The greased hair, sideburns, and bowling shirts (not to mention the inclusion of a horn player) should naturally peg San Diego's Rocket From the Crypt as a typical retro garage act. Although the band's sound is muscular in a straightforward rock-&-roll way and they are more than capable of a pop hook, the band also owes a debt to classic hardcore and post-hardcore punk bands. After a few indie releases, the band made the jump to the majors in the early 1990s, refining their sound and elevating their stage act to rock-&-roll spectacle. RFTC called it quits in the mid 2000s. Frontman John Reis also led seminal post-hardcore outfit Drive Like Jehu and the short-lived early-'00s act Hot Snakes.