A lot has happened in the five years since the pandemic brought the world to a sudden standstill. For many teenagers and young adults, it was a period that served as a dazing divider between childhood and adulthood. Just as they were set to make that formative leap into the world as they thought they knew it, everything changed abruptly. After two surreal and unpredictable years, they found themselves stumbling into new lives in a manner that, for better or worse, was fundamentally different from what they had originally foreseen. This is clearly exhibited in the story of Los Angeles-based alt-rock four-piece Rocket.
The group’s bassist and lead vocalist, Alithea Tuttle, had little musical experience prior to the pandemic and instead had her sights set on a career in dance and rhythmic gymnastics. That was until, at the age of 16, she suffered a severe spinal injury, forcing those ambitions to come to a grinding halt.
Her much-needed change of purpose came in 2020, when her partner, guitarist Desi Scaglione, encouraged her to begin exploring music with him. The following year, alongside their fellow schoolmates Baron Rinzler (guitar) and Cooper Ladomade (drums), Rocket took off. Their debut EP, ‘Versions Of You’, was re-released in April of this year, alongside their shoegaze-inspired new single, ‘Take Your Aim’.
—
—
With a guitar-heavy sound reminiscent of the ’90s grunge era, combined with emotionally honest lyrics that address the joys and anxieties of youth, the group have gone from strength to strength in a remarkably short space of time. It’s 10:30 a.m. in LA, where the band catch up with CLASH via video call. Describing the group’s formation, Tuttle says, “We started flirting around with the idea of starting a band in lockdown. That was at a time that I personally had never even played an instrument, and had never been in a band, and Cooper had played drums forever and was really good but had never been in a band either. Baron had gone to college for music and Desi was in bands touring and playing all over.” She continues, revealing why the group’s formation had initially been kept a secret: “When we first started playing together, I guess it was mainly my fault that we were like, ‘We can’t tell anybody, this is too crazy!’ Just because it was – I had never done it before, and I’d never expressed to anybody that I wanted to do anything like that, so we were just kind of like, let’s keep it a secret till we know we can play a show and be as good as we can be.’”
Their debut performance eventually came when they supported their close friends Milly at a well-received show in their home city. Fast forward four years, and the band are gearing up for a trip across the pond, where they will play some of their biggest shows to date as they prepare to open for one of their major sonic influences, The Smashing Pumpkins. They’re set to join the legendary Chicago rockers for a handful of UK dates, including a huge show in London’s Gunnersbury Park on August 10th. “When we got the news, we were all crying. We were like, ‘This can’t be real, they must have got the wrong band!’” recalls Tuttle excitedly. Building on this, Rinzler says, “Growing up, they were a big band for all of us, before we even started making music together. Billy Corgan and James Iha are both great guitar players. They’re incredible musicians, and they write amazing songs. It’s such an honour to be able to say that we’re doing those shows with them, and the fact that it’s in England makes it so much cooler.”
—
—
These aren’t the only UK shows the band have booked for this summer. In June, they’ll play a string of intimate gigs across the UK and Europe, and they’ll also be stopping off in Manchester for their Outbreak Festival debut. Their most recent-and first ever-voyage to the British Isles took place as recently as November of last year, when they journeyed across the country in an SUV. Reminiscing on this experience, Scaglione laughs as he states, “The range of emotions went from super exciting, and like everything is new, to realising how challenging it is when you’ve not even got a minivan to tour in, but in the end we just made do, and thankfully all of the shows were great.” He continues, “The crowds were super fun and receptive. It seemed like they all like to dance to the music. In the States, we’re a little more reserved in that sense, so that was really cool to see.”
Rocket are often described as having a very DIY ethos. When asked whether or not that was an accurate categorisation, Rinzler says, “I think growing up in LA, there’s a very big DIY music scene, whether it’s people throwing shows at their own houses, or just putting music out themselves.” He expands, “Nowadays, we’re definitely letting other people take the reins a bit, and accepting help instead of pushing it away. But when we started, we didn’t have any help, you know? Up until recently, we self-recorded and self-released all of our own music, and we still make all of our own merch.” Up until now, the band have also been responsible for designing all of their own cover art, including for ‘Versions of You’. The recently re-released eight-track body of work is comprised of heavy, distorted guitar riffs, combined ethereally by Tuttle’s hypnotic vocal lines.
Discussing the sporadic creation of ‘Take Your Aim’, which was released to coincide with the re-launching of the EP, Rinzler says, “It was sat unfinished for a really long time. We had a verse, a pre-chorus and a chorus, and I think we had the vocals recorded on a computer or something. Three days or so before we went into the studio to record it, we added a bridge last minute in practice. Then, like two days before we turned it in for mastering, we added a guitar part.” Tuttle expands on this: “I think that’s why I’m proud of it. I feel like a lot of the decisions we made on it were just what felt right during the short amount of time we had to make them… And then if we wanted to second guess them, we didn’t really have the chance.”
Further reflecting on their creative process, Scaglione states, “We’re incredibly thoughtful people, so we tend to overthink things a lot in general, just because we all have quite strong opinions on things, and stuff like that. And music for us is kind of an outlet where we’re able to do the opposite of that.” Tuttle agrees: “When we’re communicating musically, things tend to become a lot clearer. This is so cliché to say, but sometimes words just don’t suffice-you know what I mean? We’re lucky that way, in that we don’t tend to have many big disagreements that stand in the way of anything.”
—
—
Next month, the Rocket will headline The Windmill in Brixton-an independent venue that has been in operation since the ’90s. The Music Venue Trust estimated in their 2024 report that 46 grassroots venues across the UK closed their doors for good, meaning that across the country, at least two venues are shutting down every month. With the music scene becoming an increasingly challenging landscape for artists to navigate, these spaces are essential to all up-and-coming artists, and perhaps more importantly, to communities at large.
Speaking in support of these establishments, Tuttle says, “Independent venues are always more enjoyable to play, because they’re the places that have people working there who actually give a shit. We played one in San Francisco one time, and I remember leaving the venue and being like, that’s the best place in the world!”
Rinzler builds on this: “A lot of our favourite LA venues have now closed, or they’ve been bought up by bigger companies, which also happens a lot. It’s sad. The venue’s still there, but now there’s all this stupid fucking bureaucracy.” He expands, “Especially because we make our own merch and everything, so the fact that, for example, you have people at certain venues who want to take a cut that is so fucking ridiculous.”
Tuttle agrees: “Independent venues closing is just the worst. For a band that’s starting out, you might go to the place down the street that will charge you whatever you can pay to play there, even if it’s just five dollars or something.” She concludes, “For us, without those kinds of venues in LA, I don’t think we’d have even been able to start playing shows in the first place. Without those places, it’s a sad world.”
—
—
‘Versions Of You’ is out now on Transgressive Records.
Words: Finlay Harrison
Photo Credit: Holly Whitaker
—
Join us on WeAre8, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine HERE as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak-peeks and a view into our world as the fun and games unfold.
