MUSIC

MERCH

PICTURES

INTERVIEWS

WEB

VIDEOS

ARTICLE

Uploaded to Discogs in 2026 by an anonymous user. This demo is not digitized, and was limited to 60 copies upon release.[1] When asked about this demo, Kyle Johnson has claimed to have no recollection of it being put out. He said these are most likely the same recordings that are on the Split EP with Fall Out Boy.[2]

Download Unavailable
01. Formula For Love
02. You Charlatan
03. Someday

Trivia

  • Only one copy has resurfaced online, uploaded by a Discogs user that also uploaded one of Arma Angelus’s first releases.[1]

Uprising Records – Produced by Jared Logan[3]

Project Rocket recorded these three songs with Jared Logan, which were later used for a split EP between Fall Out Boy and Project Rocket. Both bands were signed to Uprising Records, which put out the split EP.[3]

Download
01. Formula For Love
02. You Charlatan
03. Someday

Trivia

  • The original CD pressing is the only one to display the “Split EP” title on the front cover.[3]
  • There are multiple pressings of this CD with slight variants including errors. The UK pressing uses a deeper green for the CD and mistakenly puts the white background layer higher than the green layer.[7]
  • On all known pressings, the CD itself mistakenly titles Fall Out Boy’s “Growing Up” as “Growing”.[3]
  • On the original pressing, tracks 1-3 are listed as 4-6 on the CD liner and vice versa.[6]

Uprising Records – Produced by Jared Logan[4]

New Years Revolution is the only full length album recorded by Project Rocket, released in 2003. It featured the band’s first line up change, with Noah Nickel playing bass.[4]

Download
01. Draw Me Closer
02. True Til’ College
03. The Pen and Paper Cliche
04. Peoples History Of Us
05. You Charlatan
06. Send In The Replicas
07. With Stars In Her Eyes
08. Slow Motion Suicide
09. Andy’s Song
10. Drink Yourself To Sleep
11. A New Year’s Revolution

Trivia

  • Andy Hurley sings lead vocals on Andy’s Song. This is the only time Andy has been recorded singing lead vocals on a song.[4]
  • TJ is credited as “The Project Rocket”, as the label and label head Sean Muttaqi persuaded him to pursue Project Rocket as a solo project as the band was dissolving.[5]
  • The insert thanks Karl Hlavinka of Killtheslavemaster for his hockey facts.[4]

Sources

  1. Project Rocket – Demo – CDr(), 2001 [r37424175]. (2026). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/37424175-Project-Rocket-Demo
  2. Johnson, K. Personal Communication, August 2026.
  3. Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy – Split EP – CD (EP), 2002. (2026). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/master/544964-Project-Rocket-Fall-Out-Boy-Split-EP
  4. New Years Revolution. (2002). Split EP. [Album]. Uprising Records.
  5. Minich, TJ. Personal Communication, November 2025.
  6. Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy – Split EP – CD (EP), 2002 [r1575533]. (2026). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/1575533-Project-Rocket-Fall-Out-Boy-Split-EP
  7. Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy – Split EP – CD (EP), 2002 [r29057044]. (2026). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/29057044-Fall-Out-Boy-Project-Rocket-Split-EP

2026

No official merch is documented for the band. FOBAT member Lizzie created a fan-made shirt in 2026.

Sources

  1. FOBAT Member, Personal Communication, 2026.

📷 Unknown – 🏢 ?? – ??/??/???? – Source

📷 ?? – 🏢 TJ’s Basement – 2001 – Donated by TJ Minich

📷 Matthew Mixon, TJ’s then-girlfriend – 🏢 ??? – ??/??/???? – Kyle Johnson, Fuck City

📷 Adam Berman – 🏢 The Daily Grind @ Western Illinois University, 11/30/2001 – Source

📷 Project Rocket One Sheet – Uprising Records
* NOTE: TJ’s last name is misspelled, and he is the bass player of Spitalfield. Consult the article for correct information.

No archive material is available currently. If you have any information or leads, please submit here or contact us below.

Page title/desc.URL
Project Rocket on MP3.comhttp://mp3-2003.computer-legacy.com/artists/335/project_rocket.html
Project Rocket on Uprising Recordshttps://web.archive.org/web/20030421021024/http://www.uprisingcommunicationsgroup.com/uprisingrecords/bands
Find even more in our bookmarks!

No archive material is available currently. If you have any information or leads, please submit here or contact us below.

