City Slang: The Rockets return, but no Jim McCarty

By Brett Callwood on Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 9:31 am

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’70s hard rockers The Rockets will return for a show at the Fillmore on December 28, but original guitarist Jim McCarty won’t be joining them.

Citizen Zero and Horse Cave Trio also play. The ranks of the new Rockets includes original Rockets drummer Johnny “Bee” Badanjek, along with lead singer Jim Edwards, keyboardist Danny Taylor, and new members Joey Gaydos (lead guitar), Phil “Greasy” Carlisi (guitar) and Mike Marshall (bass).

In addition, the Rockets will be releasing a new four-track EP, Greetings from Detroit. General admission is $20 and doors are at 7pm. All ages are welcome.

It’s an interesting development; the Rockets reunion initially occurred just a few years ago when McCarty, Badanjek and Edwards had been performing together as the Hell Drivers, and they decided to switch names to boost interest. They went away for a while, McCarty working with Cactus and Badanjek with the Howling Diablos.

So is this band, left with just Johnny Bee, a legitimate version of the Rockets? What do you think?

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