"A Rocket to the Moon" Skyrockets to Success

The band I am going to introduce to you all this week is the fun-loving boys of A Rocket to the Moon.  I first was introduced to this band in the hot months of summertime and so thought it fitting to introduce them to you guys with summer being right around the corner.  In fact, whenever I hear a song from these guys I immediately picture kids driving around with the windows rolled down, tires spinning on the bare pavement, and the sun setting towards the background of a small hometown.  Summer, summer, summer. J  Nothing can beat it.

Well, believe it or not, A Rocket to the Moon started out as an experiment.  A few years ago in 2006, Nick Santino put a handful of his songs on the internet without really thinking anything of it.  He just wanted to see if he would get any feedback from people about his musicality. 

But what started as just an electro-sonic experiment turned out to be an explosion of musical success.  Receiving a lot of positive feedback, Nick Santino got more people to help him out and be in his band.  “I never actually intended for A Rocket to the Moon to get this far.  I always wanted to take it to the next level and put a couple of guys in the act instead of having all the focus on me,” Nick Santino said about his musical invention.  Currently, A Rocket to the Moon consists of Justin Richards on guitar, Eric Halvorsen slapping the bass, Andrew Cook playing percussion rhythms, and of course Nick Santino who started the band. 

A Rocket to the Moon got very popular quickly and started its first official tour in 2008 alongside The Cab, Hey Monday, and This Providence.  The band produced its first full-length debut album and called it On Your Side in 2009.  This album was produced with help of producer Matt Squire (who also is the producer for big name bands Panic! At The Disco and Boys Like Girls).  “We had never recorded a full-length before and we learned so much from working with Matt.  We did it really quickly but we didn’t feel any pressure because we spent so much time preparing before we went into the studio,” Santino explained about the band putting together the album in just a mere seventeen days.  He went on, “Justin and I are big country fans, so it’s got that feel to it mixed with a ‘90s pop-rock kind of vibe; it’s just an all-round fun album that doesn’t fit into one genre.”  A Rocket to the Moon tries to make each song and rhythm relatable to many different types of fans.  The lyrics are supposed to be able to fit many different people’s stories and lifestyles.  They can do this by writing about situations that happened to them personally, but putting more of an unspecified spin on these personal things when they write about them in songs.  This gives listeners a better chance to be able to relate to the words and the ideas behind the music. 

In spring of 2011 A Rocket to the Moon went on their first headlining tour, the “On Your Side” tour.  A Rocket to the Moon will be touring the UK with Mayday Parade in May.  They will also be touring Australia and Indonesia with Hey Monday.

The music A Rocket to the Moon makes also cannot really be defined into any specific genre.  “I think it’s pretty awesome that we’re able to tap a couple of genres instead of getting stuck in just one,” says Santino.  Since the band cannot be defined into a genre they have toured with many different types of bands including The Fray, Boys Like Girls, and Cobra Starship.  This gives the band an advantage because they touch listeners’ hearts from many different genres and therefore gain more support from the public.  A Rocket to the Moon is also very close to their fans; they hold them dear to their heart.  They are very down to earth as a band, and so what you see onstage is also what you get in person.  The members of A Rocket to the Moon are very warmhearted people.  All they want to do is try to deliver music that their fans will love, (which they keep doing, everyday!)  So what are you waiting for?  Give it up for A Rocket to the Moon!

The first song is a ballad of a sadder sort.  The song “Like We Used To” talks about a lover that has gone to love a different person.  The song is very sad but many listeners are able to relate to the feeling of a broken heart.  Here’s “Like We Used To”.

The next song I will show you is more of an upbeat song.  “Mr. Right” is also about wanting to love somebody who is currently with somebody else, but this song is about how the pursuer is not going to give up on his love.  The lyrics “You could be the best of me, when I’m the worst for you” show how the pursuer thinks his love is perfect while he might not be anywhere near perfection, but he is still going try to get his love.  Here’s “Mr. Right”.  Hope you enjoy!!

Not Your Regular "Cookie-Cutter" Format...

