GONE CHASING DRAGONS - BREATHING FIRE INTO THE LOCAL LIVE MUSIC SCENE

 

 

GONE CHASING DRAGONS - LOUD, WILD AND  UNSTOPPABLE!

by RubySage

10 April 2026

 

I have always wanted a dragon … I mean, who doesn’t?  And growing up, I had one mission and one mission alone ( aside from all my other many side  missions and quests , of course)  …to  find me a dragon…! And what do you know!?  About a hundred lifetimes later,  I found me not one … but a BAND of them!    I know I know… the name is Gone CHASING Dragons… and that nowhere does it state that THEY are … dragons …but, hey…close enough.

 I was but an embryo in the live local music scene when I first met Gone Chasing Dragons  Hunter, Liam and Cameron who I immediately dubbed as MY dragons.

Aside from being incredibly amazing human beings (not dragons *rolls eyes dramatically*), they are totally Rock and Roll!  They not only look the part …they sound it…they  live it! .

I know I'm gushing (I have an endless supply of gush) … however … to spare myself any unnecessary  embarrassment, I will move on to the important bits and share with you the little  Q&A I had with Gone Chasing Dragons Lead guitar, vocals and  front man, singer song writer,  Hunter.

 ENJOY…!

 

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself... Who are you? Have you always wanted to make music...? How old where you when you realized that's what you want to do? Or were you born a rock star?

 > A: I’m Hunter. I’m a musician from Jo’burg. I started with piano lessons when I was 8 but it I was about 12 or so when I discovered the huge love and passion I have for music. Before that, I wanted to be a cartoonist. But, it was at the age of 12, when I started learning how to play the guitar, that everything changed. It’s like it opened a door for me and I started writing songs and soon realized that that’s what I want to do.

 

 Q: Tell us about Gone Chasing Dragons journey and the band members .... we want to know all the how/ when/ where/ why and who stuff!

 > A: GoneChasingDragons , a three piece was formed  in 2021 or 2022 by Liam, myself, and one other guy, who was a  friend  from our high school who also played guitar.  This friend eventually left the band but we soon found a bassist.  He was with the band for about two or three years but , sadly, he has also moved on to pursue other projects . We are still searching for our ‘forever’ bassist.

Liam and I basically  grew up together , as our parents were friends in high school.  I often think of him as a soulmate— he really is a brother from another mother. We both love the same kinds of music and he's a drummer and I’m a singer/ guitarist. ….I think we might have been destined for this.

 So right now,  Liam’s the drummer, I’m the guitarist and singer and my dad, Graham, is currently our bassist. We were all born in Jo’borg around the east rand and have been there ever since. Ironically, most of our gigs are not on the east rand.

 

Q:  Do you think you were all just naturally born Rock Stars?

 > A: Yea…I think we were all born rockstars.  Cos fuck it, why not?

 Q: Why the name Gone Chasing Dragons ...? There has to be a story there ?

 >A:  I heard the phrase , ‘Chasing the dragon” and thought it sounded cool… I had no idea what it meant.  ( it’s a term used in relation to drug use and abuse).  But after learning what it ACTUALLY meant, I thought its kinda cool still, because being on stage , making music, playing a new cool riff or whatever, is kind of like Chasing the Dragon.  Its also a high… one that we continue to chase.

  

Q: Do you write all your songs? (or does it become a team effort with the band?)

 > A: I write all the songs and I rely on Liam to write the drum parts, because well, I’m a shit drummer and he’s great.  I started writing songs when I first started learning how to play the guitar and just kept on doing it.

  

Q: What inspires you to write what you write ? ( ie.. Are they born from Random thoughts..... Emotion... Life? )

 > A: Most of our songs are born from emotion and experiences but there are a few that came from nothing really— just the flow of creation.  As with pretty much every other musician ever, a lot of our music is inspired by love, loss, anger, fear what have you.  But honestly, none of them come about the same way. They’re all different, written differently and mean something different to me.

