Rocket From the Crypt have had a significant impact on alternative music, being cited as an influence by such bands as Jimmy Eat World, the Get Up Kids, and Unbroken.
[5] Envisioned as a punk-inspired rock and roll band, Rocket from the Crypt's original lineup consisted of Reis, guitarist Andy Stamets, bassist Pete Reichert, drummer Sean, and backing vocalist Elaina.
This lineup lasted roughly six months and recorded the band's debut album Paint as a Fragrance, released in 1991 on local label Cargo Music.
When Sean and Elaina moved away from San Diego, drummer Adam Willard joined the band under the stage name "Atom.
[6] They developed a reputation for their creative and energetic live shows, taking unusual measures to encourage audience participation such as handing out homemade lyric booklets and noisemakers.
Even with market saturation high, however, the band members decided to take a six-month break in 1994 while Reis recorded a second and final album with Drive Like Jehu.
[5] Regrouping after their hiatus, the band experienced a flurry of creative energy that resulted in several more vinyl singles and a trilogy of records in 1995, beginning with the EP The State of Art is on Fire and continuing with the critically acclaimed Hot Charity.
[5] They embarked on a six-week "free tour" in support of Hot Charity, with Interscope covering the costs so that fans were not charged admission to any of the band's performances across the United States.
[5] The band took advantage of their large recording budget, bringing in string sections and hiring producers to make the album sound as epic as possible, and it would later be regarded by most as their creative peak.
[9] They were also an alternative rock hit in the US, where their videos were featured on MTV and the band received many positive reviews in both mainstream and underground music presses.
The band also gained a reputation for a series of interesting and, at times, seemingly ludicrous gimmicks and stage antics which included holding raffles during live performances, spinning a large game show wheel to determine set lists, onstage fire breathing, annual Halloween and New Year's shows, and the wearing of coordinated and progressively more ornate stage costumes.
The band tried to maintain their creativity with the release of the EP Cut Carefully and Play Loud that year, but disagreements between members over the band's direction resulted in drummer Atom Willard departing the group in early 2000 (he would go on to act as Weezer's drum technician and play in The Special Goodness, later becoming permanent drummer in both The Offspring and Angels & Airwaves).
In 2000, the band signed to independent label Vagrant Records and began work on the album Group Sounds, with Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster filling in on drums.
In 2002 Rocket released what would prove to be their final studio album, Live From Camp X-Ray, after which Reis devoted more energy to recording and touring with Hot Snakes and Sultans and to signing and producing bands for his Swami label.
In August 2005, after breaking up Hot Snakes, Reis announced that Rocket from the Crypt would play their final show that Halloween in San Diego.
After a final east coast performance in New York, they played a farewell show before a capacity crowd at the Westin Horton Plaza Hotel in downtown San Diego on Halloween, which was filmed for a DVD release.