            The band I will be introducing to you all this week is a band I can’t believe I haven’t written about yet!  The Format has always been one of my favorite musical artists.  The Format started around 2001 with Nate Ruess and Sam Means from Arizona being the creative masterminds behind the music.  The band chose their name to make fun of the music industry for a want of the band to make a cookie-cutter “format” of a hit.  They didn’t want to follow anybody else’s rules; they wanted to make their own music, their way.  Even though they were critiquing the music industry with titling the band this way, their first hit single off of their EP album cleverly titled “The First Single” was a hit in the Southwest.  This success led The Format to sign with Elektra Records in 2002.  Through Elektra Records, the band was able to produce their first major full-length album called “Interventions and Lullabies” in October of 2003.  Sadly, Elektra Records began folding into a merger right as The Format’s album was coming out into stores, and the newly merged label sort of “forgot” about the band within all of the chaos of the merge.   Still, The Format toured North America for about two years and had plans in the back of their minds of making their next album. 

The Format released their next EP album through Atlantic Records (who took in a lot of the bands that Elektra Records left behind) in April of 2005.  This EP album was titled “Snails”.  However, not long after the release of their album “Snails”, The Format was dropped from Atlantic Records.  Due to the frustrating situations that the band had been through while dealing with record labels, The Format recorded and released their next full-length album independently on The Vanity Label.  This is a label that is still managed by the band today.  This full-length album that was recorded and released through The Vanity Label is called “Dog Problems”.  Throughout The Format’s existence, the pair toured and played with a variety of different musicians.  In 2007, the band added four more people to The Format.  These additions consisted of guitarists Mike Schey and Mark Buzard, drummer Adam Boyd, and Don Raymond on bass. 

I think the reason people enjoy The Format so much is because a lot of their songs are summery, feel good types of songs.  Most of their songs have good beats, and make you want to get up and dance around the room, (or even in the car).  I would love to buy one of The Format’s albums and listen to it on a road trip.  Finally being able to find a record label where they could express themselves the way they wanted to, The Format was gaining even more popularity with people throughout the nation.  However to everyone’s great dismay, the band announced they were going on hiatus on February 4, 2008 and that they would not be making another album.  They haven’t been together since.  I think if they wouldn’t have quit they could have gotten really popular, but I guess one could say that they quit while they were ahead.  Their music still circles the youthful scene and can be heard on many people’s musical devices.  If The Format ever decided to get back together, I’m sure they would have many faithful fans following them. J

            The first song I will show you is the “Dog Problems” music video.  This is the clever video that made me remember that I wanted to write a blog about one of my favorite bands The Format.

The next song I will let you all listen to has a very summery/sunshine, get in your car and go type of feel to it.  The song is peppy and makes you want to dance around.  I especially like listening to this song in the car.  This is one of my favorites.  Here’s “Tune Out” by The Format.

So there you have it, they also have a lot of other good songs….  so check ‘em out!

The Dodos... Not the Bird

            The band I will be introducing to all of you this week is… The Dodos!  The Dodos are a band that got started in San Francisco and can be described as an indie rock folk band.  Now, I know you all are probably thinking ‘but we just discovered an indie folk band last week…’.  Which, we did.  But tonight I texted a friend to tell me a good band that I had never heard about, and he texted back “The Dodos!”.  So therefore I checked them out, found I liked them, and am now writing about them. J  Don’t worry though; I am hoping you will like them too. 

            Meric Long studied West African Ewe drumming and sought to create a band where the drumming could be the core of the music and help bring out the syncopated rhythms coming out of the acoustic guitar.  Long ended up meeting Logan Kroeber randomly through his roommate.  The Dodos released their debut album “Beware of the Maniacs” in 2006.  Two years later, they released “The Visitor”.  Original members Meric Long and Logan Kroeber then teamed up with electric vibraphonist Keaton Snyder to add more depth to the band.  These three collaborated with producer Phil Ek on “Time to Die” in 2009.  Throughout the years, they have traveled all over on tour. 

            The first song I am going to let you take a look at is “Fables”.  If you look closely at the beginning of the music video, you will see that the band supports the use of duct tape.  In the very beginning of the video a frame shows the percussionist putting on a tambourine that is taped to his foot. J  This is another quirk of the band’s unique percussion skills; they definitely use their creativity to their advantage.

            The next song that I will be showing you is called “Winter”.  I think the sound of The Dodos could be described as very… raw.  The reason they get this “raw” sound is because on a lot of their albums they record things one time, or record it live.  However, this works for them because listeners can relate to them better this way because they definitely do not have auto toned voices or instruments.  They are real.  I hope you enjoy the song “Winter”.