Journal & Courier
By: Tim Brouk

Big riffs, industrial flair Lafayette hard rock fans, your ship has come in. You and Isolation, the anticipated CD debut from Chemcoma, is finally here. The fivetrack EP has a polished sound for the big guitar driven songs with touches of electronic and industrial flair. “Assemble” and “Neo(n)” are one-minute electronic ditties connecting the three epic songs in “Lift Me Up,” “Come to Hand” and “In Time.” The last track, “In Time” is quite radio-friendly and would fit in easily with anything on modern rock radio.

Besides the big riffs, the harmonization and vocal trade-off between Chris June, Emily Larimer, Cody Hughes and Matthew Groschen is the next most striking aspect of these songs. The mix blends the vocals well and most Chemcoma members handle lead vocals easily.

Chemcoma evolves into a polished rock band
By: Tim Brouk
Email: tbrouk@journalandcourier.com

I felt like a proud papa on Saturday night. When I first met Cody Hughes and Chris June, half of the local hard rock band Chemcoma, they were teenage metal heads just starting out. Four years later, they are legit local rock stars in their 20s. They have the musical chops, stage presence, a kick-butt recording and are no strangers to local radio airplay. A packed Jerilee's Pub on Saturday proved that these guys' rock 'n' roll dreams are becoming fulfilled. The band had a successful CD-release show, selling dozens of the discs.

I was most entertained seeing how these two dudes have grown into accomplished musicians. Still very young, it'll be interesting to see how June, Hughes and the rest of Chemcoma continue to evolve. Hopefully, touring will be in the band's future. When I first interviewed these guitarists, Hughes had just placed in the Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters scholarship while June was already rocking out with his high school chums in Adrenaline.

I had the pleasure of seeing Adrenaline knock the stuffiness out of Loeb Playhouse at a Purdue University's Battle of the Bands in 2001. June's stage antics reminded me of how I would try to look when I dreamed of playing on a stage in a metal band during my teen days -- except June could already write his own metal anthems and wail on guitar a zillion times better than I could when I was his age. Hughes soon formed his own band, Hindsight. Both of those bands had good runs years back, but Chemcoma is a much more serious project. They've invested countless hours and thousands of dollars, and things look to be worth the investment so far.

I've interviewed dozens of young musicians in my years here and it's a blast to see them reach their potential. What makes Hughes and June stand out the most is how quickly they have done it, how much more they will hopefully accomplish and the amount of face melting they will do along the way.

Chemcoma: Band makes its Lafayette debut in Hard 'n' Heavy showcase
By: Tim Brouk
Email: tbrouk@journalandcourier.com

Chris June and Cody Hughes are spending a lot of time in the principal's office. But they haven't been sent for misbehavior. They lock themselves in the small, bright red-walled room that once was the principal's office at the former Crouch Elementary School to create a fresh, hard rock sound.

Chemcoma is the new band June and Hughes have formed with drummer Emily Larimer and Matthew Groschen. The chemistry these musicians have in the band is evident. The tight quarters in the principal's office might have helped with that. "We can't get away from each other," laughed June, 23. "With four of us, we have to work stuff out. With an even number of people in there, everyone has to agree on everything. We've spent many days in that room, both in freezing cold and burning up." Chemcoma will make its Lafayette debut at 9 p.m. Saturday at Jerilee's Pub, 2200 Elmwood Ave. inside Market Square Lanes. The set is part of the Lafayette Music League Hard 'n' Heavy showcase, which will also feature Xero Sum, Vestiges of Ecstasy, and Outnumbered and Running. Chemcoma has been in the works for the past year.

Much time was given to the recording of demos and the recording of the band's debut EP, "You and Isolation," but the young musicians wanted to keep the project top secret. "We didn't want any hype before we had something we could deliver," said Hughes, 22. June, who legally changed his name from Chris Fetcher, says the Chemcoma sound has electronic elements as well as the edge and spontaneity of his first band Adrenaline.

The band has posted two tracks on www.myspace.com/chemcoma: "In Time" and "Lift Me Up." While the anger and brutality is evident, the melody is too. June and Hughes have stepped up their vocals after years of backing vocals duties in their former bands. June handles the roars and screams and Hughes gets the singing. Both combine for harmonies. "We didn't double any of our own vocals up. We divided them up," June explained. "We want to be one of the great-singing rock bands." Groschen believes Chemcoma could please most music fans with its originality. "It doesn't sound like anything I've heard. That's what I like about it," said the 30-year-old bassist. Larimer, who has been the lead singer in Indianapolis bands, is making her vocal presence known in Chemcoma, too. She sings lead or back-up in most songs and Larimer said the band spent significant time mapping out vocal arrangements. Larimer plays the role of conductor as she is in charge of the electronic sounds and beats coming from her click-track.

You and Isolation was mixed by Grant Mohrman in Detroit. The up and coming producer has previously worked with Filter and is the protégé of Ben Grosse (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson). The disc will be mastered at a studio in Nashville, Tenn., before a winter release. Chemcoma has already played Crawfordsville and Frankfort, and the band hopes to establish itself as a major player in the Greater Lafayette scene. But Chemcoma is not looking to stop there.

When You and Isolation is released, the band plans on touring beyond Indiana. "We're thinking world domination," Groschen quipped, "maybe take over a small country or two along the way."

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