Tommy And The Rockets - You Don't Know What You've Got

  Hailing from Odense (Denmark), Tommy And The Rockets (https://www.facebook.com/tommyandtherockets/) are no strangers to this blog. Neither are Moss (Norway) power pop punkers The Dahlmanns (https://www.facebook.com/thedahlmanns/). Both are very catchy good time bands and both have teamed up to release the Scandinavian Affair 7". It's a perfect soundtrack to the approaching summer with both bands knocking it out of the park. Released on Ghost Highway Recordings and Beluga Records, you can get it here :   https://tommyandtherockets.bandcamp.com/album/scandinavian-affair

  The Dahlmanns contribute a classy cover of Party Girl, a track from Rachel Sweet's 1981 album, ...And Then He Kissed Me. Smooth as satin and sure to have you singing along, definitely a track to check out.

  The flip side sees Tommy And The Rockets tackling a track written by Joan Jett, Kenny Laguna and Ritchie Cordell which originally appeared on Joan's first album from 1980. A gentle rocker about lost love that's more infectious than this goddamn virus that's keeping us all indoors, it's another winner. It's titled You Don't Know What You've Got...

I was caught so unaware
When you made other plans
Promises you swore to keep
Where more than you could stand

You don't know what you've got
You don't know what you've got
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

I can't stand to hear your name
'Cause you were so unkind
And though you think you made out well
Someday you will find

You don't know what you've got
You don't know what you've got
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

Shame on you, I gave you love
I gave you love so true
But you ran away
So you just don't know what you blew
Oooh, oooh

You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
(I thought I knew you)
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

I was weak when you were there
And I felt so protected
But I'll make sure that you regret
The one that you rejected

You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
(You really blew it)
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
(I thought I knew you)
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

You don't know what you've got
(Oh baby)
You don't know what you've got
(I thought I knew you)
You don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

Tommy And The Rockets - We're Going Surfin'

  Summer's over (or at least it is in Chorley). The nights are drawing in, there's a chill in the air and next week the clocks go back. Not to worry though, today Tommy And The Rockets will be brightening up the day with a track from their brand new split ep, Split The Waves.

  From Odense, Denmark, they've collaborated with Spanish band Bikini Wipeouts (https://www.facebook.com/losbikiniwipeouts/) to bring us 4 sundrenched surftastic power pop tunes. Both bands contribute an original song and a cover (Tommy And The Rockets cover Summer Means Fun by The Fantastic Baggies whilst Bikini Wipeouts turn their hands to Brian Wilson's Hawaii). It's on Roctopus T.P. Records on ltd edition vinyl and you can check it out here :  https://roctopusrecords.bandcamp.com/ or here :  https://tommyandtherockets.bandcamp.com/album/split-the-waves

    Forget the cold and the rain, slap on some Factor 50 and go hit the ocean. This is We're Going Surfin'...

It's a clear blue sky
Not a cloud in sight
A sun you can't deny
Everything's alright

We've got the top pulled down
and we cruise around
yeah we're feeling great
the coolest cats in town

We're going surfin’ baby
gonna catch the perfect wave
We're going surfin’ baby
gonna rip around the bay

When the night draws in
we'll party on the beach
in the blistering heat
nothing is out of reach

And as the sun comes up
we're waxing boards again
go hit the ocean surf
we may even hang ten 

Top 10 Songs Chosen By Thomas Stubgaard (Tommy And The Rockets)

  A top 10 today chosen by Thomas Stubgaard who's the vocalist, guitarist and bassist for Danish power pop legends Tommy And The Rockets. Previously in both The Lingertones and The Hitchcocks, Tommy commented "Man it's hard to pick 10 songs from all the good songs that are out there. I probably forgot about some, this will have to do though. I was at odds over whether to compile a top 10 list of only punk songs, or just pick whatever I felt like. I chose the latter."

https://tommyandtherockets.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tommyandtherockets/

1)  THE RAMONES - SHE'S THE ONE

  It may not be my favorite Ramones song (it's amongst the top 5 though), but it's the best music video I've ever seen. So raw. So much energy. Johnny is such a bad-ass. No-one has ever looked cooler on stage than him. The mean sneer, the low slung Mosrite guitar, the posture, the relentless downstrokes, the perfect "uniform", and last but not least, the perfect haircut :-) There's no denying that The Ramones is my all time favorite band, and that hasn't changed since I started listening to them at age 10. They're the blueprint for everything that's cool.

