2003 lineup It received mostly positive reviews one critic declared that Redux never sounds like a complacent reunion record and in a way I suppose it s not really a reunion record in the first place so much as it s a debut album played with all the hunger and fire of a band eager to make their mark on the world 9 In 2006 Thomas announced that the band had again reunited this time to work on new material The band toured the United States in the summer of 2006 and debuted some new songs but no further activity occurred until 2009 when the band contributed a song to the Mark Mulcahy tribute album Ciao My Shining Star The Songs of Mark Mulcahy An album of new material Barfly was released on September 13 2011 with a tour scheduled to begin in November 2011 However Richard Lloyd was replaced in the band prior to the tour s launch and Cheetah Chrome announced his departure from Rocket From the Tombs on December 30 2011 leaving David Thomas and Craig Willis Bell as the only remaining original members In November 2015 the band released Black Record 10 11 Discography editAlbums edit Rocket Redux 2004 Barfly 2011 12 Black Record 2015 10 Live albums edit When It s Too Late To Die Young download only 2011 Extermination Night download only 2012 Strychnine download only 2012 That s What I Call Rock Music download only 2022 Other albums edit A Night Of Heavy Music bootleg cassette 1975 Life Stinks A full blown release of A Night Of Heavy Music 1990 The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs 2002 Ciao My Shining Star The Songs of Mark Mulcahy 2009 Single edit I Sell Soul Romeo amp Juliet single 6 April 2010 Bibliography editClinton Heylin From the Velvets to the Voidoids A Pre Punk History for a Post Punk World 1993 Penguin Books ISBN 0 14 017970 4References edit Rocket from the Tombs Biography amp History AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved 28 March 2018 Ain t It Fun Rocket From The Tombs Furious com Retrieved 2016 01 23 The Rocket from the Tombs Story Archived from the original on 2019 04 15 Retrieved 2019 08 11 ClePunk ClePunk com Archived from the original on 2009 08 07 Retrieved 2016 01 23 Bangs Lester Peter Laughner is dead in Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung The Work of a Legendary Critic Greil Marcus ed Anchor Press 1988 ISBN 0 679 72045 6 Rock and Roll Hotel Archived from the original on 2017 06 10 Retrieved 2017 09 07 Re TV Richard Richard says Obbard com 2003 01 20 Retrieved 2016 01 23 Brian Turner Playlist from June 10 2003 Wfmu org Retrieved 2016 01 23 1 dead link a b Mark Deming 2015 11 13 Black Record Rocket from the Tombs Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic Retrieved 2016 01 23 Black Record by Rocket from the Tombs Archived from the original on 2016 03 28 Retrieved 2016 03 29 Rocket From The Tombs Rocketfromthetombs net Retrieved 2016 01 23 External links editRocket From The Tombs Official website Ain t It Fun Rocket From The Tombs by Billy Bob Hargus Tomb Raider Before Pere Ubu before the Dead Boys there was Cleveland s Rocket From the Tombs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rocket from the Tombs amp oldid 1183366783, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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