Project Rocket was a pop-punk band from Milwaukee formed in the spring of 2001.1 They were signed to Uprising Records until their slow dissolution throughout 2002 and into 2003.2–4

Project Rocket has a close history with Fall Out Boy, sharing members and friends with the band. Project Rocket’s first show was Fall Out Boy’s second show, and both bands put out an EP together on Uprising. When the split debuted, the members of Project Rocket arguably had more experience in the studio, mainly from prior metalcore outfits, compared to Fall Out Boy, 1/2 of which were still attending high school. Project Rocket provides a look into the talented competition that theoretically could have lived the success Fall Out Boy ended up achieving.1,5

Project Rocket
Band NameProject Rocket
City of OriginMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Years Active2001-2001
Current MembersN/A
Past MembersTJ Minich
Kyle Johnson
Andy Hurley
Seth Ingebrigtson
Drew Brown
Tom Owen
JD Romero
Genre(s)Pop Punk
Emo
Label(s)Uprising Records
Associated
Acts		Fall Out Boy
7 Angels 7 Plagues
Misery Signals
Spitalfield
Knockout
Killtheslavemaster
The Killing Tree
Arma Angelus
The Kill Pill
End This Day
Since By Man
Blue Smock Nancy
Invoke The Flood
WebsiteN/A

Formation

This band was formed by TJ Minich, who provided vocals, Andy Hurley on drums, and Seth Ingebrigtson on bass– who were members of the Milwaukee hardcore act Killtheslavemaster –and good friend Kyle Johnson, who played in the Milwaukee-based band 7 Angels 7 Plagues.6–8 Similar to the formation of Fall Out Boy, the members of Project Rocket formed out of a desire to venture outside of hardcore music and into the realm of emo and indie music. Unlike Fall Out Boy, however, they held little animosity against the hardcore scene as motivation, and simply wanted a musical change.6,9,10

The band was signed to Uprising Records, though it is unclear when, despite being signed by the time their first EP was released. The band’s first show was on November 30th, 2001, and the first promotion for their first release is dated January 15th, 2002.11,12 Andy Hurley had previously played with Sean Muttaqi’s band, Vegan Reich, which is likely how the band got connected with Uprising.13

Active Years: 2001-2002

Self-titled demo, Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy Split EP

In 2001, Project Rocket released a three-song demo. It featured “The Formula For Love”, “You Charlatan”, and “Someday”. Only 60 copies of this CDr were made, and the three tracks were later featured on a split EP with Fall Out Boy on Uprising Records.5,14,15 Hurley later became the drummer of Fall Out Boy as Project Rocket fizzled out.10,13 Project Rocket’s first show was on November 30th, 2001, which was also Fall Out Boy’s second show. Project Rocket managed to get on the bill through their connections with The Killing Tree, who also played that night.2,12 This EP contained the original lineup of members for Project Rocket.

New Year’s Revolution LP

Project Rocket has one full-length album titled New Year’s Revolution, which came out on January 28th, 2003, after the band had technically broken up. However, the copyright on the insert says 2002. It is currently unknown if there were copies of this album available or files of the tracks shared before the album was released by Uprising in 2003.2

This album, the demo, and the split EP were produced by 7 Angels 7 Plagues drummer Jared Logan, who also produced Fall Out Boy’s first album, Evening Out With Your Girlfriend. The lineup on this recording changed slightly, replacing Seth Ingebrigtson with Endthisday bassist Noah Nickel. It is unclear why Seth left the band, but Nickel recalls his joining as Johnson calling him during a band practice and asking if he wanted to join Project Rocket.3 All known promotional photography of Project Rocket features this lineup. Hurley, Nickel, and Johnson are each credited for their instruments, as well as handclaps. Additionally, Hurley is credited for “comics”, likely because he is a huge fan of comics. Minich is credited as “The Project Rocket”.2 This is because the band had broken up at this point, and Uprising owner Sean suggested Minich pursue Project Rocket as a successful solo project. New Year’s Revolution being Project Rocket’s final release, though, means this was never realized.6

Project Rocket in TJ’s van

During the summer of 2002, Project Rocket was slated to go on tour.16 This however, never happened, and only highlighted the members priorities in their other bands at the time.3


Breakup/Slow Motion Suicide

At some point in 2002, the band unofficially broke up. At the time, Hurley was in other bands, one of which being Fall Out Boy. Nickel had also joined the band Endthisday, who were actively touring. This lineup of Project Rocket did not have a proper breakup, but instead ended gradually, without the band having any official discussion about breaking up.3 Though the band released music, they played very few live shows. Many of the members recall this band being a casual side project alongside the bands they were already in.3,6,9

