''Group Sounds'' is an album by the

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Rocket from the Crypt, released in 2001 by

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home ...

. It was the band's first album for the label and their first with new drummer Ruby Mars. After the end of their major-label contract with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

in 1999 and the departure of longtime drummer

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

the following year, the band spent much of 2000 in search of a new label and drummer. Singer/guitarist

John Reis John Reis, also known by the pseudonyms Speedo, Slasher, and the Swami is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which ...

experimented with several other drummers, resulting in the formations of

Hot Snakes Hot Snakes are an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork (band), Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had f ...

and

Sultans Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

, but did not find a suitable replacement for Willard. When Rocket from the Crypt signed to Vagrant Records later that year they recruited

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...

drummer

Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on '' The Best Show'' with ...

to act as their studio drummer, and he played on a majority of the album's tracks. Partway through the recording process, however, the band discovered local

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

drummer and professional skateboarder Mario Rubalcaba, who joined as their new full-time drummer under the stage name "Ruby Mars" and played on the remainder of the album. The addition of Rubalcaba gave the band renewed energy, and ''Group Sounds'' was released in 2001 to positive reviews. Some touring followed in support of the album, but band members were drifting into other projects (most notably Reis in Hot Snakes and Sultans) and Rocket became less the focus. Their next album, 2002's ''

Live from Camp X-Ray ''Live from Camp X-Ray'' is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Rocket from the Crypt, released in 2002 by Vagrant Records. It was the band's final studio album, as they broke up on Halloween 2005. Contrary to the album's title, ...

'', would prove to be their last.

Track listing

#"Straight American Slave" #"Carne Voodoo" #"White Belt" #"Out of Control" #"Return of the Liar" #"Heart of a Rat" #"Venom Venom" #"Savoir Faire" #"S.O.S." #"Dead Seeds" #"This Bad Check is Gonna Stick" #"Spitting" #"Ghost Shark"

European release bonus tracks

14. "Chariots on Fire"
15. "I Won't Stare"
16. "Alone"

Personnel

*Speedo (

) -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, lead vocals *ND (

Andy Stamets Andy Stamets (also known by the pseudonyms ND, The Flame, and Black Flame) is an American guitarist who was a member of Rocket from the Crypt,Puls, Eric (1993) "Rocket From the Crypt Is Crankable", ''Chicago Sun-Times'', May 7, 1993, p. 19 Bee ...

) - guitar, backing vocals *Petey X ( Pete Reichert) -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals *Apollo 9 ( Paul O'Beirne) -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, backing vocals *JC 2000 (

Jason Crane Jason Crane (also known by the pseudonym JC2000) is an American drummer and trumpeter notable as a member of Rocket from the Crypt, The Black Heart Procession, and Beehive & the Barracudas. Musical career Crane originally performed as drummer i ...

) -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, percussion, backing vocals *Ruby Mars (

Mario Rubalcaba Mario Rubalcaba (also known by the pseudonym Ruby Mars) is an American drummer from San Diego, notable as a member of numerous rock bands including Clikatat Ikatowi, Thingy, Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Earthless, the Sultans, and Off! H ...

) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

on tracks 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, 15 & 16 *

- drums on tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 & 13 *

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Lit ...

- piano on "Ghost Shark" *

Gar Wood Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to travel ...

- backing vocals on chorus of "Spitting"

Album information

*Record label:

*Produced by Rocket From the Crypt *Tracks 1, 3, 5, 8 & 10 recorded and mixed by

Donnell Cameron Donnell Cameron is a record producer known for his work with Sublime, Blink-182, and Avenged Sevenfold. He owned a recording studio, Westbeach Recorders, in Hollywood, California. Production In 1991, Cameron produced the debut album for Drive Like ...

Westbeach Recorders Westbeach Recorders was a recording studio in Hollywood, California famous for recording punk rock groups, such as Bad Religion, Avenged Sevenfold, NOFX, Rancid, The Offspring and Pennywise. History It was established in 1985 by Bad Religion g ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

*Tracks 2, 4, 7, 9, 13 & 15 recorded and mixed by Stuart Sikes and Easley-McCain Recorders in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

*Tracks 6, 11, 12, 14 & 16 recorded by Chad Blinman at Sunset Sound in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and mixed by

Mark Trombino Mark Trombino (born May 23, 1966) is an American multi-platinum record producer, musician, and audio engineer. He has produced, engineered, and mixed tracks for many artists including Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, The Starting Line, Finch, Motion ...

at Ecstasy Studios in Los Angeles *Mastered by Eddy Schreyer *Design and layout by Dave Lively and Rocket From the Crypt *Band photos by Shigeo Kikuchi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Group Sounds (Album) 2001 albums Vagrant Records albums Rocket from the Crypt albums