River City Rockets Band History

Band members changed somewhat over the 15 year history of the band...
one because of an unexpected death, other because of fate and differing views that weren't meant to last. Anyone whose been on the road for this many years knows that..
The first line up consisted of Ed Wright/Guitar, Dan Davis/Bass, Robert Stanley/Drums, David Lee/Guitar
Ed went off to become a wealthy stock broker, Dan ran off to Chicago never to be heard from again..
The longest line up consisted of Charlie Atkinson/Guitar, Linda Taylor/Bass, and Robert & David later on, Deb Rex (Sky)/Keyboards/Flute/Vocals, and Chris Brittain on Bass. Bobbie passed away unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm on June 9, 2005.. we cancelled gigs booked 6 months out, every single club we played understood, and prayed with us, and welcomed us back when the band played on...
The band took on a variety of players after Bobbie's passing, including:
Dennis McCauley/Drums, SoundTechs: Kawboy & Mike Maly
Fast forward to 2009 and the line up has evolved to include new players, Jake Ross/Guitar, Ron Langoford/Drums, and Michael Smith/Bass/Keys & of course - the original Rocket Man - the Rev David Lee
2010 and now 2011 has brought us into a swirl of some great unknown talented songwriters and we're moving into uncharted territory and loving every minute of it.. and the band plays on into 2015!

The lovely Deb Rex (Sky) was truly a tour de force that literally kept the Rockets on the road no matter what the line up was at the time. Sky started out as a dear friend and stepped up big time when she took over booking the band. We never saw anyone who could book a band as often as we wanted to play, and she drove all over the state of Iowa talking to everyone in every small town along the way. It was because of her that the Rockets played so many cities and counties across Iowa and built our following to what it is to this day. Every club owner realized they were sorely out-gunned and quickly connected with and related to the small town girl with the heart bigger than anyones..

Sky bought the band a Bus (On Ebay), rented a car to drive to Wisconsin, and drove the Band Bus back to Des Moines (Pictured Below) and there began a journey that none of us ever imagined. Any band on the road this long has a thousand stories that went along with every gig - but sometimes the trip to get to the gig became the event - breaking down here and there no matter how much money Sky poured into that thing - it had a mind of it's own which led to some wild hair-raising adventures just to get the gear to the stage :o)

More than once - the Rockets Band got towed to the gig and then towed back to the SkyDance Ranch the next morning.. none of us will ever forget getting home at 5 or 6 in the morning from an out of town adventure that led us to be on a first name basis with tow truck drivers throughout the state.. lol. But one thing stands out most of all - people in small towns will do anything to help out no matter what time of day or night it was - when we say the Rockets Love Our Fans - we truly mean it. Many a cold midwestern night we owed our lives to generous small town folks with hearts of gold. We thank you for getting us home safely and for taking such good care of the band!

Sky ended up joining the Rockets Band as our Keyboardist, Flutist & Vocalist, booked the gigs, drove the bus and gave her all to the band. We love her for all she has done for each of us.. she is currently on tour with her band "16 Staples " but we remain forever connected at the hip and Sky remains a Rocket woman and one of our special angels watching over us..