''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 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 final studio album, as they broke up on Halloween 2005. Contrary to the album's title, it is not a "live" album but rather a studio recording. Although the album received generally positive reviews, many consumers were confused by its title and assumed it to be a live album, which in fact it was not. The title was actually a reference to Camp X-Ray, the temporary detention facility located at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some fans and critics expressed their disappointment at the album's length, stating that a playing time of 26 minutes was not sufficient for a full-length album and that they had expected more creative output from the band. By this time, however, the band's members had drifted heavily into other projects (most notably singer/guitarist John Reis, who was simultaneously playing in

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 ...

and running his record label

Swami Records Swami Records is a San Diego-based independent record label specializing in punk rock and rock music. The label was founded in 2000 by John Reis, who also has his own radio show, ''Swami Sound System'', on station 94.9FM KBZT KBZT (94.9 FM, ...

) and were not as creatively dedicated to Rocket as they had been in the past. Cryptic liner notes written by

Long Gone John John Edward Mermis (born November 13, 1951), best known by the pseudonym Long Gone John, is an American entrepreneur who is best known for his record label, Sympathy for the Record Industry, and his vinyl toy company, Necessaries Toy Foundation ...

seemed to indicate that the album was a "last gasp" of a band in turmoil and that it might be their final album. Touring in support of ''Live from Camp X-Ray'' was sparse due to the band members' commitments to other projects, and they would perform infrequently over the next few years. In August 2005, after breaking up Hot Snakes, Reis announced that Rocket from the Crypt would play their final performance on Halloween of that year. This confirmed suspicions that ''Live from Camp X-Ray'' was the band's final studio album, though posthumous releases of material recorded before their breakup have since been released. "Bring Us Bullets" is notable for being featured in the film '' Crank''.

Track listing

#"I'm Not Invisible" #"Get Down" #"I Can't Feel My Head" #"Can You Hear It?" #"I Wanna Know What I Wanna Know" #"Bring Us Bullets" #"Bucket of Piss" #"Dumb Blind and Horny" #"Outsider" #"Too Many Balls"

Personnel

*Speedo (

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 ...

) –

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, 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 ...

*Anne Zarkus, Wes Tudor, Jason Greenworld, Patricia McLurmick, Santa Peuraro, Kara Richardson, Brianna Lotes, and Evelyn Cooperman – strings on "Can You Hear It?" and "I Wanna Know What I Wanna Know"

Album information

*Record label:

*Produced by

*Recorded at Drag Racist studios in

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 ...

Summer 2002 by John Reis, Dave Gardner and Ben Moore *Mixed by Ben Moore at Big Fish Recorders with assistance by Jason Clark *Mastered by Eddy Schreyer *Artwork by Yannick Desfanleau and Chloe Lum *Additional layout and design by Joby J. Ford *Band photo by Ryan Joseph Shuaghnessy III *Liner notes by

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Vagrant Records albums Rocket from the Crypt albums