Interviews: The Rocket


In this new occasion we have had the opportunity to interview the  Pop Punk band The Rocket, from Belgium. Check out this band and give them a like on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

In all honesty, it just came out like that. There was a brief period when we were getting started that the band was actually called The Incredible Ninja Attack (don’t even ask), but that didn’t stick. I vaguely remember someone saying hey dude, “Rocket” kinda sounds like “Rock It” so let’s go for that, but there definitely wasn’t a master plan.

We should probably have thought about it a bit more because when googling us it’s really hard to find the right band as there’s a million artists with “Rocket” in their name. But hey, we chose it and we’re sticking with it.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Punk rock and pop punk are the genres we all grew up with. We were all teenagers in the nineties (sort of, at least) and there was no escaping punk rock back then. So we fell in love with Blink 182, NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name – you name it. The genre just comes natural to us and most importantly we love playing and making it. It’s what binds us together. 

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Without going into too much detail, we didn’t all know each other before the band was formed. Jos and Tom knew each other, and while they played their very first show I (Stijn) invited myself to their next rehearsal and I haven’t left since (ha). Fred and Bastiaan both joined us later when founding members decided to leave the band on separate occasions. The Rocket‘s always felt like a group of friends in that regard: sometimes people move away or you see them less, but there’s always a steady core. All of us became really good friends with the passing of years though, and I really think that’s a great fundament to build on.

4. Each band member’s favorite band? 

Fred: Last.fm tells me that after all these years, it’s still blink-182. But I love a lot of different artists in a lot of different genres. I have to mention Jimmy Eat World as well, and at this moment I’m heavily into Moose Blood and The Bloody Beetroots.

Stijn: Hard pick just one. Should be The Dangerous Summer, NOFX or maybe even Thrice? I think I’ll go with TDS.

Tom: My all-time favorite band is blink-182, though NOFX and Strung Out and all the west coast US punk bands will always have a special place in my heart.

Jos: Definitely Nile. Or if it has to be punk rock related: NOFX.

Bastiaan: Foo Fighters, without a doubt.

5. Where did you get the idea for this new upcoming album name?

We didn’t reveal the album title yet, so we won’t go into much detail, but it’s a lyric from a song we love by a band we adore. Our last album, Not Everyone Grows Up To Be An Astronaut, was named after a lyric from Frank Turner’s song Eulogy and it felt right to build on that idea. We already used the hashtag #ARNTFTS, so let the guessing game begin!

6. Who or what inspires you to write songs for this new upcoming album?

We really don’t write songs (or more specifically, lyrics) with a specific album in mind. I personally just continuously scribble down stuff when it comes to me, and when we start writing songs all those different bits and pieces start to get “fleshed out”. It’s a weird process when you think of it.

Often, just one riff or even a sentence in a lyric will spark creativity and an hour later (or 10 minutes, or 3 hours) all of a sudden there’s a song. I really try to not over-analyze how my own creativity works, as I’m always afraid of losing that magical moment by overthinking or being too methodical about stuff. (Sidenote, there’s a really cool book on that subject that you should read by Jesse Cannon – Processing Creativity. Check it out!)

Anyway, that’s not a really answer to your question. I think what inspires us most is daily life. We aren’t the kind of people to believe in or talk about transcendence, or divine intervention or stuff like that. We get inspired by looking at a beautiful night sky just as much as the next guy, we fall in love or break up just as easily or hard as the next guy. The only difference is we tend to write songs about it.

Also, beer.

7. What can you say about this new upcoming album?

A whole fuck of a lot, ha.

We started writing this album after a long break / hiatus, and from the start of the writing process we decided to keep things on the down low. We all had other bands and projects going on, and we all have jobs and families/girlfriends so we felt like it’d be a good idea to keep things “easy going” for as long as we could. We didn’t have deadlines, we didn’t have people asking about anything.

I think the songs of the album reflect that attitude. We weren’t trying too hard, we weren’t out to prove anything, we just wanted to make music together again. I’d like to think that carelessness shines through in the songs.

Although we wanted to keep the writing process as relaxed as possible, we also felt we wanted to try some new things, explore some new horizons if you will, when it came to the production. To that end, we started researching who produced some of our own favorite bands and started mailing people. To our own surprise, we quickly ended up talking to US producer Marc McClusky, who’s worked with/for bands such as Motion City Soundtrack, Weezer and Bad Religion in the past.

We originally thought he wouldn’t be interested in working with a relatively unknown band from Belgium but we hit it off really well and before we knew it, Marc came down to our studio in Aarschot for a few weeks to do the album with us. Great times were had by all! And we think the album ain’t too bad either, haha.

Musically, I think you could say the new record is a continuation of what we did before, only bigger, better and louder. Marc definitely added an American touch to the songs and mixes, and I think/hope that’s something that will set this record apart from other current European pop punk. I’m not saying that’s better, mind you. Just different.

8. What do you think of our site?

It’s cool and definitely extensive, because of the name I first thought it was purely a hardcore site. But I just saw the new The Dangerous Summer track getting featured so you can’t do wrong in my book anymore, haha! Thanks for having us!

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