Tot Rocket


Tot Rocket and the Twins was formed by some Buffalo friends in 1979 in New Haven, Connecticut as the music scene was radically changing, invigorated by punk and the catch-all phrase New Wave. Initial attempts at sort of a conventional Blues-Rock fusion evolved into a something that owed more to The Clash, The Jam, Graham Parker, Paul Butterfield, Elvis Costello, The Undertones and The New York Dolls/Heartbreakers, et al., particularly after the move to New York City. Lyrics were earnest, naïve, occasionally clever and had a left-of-center polemic embedded in a few. Andrew Halbreich’s masterful electric harmonica playing was featured in several songs. Three seven-inch records were released - a single on Whiplash Records (home of the Corpse Grinders) and the latter two, EPs on Trace Elements Records. Live shows were played in New Haven, Hartford, New York City, some truly reprehensible dives in New Jersey and one-offs in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Ron’s Place in New Haven and A7 in the East Village were favorite venues. Drummers occasionally exploded à la Spinal Tap. The band’s releases got some truly excellent press but it never quite cracked the New York hipster scene. Maybe we were too unfashionably earnest…. There was lots of eyeliner and eye shadow, though, and that was a good thing in my book. -Robert Poss


A few tracks also appeared on obscure punk compilations on the Hyped To Death label. Years later in 2005, Rave Up, an Italian label approached us about releasing an LP compilation. It was called “Television Rules.” That pressing is sold out.

Bio from LastFM: "Tot Rocket was formed in 1979 when Ron Spitzer, Andrew Halbreich and Robert Poss, who had played in various blues / rock bands together in high school, ended up moving to East Haven, Connecticut to form a new band. An early musical eclecticism caused by the three's disparate musical tastes (ranging from Chicago blues to glam to country rock) was soon galvanized by the burgeoning New Haven punk scene and by seeing live shows by The Clash, The Undertones, The Jam, Iggy Pop, The Neighborhoods, Johnny Thunders and Graham Parker and the Rumour. Tot Rocket and the Twins was a name coined by Robert Poss; he still doesn't know why, but it sounded right at the time, unfortunately. Their first drummer was Patti Coppola; she was followed by Lou Farace, who played on their first single, "Reduced / Fun Fades Fast," released by the infamous Whiplash Records (home of the Corpsegrinders).
The band lived briefly in Jamaica, Queens and then moved into New York's East Village in 1980. Michael Goglia joined as the new drummer and played on their EVICTION EP, released on Trace Elements Records. John Bulcken, who replaced him in 1981, played on the band's SECURITY RISK EP, also released on Trace Elements. (This was in the days before digital recording, before music videos, before CDs, before the internet and MP3s, when vinyl still ruled the world.) Tot Rocket played at places like CBGB, Max's Kansas City, The Playroom, The Rat, Ron's Place, A7, and a host of other small clubs and underground spaces whose names are lost to history. In 1983, Tot Rocket became Western Eyes, and enlisted electronic music composer Nicolas Collins to do a radical electronic remix of their recorded material. The result was the Western Eyes EP, released on Trace Elements in 1984."