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‘Celebrating The Rocket,’ a remembrance of the ‘The Rocket’ music magazine [1]
['Anikka Stanley The Daily', 'Anikka Stanley', 'Alex Crick', 'Katie Welch', 'Matteah Davis Contributing Writer', 'Julia Neville Contributing Writer', 'Chloe Koh']
Date: 2025-04
The Pacific Northwest — specifically Seattle — has distinguished itself as having a notable music scene. To most people, the 80’s and 90’s would be described as the “peak,” with alternative rock bands like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, and of course, Nirvana.
But even before these bands became mainstream, there was always one publication reporting on and championing them: “The Rocket.”
What began as a music supplement to the “The Seattle Sun,” an alternative magazine, became a key figure in reporting on the rock and roll music scene in the PNW and chronicled the birth of the “Seattle Sound,” later known as grunge.
“The Rocket” may have ended in 2000, but its legacy has lived on. And now, even those who weren’t around during the magazine's publication can experience it for themselves at the UW Libraries exhibit “Celebrating The Rocket.” The exhibit goes through the history of the magazine, what they covered, and notable former employees.
In 1979, frustrated by the lack of music coverage at “The Seattle Sun,” founders Robert McChesney, Robert Ferrigno, and Bob Newman created the supplement “The Rocket,” to provide more coverage of local artists. Seven months later, “The Rocket” had a large enough readership to go fully independent. McChesney became the main publisher and editor until 1983.
“The Seattle Sun” closed down in 1982, while “The Rocket” grew to an impressive 50,000 monthly readers. The magazine covered everything “alternative” from music to arts and culture. In 1988, both Nirvana and Soundgarden were featured as cover stories; the magazine saw the potential of many bands years before many others ever did. The magazine also expanded in 1991 to have a Portland, Oregon edition of the paper and increased to publishing bi-monthly in 1992.
Throughout its existence, numerous now-famous writers — many of which are also UW alums —- wrote for “The Rocket” early on in their careers.
Charlie Cross was a long-time editor (1986-2000) and owner of “The Rocket” after McChesney. Before his time at “The Rocket,” Cross was the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily, at which he learned more about the “New Journalism” movement, where journalists broke away from the traditional reporting style and took on a more literary approach to their writing. When he transitioned to writing and editing for “The Rocket,” Cross continued to encourage writers to incorporate their own voices in their writing.
After the closure of “The Rocket,” Cross wrote multiple notorious non-fiction books on Seattle's Music and musicians, including “Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain” and “Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix.”
Beyond writers and editors, many now notorious visual artists also worked for the magazine: for example, Matt Groening. Now most famous for creating several popular animated shows including “The Simpsons,” “Futurama,” and “Disenchantment.” In the 1980s, Groening drew a comic strip called “Life in Hell,” which originally ran in the “Los Angeles Reader,” but eventually moved to “The Rocket” three years later. During his time at “The Rocket,” Groening also illustrated many of the magazine's covers.
Unfortunately, despite the love from the public for the magazine, it closed down in 2000. Cross had sold “The Rocket” to Bay Area Music Media (BAM) in 1995. BAM mismanaged their finances and even though the magazine had grown to 90,000 readers, it had to close due to a lack of funding.
Cross passed away in Aug. 2024 — devastating the music journalism industry — but before his passing, he worked alongside Suzzallo Librarians Jessica Albano and John Vallier and Washington State Library digital newspapers coordinator Shawn Schollmeyer to preserve the history of “The Rocket.” In 2023, the group combined their resources to collect and then scan past issues, turning it into a now easily accessible digital collection.
UW Libraries exhibit "Celebrating The Rocket," is on display in Allen Library North Lobby and Suzzallo Library ground floor from Jan. 6 to Feb. 15.
Reach Arts + Culture Editor Anikka Stanley at
[email protected]. X: @anikka_bee
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailyuw.com/archives/celebrating-the-rocket-a-remembrance-of-the-the-rocket-music-magazine/article_4ea793ca-e831-11ef-9587-8f0819343f78.html
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