With Hurley and Nickel leaving, Minich and Johnson were the only members of the band left. This kicked off a 6-month period where the band recruited new members, and interchangeably went by the name Slow Motion Suicide.6,17 This information is known because of a messageboard post where Drew Brown, then recently a drummer for Project Rocket, mentions the lineup of this band.17 Joining Brown would be Tom Owen on bass, and J.D. Romero, though it is unclear what he played. Minich, Drew, and J.D. also recall William Beckett of The Academy Is… attending band practices.4,17,18 Minich and Johnson retained their previous roles in the band. During this 6-month period, the band never played live shows, only having casual practices.4  It is unclear when this 6-month period occurred, but it is likely that Project Rocket completely ended as a band in 2003 when their last and only album was released.2

Musical Style

Project Rocket is best described as emo pop-rock, taking influences from bands such as Weezer, The Get Up Kids, and Dashboard Confessional.19 TJ Minich provides an incredibly unique and striking vocal performance, which could be considered the defining feature of the band. The band’s Split EP takes a softer, stripped down approach to the instrumental, with more emphasis on acoustic guitar. This contrasts with New Year’s Revolution, which provides tighter production and generally heavier instrumentalism. Both releases have both slow and energetic songs.

Touring:

View setlists on Setlist.fm

Discography

Demo (2001)

  1. Formula For Love
  2. You Charlatan
  3. Someday

Split EP With Fall Out Boy (2002)

  1. Formula For Love
  2. You Charlatan
  3. Someday

New Years Revolution (2003)

  1. Draw Me Closer
  2. True Til College
  3. The Pen And Paper Cliché
  4. Peoples History Of Us
  5. You Charlatan
  6. Send In The Replicas
  7. With Stars In Her Eyes
  8. Slow Motion Suicide
  9. Andy’s Song
  10. Drink Yourself To Sleep
  11. A New Year’s Revolution

Trivia

  • “True Til’ College” is a reference to “Straight Edge” by Minor Threat.6
  • William Beckett of the Academy Is… spent some time jamming with Project Rocket.4
  • Project Rocket often traveled to the Chicago suburbs to practice in Minich’s basement, though New Year’s Revolution thanks Since By Man for their practice space.2,3,6
  • Noah Nickel and Jared Logan went to bible study together.3,9

References

  1. Heinz R. Edge. December 12, 2001. Accessed May 3, 2026. https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/wiu_courier/id/12994/rec/1 
  2. Project Rocket – New Years Revolution. 2003. Accessed May 3, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/release/8705838-Project-Rocket-New-Years-Revolution 
  3. Nickel N. Personal Communication. February 9, 2026. 
  4. Brown D., Minich T. Personal Communication. April 19, 2026. 
  5. Project Rocket / Fall Out Boy – Split EP. 2002. Accessed May 3, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/master/544964-Project-Rocket-Fall-Out-Boy-Split-EP 
  6. Minich T. Personal Communication. November 2025. 
  7. Kill The Slavemaster. Discogs. Accessed August 19, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/artist/9064327-Kill-The-Slavemaster 
  8. 7 Angels 7 Plagues. Discogs. Accessed August 19, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/artist/2055585-7-Angels-7-Plagues 
  9. Johnson K. Personal Communication. November 2025. 
  10. Minich T. Personal Communication. April 2026. 
  11. Uprising. December 15, 2006. Accessed May 3, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20061215112601/http://www.uprisingrecords.com/new_site/html/artist.php?bandid=17 
  12. Heinz R. Unexpected course of events at the Daily Grind. The Edge. https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/wiu_courier/id/12994/rec/1 
  13. DISCOG. HURLEYXVX. Accessed August 19, 2026. https://www.hurleyxvx.com/discog 
  14. Project Rocket – Demo. 2001. Accessed August 12, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/release/37424175-Project-Rocket-Demo 
  15. Johnson K. Personal Communication. August 2026. 
  16. The Scoop on Project Rocket. May 4, 2002. Accessed August 19, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20020504155345/http://www.uprisingcommunicationsgroup.com/wwwboard/messages/275.html 
  17. Brown D. Let’s Reminice. Light Blue Extra. December 2, 2003. Accessed May 3, 2026. https://www.lightblueextra.com/forum/classic-lbe/general-discussion/382-let-s-reminice 
  18. Romero J. Personal Communication. September 2026. 
  19. MP3.com: Project Rocket Artist Info. Accessed August 12, 2026. http://mp3-2003.computer-legacy.com/info/335/project_rocket.html