Rockets!, as a band, can be best explained through their own self-reflective lyrics. It's as if Johno Brown (vocals/guitar) takes a break from story telling just for a moment to speak for the entire band when they chant the words 'Well, who says this is all we got?'.
Coming from the small rural area of Innisfil, Ontario, the boys of Rockets! aren't ready to accept that all they have to aim for are the successes of the small town. They have stories to tell and people to tell them to, and with the passion and sincerity that they put into these songs it's only a matter of time before everyone listens.
"I think being from a small town is a lot nicer," says Zac Bishop (drums/Korg). "it gives you the room to grow and when you're ready, you can move on to bigger, better things." It's a concept that the whole band shares. "You have to start somewhere and I think small towns give you the opportunity to do so."
Rockets! is definitely not accepting when it comes to musical boundaries. Zac isn't shy to pull out the double bass right in the middle of even the most pop-influenced tune, and with influences such as Bruce Springsteen it isn't so surprising to hear harmonica take the spotlight during one of their songs.
“I would think there is no such thing as a musical boundary as long as it works.” Says Johno. “We have never forced anything into a song for the sake of putting it in there, I don't see a reason why we can't continue to explore what works and what doesn't.”
We Are The Great Canadian Shield was recorded in early 2007 at Sleepytown Sound in Toronto, Ontario. Working with Ryan Mills (The Most Serene Republic), the band was able to create something they are all incredibly proud of. "Recording with Ryan was awesome." says Emmett Morris (bass/piano). "He has worked with bands that we all love and he's seen and experienced so much when it comes to music that it was really an honor to work with him."
Set to be release on May 8th, 2007 on Toronto based label the Meadows Collective, the album is already turning heads. Reviews have already surfaced on the internet stating it as a very special and important addition to the music community. When it comes to expectations Johno says “I think it will catch their attention but it taints their first listen as they have these preconceived notions of how it should sound. I think it’s much more exciting to just be blown away with an album, something you don’t expect.”
One thing is for sure, We Are Great Canadian Shield is a solid album full of passion and a desire for something new, something exciting. It’s only a matter of time before everyone’s talking about Rockets!.
For interviews, show bookings, show reviews or album reviews please contact Gary Hampton at gary@themeadowscollective.com.
We have a full-length album entitled "We Are The Great Canadian Shield" out now on The Meadows Collective. You can pick it up at a show for $10 or you can also get them at Imago Boutique (Dunlop St, Barrie) or at Criminal Records (493 Queen St West, Toronto)
Or you can visit our online store and order one by clicking on the banner :)
June 10th 2008
Woooahhhhhh, yeah I know weird eh? Well yeah it has been around 8 months since played a show and I'm assuming anyone who ever checks this wrote us off as dead long ago, which was true for a while, Emmett decided to part ways and Johno thought it would be a funny idea to move to Alberta for a few months, but now after a long, long time we are all together in the same province making music and are finally ready to play some shows a have a wicked summer. So we are jamming and working on some covers to make our shows that much more fun and we are looking to play whatever we can, so if you know of anything give us a shout!
-Zac
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June 8th
Just letting you guys know that 'We Are The Great Canadian Shield' is now available at the Imago Boutique in Downtown Barrie, as well a Criminal Records in Downtown Toronto! Please support our cd and buy them at these stores!!! :)
step up to get your rep up
-emmett
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May 1st
May 5th 2007: Rockets! We Are The Great Canadian Shield Cd Release Party.
The BBQ will start at 6:00pm and we will be serving hot dogs and hamburgers to everyone until we run out of supplies, then at 6:30pm the doors to the hall will be opened and the first band will go on at 7:00pm.
We will also be holding a colouring contest and the winner will recieve a free CD!
Merch: We will have t-shirts at the show, aswell as buttons. We have two button ideas and one t-shirt design.
T-shirt: 12$
Pins: 2 for 1$
CD: 10$
Holiday Bundle!!: T-shirt + 2 pins + CD for 20$!!!!!
See you there!!
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March 19th
Wow, where do I begin?
Alright, lots of great news and big things, first off I would like to say that 'We Are The Great Canadian Shield' is now 100% complete and pressing will begin on Wednesday at Samo Media. The album will have 9 songs:
Winn Hoff: The Ice Man
Mr. Green Your Days Are Numbered
You'd Think Magicians Would Do It For The Love Of Magic; But No, They're In It For The Coin
"But I Don't Wanna Clean The Droids!"
SOACAHTOA The Skull Slayer
MTV Gary Get In Da Pool
Bacon Bacon (Leaving The Attic)
Oh Baby You Have Old Face
I'm Going Camping And I'm Bringing A Better Song Name
We are getting 500 copies pressed and each CD will contain full colour front cover/back cover and 2 page lyric booklet. Big thanks to Adam for designing the album cover which is currently our background.
We also have just got a .com! www.rckts.com is now ours, for the time being it just links to this wonderful page you are on now but soon it will be a full website!
On the 9th we played in Parry Sound at the Boby Orr Community Center with Jack Rabbit Relay and others which was a blast and we are going to head back up there on April 20th to do it again. Also on May 5th and 6th we have two great local shows going down, one which is our 1 year anniversary of being a band, and the other is an incredible show at the Foundation with Japanther, DD/MM/YYYY, Numbers & Figures and Tick Tock And The Digital Clock put on by Audioblood.com which is going to be fantstic.
I guess that wraps it up and i guess besides all this we're just going to try to play as many shows as we can and have a good time doing it.
Whos got the magic ball? I got the magic ball.
- zac
just a whisper to our local friends to say we'll be introducing you to our new drummer online in January and that we have started booking '09 shows. hope we hit/share a stage near you. the fun starts at the elMo Feb 5th.
just dropping by to say hi. we got a couple of Ontario shows coming up in Kingston and Toronto at the end of the month. new tracks will be up in a few weeks too.
Be Sweet or Die Tryin'. -d (Toronto gig is free and Kingston is for a good cause. hope to see you there)
