A brief history of Shock Rockets

It was the summer of 1998 and Sloan had just released their album, Navy Blues. In support of it the band played an excessive amount of shows and made many publicity appearances. Around this time, four friends from Brampton, Ontario were thinking of starting a band of their own. Three of them were guitarists. One of them didn’t even play anything. But that seemed inconsequential at the time. They were inspired by Sloan’s music, appearance, and general goofiness.

That winter, while driving to Oakville for a party and listening to Sloan’s Twice Removed, Wayne Kirley said they must start a band. Shaun Hatton, who was driving and also singing along, agreed. Kirley had been playing guitar for the past 5 years. Hatton didn’t play anything, but had a pretty happenin’ head of hair. He had been thinking about learning to play drums, though, and Kirley’s statement only strengthened that desire. The drums were bought, and before long Kirley and Hatton would spend hours in a small basement jamming out Mellencamp and The Guess Who. In days to come they would be joined by Rob Sinnott, another guitarist with a taste for the Foo Fighters. Sinnott brought a grittier sound to the then-nameless band. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, they would practice. They recorded each session to archive their progress.

Soon thereafter, Kevin Hickey, another guitarist, joined the group. And after that, Sinnott bought a bass guitar. His transition from six string to bass was smooth, and he soon became a better bassist than he was a guitarist. Hickey’s introduction to the band brought a more ‘60s vibe to things. Weeks passed, songs were written, drumsticks and guitar strings were broken. But spirits were high. Naming themselves Sidekick, the group started recording their songs in a more professional manner than the boom box they had been using. Out of these recording sessions came The Heroes in Villains EP. It was a strong start, and it would be a difficult release to try to top.

By summer 1999, the band had written more songs, broken up, gotten back together, and renamed themselves Shock Rockets. Between then and 2001, they refined their sound and became musicians. 2001 saw the release of the bulk of the Shock Rockets catalogue. Kirley, it seemed, was a song writing machine. But his time to move on had come. And with a scholarship from the University of Dublin, Kirley left the band, and Canada. With Kirley gone, the others decided to lay low until his return. Kirley went from Dublin to Massachusetts.

It became clear that he’d be off studying for a long while. So the remaining three Shock Rockets decided to get back together and start playing again as a 3-piece, leaving room for Kirley to return when he is able.

And for the first time in 2 years, things are going smoothly once again. Shock Rockets are back in action and ready to rock it to the moon.