Part 1: ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT!
Part 1: ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT!
Rocket From The Crypt is a 6 (7, including Dirty) piece rock and roll unit
who kick out no-nonsense rock and roll with an attitude. They embrace
bowling alley fashion sensibilities. They hail from San Diego, California.
This interview includes both conversations I had with Speedo, lead singer
and fire breather. The first part of the interview was done at the
Bottleneck in Lawrence, on September 27, 1995, as the band swung
across the country on their FREE TOUR. The second part of the
interview was done on July 16th, 1996, at Sandstone Amphitheater as
the band once again crossed the country, this time as part of the
Warped Tour. Sit back and enjoy.
DM: Greg Monkey
SP: Speedo (vox and geetars)
PX: Petey X (bass)
JC: JC2000 (trumpet and vox)
A9: Apollo 9 (sax-o-phone and vox)
ND: ND (geetar)
GJ: Greg (Rocket's Manager)
DM: I taped some of your soundcheck.
SP: Oh, you did? Heh, heh·BOOTLEG!!!
DM: Aw, yeah.
SP: This is nice...(looking at tape recorder)...leatherette!
DM: It's my dad's. I have a list of a bunch of stupid questions here.
(looks over to other members of Rocket, playing cards on the floor) Hey,
are you Petey X?
PX: Yeah.
DM: I sent you a letter about a year and a half ago, and you sent
me 4 stickers and a T-shirt order form.
PX: That's me. The nice guy.
SP: Yeah, nice. "And a T-shirt order form..." God. Always thinking about
money, Pete.
PX: And how many stickers?
DM: 4.
SP: And how much did he charge you for the stickers?
DM: Nothing. He designed the envelope really sweetly and
everything.
PX: That was probably when I had a girlfriend or something. We'd do stuff
like that.
SP: Cheezy.
PX: Those were the good old days, and I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT
IT ANYMORE!!!
DM: Sorry. OK...some questions. How long have you been
together?
SP: 4 years.
DM: How many record labels have you worked with?
SP: About 7 or 8.
DM: Why the free tour?
SP: Because we can.
DM: What do you think about monkeys?
SP: That's a good one. I LOVE monkeys.
DM: Are you really into them?
SP: Yeah, I love chimps, pygmy chimps, howler monkeys, marmosets...
DM: Do you guys go to the San Diego Zoo a lot?
SP: Not a lot, but, you know, probably once a year.
DM: We went to the zoo when I went there on vacation this
summer. I probably spent 2 hours around the monkey house
there.
SP: Yeah, they've got those gibbons, you know, with the puff sacks
underneath. They're pretty cool.
DM: Pygmy marmosets, they're those little...
SP: They're on the cover of that Overwhelming Colorfast Album.
DM: Are those the same ones?
SP: I think so. They look like it.
DM: Would you care if somebody brought some really hyper
monkeys to your shows?
SP: There's a guy that I know, I don't know him, but a friend of a friend
that had monkeys, and he's a drug dealer, I guess. He dealt with crystal.
So, anyway, this monkey got into the crystal, and ate a whole bunch of
it, and the monkey got on the roof and...
ND: While he was away...he wasn't even there.
SP: No, no...he was there.
ND: I thought he came home, and the whole block was freaking out.
SP: No, no, no. He was there. The whole block was freaking out. The
monkey was tearing shingles off the roof, and the monkey was totally·
ND: Jumping from house to house, freaking out.
SP: Just running. Everyone was like, "Eeullgh!", yelling and everything.
That's lame.
DM: You think that's bad?
SP: Yeah! Totally! I feel sorry for him! I don't think monkeys...monkeys
belong in the jungle.
DM: I think hyper monkeys are cool. Not like drugged monkeys,
but...
SP: Have you seen the Maaco commercial? What is it, Maaco or
Aamco, the commercial with the monkeys and the transmission
GJ: Aamco.
