John Reis: Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, etc.. Part 1 "The First Ten Years." by James Gross

To call “Speedo” John Reis a huge influence, and a personal favorite would be an understatement. Just ask my band members.  It’s been a very cool experience to listen to all these records in chronological order, and see the progression, and trends he went through creatively. 

 For this challenge I stuck to studio records, though I may do a brief epilogue/overview of RFTC’s “All systems go” series of B-sides. 

Included are all the Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, The Sultans, Night Marchers, Back Off Cupids, and Pitchfork material. I documented my experiences with each record on a notepad as to capture was I was feeling at the time. Without further ado, here we go…

Pitchfork: Saturn Outhouse EP 1989

John’s “first” noteworthy project, and first pairing with future collaborator Rick Froberg.  Off the bat, it’s very dischord records esque, upbeat, punky, angular, melodic. Out of the three tracks on this ep, the third track, “Sinking” was my favorite.

Pitchfork: Eucalyptus 1990

This is a gem I found out about on one my previous Reis kicks. Ii was surprised about how amazing these songs are, and even more surprised how come more people haven’t championed this band...I like it better Drive Like Jehu, don't tell anyone. 20 years later, and these songs are still pertinent.  Hard to show growth as a musician when you start HERE.  Pitchfork sound like a more  structured DLJ, less experimental, very Fugazi inspired.  You can definitely see the seeds for DLJ planted here. 

Notes:

Track 2: "placebo" ...perfectly played unplugged electric intro, mid tempo pop number .

track 3 "twitch" could be a Fugazi song.

Track 5 "Rana" could be my favorite, opening guitar riffage is superb corrosive intro turns into a song with very melodic pop sensibilities, something Reis will do often in his writing.

track 7 most surprising, quality instrumental that establishes a nice mood and  just abruptly shuts down and goes to the next track. Well done.

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Drive Like Jehu: S/T 1991

The first Drive Like Jehu  record is a solid outing. Once again Reis and Froberg team up (as they’ll do again in Hot Snakes). DLJ bring more experimentation, and less melody than Pitchfork. People love this record, and it IS great, but given Reis’s body of work, I’ll take RFTC over DLJ any day. Regardless, a VERY influential album, Deftones covered "Caress" as a Diamond Eyes bonus track. My favorite track is the 7 minute “If It Kills You”

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Rocket From The Crypt: Paint As A Fragrance 1991

This is a quite a departure from the meandering riff fests of the last 2 projects. the first Rocket full length arrives with nary a trademark horn in a sight. brash punk with lots of rock and roll leanings, but the vocals are still more abrasive than what RFTC is known  for.  basically a seed of what RFTC is to become.  Best tracks “Jiggy Jig” and “Weak Superhero”. Check out “Bad Words” for a laugh.

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Rocket From The Crypt: Circa Now! 1992

This record brought major labels a courting.  It’s the first to feature horn section, well saxophone at least.  This is one of my favorite rocket outings.  Still very angular, a la Drive Like Jehu, but tons of killer rock riffs.  The opening track "Short Lip Fuser" builds up with noise and feedback, and explodes onto the listeners face with glory. Circa now really starts to showcase Reis's ability to put great melody and hooks into aggressive, guitar driven rock/punk. His more honed vocal delivery pays off big time.

this record definitely put RFTC on the MTV gen x buzz bin radar, as video clips document.  Dancing  all over the lines between pop sensibility and post punk angularity made it a perfect album for the music climate of the early 90’s. This album is still a huge influence on my song writing. Hottest joints “Short Lip Fuser”, and “Sturdy Wrist”.  One of the coolest moments, is the end of "Glazed".   Layering madness erupts into analog tape distortion mixed with a  chorus of  "Everybody smoke pot! Everybody smoke pot!" . Eight minute song for the win! The reissue bonus tracks are decent, but nothing special.

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Drive Like Jehu: Yank Crime 1994

This record is all about pacing. The songs are lengthier, with more dynamics, and over all, more experimental. It’s hilarious that this record was put out on a major label, those were the days though, when labels would put out music with integrity. Lots of combustible moments on this record, but tons of droney bludgeoning parts, bands like Botch, Ink & Dagger, At The Drive In, plus many others owe this band some royalty checks. 

