As promised a few weeks back, I was able to sit down with Lauren C. Rocket of the awesome Echo Park-based, punk, chick band Rocket. If you haven’t heard of them, you need to visit their myspace page immediately and check them out! www.MySpace.com/rocket. Lauren C. is the fab guitarist in the group and was kind enough to answer some questions. But before getting to that though, just who IS Rocket?
Mixing 60’s girl group innocence with 70’s decibel-damaging boulevard beat and 80’s glam wham swagger, Rocket can only be described as a volatile combination that leaves one wondering what the results would be if the Shangri-Las crashed the stage during an early Motley Crue gig.
Starting out as a threesome of Laurens, Rocket released their first album, the summer soaked, “Too Hot to be Bothered,” in 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 on the Sunset Strip. The lollipop-inspired E.P., “Girls With Candy Hearts” followed in early 2006.
Since then, the girls have driven coast to coast with the intentions of introducing the world to Rocket. Their first ever tour was 2006 Van’s Warped Tour. Warped tour soon followed with a direct support tour with the Suicide girls in fall 2006, direct support for Butch Walker in spring 2007 and as support for Horrorpops and The Pink Spiders in early 2008. Rocket has also opened for the likes of Rancid, Sugarcult, OK GO, Morningwood, The Sounds, The Supersuckers, Kill Hannah, and The Dwarves, and has toured with The Lashes.
In addition to their constant touring, In October of 2007 Rocket became one of the top 12 finalists on the Fox television series (and American Idol-spinoff) “The Next Great American Band.” Chosen from over 7,000 bands of all musical genres, Rocket was not only the sole all-girl band in the competition, but also the only band with a female vocalist. They remained on the show for four weeks.
Now, onto the interview….
What are 5 words that best describe the band’s music?
Fun, Rock, Glam, Pop, Punk.
What has been a surprising moment over the last 3 yrs that you can look back on now and say, “Wow! How’d that ever happen? We are so blessed!”
When I heard that we were touring with Butch Walker I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. I’m such a fan of his music.
What’s coming down the pike for Rocket for the remainder of the year?
We are doing a Midwest tour in June and July and then we are coming back here and we are going to start working on a NEW RECORD! We’re so excited. And then we’ll tour some more!
When will you be playing in LA next?
July? Not sure actually. www.Myspace.com/Rocket always has the most updated information.
Who writes the songs?
We all write the songs together, as a band. We all have really different musical tastes and that’s what creates our unique sound. Our bassist, Kristin, is really into stoner rock and doom metal and Our drummer Roxie and lead guitar player, Kelly are really into pop punk.
The other Lauren and I are both glam rock fanatics. When you put everything together you get the Rocket sound!
Do you ever get mistaken for Natasha Bedingfield?
In fact, I have-but just when my photo is on Perez Hilton. Haha. I also get mistaken for Cookie Monster quite regularly.
If someone wants to buy your songs, how can they get them?
Our first CD, “Too Hot to be Bothered” is totally out of print.
Sometimes lucky people find it on Ebay. I literally don’t even own a copy. We have our 2006 EP “Girls with Candy Hearts” in all the regular places…iTunes, Amazon.com, Ameoba and FYE. We used to be in Tower Records and Virgin Megastores but everything has closed down. It’s so sad. I buy CDs just so I can keep supporting brick and mortar record shops. There is nothing more fun than going through piles of CDs and records. That’s not to say I don’t own an iPod!
We also have a 2008 “Tour EP” that we are ONLY selling at our live shows. So you gotta come see us if you want it!
Rocket has had lots of exposure in print, on TV, and online over the last few yrs. What do you have to do every day to sustain the buzz about the band and try to get you guys to the next level?
I actually have no idea how we’ve gotten so much exposure. We just do what we do and people seem to like it. We’ve grown so much and changed over the past few years and I think that’s what keeps people excited and interested in us.
Is a European or Australian tour in the future?
Because we’re in Rocket, we do everything backwards. We released a CD before we ever played a live show. In the same vein, last fall we were supposed to tour China. And we’ve never even been to Canada! Anyway, we instead opted to appear on a certain FOX TV show and had to put that tour on hold. But yes, Europe, Asia, Australia…we want it all.
If you were Miss America, what would you do to curb the climbing
gas prices?
I would make sure I knew geography. Did you see that? Actually everyone
did on YouTube. What would I do? I would make it way easier to take
public transpo in LA. I think that I’ve maybe taken the bus once in my
whole life.
What’s your favorite place to eat in LA?
The band is more into food than anything else. I think at this point we
should own stock in Cafe 101. My favorite burritos are at Burrito King
on the corner of Alvarado and Sunset.
Where do you hope to be in 5 yrs?
In five years I want Rocket to be the next Spice Girls. So basically I
want world domination. And a Saturday morning cartoon.
What did you want to do when you were 5?
I think I wanted to be a veterinarian.
What’s the dorkiest thing about you?
My nickname is “Clucky.”
