Bliss Photos

The Last Show

2011-02-27T01:53:00.000-08:00

This is the end...

Bliss's last show, as far as you know.

I have never seen ReTox Bar so packed that you couldn't at least find some room to move around in the pool table room.

Forget about trying to get a drink.

As the last photo on MY website it's only fitting that it's of me, turning my back on the past.

Rebar, for the last time

2011-02-18T18:54:00.001-08:00

Revolution Room

2011-02-10T23:34:00.001-08:00

BLISS is gone, but I still have pictures from a few of the final shows.

Rebar, The Bar That's Made with Rebar

2010-11-27T02:28:00.000-08:00

I've totally lost interest in taking pictures of Bliss, and hand my camera to Aileen or Sylvia when I get the chance to play some bass.
After taking over a thousand great shots of this band myself, it's a matter of "been there, done that".
Nobody cares anyway...

Rebar Venom Etc

2010-10-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

Bliss would like to thank our new sponsors, Venom Energy Drink.
Shirts are very cool--too bad your printer messed-up our banners.
The band's name all tiny in one corner made me lol.

We're Halloweiners!

Blue Mustang

2010-10-23T02:17:00.001-07:00

Bliss hasn't rocked The Blue Mustang since June, which is 2.3 years if you're a dog.

ReTox Bar

2010-10-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

BLISS demolished ReTox tonight, as usual.

A little stage time is nice--Thanks, Rikk!

Silo 1604 Dildo Party

2010-09-26T03:20:00.001-07:00

Overall a good night--the carpetbiters passed-out drunk and a certain member of the staff isn't going to find out if teeth resemble corn in the toilet on Sunday.

99.957% of club owners let their staff take care of business, instead of interfering in day-to-day BS.
Stay in the office and brush your teeth at least once a week--sounds like a great gig.

.

'80's Party @ ReTox

2010-08-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

Not that anyone cares, but here are 2 very recent photos of Bliss.

ReTox Had The Smell Of Fear

2010-07-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

After a disjointed and crusty start, BLISS took control and laid waste to ReTox.
I heard people crying.

>

This is the only picture in existence of me laughing.
Enjoy it, because you'll never see anything like this again.

Wise Guys & The Blue Mustang

2010-06-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

Friday = Wise Guys

Saturday = The Blue Mustang

Fingers At ReBar

2010-05-29T02:37:00.001-07:00

Bliss would like to thank Chris and Cassie at ReBar for the great service.
Drinks are good.

Best photo yet of my bubble shirt.
Thanks, Aileen!

Alex brought out his Ibanez SR500 for Rikk to try.
Same bass I played with Loud Nine (RIP).
The tone is FAT and solid, and the neck plays like a dream!

Fuck You, Too, Chrissy.

Some fans and fingers.

The Blue Mustang's Bliss-Cherry Is Mine

2010-05-20T22:37:00.001-07:00

A pretty sweet set-up.
Nice people, nice building, nice sound gear.
We rocked it as usual, and want to thank those of you who came out and helped make it a success.

Raining In Kerrville

2010-05-17T22:27:00.001-07:00

Rikk and Bob put on a great show.

Guest Photographer: Hozer

2010-05-17T22:14:00.001-07:00

These pics from Revolution room were taken by Jose'(Hozer)Higareda.
He's the guy who's flash I caught in the previous post (scroll down).

I really enjoy pictures like this, and try to take them whenever possible.

Please visit his website.

Thanks for letting me post your photos, Jose'!

Time for a Revolution (Room)

2010-05-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

BLISS rolls their thunder into the RevRoom on the 2nd Saturday of every month.

Come out and experience what all the cool people already know.

It's extremely rare to catch another photographer's flash.

I'm still waiting for his photos, so I can publish them here.

Fuckin' ReTox...

2010-05-08T02:56:00.000-07:00

Oyster Bake = Finished

2010-05-08T02:51:00.000-07:00

No mas!!!

More Fiesta Oyster Bake

2010-04-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Oyster Bake Continued

2010-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Bliss At Fiesta Oyster Bake

2010-04-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Rebar

2010-03-28T18:06:00.001-07:00

Revolution Room: Slow Start, Explosive Finish

2010-03-14T03:37:00.000-07:00

There were several big events in town tonight so it took some time for the drunks to stumble in; the 2nd and third sets were wild!

ReTox Get's It's Monthly Spanking

2010-03-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Highlight of the Night: Rikk's new bass strap.

REBAR

2010-02-27T02:49:00.001-08:00

Chrissy brought the pretty and the boobs to Rebar tonight.

When the guys in Bliss bring pretty and/or boobs, they'll get a photo posted, too.

Reverse Reverb Revolution Room Realm

2010-02-14T02:44:00.000-08:00

After the disappointment that was Friday Night, BLISS revamped and regrouped and reenergized, then ripped the roof off the RevRoom.

