Moon Rocket is an independent, original music rock and roll power trio based in the St. Louis metro area.  Their music is influenced by '60s garage rock, '60s / ‘70s classic rock, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).  Members are Gary D (bass and guitar), Chris Mondy (vocals and guitar), and Todd Terral (drums and vocals).  All three bandsmen contribute to Moon Rocket's songwriting, lyrics, and song arrangements. 

Moon Rocket was founded in December 2012 in Belleville, IL by bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Ivan Thuringer (formerly of The Defectors and The Rat Rod Kings) as Reverend Rob and the Devil's Hand.  Todd joined on drums and Rob Farnsworth joined on vocals and guitar. Jay Landis (also of OATM) later joined on guitar to provide girth to the band's evolving contemporary hard rock sound.

In mid-2013, after gigs at Cicero's, Ye Old Haunt, and The Firebird, Rob departed.  Reverend Rob and the Devil's Hand then took up residence in O'Fallon, IL, and the band changed its name to Moon Rocket.  Jay assumed vocals and songwriting / song arrangement duties alongside Ivan.  Moon Rocket's music took a complex, groove-oriented turn at this time.

Soon after re-branding, Gary D (formerly of Butterfly Distortion) joined on guitar and Chris Mondy (formerly of Sage) joined on guitar.

The band performed as a quintet throughout 2013 and 2014 at The Way Out Club, The Heavy Anchor, Just Bill's, The Club, The Haunt, and 300 State. They also self-recorded their first demos at this time. 

In mid-2014, the band went on hiatus while Todd was in Afghanistan.  In late 2014, Todd returned and Moon Rocket reassembled, this time as a power trio with Chris on vocals and guitar, Ivan on vocals and bass, and Todd on drums.  The band took up residence at Utopia Studios in St. Louis and honed an energetic, hard, and stripped-down sound.

Shows at The Haunt and The Heavy Anchor continued.

In mid 2015, Ivan departed the band.  Soon after, Mike Haueisen joined Moon Rocket and took bass and vocal duties (alongside Chris).  Shows (including some acoustic ones) followed at The Haunt, The Sinkhole, Red Fish Blue Fish, and The Heavy Anchor.  Moon Rocket's energy and approach remained the same, however.  It was during this time that Moon Rocket recorded three self-produced songs for their first album (Saturn I) at Utopia Studios, with Tazu Marshall as the recording and mixing engineer.

In early 2019, Mike departed and Gary D returned to Moon Rocket from a long hiatus, this time on bass.

Moon Rocket then established their present residency at Steel Curtain Studios in Alton, IL.  They continued playing shows at The Way Out Club, The Haunt, The Heavy Anchor, and The Bottle & Barrel. 

In 2019, between shows, the band self-produced and self-recorded six more songs to complete their first album (Saturn I).

Moon Rocket released Saturn I in February 2020.

With the onset of the COVID pandemic, music venues closed.  There was no opportunity to perform live, but Chris, Gary, and Todd were full of creative energy and ideas.  The rocketeers returned to the studio to write, arrange, record, and master their second album, American Devolution, with all band members producing and with Gary as the recording / mixing engineer.

American Devolution was released is 2022.