A Rocket to the Moon (commonly abbreviated to ARTTM) is an American rock band formed in 2006. The band originally consisted of just one member, Braintree, Massachusetts native Nick Santino. Eventually Eric Halvorsen (bass guitar), Justin Richards (guitar), and Andrew Cook (drums) joined.
History
Nick Santino started A Rocket to the Moon in the summer of 2006 as a musical experiment, until positive feedback led him to continue with the project. He has formerly fronted the local bands The Bad Year and The Midway Class.[1]
Santino assembled a band of musicians in early 2008 with the help of The Maine prior to A Rocket to the Moon's first major festival appearance, at The Bamboozle.[2] A Rocket to the Moon had a short stint supporting The Morning Light at the end of the spring of 2008.[3] They then appeared on the July 10, 2008 episode of Total Request Live performing the song "Dakota".[4] On July 16, 2008, at the The Maine's CD Release show at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, California, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz announced that he had signed the band to his Decaydance label.[5][6] An official announcement of the signing to Fueled by Ramen was made in August 2008.[7] Separate tours supporting both The Cab[8] and A Cursive Memory[9] followed in the fall of 2008. They also toured with Cute Is What We Aim For, Secondhand Serenade, and Automatic Loveletter.[10] On October 14, 2008 the band released their EP Greetings From..., featuring the singles "Dakota" and "If Only They Knew". The record reached #21 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[11] A Rocket to the Moon is no longer on Decaydance Records, but remains signed to Fueled by Ramen. A Rocket to the Moon is represented by Tim Kirch at 8123 Management.
On May 14, the band added touring guitarist Justin Richards and bassist Eric Halvorsen as full time members. They have also released a music video for If Only They Knew.
The band spent then first part of February and March 2009 in the studio with Matt Squire recording their debut full-length album.[12] They were the opening band on Alternative Press magazine's AP Tour 2009, with The Maine, Hit The Lights, Family Force 5, and 3OH!3 sponsored by Rockstar.[13] They played the May 3rd lineup of the 2009 Bamboozle festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey[14] and played select dates on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour [15] before going out with The Cab, Eye Alaska, The Summer Set, & My Favorite Highway on the "What Happens in Vegas... Tour". While on the Vans Warped Tour, the band did many signings with the non-profit organization Music Saves Lives, where they met with fans who gained special access to the band by donating blood.
They are scheduled to play on the fall "Love Drunk Tour" with Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, The Maine, and VersaEmerge.
In a interview dated August 2, the band revealed their full length album will be titled On Your Side, will include twelve tracks, and it will be out in October. Andrew Cook, formerly of prog-rock band The Receiving End of Sirens, will be made a full-time member upon release of the band's new album.[16]
The band has released their first single, "Mr. Right" from album On Your Side. They also posted a song titled "Annabelle" on their MySpace.
As of October 8th, the album in its entirety is on Shockhound.com.
