For those kicking around the garage scene in those days, Rocket Science need no introduction. Their rambunctious stage presence combined with a raw organ and theremin-infused sound gained them a solid following worldwide. However, things changed dramatically one fateful night in 2004, when vocalist and keys player Roman Tucker took a bad tumble down a flight of stairs while on route to a gig at Ding Dong Lounge. The resulting head injuries put Tucker in a coma, waking days later with amnesia.
“I couldn’t remember my mother let alone the band,” Tucker says. “In the hospital, people played our newly recorded album, and I asked them, ‘Who’s this then?’ When we decided to go on tour three months after my accident to support our new album Eternal Holiday I knew that I, and consequently we, were not as great as all the music mags were saying.
“I’d done all the right things – studied past interviews and watched myself on YouTube – but all the research in the world couldn’t replace the real thing. I wasn’t there. I was acting out the idea of Roman Tucker without being Roman Tucker. I was an imposter pretending to be me.”
Despite this, Tucker battled on for almost five more years. But after one last hurrah at Big Day Out in 2009, Rocket Science went their separate ways. It wasn’t until 2014, Rocket Science came out of retirement for a benefit show for Mick Blood of the Lime Spiders.
“Mick Blood had been a great mentor on previous tours, and since he was suffering a brain injury like me, we decided to do the benefit. I felt excited because somewhere in the small recesses of my mind I could remember that addictive sound and presence that only occurs when we play together on stage. From the first chord to the last dying discordant echo reverberating through the Tote on that strange night in 2014, we unanimously decided to continue.” Tucker says.
With a few more sporadic appearances over the next few years, Rocket Science appeared to tentatively be back. So what now? New sounds and new directions? New recordings?
“I’ve noticed that for Rocket Science to be in the same room we have to have something substantial to do. It’s rare to see us together for the sake of just being there. We’re currently recording with Paul Maybury straight onto tape for a fifth album, and it’s going to have all the tropes you would expect from a serious Rocket Science recording,” Tucker says.
As for the direction of this new album; “I’m coming to the recording session with provocations and letting the band do the rest. It’s organic, live and present.”
Rocket Science were always a band that found strength in improvisation, even on recordings. Tracks like Tomorrow’s Soundtrack for Today’s Swinging Generation and In My Head had the distinct feel of a band thinking in sync. It’s something Tucker has pondered for years.
“It’s interesting to me how the four of us communicate musically. A chord is struck, and a conversation begins to take place. A strong narrative is at play where each person has something to say,” Tucker says. “We agree on things, but sometimes we can erupt into absolute chaos. Rocket Science works because the tension between us works. I’ve spent ten years trying to work out why. Initially, I thought it was the strong influences and musical taste that brings us together. I now think it’s just conversation.”
This March, Rocket Science are set to play Ding Dong Lounge again. You’d be forgiven for thinking Tucker might have some reservations about it since last time they were booked he ended up in a coma.
“We had played at Ding Dong the previous night and were due to play a second when I nearly met my maker. Well in some ways I did, I did die that night but miraculously came back to life. Or maybe I’m still faking it. For me, this is the show we never played. I don’t have any reservations because I haven’t played the show yet.”
By Michael Cusack
