Eighth Wonder of the Blog.

"...and here's the new one from.. Rocket From The Crypt!!"

This was the announcement at the beginning of the first Rocket From The Crypt LP - Paint As A Fragrance. Unfortunately we will never hear anyone speak those words in truth again as RFTC disbanded in 2005.

Punk Rock with an emphasis on the Rock. RFTC were the one band I could handle with horns in their music, mostly because they never had a ska sound to their horn section, they always just beefed up the rhythm or bass lines of the music. RFTC brought attitude, fun and strong staccato guitar chords in a fun upbeat delivery that usually was not overly serious.

I once drove all the way from Cleveland to Philadelphia and back again in one day to see them, and would have gladly done it again.

One of the best parts of being a RFTC fan is the incredible amount of vinyl they put out. In between each album they usually released several singles and/or an EP or two. They kept you on your toes looking for limited releases and odd packaging...most notably the Cut Carefully And Play Loud EP which came as a 12" EP in a blank white jacket with a label sized hole (12" single style) on the outside of the jacket and over the the hole was placed a giant sticker which needed to be cut around the perimeter of the hole to free the record from the sleeve and provide the vinyl with a label. Yeah, I bought two just to leave one pristine. I am a collector.

I don't own every single one of their releases but I am pretty close. Unfortunately the ones I don't have may cost me.

On to the music...

It is very hard to pick a RFTC song, as they never had a hit single and don't have stand out tracks on their albums (they have stand out albums!)

So I'll try the method of posting a song that I feel represents them best and a song you might not be able to find of theirs.

here is the former: "Straight American Slave" from their "Group Sounds" LP



and here is the latter: "Tiger Feet Tonight" from their "When In Rome" picture disc.