Tell us about yourself and your music
My brother had terminal brain cancer (thus ChemoBlaze) and wanted to get back into drumming. He did and got a few guys together and dragged me into it as well. We started covering some of our favorite songs and to our surprise, it wasn’t too bad. We decided to try writing our own songs and we slowly progressed to having enough for a small album. My brother used some connections he had made and got us some studio time and before we knew it we had an album. It was a whirlwind, something we had always dreamed about as kids and the next thing we know there it was on iTunes and Spotify. Guys I had not seen in 20 years since high school in the bass player and one guitarist, his son with us on another guitar, my brother, and his best friend. I remember standing with him after we had created this and thinking how incredible it was accomplishing something I had only dreamed of with him and the boys. We were halfway done with the second album when he passed away. He asked that I take the drumming and singing on. It took a while but we will be releasing a second album soon. It’s hard without him, but he wanted it to go on so away we go.
Talk to us more about your latest release
I tried to write songs that matched the music. I think Matt, Ryan, and Dave are amazing so I just wanted to write words to match the guy’s talents. And Lee was better at drumming than I ever remember. I was so proud of him. He made it possible so it’s great to hear him drumming and I have something from him I’ll never lose. The first album.
What inspired you to write this release?
My brother Lee. He was so passionate about it. We would have conversations of when we were kids air jamming to KISS albums and now we were really making music. I am very thankful we got this in before. He was the one that pulled everyone together and made a lot of things happen. It’s very special to me and the guys.
Any plans to release a video?
We would love to at some point. It takes a lot though for a good one. I’m sure we will at some point. We have some live ones now and a few early ones from when we started out. But nothing current of professionally done.
Any plans to hit the road?
We are almost finished writing the second album. Then we will start playing out again. We should see some gigs in the springtime!
As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?
We try to let the music speak for itself. We came up with the band name because of my brother of course, but we thought it was unique like the music. We try to post stuff on social media when we can through Facebook and Instagram and all that. Just to show we are just down home guys having fun trying to make music people can listen to. It’s not easy though.
Who have you been listening to lately?
Rush, The Police, Genesis, Incubus, The Besnard Lakes, Swervedriver, Erick Sermon, Weezer, Mob Deep, Interpol, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Dealership, The Slip, Jon McLaughlin, Brandi Carlile, Minus the Bear, Metric, Justin Timberlake, Strawberry Girls, Stone Temple Pilots, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, James Taylor, Metallica, Traindodge.
Tell us about your passions
Work. I have a job where I get to travel overseas and work with a bunch of different cultures and people.
What else is happening next in your world?
Just another album and one after that and another…haha, we just want to keep them coming and see how far we can go with what my brother started. Make him proud of carrying on what he started.
Thanks for an awesome interview, Craig!
Connect with Chemoblaze
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ChemoBlaze
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChemoBlaze
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ftkSewZo5S6y_GdYEPxUA
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/craig-johnson-77