 

 Q: Share one awkward fact and /or embarrassing moment (maybe at a show or something random )

 > A: One of the best responses we’ve ever gotten from a crowd was  after I told them they were the shittest crowd we’d ever had.  That just made them love us I guess.  No one was paying us much attention or dancing or anything so I just shat on them and they loved it. Weird.

 

 Q: How would you describe the GCD vibe... Genre... Niche etc?

 > A: The GCD vibe is whatever the fuck you want it to be I guess.  I have no idea.  We get inspiration from lots of bands from lots of different genres. I guess we’re alternative rock but we got some punk stuff, some grunge stuff, some pop stuff— we’re kinda a jack of all trades (jack-off all trades lol) when it comes to music.

I think we have a lot of variety and can appeal to many  different niches. I mean we even get inspiration from cartoons (that's mainly only me though,  I think).  For instance  adventure time and scooby doo— we do a cover of the Marceline song ‘Remember You,’ and Scooby Doo’s ‘what’s new scooby doo?’

 

 Q: Upcoming gigs/recordings? (places /dates etc )

 > A: We’ve got a song coming out soon called ‘Where I Belong,’ and you’ll be able to find it on every major streaming platform.  It will be our second single.   It’s about (…you’ll never guess it) love.   I guess its about  being afraid that the feeling is not reciprocated, but you know that you belong with that person.   

  

Q: One word of advice for new upcoming musos?

 > A: I think the one thing I can say to newby musos is just keep fucking going.  There’s gonna be a lot of shit thrown at you: obstacles, shit gigs, shit venues, shit people, but you just gotta persevere.  You gotta think of it as the long game. You gotta see it through.

  

Q: Share one fun fact that we don't know about you.

> A:  A fun fact about me I guess is that I’m a vegetarian but my name is Hunter so that’s hella ironic.   Also,  I love the Beatles, Radiohead, Nirvana and Seether. I think those are the bands that inspire me the most. The ones I really resonate with.

 

 Q: Note worthy band bragging rights? ( interviews, shows, sharing stages with big names, etc etc) 

> A:  Our band has done a lotta cool shit. I lived in the UK for 5 months. Had a job for 3 of ‘em and spent the rest of my time there gigging, playing my music at an international level. We’ve done lots of interviews with Ruby and Oakfields students, we did Oakfest like 3 years in a row but they haven't asked us to do it again… yet.

 

 Q: Any crazy fans stories? 

> A: No crazy fan stories really. Our fans are awesome! Just the average ‘I’m pretty that’s a tweaker at our gig’ vibes.

  

Q: Being a band of heartthrobs... Any available bacholors that your girl (or boy) fans would be thrilled to know about?

 > A: Liam's a bachelor! I know– its hard to believe that someone that sexy is single but… ladies (and guys we don't discriminate) he is.

 

Q: You are all still very young... Any big future goals and plans for the band that we may know about?

 > A: I think the only plan for the band is to take it to the motherfuckin’ top! And take our fans with us.

We’re gonna release a lot more music in the near future so keep those peepers peeled! 

 

Q: Tell us a bit more about Ruby's favourite song, Song 13.... What is the story / message behind that song? ( why that song) why did you write it?

  > A: AH, yes...Ruby’s favourite song! Song 13 is about having feelings for someone when they don’t feel the same way. It’s about feeling insecure and self-deprecating, hating yourself a little bit because you just can’t seem to do anything right. Love. Hate. Frustration. Feeling like there is so much you have to give but it just seems like no-one wants it. 

  And there you have it boys and girls…no chance of taming the flame,  Gone Chasing Dragons ARE the fire storm and their ROAR hits hard!

 

Listen to Song 13 here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/2NJtkrZj9sGojsexI5uGIf?si=jqXGfwsYSXKGuWRtT4TPIQ

 

Listen to the interview here:

https://musiciansdomain.com/activity/p/7258/