The biggest lie in Blaze Kasser’s life is that he can have anything he wants.
He can’t. I promise you.
He can afford anything he wants that has a price tag. But he can’t have anything he wants.
There was a fourteen person Zoom call when they found out he wanted a face tattoo.
Blaze calls his management team The Hornets. It’s not a compliment.
The Hornets decided that the album after next maybe he could debut a small neck tattoo.
I was there when they told him he couldn’t play keyboards on his own record.
Management-The Hornets, The Record Label, The Publicists, rented out an entire Dave & Busters, threw a party that was supposed to be for the anniversary of the release of the first album. It was a good party. But it was a smokescreen.
Blaze wrote this little keyboard riff, wanted to have a song written around it. The Hornets vetoed it. It wasn’t “oozing the aura” of the new record.
Blaze nodded, accepted it on the surface.
That was the day he told his social media followers where he was. A giant middle finger to The Hornets. I’m sure you saw it. The aftermath anyway.
The Jordan County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police are never gonna forgive Blaze for that.
I was even mad at Blaze that day.
I’ve been his head of security since he was the youngest son on Echo Lake, Season One, back when the world fell in love with him, back when he was just singing for fun.
At least no one got killed in the parking lot of that Dave & Buster’s.
And that was the day he met Kenny Walstonschatz.
Whatever you think of Blaze Kasser, however much you love or hate his music, I want you to know this:
He didn’t want them to turn his friendship with Kenny into fuel for the machine. He didn’t.
But he’s Blaze Fucking Kasser so of course The Hornets made it into an image polisher.
Kenny was getting experimental treatments when he met Blaze.
After Kenny went home that night, first thing Blaze did was march right up to Juanita, the head honcho accountant, bypassed all The Hornets-Todd and Andrew and Marcia, all of ‘em, and told Juanita that he wanted the clinic doing those treatments to get 500K, and wanted all the Walstonschatz’s bills sent to Blazing Gold Productions.
If you follow Blaze at all, you know the rest.
It wasn’t bullshit, even though somehow The Hornets managed to add some bullshit to it when they talked to the press.
Kenny and Blaze were real friends.
Kenny made Blaze laugh.
Blaze don’t laugh.
But Kenny could make him.
Niki Reifman is supposed to be the most beautiful supermodel in the world. But she grimaced the first time she met Kenny. I watched it happen. Blaze was done with her. In an instant.
There were no models backstage at the last show Kenny attended. Because everyone knew.
Blaze just wanted to spend time with Kenny.
It ain’t funny, but it’s funny watching a supermodel who has never been told no in her life: NO.
You know all the rest of the stuff.
Blaze was so sad, man, so sad. Angry too, even though he knew it was coming.
I was afraid he was gonna lock himself in the bathroom and tattoo his own face.
I’m standing with Blaze now.
No one in the world would know it was him.
I’m wearing a wig and a bad loose fitting suit so people don’t recognize me, just for an added level of anonymity.
I got two guys in cars nearby. The Hornets are in the bleachers.
We’re at a high school in Yuma, Arizona. Blaze is wearing the school’s Falcon mascot costume.
Blaze saw a story about this kid, Dontae Merriweather. He’s a decathlete. Shattering American records at 16. Doesn’t put anything artificial into his body. Eats a raw, vegan diet. Kid is a machine. He’s funny too. He hung out with Blaze Kasser, not knowing it was Blaze Kasser, thinking it was some new kid who’s the mascot.
Blaze is ten years older than this kid, this kid who is probably gonna freak when he finds out who he was talking to.
But he seems like a great kid.
A kid who has his shit together.
A kid who, truth be told, might be able to kick my ass.
Blaze wants Dontae to be his friend.
Because he thinks Dontae is cool.
And because he thinks Dontae is gonna live forever.
***
There is a lot to unpack here. Blaze grew some from his friendship with Kenny. It’s selfish to seek out a friend that will outlive him, but he’s still learning. Beautiful story.
I wasn’t sure where that was going. I’m still not sure where that was going. I don’t think Blaze knows where that is going. But I really really enjoyed reading it.