SP: Yeah, Aamco. It was from like '87; these chimps in these white
suits, they were supposed to be fixing a transmission, and they were
hitting it with baseball bats.
DM: I saw a commercial for suitcases or something.
SP: Yeah, I think that's for Samsonite, with the gorilla. That's from, I'd
say 1975. This gorilla freaking out on some Samsonite luggage.
DM: For some reason, I remember that, but I wasn't even born yet.
SP: What year were you born?
DM: 1976.
SP: You're the same age as Jay, our trumpet player.
DM: And he's a big rock star?
SP: Well, he's big. (Jay proceeds to start making odd come-on gestures
at me, sticking his tongue through his fingers, etc.)
DM: HEY!
SP: He's nasty.
DM: OK...have you ever incorporated monkeys or dancing girls into
your stage show?
SP: Dancing girls, no...and monkeys, like I said, monkeys belong in the
jungle, as cute and funny and rad as they are...still. But Green Day used
a monkey in their video, I think.
DM: Yeah. Do you like Green Day?
SP: Um...no.
DM: Is San Diego a crappy place to live?
SP: No, I love it. I think it's a great place to live. I like it a lot.
DM: My parents and I went out there this summer, and we just did
the tourist stuff, and we ate at Dick's last resort
SP: Yeah, that place sucks.
DM: This waitress ate whipped cream out of my mouth.
SP: Who'd you go there with?
DM: My parents.
SP: Oh, my God! (yells at the rest of the band, who are involved in some
serious card playing action) All he knows about San Diego is he went to
Dick's Last Resort with his parents, and a waitress ate whipped cream
out of his mouth! (laughing)
PX: Wow, that's a pretty good memory.
SP: And how much did it cost?
DM: It didn't cost me anything. She took pictures down her shirt. I
don't know if she was drunk or what.
SP: Yeah.
DM: I have her address.
SP: (laughing) You should write her!!!
DM: She told me to send her copies of the pictures, so·it's been a
while. Anyway, do you think that any one song captures your true
sound, or do they all do their part, or what?
SP: Um...yeah. It's hard. I wouldn't be able to say just one...yeah.
DM: Do you think that's a lame question?
SP: Um·yeah. (laughing) No, no...it's not too lame.
DM: When was the last time you went to the zoo?
SP: One, two years ago.
DM: Do you guys take band field trips out there?
SP: No, but we do go out. We'll go to the beach or have a barbecue,
play some softball·
DM: You guys are into softball?
(lengthy baseball/softball conversation ensues)
DM: If you could kill Bob Dole or Newt Gingrich or Rush Limbaugh
or any other political person, who would it be and why?
SP: Uh, no killing. Don't kill people. It's not good to kill.
DM: Not even hypothetically?
SP: Whatever, you know. Kill 'em all or whatever. I don't care. Well,
Rush Limbaugh isn't that bad. He's just a f*@king turd.
DM: Yeah, he just talks a lot.
SP: Yeah, I don't think he's making the situation any worse. He's just
catering to what's already out there, whereas someone with actual
political power is like...I think Bob Dole is very evil.
DM: Sorry, I didn't mean to make this all political or anything.
SP: Hey, that's alright.
(card game ends, and yelling ensues)
JC: MORTAL SHITSY!!!
DM: Would you ever name a song "Caning the Vandal"?
SP: "Caning the Vandal"???
DM: Do you need an explanation?
SP: Yeah.
DM: I was on the Internet the other day, and I found something on
nicknames for masturbation, and "Caning the Vandal" was one of
them, and I thought it was extremely funny.
SP: I wouldn't name a song that. But I would name one "Caning the
Computer".
DM: You're not big on computers, are you?
SP: I hate 'em. I hate 'em.
DM: I'm sorry. Why do you hate them so much?