The track "Do You Compute" limps along and refuses to break apart.  In comparison "Luau" beats down door with the same mid tempo, but rather than shamble along, like the previous song, this track comes at you with purpose. Epic enough to be a closing track, but no, it's only track 4..sheesh.  Song 5, “Super Unison” is the stand out so far, it's one of the longer songs, but unlike some of the others, and it’s straighter forward. . There's a moment at about 4.30 that pretty much inspired all of Cedric Bixler from ATDI's delivery, IMO.

The album takes a nice breather with "New Intro". It serves as an interlude between the first and second halves of the record. “New Math opens with a riff very similar to one found in “Caress”, not sure if it's intentional or coincidental.

All in all, DLJ were a VERY influential band. Though I prefer hot snakes and Rocket over DLJ, their contribution to "punk rock" is undeniable.

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Rocket From From The Crypt: The State Of Art Is On Fire 1995

A year after the final DLJ record, after adding trumpets, RFTC is back with vengeance. Opening track "Light Me" sets the mood with keys, shakers, horns, all that is the essence of RFTC.  After the long winded songs of the last DLJ record, these 1.30 songs are a welcome break. Short and nasty, like a good fuck. “Human Torch” is probably the best track. "Here's to you human torch, you're so fucking lame." “Human Spine” is a great closer, organ driven, bouncy, and 6 minutes long, which seems ridiculous after a bunch of super short tracks. The CD reissue has 2 bonus tracks; covers of a 60s band "The Music Machine”, which were from a 7 inch, I believe.  Both of these tracks could be RFTC tracks, especially circa “RFTC”. I def. gotta check this band out after my challenge.

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Rocket From The crypt: Hot Charity 1995

Also in 1995 comes "hot charity". Until now, I didn't really know where these songs came in, because they were later re-released with another EP.  Some of my favorite Rocket tracks on this piece!!  this EP also features a step up in production, and song writing. Hooks and riffs all around. IMO this is where the RFTC "sound" comes together. It Opens with one of the only RFTC instrumentals "Pushed”. The best tracks are "My Arrows Aim" & “Cloud Over Branson"

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Rocket From The Crypt: Scream Dracula Scream 1995

Okay, so here we go.  Scream Dracula Scream. This is THE record for most.  My first exposure to RFTC was seeing them open fo the Foo Fighters on this tour. HOLY FUCK.  This record has the best opening 1,2,3 punch of any record.."Middle” ,”Born In 69”, into “On A Rope."  With such a powerful opening, there’s bound to be  some lulls on the record. "Used" is a nice break from the blistering rock, catchy 60s sounding pop song. "Misbeaten" gives us another R&B/garage rock throwback, complete with "ooh la la's" and farfisa organ. Track 13, “salt Future” starts to bring the album down (in a good way).  Both sleazy and anthemic, it's definitely a stand out "deep cut".  The closer “Burnt Alive” serves as a nice epilogue to a classic record. The main riff is VERY foretelling of what Hot Snakes will

bring to the table. Some of the most soulful/raw vocal work on the record is found here. This monster of a record ends quietly, which is a nice juxtaposition to the raucous nature of the opener.

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Rocket From The Crypt: RFTC 1998

3 years after SDS brings us to Rocket’s most accessible, commercial record.  It's very much a 60s R&B record on overdrive, and according to the liner notes it was tracked live. Tight, crisp, pretty much a flawless record. Why they didn't blow up into the mainstream is beyond me. I got to see them on this tour, it was awesome. Eye on you is a perfect opener, featuring the vocal stylings of the charming Ms. Holly Golightly (check out her catalog). RFTC is pretty much a tour de force, huge hooks, killer riffs, everything you could possibly want in a rock & roll album. The pacing  of the first half is nonstop, tracks crash like waves one after another barely giving the listener time to breathe. "Lipstick" is a single I've never really loved, but it serves as nice transition into the swagger of "You Gotta  Move". "Your Touch" is one of the record’s highlights, the verse is  driven by hammond organ and a driving bass line, before opening up into a huge chorus. "Let’s Get Busy" is probably RFTC's sappiest song, and it's amazing. "dick on a dog" starts to bring the tempo back up, I mean, how could a song called "dick on a dog" not be a party starter!? IS IT RED!? The swanky saxophone, and huge chorus of "run kid run" provide a more than suitable closer for this record... as I said before, it's the most polished and streamlined record thus far, and I'm sure it was Reis's direction rather than major label direction.

