Los Angeles rock band Bad Blood are leading a music revolution with the release of their self-titled debut album and their partnership with new music app Vezt, which allows fans to buy in on songwriting and publishing rights.
Bad Blood is composed of rock veterans from Adelita's Way, Screaming At Demons and The Last Vegas and their first single "Drug That I Need" is already creating a stir.
Their album came out on July 26 and the band played their first show at their record release party in L.A. at the Gibson Show Room.
AXS caught up with Chris Clemence and Chad Cherry after the release and their first live set and they were happy to talk about the positive fan feedback they'd been receiving.
AXS: Thanks for taking some time to talk to us. Obviously, it's been a pretty busy few weeks for you!
Chad Cherry: Yeah, we just had our record release show on July 26 and I'm still hyped about it.
AXS: So it went well?
Chad: Yeah, it was great!
Chris Clemence: Yeah, it couldn't have gone any better. It was so much fun! It was this amazing party and we had a bunch of fans and our friends there and it was crazy. It was great playing this record live for everyone for the first time. It was exciting.
AXS: Have you been happy with the reaction to the album so far?
Chad: I have, yes. I mean, it's so positively overwhelming!
Chris: It's really overwhelming like Chad said. People have been hitting us up non-stop and everyone is really excited about it so it's really been the best feedback ever.
AXS: And it seems like your partnership with Vezt has been getting a great response from the fans as well. They seem to like the idea of getting in on the ground floor.
Chad: Yeah, that's another amazing thing that we should talk about too! It's just been completely positive and everyone seems to be getting into this record. People have been waiting for something new from us to come out for awhile and they're really liking it.
It's a cool thing to see since we haven't really been out there for long. It's great to see so many people supporting us and coming up to us to ask us questions. It's just so cool.
Chris: I think the new record really shows the demand and the power of rock and roll. So many people these days are so quick to say rock is dead and to write it off and everyone is talking about this mumble rap bullshit or whatever that is supposedly popular at the moment. But I think that the record labels and part of the music industry are really ignoring this entire group of people who crave this style of music and I think that's what Bad Blood is. It brings that classic rock and roll feel and that danger to it while still sounding modern, like a 2019 brand new band. So I think that's why people are really responding to it.
AXS: What prompted the idea to move towards the fan ownership idea?
Chad: Well I think it's because the fans are the ones that make songs successful. It's always about the fans. I mean, of course you've got to have great music, but if people aren't listening to it and sharing it and buying it and promoting it, what good is it? Vezt is a way for the fans to make royalties off of songs that we created. It's the coolest most futuristic thing that I've ever heard about when it comes to any kind of promotion because you're actually in on it and in the same boat as your fans. It really is a partnership and if you look at it, you're really earning money listening to songs that you already have on your Ipod or whatever.
Chris: I think it's so revolutionary that a lot of people see it and say, this is it; this is the future. On the other hand, there are some people too who don't quite understand it. I think the best way to explain it to everyone is that songwriters have ownership shares of the music so every time it's sold or streamed or licensed to anything that song is making money so whoever owns those rights is getting paid anytime that happens. So we're opening that up to our fans where they can buy in on the song and own it with us and essentially get paid to listen to it. So you can buy it and throw it up on Spotify and listen to it as much as you want to and you're making money just from doing that. We've already landed a few licensing deals and those who have bought into Vezt are getting a piece of it. It's really amazing when you think about it!
AXS: A lot of artists don't or aren't willing to think outside of the box, but it's something that you need to do these days.
Chad: Absolutely! You know, in this day and age we have so much amazing technology and cool developments at our disposal, why not use them?! Bad Blood is the future. We're not looking at the past or what people think of the good old days, we're making the good old days right now! We're doing something new and modern and different and is actually more beneficial for bands and the listeners because they're enjoying and profiting from the music.
Chris: We get to create all of this fun stuff that we love to do and I think it's a great thing how we can all come together and make it happen. It's one of the coolest things I've ever heard of in music.
AXS: You mentioned picking up sponsorships already, but how important do you feel those placements are to getting your music heard?
Chris: In today's day and age in the music business it's essential. Everyone knows that people aren't buying music. No one is selling records these days. The only ways to really make money is to go out on tour and play a bunch of shows or you can do licensing deals and put your music in television, films, commercials and video games and it's great because not only does it expose our music to a new audience, but it also is a lot of up front money and those that buy in on Vezt will own a piece of those spots.
AXS: And how did the single "Drug That I Need" come about?
Chris: It just kind of happened. We were writing a bunch of songs together and everyone in life has their vices that keep them going and the thing that they crave the most. For everyone there's that drug and that's what the song is about, whether it's a girl or guy or music or whatever. Or what we were joking about yesterday: coffee!
AXS: And what else do you have coming up?
Chad: Oh man, we have a bunch of really exciting things coming up! Some we can't talk about publicly just yet, but we'll be posting about it at our website at badblood.band. Everyone can go there and check out all of our future shows and new videos coming out. We're shooting a video for "Drug That I Need" next week and we've got a really crazy cool concept.
AXS: You all have a lot of musical influences, but what would people be surprised that you're listening to right now?
Chris: I don't know, what do you think Chad?
Chad: We all listen to a ton of different stuff and not really one genre, but of course we love hard rock and roll, but Chris is a big polka music fan. If you looked at his music collection, you'd be quite surprised actually!
Chris: Definitely! Lots of polka, lots of K-pop and a little bit of hip-hop. Actually, I'm a big funk music fan, which you would never guess by hearing my records, but I dig that stuff. I love the beats and the grooves. I love music that makes people happy and makes them want to dance.
Chad: Yeah, absolutely, funk music rules! I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks, actually a lot of eighties movie soundtracks.
AXS: Anything you'd like to add?
Chris: Just definitely go on your Iphone or your Google Play or whatever and download the Vezt app and buy in on our single. Listen to it as much as you want and get paid for it. And yeah, just go to our website badblood.band and it's got everything up on there and check it all out. Follow us on there and check out our social media sites at @badbloodbandofficial at both Instagram and Facebook. Chad?
Chad: I just want to say thanks to everyone for supporting us so far. It's pretty amazing and I look forward to this ride that we're on.
Chris: Yeah, thank you guys so much for everything!