With a cool new cd available , this high energy rock band Rockets To Ruin is ready to kick ass and take names. First time I seen what they had it was in a video called "Screaming at me". The video absolutely blew me away. The charisma and attitude of the band were front and center with this no frills straight forward rock in your face band. The Stage presence displayed and the music they play are that of a band that will be around for a long time to come . As The Montalian and myself became hooked on this band and were familiar with them , when we seen a flyer at rocklahoma of them... well a light went of in our head. Wouldn't it be the shit if Rockets to Ruin could Play there in 08 at Rocklahoma. Yes my friends it would be they fit the bill perfect. We later inquired for an interview and Chris Taylor was kind enough to take time out and our thanks goes out to him.

Rockets To Ruin is:
Cleveland Willis---vocals
Mike Grimmet---guitars and vocals
Chris Taylor----bass
Rob Hammersmith---Drums

www.rocketstoruin.com
www.myspace.com/rocketstoruin

MUEN: How popular is the club scene for metal and hard rock in you area at the moment?

CHRIS: The scene here is ok� nothing special. It's better for "Metal" than Hard Rock. The main thing that sucks here is that there aren't that many clubs to play. They're either shutting down or you have some tool turning a cool club like the 10 High basically into a fuckin' karaoke bar and now having lame ass theme nights with cover bands. The Rock fans here are great, they just need more cool clubs.

MUEN: About how often do you play this scene, say in a month? and how many shows have you done to date over all?

CHRIS: We play in Atlanta about every month and a half on average. We don't want to play too much here and burn ourselves out. Not sure how many shows we've done over all�.a couple hundred or so I guess.

MUEN: Do you venture out of this area, or has the opp eluded you thus far?

CHRIS: Yeah, we play in FL, AL, NC a lot and have been up to NJ, NY, IN and out to CA. We're getting ready to go out to TX again during SXSW for some shows.

MUEN: What is the biggest thing that needs to change in the music business to get more live shows here in the states(in your opinion) and what can fans as well as bands do to help change this?

CHRIS: There is a lot that needs to change about the music business. It seems like if you play "rock" over here, the only way you get real label support is if you sound like Nickleback or that style of rock. If they get their heads out of their asses they would realize that there is an entire audience of fans out there that want something different. Rocklahoma was proof of that. Over 35,000 people per day in July in Oklahoma is something that can't be ignored. I'm not saying that a band like the Bulletboys are gonna make some kind of comeback and change the world or anything haha, but it just shows that there is an audience for straight up rock. Bands just need to keep doing what they're doing and fans need to keep supporting them. There are so many new cool bands popping up all over the place and one day the no-it-alls in the "business" will wake up. I think rock n roll is in the best place it's been in years. The shows may not be in arenas, but the music and the fans are real, and that's what it's all about. You have bands doing what they want on their own terms and creating their own scene�.no one is dictating to us what to do.

MUEN: Have there been any major bumps in the road that you have had to overcome so far? or has it been smooth sailing?

CHRIS: It's never smooth sailing in the music business. I'll give you an example of a label that came to see us here in Atlanta once. Not trying to sound cocky or anything, but Rockets is up there as one of the biggest unsigned bands in Atlanta�.in the style of music we play, we're the biggest�. They came to the club and it was fuckin' packed and they turn around and say, "yeah man, I like you guys, but I just don't know what to do with you". I'm thinking, look around dumb ass�.the place is fuckin' PACKED! I look at things like this. Look back throughout rocks history, all of the greatest, most ground breaking bands were doing their thing when what they were doing wasn't popular�..like Chuck Berry, Kiss, Motley Crue, Ramones, Nirvana , GnR and the list goes on. At the time those bands started, no one wanted to touch them because they didn't sound like whatever was trendy at the time. I'm not saying we're trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, but sure as hell aren't following trends. It took someone with vision to come along and help break them. There aren't many people with vision in the music industry.

MUEN: With Alabama Records signing you to an exclusive Scandinavian release of your album "Love Drugs Rebellion", what impact do you hope to make here in the states, and is there a tour to follow?

CHRIS: As far as the Alabama release goes, it's mainly a distro deal over there. We've gotten some good press out of it. No plans on touring right now.

MUEN: Besides the signing with Alabama Records, what has been some of the bands biggest achievements?

CHRIS: We've gotten to do some really cool things over the past couple of years. We opened for Paul Stanley for the South East leg of his tour�same with Skid Row and have played with some other really cool bands. To me the biggest achievement has simply been playing the music we enjoy and meeting and playing for the fans.

MUEN: At what point did Rockets To Ruin originate, and is everyone in the current line-up an original member?

CHRIS: We formed about 3 � years ago I guess. Everyone is an original member but Rob. We had another drummer for about 6 months or so in the beginning. He was a cool guy, but we were going in different directions.

MUEN: Describe the character and style of your band to our readers, and tell us a bit about its members and what they contribute.

CHRIS: I had someone recently describe us like this and I thought it sounded cool. "Imagine driving down the freeway with a car full of your friends as fast as you can, drinking from a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bag of cocaine in the backseat." Live, you never know what you're gonna get. We could play an amazing show, we could be a train wreck or one of us could end up jumping off of the stage to kick someone's ass. Those shows we thought were train wrecks, people have come up to us and said, "man that's the best show you've ever done", and I just think�ummm OK dude. Haha! As far as each member goes, each of us has completely different personalities. Rob is kinda anal and always likes to be places on time or early and have the schedule laid out. You can count on me and Mike being late for EVERYTHING and Cleve is somewhere in the middle. Haha! Each member brings their own thing to the band. Me and Mike pretty much write everything. Once we bring it to the rehearsal studio, Rob is really good at helping get the arrangements and transitions together. It's not really a Rockets song until everyone puts their touch on it.

MUEN: Where did the Name Rockets To Ruin come from?

CHRIS: It came from combining 2 Ramones album titles. Rockets To Russia and Road To Ruin. We've gotten some slack for doing that, but fuck anyone that doesn't like it�.we do.

MUEN: growing up what were some of your earliest memories of music, and who were some of the first bands you listened to?

CHRIS: Growing up my family listened to country music so that was really the 1st music I was exposed to. Once I was around 12/13 years old, I discovered bands like Motley Crue and Def Leppard and stuff like that. I saw Motley Crue live when I was 14 and knew that was what I wanted to do.

MUEN: Who are some of the bands in your area, that others outside this area might not be aware of?

CHRIS: The Heart Attacks, Rock City Dropouts, Leaderdog (from Birmingham), Asphalt Valentine, The Warm Gunns, Stedlur are all cool bands from around here.

MUEN: Who were some of the influences in your life that may have led you to becoming involved with music?

CHRIS: The main one was Crue. Other bands that have really influenced me are Warrior Soul, D Generation, Monster Magnet, La Guns, Faster Pussycat early Metallica and I'm a huge Slayer fan.

MUEN: As the New Year approached, what were your New Year Resolutions? and also, who do you think made the biggest impact musically in 07?

CHRIS: Nah, no resolutions. I'll probably break it anyway. Haha I think Buckcherry was amazing in 07 with their CD. Was cool to see a band like that get the recognition they deserve.

MUEN: Cleve was quoted as saying "In the very near future, Rockets To Ruin will be a household name" wow that sounds positive as hell. Was just wondering if there was anything you would like to add or say in conclusion to our interview?

CHRIS: Our fan base is constantly growing and I'd just like to thank all of our fans who have been there since the beginning and all of the new ones that we've made over the past year. Keep helping us spread the word.

Metal Mike