2)  JOAN JETT - YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT

 Joan Jett is the coolest chick in rock 'n' roll, period. No-one even comes remotely close. I've recorded a cover of this particular song for an upcoming split 7" with The Dahlmanns.

3)  TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET - I FOUND THE ONE

 A somewhat newer band, but they have a lot of the same ingredients The Ramones had in terms of songwriting and performance. Totally stellar albums all of them. Great songwriting, great musicians, great attitude. I've been lucky enough to see them twice when "Total" came out.

 4)  THE DAHLMANNS - FIREBALL

It's crazy to think that both The Dahlmanns and The Yum Yums originate from the same little town in Norway. Both powerpop at it's absolute best.

5)  THE YUM YUMS - SUGAR RUSH

This song has some amazingly great hooks. Morten (leadsinger and main man) is an outstanding songwriter.

6)  AIRBOURNE - RUNNIN' WILD

I have to include Airbourne on this list. They made one of the best debut albums of all time if you ask me. That album is crazy good. Killer production, killer songs, killer band! I've seen them a handful of times live, and they're one of the best live bands on the planet. Joel (frontman) is Angus Young and Bon Scott blended into one.

7)  NICK LOWE - HEART OF THE CITY

Nick Lowe joined by Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams, so in essense this is Rockpile. Don't be surprised if this songs ends up on a future Tommy And The Rockets release :-)

8)  CHUCK BERRY - YOU CAN'T CATCH ME

Chuck was punk before there was punk. 

9)  AC/DC - TOUCH TOO MUCH 

It's a shame they haven't made a truly great album since 1981, but all the stuff they did with Bon Scott and the two first albums with Brian Johnson all rank high in my book.

10)  THE RAVEONETTES - LAST DANCE

By far my favorite band from Denmark. Sune has a knack for writing catchy songs. I love the fact that all their albums are so different, but still sound like The Raveonettes. It's the total opposite of The Ramones. With The Ramones I wish all their albums sounded like Rocket To Russia, but that wouldn't be right with The Raveonettes.

Tommy And The Rockets - I Can't Give You Anything

  Last week's Just Some Punk Songs show was a pop punk special and I was surprised how well it went down with the people listening in the chatroom. It kicked off with The Ramones and carried on with an hour's worth of music by bands that have no doubt been inspired by New York's finest. You can listen to the saved version of the show here : https://www.mixcloud.com/mick-fletcher/just-some-pop-punk-somgs/

  One of the bands that featured (and they definitely fall into the "inspired by The Ramones" bracket) are Tommy And The Rockets. Forming in 2015, they're from Odense, Denmark and combine elements of rock n roll, 60's garage, surf, power pop, punk rock and bubblegum to produce an infectious fun sound. The main man behind it all is Thomas Stubgaard (The Lingertones, The Hitchcocks). Other members have included Michael Chaney (New Trocaderos), Brad Marino (New Trocaderos, The Connection), Geoff Palmer (New Trocaderos, The Connection, Kurt Baker Band, The Guts) and Kris"Fingers" Rogers (most of the previously mentioned bands plus The Dirty Gems).

  You can get more info on them here :  https://www.facebook.com/tommyandtherockets/

  Their latest release is the album, I Wanna Be Covered. Basically it's Thomas providing vocals and playing the instruments. The 9 songs are all covers of Ramones classics and it's available on various coloured vinyl from labels such as Rocket Launch Records, Monster Zero, KOTJ, Rocktopus Tea Party and Woimasointu. You can find it digitally here (along with their previous releases) : https://tommyandtherockets.bandcamp.com/album/i-wanna-be-covered

  I've played both Oh Oh I Love Her So and Listen To My Heart on the show so today I'll highlight a song that was on The Ramones' third studio album, 1977's Rocket To Russia. This is I Can't Give You Anything...