Blast-Craze – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

Blast-Craze – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Like songs, every artist has a unique feeling about their first show. What was your first show like? Was it your best show? If not, what was your best show like?

BC: Our first show was the Album release of Death Cult Pharmaceutical at Sweet Side Records in Glens Falls.  We really did not know what to expect not only from the venue and scene, but from ourselves..  Although we are are seasoned musicians and have been playing out in different configurations for years, this was a new endeavor and we had new roles in this band.  Our previous band (Totally Gnarly) was a high energy hard partying 5 piece.  We occupied a lot of space both on the stage and sonically. Tony, now Blast-Craze’s lead singer and sole guitar player, has a lot on his shoulders.  Adam was a guitarist and hadn’t been a bass player in a band for almost a decade. We were comfortable playing together and well rehearsed, but launching a new endeavor was daunting. Being a trio there really is no place to hide.  Everyone has to be on point, and someone needs to engage the crowd.  Even if we have to share that responsibility.  Luckily everything went great.  The record store was cool as hell and the crowd was stoked to be there and supper supportive. Was it the best show?  Maybe, but it was definitely the biggest hurdle.

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

BC: The first song we recorded was a cover.  Career Opportunities by the Clash.  It’s a song we love and have been playing forever.  It has been on the covers list from previous bands that we have been in and it’s a song we have been listening to for decades.  It was kind of a no brainier to do it first because we needed something solid to test our studio out with and learn to use our gear.  We also shot a Youtube video when we recorded it, so that was another first for us.  It came out pretty decent for a bunch of dudes learning how to work a camera and a protools session at the same time.

The latest is our first original single “Tony the Pony”.  It is also self recorded and produced.  We shot a music video for it too, but this time after the recording was finished. Definitely more of a “real” music video.  This is our fifth release and video but our first original tune.  Being that we do all the production ourselves we wanted a few covers under our belt to gain some experience before putting out one of our original songs.  “Tony the Pony” is a crossover thrash song something like Municipal Waste.   It’s our most metal song.  We released it as a single because it’s kind of an oddball in our set.  It’s fast, loud, and fun even though it sounds agro.

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

BC: The venue that just blew us away was someplace we played while on a short run in “Totally Gnarly” the last band we where all in.  It was the Warehouse run by Jamie Pickslide of the War Lovers in Syracuse NY.  It was a huge run down industrial space with a big stage and half pipe right behind where the bands set up.  It was hidden from the outside but opened up to reveal a punker paradise when walking through the doors.  One was reminded of the lair of the Foot clan from the original Ninja Turtles movie.  This was also the show that inspired the idea for “Tony the Pony”.

After our show the previous night, we partied with the Mill Bastards in Ithaca NY.  Tony our (Blast-Craze) singer totally blew his voice out singing, smoking, and carrying on till the wee hours of the morning.  The next day during load in he was a spotter for backing in the trailer.  He was waiving his arms and signaling but couldn’t muster more than an airy “woah”.  We played tired, hungover, with blown out voices.  All the vocals were more of a black metal hiss than a hardcore bark or a crooners drip. The show went well all things considered, and it yielded a new nickname.  Tony was dubbed “Tony the Pony” he’s just a little hoarse.

RRX: How does practice go? Is the road practice enough, or do you have a practice shack? If so, how does it look? What’s on the walls? What cool sh*t is in there?

BC: Our practice is dependent on what we have going on, and whats coming up.  If we have a show its mostly playing the set and maybe working on the up and coming songs.  We also record demos, shoot some video for reels, or track songs for up coming releases.  Our practice space (the Blast Pad) is set up to accommodate a variety of tasks.  We built it to suit our needs and basically is a production studio with a live room.  It was a pigeon poop filled warehouse when found it.  After a long building process but has become more pro than we could have hoped for years ago.  It’s covered with horror movie posters, instruments, and action figures so it has the appeal of our younger selfs playing in basements and garages.  If you watch some of our videos on our Youtube channel you can get a good look at the place.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

BC: There are two bands in our punk scene that always come to mind that seem to just have it all going on.  Great players, great songs, great stage presence,  they are active doing new things and their fans care about them.  That is the mighty Girth Control and  local legends Trauma School Dropouts.  We were lucky enough to play shows hosted by each of these bands last summer.  The people came out in droves and each headliner respectively crushed.  We did fine, but in both instances as we watched we could see there was another level to live up too.  We hope to be on more shows like that.  They raise the bar for all of us and both the bands are so so much fun to watch and listen too.  Go see them in you like fun punk rock.  Especially if we are on the bill haha.

RRX: Let’s talk about your next project, your next few. Just not the ones you’re working on now. The ones you have your eyes on for the future. What’s coming to us?

BC: We recorded “Tony the Pony” along with a lot more originals and a few covers.  We took a weekend and tracked drums, guitar, and bass live for a whole bunch of stuff.  We shot some video too. Our next release will be an EP, hopefully a 7” from that session.  We are recording vocals and guitar solos now.  We have some music video plans too when the recording and mixing is done.  This will be our first vinyl release so we are excited to have some cool physical version of our music not just a Bandcamp link.  By the way, go to our Bandcamp in the  meantime.  A few long weekends out on the road in the northeast to push the record would be killer.

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