Rocket Cat: Ready for Take-off

Rocket Cat launched in Milwaukee in early 2016, when four veteran musicians embarked on a mission to create music rooted in the high-energy interplay of vocal and instrumental melodies that you’ll carry with you long after the first listen.

Guitarist Christopher Guse (Parallel), bassist Dave Maurer (Parallel, Signal Daddy), drummer Steve Vorass (I’m not a Pilot, Bright Black, Mouse Corn) and vocalist/lyricist Justine Trudeaux (Smack Leveaux) skillfully blend their backgrounds in alternative, progressive and hard rock as well as power pop. Each track reveals a refreshingly pure camaraderie and the overall sound bares unabashed, joyful influences from the artists of their formative years, including Pearl Jam, Rush, U2, Duran Duran, Muse, Simple Minds, Lemon Heads, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Incubus and Foo Fighters.

The combination yields a supercharged sound that’s at once fresh and familiar, forward-focused and reflective, unpredictable yet accessible, and always lushly melodic. The potent infusion of Trudeaux’s lyrics - sparking connection, then slipping just out of reach - make the entire concoction all the more addictive.

After a long hiatus from songwriting, Trudeaux crossed back into a forgotten world of creativity when an unexpected series of personal connections led her to Guse, Maurer and Vorass. This experience of reconnecting inspired the storyline of the band’s debut EP, Radiant Transmission, which chronicles her year-long journey of reflection, risk-taking and reawakening through Rocket Cat.

“I’ve lived in a number cities across the country and in Europe so I’m amazed I found these guys here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after years away from the music industry,” Trudeaux says. “It’s mind-blowing that we get along so well. I connect so viscerally to the sound they are creating, and each time they send me bits of music to tinker with, I instantly hear songs in my head.”

The Universe has spoken and the message is clear: Time passes, responsibilities grow, but what’s been locked away remains burning brightly within. The world is full of signals and positive transmissions; be willing and seek them out. From that, radiance flows.

“We are future versions of our long-lost selves; 
we’re reconnecting and we’re charged”