Rocket From The Crypt: Cut Carefully, Play Loud 1999

Sadly this is long time drummer "Atom’s last recording with the band. RFTC also found them without a label  around this time. Reis would spend a year doing other various projects, before resurrecting Rocket. 5 decent tracks are found on this extended play; "blood robots" or "waste it" would be the best tracks. Listening straight through the discography, you can see that this period has them peaking, and with this last ep, they seem to be "stuck in a rut". The songs start sounding very similar.

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Hot Snakes: Automatic Midnight 2000

Hot snakes brings Reis back together with his former band mate Rick Froberg. According to WIKI Reis wrote and recorded guitar and bass on these songs with the drummer of Delta 72, and then got in touch with Froberg to sing on the tracks and apparently play some guitar.  Hot snakes melds the simplicity of RFTC with the Angular Abrasiveness of DLJ. Not as meandering as Drive, and Not as melodic as rocket. Great punk/post punk sounds. Froberg’s vocals are more controlled, but are delivered with as much cynicism and ferocity as could be. Reis's guitar playing here lays the ground work for a lot of his "signature sound." Huge riffs, angular, but melodic, but unconventional? The guitar tone on this record is incredible, clear, overdriven; the sound of telecasters pumped through Cranked Vox amps.

Track 4, "salton city" takes a break from the blitzkrieg of the first 3 tracks, and brings some weirdness. very open, airy, driven by a by drums and vocals. Track 7 is my favorite "our work fills the pews" mid tempo, rad shouted backups by Reis, lots of swagger on this joint. Reis takes lead vocals on "mystery boy". it has sweet space ship sounds(oh analog delay pedals) and could have been a RFTC song off  “Group Sounds”, very cool track. just seems a bit out of place.  All in all a solid debut.  The second half is much better than the first. I’ve heard all these before, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the progression fleshes out.

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Back Off Cupids: S/T 2000

Okay, taking a break from "the rock" this is the only release on my challenge that I haven't heard before. interested to see what It brings. BOC is a collection of songs  Recorded in 1994, but not released until 2000. Should have listened to it before…dammit, oh well.  Drums provided by the trumpet player from RFTC.

Okay.  So I don't love this...honestly, I don’t know if LIKE this. it's essentially just instrumental noodles and doodles. so far track 4 "can you hear my sleep dog?" caught my attention.  Track five "trivial pursuit" sounds like a hot snakes song, played with a ben folds drum beat with wacky noises...oh there’s some horns. NEAT.

track 6 "painted a half picture" has distant sounding vocals, reminds me of Pinback or older Modest Mouse. okay. so all that was fun. the one Reis record I’ll probably never listen to again. 10 tracks of sonic experimentation...skeletons of songs, not awful, but something only the writer could appreciate. I'd love to MAKE something like this, but for my own enjoyment.

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The Sultans: Ghost Ship 2000

I LOVE this record. straightforward rock/punk songs, no frills, no nonsense. catchy as hell 13 songs in 20 minutes. What I DIDNT know, was that Speedo played BASS on this record and sang, guitars provided by Andy from RFTC. I’m going to enjoy this listen more knowing this info.

Opener "just a fool (that’s down)" is actually my ringtone. It’s a jammer, and a fucking great song.  This album rules.  About halfway It does get a little redundant at times, track 6 pretty much plays just like the opener, but lacking half the intensity.  The following track, "it's over" brings it back right around.  This song sounds like it could have been a Night Marchers song (one of Reis's upcoming projects)."(This Ain't No) Solid State" is another stand out track. Some of these songs definitely could have found their home on a RFTC album, but all in all, The Sultans first release is a solid listen.