Interview: The Pocket Rockets

A couple weeks ago, I had a little conversation with Lyndon Miller, the guitarist of The Pocket Rockets.....That is, the dude with the mask on in the picture:

photo by Calethia DeConto

The Pocket Rockets are a three piece band from Los Angeles.-Keba

Keba: What do you play in the band?

Lyndon Miller: I play guitar.


K: How long have you guys been together?


LM: Well, we’ve been together for...like, five years. Maybe six.


K: Have you guys played in any other bands besides the Pocket Rockets?


LM: No, I think this is – Well, the first band I’ve ever played in. I mean, I know Ralph [Blanco, Vocals/Base] and Chris [M., Drums], jammed a little bit – they’re like a year older than me. But for the most part, we all started the band - this was our first band.


K: You guys have always had the same lineup?


LM: Ummm, actually, before, we had another guitar player - our buddy Robert. But he decided to be a smart guy and go to school [laughs]. So after high school, he went to Cal State - the Cal State in Los Angeles. He’s an english major…


K: So, the rest of you guys didn't go to college? You guys just kept doing music?


LM: Ah, nah, it’s not like we ditched college. I’m still in school, you know, community college, not a big deal [laughs].


K: Who would you guys say are your influences. Like, you know, musicians that you guys really look up to, or ones that you really like?


LM: Well, I don’t know, personally, I got really into The Velvet Underground. I thought, that they were like to coolest band. I just love - I don’t know - I just love everything by them…their lack of attention.haha.


K: What about the other guys in the band?


LM: The other guys – they like a lot of stuff. I think that I’m pretty close minded when I listen to music (laughs). Well, not really, it’s just, I know what I like. They’re just all over the place. But I think when we first started playing together, our big thing was that we thought that Interpol was pretty cool, you know?...that was a really bad answer.


K: No, that was cool, haha. So, what was it like making your music video for Turbulence? That’s your first music video, right?


LM: Yeah, it’s our first one. It was a lot of fun. We filmed it in our studio and we were just having fun playing. We had our friends over on the other side of the camera watching. Had a little party afterwards.


K: That’s cool. I really like that song.


LM: Really?


K: Yeah, the riff is really cool. It’s catchy. I listened to it yesterday and I was thinking of it the whole day. Yeah, cool song.


LM: Thank You


K:What are you guys working on now?


LM: Right now? Well, we just put out our first single, The Golden Gloves, and now we’re working on our second single, which will be another two songs. We’re trying to keep a steady flow of music, making new songs……You know, we can keep this up for another year or two.


K:You guys are playing a show tonight,at the Echo Curio. What was your very first show like? Do you remember?


LM:Yeah, Our very first show was, I think it was tenth grade. And I remember it was some girl’s birthday party, and we played. It was like punk rock…like punk rock 2004, you know?


K:What about your most memorable show, Do you guys have a show that really stands out?


LM: Memorable show? Well, there’s a lot. I mean, the first time we played The Smell, I remember I thought that was pretty cool. We played The Smell downtown.


K: Are you guys thinking of going on tour anytime soon?


LM: Yeah, Maybe doing A tour up the coast of California……and then across the country.