The Rocket 1979 T-Shirt

The Rocket was a free biweekly newspaper based in Seattle and serving the Pacific Northwest from 1979 to 2000. The newspaper's chief purpose was to document local music. This focus distinguished it from other area weeklies such as the Seattle Weekly and the Willamette Week, which reported more on local news and politics. By 1982, the paper’s circulation had grown to 50,000 copies per month and managed to attract nationally known writers and cartoonists as contributors. The staff attempted to cover only obscure alternative bands, but the publisher continued to insist that mainstream material be given equal time. The editorial team agreed to do so, but only if they could trash the mainstream acts a little in the articles.