Is that buttcrack?

Retox Blues

2010-02-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

Never seen Retox so packed you couldn't move around.
Naturally, the boss is on vacation so we can't get a raise.

Soho = Yawn

2010-01-09T02:18:00.000-08:00

Not enough people braved the cold, and the ones that did were lame.

I just love grabbing the lights and tripods after they've been in the back of the truck for an hour.
Colder than ice.
It hasn't been this chilly in SA since 1985.
I have a picture of me from that particular weather event standing on the ice in the middle of our swimming pool.

If you want to see the videos that James shot last night, head over to YouTube and search Bliss Soho.

Happy Ghey New Year!

2010-01-01T03:16:00.000-08:00

BLISS counted down the last seconds at REBAR, and what an interesting night it was!

Things started out innocently enough...

Before too long I was invited onstage to play some Toadies...

Rikk seems to enjoy my lapdance action...

Chrissy takes matters into her own hand as Steve tries to flirt with Sylvia by looking down my own damn lens--the nerve!

Florin was there. He knows what happened.

Steve gets some nicotine from a helpful Bliss fan.

New Year kisses for everyone!

Captain Morgan's Nephew Approved This Message

Dirty Deeds At Revolution Room

2009-12-13T02:04:00.001-08:00

This photo does a great job of describing tonight: Broken glass, blood, and cockroaches.

Rebar 12/11/09

2009-12-12T02:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a month since I posted to this site, but y'all didn't miss me one bit.

It was just more of the same old thing--Bliss kicking ass and sticking shivs in our livers.

Tall dude sings along. Wasn't close enough to judge quality...

Rikk makes his Ibanez bass thunder and growl.

Free Drinks Are Good

Stevearoo

Blissy Chris

The 457th Prettiest Man In Rock

Huge thanks to Aileen for digging out my camera and finally capturing evidence of Bliss allowing someone else on their stage. She did a great job!

It was a stone groove, my man.
Thanks, Rikk!!

Bliss Lets The Weak Escape Revolution Room

2009-11-15T02:23:00.000-08:00

The strong got the crap rocked out of them.

The fun girls from Mt. Pilot.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
Rene gets his celebration on.

Everyone managed to miss my first time playing bass with Bliss, so no pictures.
It was fun surprising Chrissy with it.
Thanks, Rikk!

Friday The 13th At Tonic

2009-11-14T02:05:00.000-08:00

If tonight was supposed to be unlucky, Bliss was spared that little detail.
The drinks flowed and the people got rocked.

James did a great job running lights and helping me get the gear loaded out.
I needed all the help I could get, since I'm feeling rather shitty after my car accident.

Revolution Room on Saturday!

The Pain...

2009-11-07T02:43:00.000-08:00

Retox is always the first show and sets the tone for each month.
Ouch!

Over 30 bottles and this isn't even the whole table.

Happy Halloween, Bitches!

2009-10-31T02:51:00.000-07:00

It was business as usual tonight at Rebar.
Bliss set 'em up and knocked 'em down.

Matt and a buddy had to work tonight, so we were glad they could drop by for a quick visit.

San Antonio is a hotbed of paranormal activity, and the night before Halloween is especially busy for these guys.
Ghosts who show up early, such as dead (but naughty) librarians and old fuckers killed on the way to Luby's positively infest Oct 30th, so we're lucky to have a well-equipped local office of the Ghost Busters.

I've been getting a lot of mileage out of this new skull.
These shots were worth the damage--looked like John Wilkes Boothe had done his thing by the time I got it back.
I can rebuild it--I have the technology.

Wise Guys + Hitmen = Dead Meat

2009-10-24T02:38:00.000-07:00

Bliss was playing at Wise Guys, The Hitmen were next door at Oasis, and Craving Amy/Bliss/Undercovers etc bassist El Peege was serving up fine BBQ in the parking lot.
So many friends of mine in one place--we had a lot of fun.

This is Bliss's brand new "tub full of guts"--a plastic tote that holds speaker cables, extension cords, mic cables, and Chrissy's fan.
Doesn't it look nice?

This is the old one.
Doesn't it look like shit?

After we finished setting up, I grabbed my camera and told James to get the roll of gaffer's tape from Rikk.
He looked confused at first but when I picked up the old tote and gave him an evil grin, James caught on to the possibility of fun and destruction.
We ripped that old piece of shit in half and taped the pieces to the wall next to the dumpster!
Very satisfying.

The Peege serves up BBQ at his brother's trailer.
Delicious!

John Jarrett lets me use his amp when I play bass for Loud Nine, and he was also kind enough to let me play Possum Kingdom by The Toadies with The Hitmen tonight while I was on break from the Bliss show next door.
Thanks, John!
I used Rikk's bass because I'm very "familiar" with it after spending a week restoring it to Bass-#1 status. My DNA is all over that red Ibanez.

