A Rocket to the Moon Blasts into New Year with “On Your Side”

By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Entertainment

This fall, A Rocket to the Moon, a quartet with members hailing from the west and east coast, opened for Boys Like Girls on the OP presents tour. The band recently released their new CD, “On You Side” featuring the single, “Mr. Right.” The band’s set at the Nov. 27 Foxboro, Mass. show consisted of songs off of “On Your Side,” such as the catchy “Annabelle,” and fan favorite, “Dakota.” Even though they were an opener, the crowd showed their support for one of their hometown heroes, Santino, frontman of A Rocket to the Moon.

Santino started the band three years ago as a solo project by posting a few songs to the internet from his bedroom in Braintree, Mass. Eventually A Rocket to the Moon evolved into a full band, adding Eric Halvorsen on bass, Justin Richards on guitar and Andrew Cook on drums. While Santino comes from Massachusetts, the rest of the band represents the west coast. When preparing for the new album, Richards flew to Massachusetts to write with Santino for a few weeks before joining with the rest of the band.

Halvorsen enjoyed the recording process. “Just being able to go in, go to L.A., hang out in the studio all day and work with real producers, it was so surreal,” Halvorsen said. “On You Side” is A Rocket to the Moon’s first full length CD released on Fueled By Ramen Records. Prior to its release, the band had released smaller EPs.

Close friends, The Maine, also joined A Rocket to the Moon on this tour. Richards and Halvorsen explained how prior friendships made this tour more enjoyable. “Time just kind of flies by when you’re out with people that you really enjoy being out with,” Halvorsen said. “It makes you miss home less and makes everything a lot easier.”

“Instead of getting to a venue, loading in and sitting around, we get there to hang out with our friends until the show,” Richards said.

Besides having friends on tour, traveling can also be fun or a hassle. For A Rocket to the Moon, most of the drives on this past tour were overnight to the next city. A Rocket to the Moon saw the advantages and disadvantages to traveling in a van.

“There are perks about being in a van and there are perks about being in a bus,” Halvorsen said. “There are cons to both. The van you get to see everything, if you want to drive somewhere you go. With a bus, it’s kind of impossible.”

It’s all worth it though for A Rocket to the Moon to share their music with fans. Richards wants their music to put listeners in a positive mood. “I don’t want to be that band that people listen to when they’re pissed off that keeps them pissed off,” Richards said. “I like to make people feel better about their day.”

And fans are reacting positively to their new material. Through Twitter, fans are able to give A Rocket to the Moon feedback on “On Your Side.” “Some girl tweeted at me that ever since our record came out, she’s been so much happier,” Halvorsen said. “That’s awesome to make people inspired and happy. It made me feel good.”

A Rocket to the Moon makes sure they have a great relationship with their fans. Besides using Twitter and Myspace to stay connected, Richards and Halvorsen want fans to feel as though they are part of their extended family. “We’re getting to the point where we can really remember fans’ faces and try to remember names so that we can be like personal friends with the people,” Richards said. “We try to do all we can to make them feel like a part of us.”

After this tour, the band will return home. For Richards, Halvorsen and Cook, that’s heading back to California and Arizona. Santino will spend his time at home in Massachusetts. “We miss each other,” Richards said. “But I mean it’s nice to get away for a while when you live with each other every single day.”

A Rocket to the Moon will be home for the holidays before touring again next year. For more information on A Rocket to the Moon and their new CD, check out myspace.com/arockettothemoon.