SP: I hate it so much because·I think it's...I don't know. I just don't dig it. I
think the technology is kinda exceeding itself, and it's turning the
situation into one that's like, "F*@k". I think it's all a matter of
convenience. I see it making certain forms of communication powerless,
and I think that's kinda scary, you know? I just don't like the idea of
relying on it too much because I just don't like it. It bums me out when
technology is making it so you just have to know how to operate a
computer because I like the old ways a lot. I liked it when they used to
lay out magazines with paper and tape, you know?
DM: If someone, one of your big fans, wanted to do a homepage
for you, would you be apprehensive?
SP: Well, there's already one out there, I think, and I've heard it's pretty
bad. I'd rather if there's going to be something there anyways that it be
something good than something that doesn't represent the band at all,
you know? But on the same token, I hate the technology. I'd rather
someone do it and just make it better and not tell me.
DM: The last time you came through here was with Superchunk.
Was that a fun tour?
SP: Yeah, it was a blast.
DM: Did you just do smaller clubs?
SP: We did some bigger places, too.
DM: Are you planning to play MTV's Spring Break next year?
SP: There's no plans for that, no.
DM: Are you hoping for that coveted "THE GRIND" guest
appearance?
SP: Yeah, not hoping for that, either. But you never know·
DM: Was that a weird experience?
SP: The MTV thing? (Rocket From The Crypt appeared on MTV's Spring
Break from San Diego a few years back, performing in front of throngs of
clueless frat boys and sorority gals) It wasn't weird, it was just kinda
stupid. We thought it would end up being a little cooler; Instead, we
played on some funky set that looked like Jurassic Park or something. It
was in San Diego.
DM: Was the crowd cool, or was it just a bunch of frat boys?
SP: Lots of idiots, yeah. There were some cool people there. All of our
friends were trying to make the best out of the situation and be
supportive, but it was shitty.
DM: How many people have the Rocket tattoos?
SP: Nine something...983, I think. There's some here tonight that we just
met last night. We played in Columbia (Missouri). It sucked. I hate
playing college towns because·it's a generalization. I always go in with a
good attitude, and never try to hold anything against anybody, but when
we were playing last night, I was really·I was wondering what we were
doing wrong. It was really a drag. College kids are a lot of talk a lot of
times. I mean, are you a college kid?
DM: Yeah.
SP: It's like, not everybody's like that, but a lot of times when we play
college towns, the kids are a lot of talk, and a lot of "Yeah, yeah, this
and that!", and they're experiencing life to it's fullest, but when it all
comes down to it, they're really chicken shits, and won't do anything out
of the norm. They're afraid to actually cut loose. When we play a lot of
shows where people like us or for people that are like-minded individuals,
it's not the same thing. There's a cohesion there, and a sense of
communication. A lot of times like last night, we're just playing to
sponges, because we seriously try to kick ass, but everything is being
sucked out of us, and we're not getting anything back. We're not playing
for anybody÷we're playing for ourselves÷but we like to entertain people. If
we were just playing for ourselves, we would just stay home. We
wouldn't feel the need to travel the country, so we obviously like playing
for people and have fun doing it; It's a lot of fun, we love it. It's killer. Last
night was just kinda a drag. And last time we played there with
Superchunk it was a drag, too.
DM: I really hope tonight is better.
SP: Hey, we'll have fun.
DM: How are your parents doing?
SP: They're doing alright. I just talked to them a couple days ago.
DM: Have they always been really supportive?
SP: Very, yeah.
DM: How did you start out musically?
SP: I started out playing trumpet. I was really into Doc Severinson. Then
I started playing guitar. Been playing guitar since 6th grade.
DM: Did they yell at you to turn it down?
SP: No, they'd ask very nicely.
DM: Describe how hard you rock, and give an example.
SP: I'll rock you like an apple.
DM: OK. Have you seen Alf lately?
