Rocket from the Crypt

Though they emerged in the ’90s wielding horns and dressed in matching suits, one would never mistake San Diego’s Rocket from the Crypt for a third-wave ska or swing revival act—rather, this rock ’n’ roll beatdown brigade struck the sweet spot between Motown brass and Stooges sass. The group was founded in 1990 by frontman John “Speedo” Reis, who after the dissolution of his band Pitchfork decided to start two new outfits—Rocket and Drive Like Jehu—to serve his twin obsessions with classic garage rock and angular, future-facing punk. Taking their name as a nod to the ’70s Cleveland band Rocket from the Tombs, Reis and a core lineup put together a bruising debut album, 1991’s Paint as a Fragrance, before thickening their high-octane sound with the help of new drummer Adam “Atom” Willard, saxophonist Paul “Apollo 9” O’Beirne and trumpeter Jason “JC 2000” Crane. A deal with Interscope Records led to a commercial breakthrough in 1995 with Scream Dracula Scream and a radio hit in the form of the scorching “On a Rope”. The band called it quits in 2005, but they’ve gotten back together multiple times since the early 2010s for one-off projects and live shows.