by JOHNSON CUMMINS

What do you mean, you've never heard of Rocket From the Tombs? Living in relative obscurity while they were around, Rocket From the Tombs have become one of the most influential cult bands of all time. Starting out in the dreary confines of Cleveland, Ohio, in June of 1974, RFTT took the proto-punk nihilism of the Stooges and MC5, the naiveté of the Velvet Underground and the energy of the Rolling Stones and '60s garage and mashed it up beyond recognition. Residing under the radar, with the exception of the hundred core Cleveland fans at the time, Rocket would venture out of Cleveland but once and called it a day after playing only a handful of shows. The members splintered into two different factions. Singer David Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner would form the highly influential Pere Ubu, taking the RFTT songs "Final Solution," "Life Stinks" and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" with them. Drummer John Madansky (Johnny Blitz) and Gene O'Conner (Cheetah Chrome) would form the Dead Boys and stake claim to RFTT songs like "What Love Is," "Down In Flames," "Sonic Reducer" and "Ain't It Fun." The last two songs would even later be covered by Pearl Jam and Guns N' Roses, respectively.

Considering the effect Rocket From the Tombs and their subsequent offshoot bands would have, it seems that the early to mid-'70s Cleveland scene was quite the "acorn from which the punk rock tree did grow." But Thomas insists that at the time, it was a very closeknit community that just wouldn't stand for the mediocrity thriving among the Me generation. "It was a hothouse environment," says singer David Thomas from a tour stop in Montana. "There was about 100 people, including girlfriends, roadies and soundmen, and that was spread over four or five bands. If you were ordinary or screwed up, everybody knew it and you were humiliated. Humiliation was a great incentive to make music that was sharp and hard-edged and not limp-wristed and weak-willed. When there are only 100 people involved and the competition is so intense, you have to keep up your end of the bargain."

Volatile material

When British author Clinton Heylin's book From the Velvets to the Voidoids; A Pre-Punk History for a Post-Punk World came out 10 years ago, he would dedicate a whole chapter to Rocket From the Tombs. This just fueled the demand to see the band in the flesh. After a retrospective release the band finally relented after 28 years of playing possum. "UCLA was putting on a three-day festival of my music. We needed a band to back up Pere Ubu and somebody suggested Rocket From the Tombs. We had been in touch because of the release of The Day the Earth Met Rocket From the Tombs CD [in 2002] and we just thought it would be a good idea."

Before they started their national tour a month ago, RFTT managed to get back in the studio and record updated versions of their songs. The finished product Rocket Redux is being sold at shows, with an official release slotted for early in the new year. The lineup for the tour and album includes Thomas, O'Conner, original bassist Craig Bell, Pere Ubu drummer Steve Mehlman stepping in for Madansky (Madansky, who now lives outside of Toronto, never got the call) and, filling in for the late Peter Laughner, is Television's Richard Lloyd.

Lloyd is hardly a hired gun here, and his inclusion should be an obvious one as Television's first time out of New York was playing with Rocket From the Tombs in Cleveland. With RFTT now on their first full-fledged tour Thomas is excited about the band but quick to dismiss the notion that they will be around forever. "We are a band that has been cited with more songs than the Sex Pistols in the top 25 punk songs of all time. That's pretty damn good for a band from Cleveland that only played eight shows and nobody ever heard of. It feels the same today as it ever did and it can still be a pain in the butt. This is a volatile band because the songs are crazed songs that require a high level of commitment. You can't sleepwalk through these songs, so we all bring a high level of intensity to the gig. By the time we get to the Montreal show, we may have already shot each other. Who knows? There's no guarantees in this band."

With US Maple at la Sala Rossa on Friday, Dec. 5, 9pm, $14.50

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