Mike G. of Loud Nine & The Hitmen didn't buy me a beer tonight and my feelings are a little hurt...

Since this is supposed to be a website about Bliss, here's some Chrissy pr0n.

Smoke and Mirrors At SOHO

2009-10-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

Bliss is bringing back the flashy show we were doing at the start of 2009.
Added a few elements at Soho but there aren't any pictures of what I did because it's impossible to hold down the related buttons and use my camera at the same time, James.

I spent last week fixing this bass so Rikk could use it again as a spare, but it's already become #1.

The Flight Line's Cherry

2009-10-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Bliss has it now.
We took it fair and square.

These people think they're seeing the last encore, but 2 hours later Rikk James stopped by my house for one more song and dance.

Bliss Plays A Sweet 16 Party

2009-10-04T00:11:00.001-07:00

We rocked for the bikers and kids, with isolated incidents of grannies lifting their skirts.

"Not For Highway Use".
No Shit?
It's a fucking 2-wheel handtruck.
Who in their right mind thinks these little tires are rated for anything above a brisk walk?

Strangest thing I ever saw--all the frantic hyper (and probably a little drunk) kids suddenly sat their little asses down and watched BLISS rip it up for one song.
Fittingly it was Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns & Roses.
Weird!

Rikk the DJ spins some Live Selina to crank this party into high gear.

If you see a cute 16 year old cruising around SA on an orange Harley Sportster, it's Samantha from this party.

Retox Detox Retox Detox

2009-10-03T02:40:00.000-07:00

We do what we gotta do, I guess.

Steve singing pretty.

Rikk stands for Rokk.

"Dude, when the fuck are they gonna play some Jimmy Buffet?"

Not a reverse bird: Florin's finger is bent like that to hold his pick.
Look closely.

This dude rocked until he puked.
He came around looking to beat up whoever took a picture of him barfing (noticed flash and mirror-slap) but wisely chose to bathe Chrissy in his vomit breath for six minutes instead.
Bliss's audience is The BEST!!!

Long Drive Home

2009-09-27T02:19:00.000-07:00

Hooligan's is way the hell across town, but it still beats the drive home from GRC in Kerrville.

Soul Prodigy opened the show for Bliss.
Wasn't successful in getting their crew to leave the lights.

Rikk's dirty bass.

Special thanks to everyone who helped me drag our shit out of the club, and of course James.
Y'all added six and a half weeks to my life expectantcy.

Bliss Isn't Henry & The Invisibles

2009-09-26T02:40:00.000-07:00

Pay no attention to what the papers say--place your trust in the mighty myspace.com/theblissband calendar.

I worked twice as hard to make this show a success, so how come I didn't make twice the money?

A Revolutionary Idea

2009-09-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

Start on time and rock so hard the audience is reduced to pointing and grunting when trying to order drinks

Chrissy using her new skull bottle opener.

She's not a stripper but we'll gladly take your dollars.
We use them to buy batteries, duct tape, and sandwiches.

Terry and Paul didn't bring me a beer like they promised, so I'm posting this photo as a warning: I can just as easily take one that you don't want anyone to see.

Happy Birthday to the You Know Who!

Chillin' @ Hooligan's

2009-09-06T02:39:00.000-07:00

Bliss was taking it easy tonight.
Don't get me wrong--everyone in the organization kicked serious ass--but on a night that combined rain, a Mudvayne show across town, and the huge percentage of San Antonians that bail for the coast on Labor Day weekend, the club was less than packed and a more informal and intimate mood seemed appropriate.

James is the newest member of Bliss--seen here getting his $2.99 cheeseburger from our waitperson Jenna.
Unlike most people who get tricked into helping me do the dirty and painful work, my new best friend knows all about bands and equipment and snakes and sluts.
I like my men strong and smart and experienced.
(Being serious here so hold the gay jokes).
James only needed to learn Bliss's system, not the techniques and reasons for each task.
"Been there, done that, what do you need me to do?" are magic words to me, so he's like an Angel from Heaven.
(Can y'all quit with the gay jokes? I'm not gonzo. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Moving on to Rikk's beer and piss bucket.
Saved him a lot of time.

When I mentioned chillin' in the title of this post I meant several things.
One of them is that air conditioning works a lot better when it isn't 105* outside, so Hooligan's was a little shivery tonight. Another chill factor was that I went for the photos that I like instead of the ones that are all about making Bliss look pretty.

"When Florin was a toddler he was such a handful".

Chrissy understands that this is a photo about my mixing board, not her Eddie Spaghetti shirt.
She wasn't looking at the camera when I composed this snapshot but my pop-up flash goes off 3 times in dark rooms so she figured it out and ruined my plan.
Smart-ass twat.

In Between Notes
I really like this kind of shit.