SP: Actually, I know Alf. Micheau (pronounced "mee-she-you"). He's the
world's smallest man. He used to be in Ringling Bros. Barnum and
Bailey Circus. He's like this big. I was one of those kids who loved the
circus, and he was there, and I met him, and then I met him like 4 years
ago. It was a while ago. He was at some hot tub/spa type place, and
these gorgeous ladies were around him. My parents recognized him. My
parents are like "Hey, Micheau, we remember you when you were in the
circus! What are you doing now?" And he's like "Alf! I'm ALF!" And we
didn't know what he was doing that. It was rad. (laughing) "I'm ALF!"
DM: That's rad.
SP: Yeah, he's like in his fourties. He's not a dwarf, he's a midget. His
body is in preportion and everything. (Starts a conversation with one of
the guys in the band about the Wesley Willis CD they had been toting
around with them, playing over the P.A. before they played) It's got more
low end than that Seaweed record.
DM: Are you friends with those guys?
SP: Yeah, they're good guys.
DM: All I know is that they used to be on Sub Pop and now they're
on Hollywood.
SP: Yeah, and they all live in Hollywood, too. The one weird thing is that
before they were in Seaweed they were in this glam metal, Quiet Riot
cover band called Shawsay, when they were all 15 or 16.
DM: Yeah, I think Weezer started out like that. Now look what
they've turned into.
SP: Maybe there's hope for us yet.
DM: I don't think you need much help.
SP: I think we're fine as well. We're doing OK. We're pretty self
sufficient.
DM: Do you guys have jobs?
SP: Yeah, Apollo works at a fish galley, called Captain Dongers.
A9: Yeah, yeah. Ahoy. Stupid uniform.
SP: It's not like your average fish galley, though. It's pretty cool. There's
guys that work there with piercings, pierced eyebrows and stuff, so it's
like a really cool alternative seafood galley.
A9: All of the food's terrible except for the Seaburger.
DM: Is that made of fish?
SP: Yeah, it's made of filet of sole.
DM: Soul.
SP: That's s-o-u-l.
DM: Soul. Have you listened to the "Shaft" soundtrack in a while? SP:
That's funny that you mention that, because we just recorded some stuff
with Issac Hayes.
DM: Really? Are you gonna release that?
SP: Sooner or later.
DM: I love Issac Hayes. Is he pretty nice?
SP: Yeah, he's really nice.
DM: Is he easy to work with?
SP: Stubborn but easy. You just do it his way.
DM: He seems like he'd be a real perfectionist.
SP: Yeah, he is.
DM: Does he have a lot of ideas about things, or did you have
more ideas?
SP: It was kinda more his idea, actually. He wanted a front, some
ass-kicking rock and roll. So, we kinda did his thing. It's really good
music, though.
DM: Issac is still producing really fine records.
SP: I think so, yeah. His new record is really good. He's got two, and I've
only heard the second one. I don't know what it's called, but it's really
good.
DM: What kind of stuff do you guys listen to?
SP: On the road? Misfits, James Brown, Sun Ra, Hal Blaine·he's a
percussionist, some Tito Puente stuff that he recorded in the 40's, the
Wipers·
DM: You like the Wipers a lot?
SP: Yeah, the Wipers are great.
DM: My friend John is really into the Wipers old stuff, not that they
have anything new.
SP: Actually, Greg Sage is still putting things out.
DM: Really? Is it like the "best of" stuff?
SP: Yeah, I don't have it, but I have all of the songs on other records.
DM: I've never really sat down and listened to the Wipers.
SP: Check out "Over the Edge", it's a really great record. Really great
guitar playing.
(We ended up talking about recording studios and recording media and
music equipment after this·if you should want me to transcribe this part,
write to me and I'll write it up for you·anyway, Speedo wanted to go
check out the Bubble Boys, one of the bands opening up for them, and
so he went down and did that, then they went out and rocked some. I
didn't get a chance to talk to him anymore after that, until the Warped
Tour came back through Kansas City.
by Greg Monkey
Check out the "OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL" Rocket From The Crypt site!
Part 2 of the Rocket From The Crypt interview!
Back to Drunken Monkey Central!
Email: drunkenmonkey@juno.com
