On Monday, January 26th, Kristopher Kemp passed away due to complications from his fight against cancer. He was 34.
Kristopher Kemp was born on October, 28th 1974. He spent most of his early years in the Naperville, IL area and attended Naperville High School.
KRISTOV, as he was known to his friends and fans, was a founding member of Chicago's MARAZENE, whose accomplishments include the soundtrack to the MATRIX Revolutions and MATRIX: Recalibrated, as well as one self-released album, 'MachiNation'. Kristov performed with Marazene from 2001-2007, participated in multiple National tours with MARAZENE from 2006-2007, and appeared in several videos for the band.
Kristov also toured Nationally with New York's BILE in 2002.
Kristov was first diagnosed with intestinal cancer in May 2006 and had surgery to remove a cancerous growth and numerous lymph nodes followed by chemotherapy for much of the remainder of the year. Despite the intensive treatment, he continued to perform with Marazene as they toured the Midwest and Nationally with such acts as MUSHROOMHEAD, PSYCLON NINE, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY, and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT.
Kristov is survived by his parents, John and Marcia Kemp, his sister Erin Kemp, his nephew Liam, his girlfriend Lisa, and his dog Petunia. Another pet, a dog named Schmoo who recently passed away, is looking forward to hanging out with Kristov once again as they both wait patiently for all his friends in this life to join him sometime in the distant future.