In Between Notes 2

Jenna drops-off my next big beer during Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
My tab was comp'd so she got an estimated percentage, which is usually better.

I got some really cool new shoes yesterday for 50% off at MJM (hwy 281 between Bitters and Nakoma).
(I'm not gonna tell you again about the gay jokes!!!)
Most of you would probably prefer to see an old pair of Chrissy's kicks, so enjoy!

Awww hell-y'all can have some Bliss action shots.

Ultimate Bliss At Retox

2009-09-05T02:44:00.001-07:00

From the opening notes I could tell that Bliss was going to have one of those special nights that come along only a few times each year.
There was a certain precision and authority to everyone's playing (and mixing, bitches!) that can cause musicians in the audience to stand around with their mouths hanging open.
The general public gets off on it, too.
When Bliss has a bad show they still kick serious ass--tonight the band was too far above everyone else to make any kind of meaningful comparison.
For the first time since I've known him, Rikk was speechless.
Fortunately, I was able to articulate his thoughts as I stood in the middle of the room uttering Fuuuuck! again and again.

Sylvia pointed out to me that Rikk's new approach to bass tone depends on running the cable up his shorts and into his ass.
I'll have to try that someday.
That Rikk--he's always an innovator.

No comment.

Feel the love.

Steve's snare drum smackdown party is in full swing.
Loved the jazz excursion.

That Girl!

Thanks to my roadie and his roadie.
I really appreciate all the help.

Hello and welcome to our newest Bliss Blog visitors.

Keep an eye peeled for Loud Nine.
Me and Steve have a side project that's already making waves.

Bliss will be at Hooligan's Saturday Sept 5.
If you aren't there, we hate you.

We Need This

2009-09-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

Bliss's 9th Anniversary At Rebar

2009-08-29T02:56:00.000-07:00

It was good.

Sorry, no photos.
I slipped on spilled beer while carrying equipment out of the club and went face-first into a big steel pole.
My glasses were destroyed and the backup pair is so old that I can barely focus on these words.
I'm getting a headache already.
Photoshop is out of the question, and I really didn't have anything good anyway.

Bliss Pops Soho's Cherry

2009-08-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

And it was a bloodbath!
Our first time at Soho, and we might have made an impression...

I call this one "Rooftops"

More blood than a monkey knife fight, but most of it was mine.
This shirt is ruined.

GRC Explodes

2009-08-22T03:34:00.000-07:00

I don't usually take pictures at the Guadalupe River Club in Kerrville. There's only room for a few lights and they are too far away to get a good exposure.

The fans are more interesting anyway.

I Take the F828 Out Drinking

2009-08-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

Hooligan's Friday Night

The F828 is a Sony digicam that was a state-of-the-art-ass-kicker when released in 2003.
There still isn't another camera that can do everything this beast can do right out of the box.
Extreme close-ups without paying extra for a 'macro' lens, video at 640x480 and 30 fps, infrared, 8mp, both Memory Stick and Compact Flash card slots...well worth the $1000 price tag back in the day.

An internet friend and fan sent it to me along with a nice external flash last month because he knew I needed it after my older Sony F717 died.
Do any of you have internet friends this cool?

It's the first time I brought it to a show instead of my Sony Alpha300 DSLR.
No surprises--for 2003 technology it did a great job.

Bliss did a great job, too.
As always it was crazy all night and the free drinks may have set a record.

A new guy is hanging around named James--an old buddy of Rikk's--and he was both a big help with the equipment and a fun dude to hang with.
Felt like I've been friends with him for years.

It was nice seeing the Peege and Wilma for 3 minutes tonight.

Shot some video tests with the F828 tonight and the sound quality was surprisingly good. You can expect to see some vid clips here in the future.

Guess we'll see some of you at the super funtastic party in New Braufels tommorrow.
If you weren't invited, it sucks to be you.

SalsaFest 2009

2009-08-11T22:59:00.001-07:00

On Sunday August 9th Bliss performed at SalsaFest, held in HemisFair Park.
They opened for KC & The Sunshine Band.

Here's Mad Dog fixing and aiming lights. He spent over an hour 30 feet in the air crawling around the light truss with no safety cable, getting burned by the sun and cut by the hot metal.
Mad Dog indeed--I wouldn't have done it.

KC's set list.

Randall the sound engineer--helpful, patient, almost as good as me.

Beer Wenches from MadDog's Pub on the RiverWalk (no relation).

Bliss needs barricades like this everywhere we play.

One of Chrissy's copycat fans.

Rikk in the crowd, watching the dance contest and waiting for KC and to a lesser extent the Sunshine Band.

Learning To Spell @ Revolution Room

2009-08-09T02:40:00.001-07:00

I call this one "Extra Pee"

B is for Blue

C is for Chrissy

War And Peace

Chrissy and her cousin, who's never seen her sing before tonight.

