Daily Inspiration: Meet Alex Crafard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Crafard

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Venom of Virtue was formed in 2019. It all started with an ad on craigslist looking for fellow musicians by someone in Alma. This lead to A.J. Perram (Drummer) and Alex Crafard (Lead Guitar) jamming together with two others. Mostly jamming together but nothing that VOV is today. Eventually Ben Lohrer (Singer) was brought in to be our official singer due to scheduling conflicts with one of the others. As well as Alexs brother Max Crafard (Bass) to fill in the officials bass role. Even used his brothers gear card at Guitar center to get equipment he needed! He paid him back though lol. This combined an influence of classic hard rock, metal, and even a little rap that creates our own unique sound. Since then we have played almost 100 shows and opened for acts such as Hinder, Sponge, Nonpoint, and Mushroomhead. Recorded two albums “Recoiled!!” and “Amplified” and a few singles in 2024, “Wild Spirit”, “Lonesome Story”, “Once Awoken”, “Execute”,amd our most recent “”Quiet”. All available on all music streaming services with some music videos on YouTube as well. We have all become really good friends that share a drive to always try and take VOV to the next level!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There has been bumps like every band goes through. You have to start somewhere and it can be a grind to get yourself out there and build a reputation. Especially since we formed right before Covid restrictions. We couldnt play shows for a while but as soon as we could we were on it!! Its all worth it but can be a lot of work and time though we are proud of what we’ve done so far and know we will continue to grow. No matter what, we’re having fun and sharing our music with people.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are an all do it yourself unit. Recording our own music at our drummers Studio (Perram Stuidios) We book our own shows, create our own flyers sometimes, and manage our own merch. We operate this like a business and try to be professional with people we work with. We want to stand out from others and show we are hungry to play and push Venom of Virtue forward! We are very proud to have placed in 4 battle of the bands, 3rd at our first botb at Diesel lounge on Detroit, 2nd place at a botb in sheridan vfw hall, 2nd and 1st place at two different lake city battle of the bands. Proud that we stand out enough to be in top 3 every time. Also proud to have helped out in charity events like the F### Cancer show we did at Turnstiles in Grand Rapids hosted by Klinical Trial and the few VFW events in sheridan and Alma that weve helped raise money for. Hearing storys of what people have gone through can be emotionally touching and inspiring. We have had a veteran tell us how our song “Live to Fight” reached them and it was a truly a heartfelt moment talking with him.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Always be kind and respectful. Help each other out. Forming good relationships with other bands and promoters can be great to finding more opportunities. Be professional and punctual. Alot of people have commited to their time to making a show happen and being on schedule is important in a successful show.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Venomofvirtue.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15RLGFwMLQ/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@venomofvirtue7751?si=pQU0OLt6cnn_1g86