Another damned encore.
Must be payback for our habit of starting whenever we feel like it.
The audience gets to decide when we finish.
We should try sucking more, so we can quit before 2am.

Retox--100th Bliss Blog Post

2009-08-08T02:56:00.001-07:00

Bliss blah blah blah Retox Bar yadda yadda drinks glug glug glug best band in San Antonio etc etc.

I know people are reading this blog because my photos keep turning up all over the www.
So how about leaving a fucking comment once in a while?

Cake, Cameras, Sweaty Dudes, and Pee @ Rebar

2009-08-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

When it's my birthday we go all-out in our celebrating!

Thanks for the great little cake, Voodoo Child!
Love it.

I couldn't get a clear shot of the band all night--there were too many crazy people jammed into Rebar.

Dudes, seriously?
I know you want to take off your shirts every night at every club, but only do it when other people agree that it's warm.

I would probably pee on this sticker if it was on some granola's hybrid bumper, too.

Wise Guys Lose Their Cherry

2009-07-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

Bliss brought our electric wang to Wise Guys and showed them how it feels to lose your "other" virginity.
Translation: The band has played there before but everyone at the club is new.

This is how the night went...as usual.

How does she do that?
Blinded by the lights and across 50 feet and a hundred people Chrissy knows when I'm pointing my camera at her and looks me right in the eye.
It happens so often I'm starting to get a little freaked-out.

New Band!
Loud Nine
Oasis
Saturday July 25

No Subs At Hooligan's

2009-07-19T03:18:00.000-07:00

No substitutions I should say.
Just the original BLISS rocking all night.

Chris Lopez sang Creep with Chrissy, and it was a hot mess.

The club's subs (subwoofers) crapped-out during the last break and nobody knew how to fix them but me. They should have asked nicely (with booze) instead of relying on the unqualified, who failed.

The Legendary Rikk Returns

2009-07-12T02:43:00.000-07:00

We were 5 seconds from starting the 1st set when this happened:

On with the show.

Rikk is back with a vengeance!
And he's even helping me hook the shit up, for which I am grateful.
I'm posting this highly flawed shot because it was an intentional hand block action by some random twat.

Coincidence...

Madness all night, which is as it should be.
Here we are getting ready to play an encore, well past closing time.

My personal favorite photo of the night.

I have the rest of the cake here at my house if anyone needs some.

The Crow Brings All The Bad Little Babies

2009-07-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

It was a night of madness and myth, talent and heart at Hooligan's.

The Peege enjoys his last night with Bliss...at least until we fire Rikk's ass for being early and knowing his parts.

Beers and ashtrays--that's Hooligan's.

Speaking of Rikk...

He played a few songs and seemed to enjoy it...

Bliss

We Love Happy Endings

2009-07-04T02:39:00.000-07:00

As much as BLISS enjoyed playing with the Peege, and appreciated his hard work and his coolness at helping us survive through hard times, it's impossible to not be glad that our much-missed brother Rikk is returning next weekend at Hooligan's July 10th.
The Peege is a class act and I'm glad to have found a new friend. We owe him many favors, but I draw the line at reach-arounds and happy endings.

My buddy Scot Taylor joined us for a few songs including this duet (Do It!) singing Creep by Radiohead.
I first met Scot when I joined the BeWires back in 1996(?) and it's interesting to note that him and Steve and Buz and I are still tight--but that other guy who fired my three friends? Not so much...

Tuning...tuning...tuning...I have a pic of every string getting tuned.

Bye Bye, UHaul!!!
If everything goes according to plan I am done renting trucks from UHaul.
I think their trailer light hookups only worked 15% of the time, which blew goats after working so hard to get the trailer's lights fixed in the first place.
I'm lucky I didn't get pulled over.
And these were all brand new GMC pickups with less than 2000 miles on them.
A joy to drive, but come on.

BLISS will be playing from 3:30-4:30 Saturday July 4th at Market Square.
I won't be there.
They don't need me.

Craving Amy

2009-06-27T20:46:00.001-07:00

Watched the first set at Jalen's, and discovered that Craving Amy is a really good band. I was surprised at how much Peege sings with them, and how good his harmonies are.

With BLISS I only get a chance to shoot pictures when my sound engineering duties don't keep me behind the mixing board--maybe 3-5 minutes total all night, so I put the camera in continuous autofocus and shooting modes and take 3 frames a second so I can improve my odds of getting 'keepers'.
On this night I enjoyed the luxury of being able to take a picture whenever I felt like it, and also got to experiment with using a small controlled amount of flash as seen in the last four.

I also got a free pint of beer from the bar staff because my coolness was so obvious.

The Late Great Chrissy Bliss

2009-06-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

We started playing a "little" late, but rocked the fuck out of Revolution Room.
Nothing like tossing the bun and getting right down to eating the meat--every song was killer.

RevRoom made money, Bliss made money, UHaul made money, and a packed club full of drunk fuckas got their shit rocked to the edge of destruction.
Life is good.

Next week BLISS will be in Kerrville at the famous GRC.
Check our myspace page for exact date and time.

Hooligan's In Black & White

2009-06-13T02:24:00.001-07:00

Decided to see what my camera will give me in black and white mode, versus converting in PhotoShop.
Forgot that I had pre-set this, so the awesome sunset I shot while loading the gear into Hooligan's turned out like crap.

A ritual at every Bliss show, Chrissy leads a toast (the birds) to our missing member Rikk. See you soon, brother!

U-Haul was out of pickups, so I had to rent a 17' box truck.
The first one puked coolant all over my driveway so I had to take it back for a replacement.
This is truck 2, which was much newer and everything about it worked better from the motor and transmission to the suspension and seats and AC and steering--that first one was a piece of crap.

Only problem was that it wouldn't fit anywhere near my garage so simply hooking-up our trailer wasn't an option.
I had to drag all our shit out of the trailer and up the ramp by myself.
And I'll have to do it again in reverse because I made sure to reserve a pick-up for tomorrow to save the band money.

I'm wiped out.
And the tip jar scored exactly $0.00 tonight--not even a fucking quarter--so I'm very disappointed in the audience tonight.

"But we sang along and got Chrissy hammered!"
Fuck that shit--how about we concentrate on what's important?

Your chance at redemption is Saturday June 13th at The Revolution Room on Broadway 1 mile inside Loop 410.
Try to advance as a species, BlissTards.

Sloppy Night At Retox

2009-06-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

The band was great--it's the audience that was sloppy.

Never seen so many people fall down in a single night.

Where Was Bliss Again?

2009-05-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

Rev Room, Retox, Rebar...Re Re Re Rebar it is!

Please stop buying Chrissy drinks.
She can afford to buy her own, at her own pace.
Strong-arming her into drinking your gift shots is bad for everyone, so cut that shit out.
She has a job to do.

Bliss Body Butter:

Donde Esta Bliss?

2009-05-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

We are at REBAR on Saturday May 30th, not Friday the 29th.
Ooops!

Making Bad Decisions

2009-05-25T02:49:00.001-07:00

At the Revolution Room on a Sunday night.

I don't have much to say, except that adding just 1 more light made a huge difference, the phrase "Dude, I drank 11 bullblasters!" will go down in history, I hate being told to 'turn it down', and I'm getting much better at backing-up a trailer even though I still hate it.
The tip jar covered half of the truck rental, which isn't too bad.
Unfortunately, last week's borrowed POS truck (high bumper hitch) resulted in the trailer's jack getting stuck in the fully extended position, so it will need to be replaced.
Only $20 for a new jack, and it's yet another improvement that was needed.
I also figured out how to get the door to close all the way!!

The Show Must Go On...

2009-05-24T01:38:00.001-07:00

Even if it means getting assraped.

$19.95 a day?
Sweet!

Plus $10/day ultra-insurance. (A must-have item--trust me on this!!!)
Plus gas, because you gotta have gas.

But...the 59 cents per mile adds up pretty damn fast.
For two nights in-town we're looking at around $115.
(A single night in Kerrville would run $125!).

After Chrissy pimped the tip jar tonight we're 25% of the way there.
Revolution Room should be good for most of the rest--y'all come out tonight?!?!
(Sunday May 24!)

Bliss & Drive Set A Bad Example

2009-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Like some college party where the reach-arounds get out of hand (?) and scare away the sorority chicks, only in our case it was just a matter of too many drinks.

String Theory At Sherlock's

2009-05-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to do a String Theory show.
They were my main gig in 2006-7, but now we only play once a month so it's more like a reunion and we never get on each other's nerves.
All professionals, we just show up on time and rub another one out.

The long conversations Ruben and I share are legendary:
"How's it going?"
"It's good. How you doin'?"

Since two of the guys are also in The Max and that band is playing Sherlock's this weekend, we got the added bonus of using The Max's lights.
More lights=better pictures.
Wouldn't have minded adding their sound gear to the mix...

Revolution Room Gets Ricockulous

2009-05-10T02:27:00.001-07:00

El RevRoom was a little un-crowded tonight, but according to my sources it was that way everywhere. Bliss still gave all they had for the peoples.

Don't get me wrong--it was like 57% of a normal RevRoom crowd, and they were deeply into our music.

She tried, but the free drinks kept coming.
Y'all need to settle the fuck down and let us put on our best show.
Put that money in the tip jar so I can afford to pay for truck damage.

I'm surprised she isn't flashing "the shocker".

I have new nicknames for everyone in the band.
In no particular order, Bliss is:
Rehab (the good kind)
Sweats like a whore in church
Les Paul Reed Smith
Loud Nine
Higher than bat pussy
Most of the above

Which one am I?

Just Wedge It In @ Retox

2009-05-02T02:26:00.001-07:00

Wedging a truck + band trailer into the only available loading zone?
Not easy or fun at all.
Fixing the damage to this borrowed truck after hitting a deer on the way home from Kerrville came to $3600.
So I'm being very careful with it.

Am I looking forward to taking it to Kerrville again next week?
Am I?
Fuck No.
Don't be stupid.
I'm shitting bricks already, so the next 7 days will be hell.

Oh yeah--the show went great at Retox.
Had to wedge the newer audience members into a standing-room-only situation.

Sorry, but the lights suck at the 'tox lately, and I wasn't really in the mood to take pictures anyway.

Did I mention the $3600?

Bandannas And Dollar Bills

2009-04-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Bliss & Drive teamed-up to demolish the crowd at Hooligan's.
A couple of other bands opened the show, but I didn't catch their names and the music was generic and forgettable.
Being loud and fast doesn't hold a candle to having real talent.

FuckFuckFuck Kerrville

2009-04-11T03:52:00.001-07:00

It was an eventful night at the Guadalupe River Club.

Chrissy found some guy with BLISS tattooed on his arm:

Other stuff happened...like it was so crowded I could only get two beers all night.

I was feeling pretty good about all the work I've done on the band's trailer.
Dragging one around is new for me, and I didn't like it at first.
But with the new taillights and wiring, real safety chains, and a lock on the back door, it's less of a worry.
Even managed to back it into the loading area at GRC and then back into my garage a few minutes ago, and I'm a trailer-in-reverse virgin.

Unfortunately, on the way home (near Boerne) two deer came running out of nowhere and I hit them.
I'm still shaken up.
As if that's not bad enough, I was driving my future father-in-law's truck and it's fucked-up.
Is the band going to cover his insurance deductible?
(Yeah, right!)
Glad Steve was with me--it would have been even worse without someone to talk to.

So I'm in a shitty mood--and trying hard not to think about the poor deer I just thumped.

Shit...

Bliss Should Live At Hooligan's

2009-04-04T02:55:00.000-07:00

We play there all the fucking time--might as well wall-off a section of the upper floor for a Bliss apartment.
I could fix their shitty sound system before lunch, then have all the lights working by showtime.
Of course I would have to disable my fixes for the other bands...

Despite the worry and heartache everyone in the band is suffering, we managed to pull a great show out of our drunken butts.

Florin's pretending not to notice Chrissy's tits at his feet.

You still awake, Peege?
Kicked ass tonight, my brother.
Thanks again for coming to our rescue.
How did you like the big boomey stage where you can't hear yourself?

My favorite part was when 'River Chase Rick' got ejected for hanging with undesireables.

Rebar--Where's Rikk?

2009-03-28T02:53:00.000-07:00

Our bass player skipped town two steps ahead of fathers with shotguns, or so the story goes.
I felt vulnerable and scared without my boss and protector there with me.
Also felt over-worked. Dragging all our heavy shit from the trailer to the stage by myself is no fucking picnic.
I think I sprained my gozinta.

There was a long line of people waiting to get inside.
Utter pandemonium all night--best crowd ever!
Chrissy got a break because the audience was doing most of the singing.

Nice people--thanks for the beer.

Blew a circuit breaker tonight--it's been 6 months since that's happened.
Had the band up and running again in 2 minutes, and they picked up the same song where they left off.
Fucking power-sucking neon beer signs can bite my shiny metal ass.

Introducing Peege, our fill-in bassist until Rikk is able to return.
He also plays with Chrissy in the Undercovers.
A solid 4-stringer with nice tone who must have balls the size of church bells to learn all our songs and jump right in without a single rehearsal.
Buy this guy a drink next time you see him.
Saved our asses!

Fingers everywhere.
Even in the ladies room, judging by what I saw from the doorway.

Get well ASAP, Rikk.
I don't like doing this without you.
Chrissy's mean to me and Florin won't share.
Steve stole my cookie.

St. Patrick's Gay

2009-03-18T03:03:00.000-07:00

Chased all the snakes out of Ireland?
Sounds like he was trying too hard--either to get some or to prove he wasn't.

Bliss and Prototype teamed up to demolish the green-beer-swilling masses on a Tuesday Night worth remembering.
If they can remember shit after tonight...

Green Foam Hat Fun

Prototype's singer is our guest for some Evanescence magic.

This was Year #2, Show #1 for me.
Looking back, Bliss has moved a long way towards dominance of the local scene.
Congratulations.

Too Cold To Rock?

2009-03-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

As always there was a capacity crowd at Revolution room, but tonight they were 98% pussies.
I guess it's hard to scream when your teeth are chattering?

Rule #73: If it's cold and rainy, wear a fucking jacket.
Are ALL of your moms crackwhores?

Bliss delivered the goods of course.

I liked Chrissy's parting shot.
My sentiments exactly.

Y'all sucked.

This Week

2009-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Bliss is at Revolution Room on Broadway--Friday March 13.
And we'll be at Hooligan's on Tuesday March 17 for St. Patrick's Day.
Prototype will be on the other stage at Hooligan's that night.

String Theory play at Stonewerks Big Rock Grill on Thursday March 19th.

GRC Flips Out

2009-03-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

Typical pandemonium at the GRC.
But why all the fighting?
The short asshole who tried to pick one with me didn't get very far.

Any horizontal surface found itself covered in empties, but on our equipment cases?
Fuckheads.

Bliss & Drive At Hooligan's

2009-02-28T02:44:00.001-08:00

Another great double-bill at Hooligan's!
This time Bliss willingly gave up our usual spot on the main stage because Drive's lightshow consumes more electricity than the other side of the building can deliver.
We're more about delivering great performances using our talent and experience, so finishing early in the room with better acoustics suited me right down to my toes.

This reminds me of how it looked when The BeWires played at an ATT corporate party in Jackson Miss. circa 1999.
After country superstar Lorrie Morgan's short sit-down-audience set we played the "party" part of the event with rock and dance music.
LM's road crew got so excited by how loud and fun and professional we were that they fired-up their huge lasers and gave me back the rest of the amps and speakers that are normally denied other acts on the bill.
My counterpart (front of house engineer) was a little pissed-off that we managed to sound as good as they did using a little Mackie mixer that cost less than 1/20th as much as their huge imported Midas console.
Fuck that guy.
Size and price don't mean shit if you know what you're doing.
I delight in proving this fact whenever possible using audio, lights and cameras.

Steve's new snare drum killed!
And the new kick-drum heads brought him back to the way things were back 10-20 years.
Perfection!!!

Make No Mistake...

2009-02-22T02:39:00.001-08:00

...The Sea Monkeys is a completely different band from BLISS.
The same musicians and crew for sure, but with each lead vocalist comes a unique set of songs along with plenty of fans that have no interest in "the other group".
The vibe just isn't the same, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

A bad economy never hurts those who deliver total satisfaction every time.
You can quote me on that, but better yet just apply it to your own job situation.
High performance matters most of all, but never being a douchebag helps.

A Reminder

2009-02-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

You can check out our calendar and other stuff at
Bliss's MySpace.

And don't forget The Sea Monkeys, who are playing at Retox tonight!

The View Makes Money

2009-02-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

In the midst of this recent economic downturn some clubs are surprised when people don't leave early and actually spend more money than at any other time in a given month.

I'm not surprised at all.

The blue light special--Scream for an encore!

Bliss delivers!

Combine the best band with the most experienced crew and before long people will learn to save their monthly entertainment budget for the shows located close to home that are guaranteed to be special.

Bliss Bundles Up @ GRC

2009-01-31T03:33:00.001-08:00

It was cold in Kerrville tonight--probably 35f or less by closing time. It's the first time I've seen Chrissy sing without being half-nekkid.

Florin knows Kerrville weather so he used under-layers so as not to change his 'look'. His playing is too fiery to need much more.

Chrissy went with an Ed Hardy hoodie and Jack Skellington belt buckle, plus boots that were high enough in all possible ways to keep her feet and legs away from the icy floor.
GRC (Guadalupe River Club) is cantilevered off the side of a steep river slope, so tonight the floor got frigid air underneath and reminded me of standing on a hockey rink, but with 37% less fighting and falling down.

Steve's 12" Tom is being swapped-out for a loaner/replacement(?) while it goes back to the factory--we're waiting for the guy from Pearl™ to hit town in a few days. There's some de-lamination and soft spots in the shell.
That drum has been nothing but trouble since Day 1, and I'm glad it's finally been confirmed by expert diagnosis that Steve and I aren't crazy.
They'll make it good--shit happens.

There are "eyes open" versions from this series.

Layers for Rikk as well.
It's his "birthday weekend" so he's a little out of focus.

When I put skulls on speakers it makes them sound better.
You're mileage may vary.

A Double Shot Of Rock At Hooligan's

2009-01-25T03:23:00.001-08:00

Two Bands, No Waiting!
And no crappy DJ break music...

After the big pay-per-view boxing thing last night, BLISS and Prototype™ took turns delivering the crazy from two stages.

The VIEW

2009-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our first time at The View, and it worked out pretty well.
Now we know that there's four 20amp outlets and four 30amp ones, which is more than enough (for a change!).
Should have brought the truss with 8 lights for behind the band.
And some drapes to cover the windows around the stage--all that glass was reflecting the cymbals right up everyone's asses.

I know someone who's really looking forward to the SuperBowl.

Two encores, screaming, pandemonium...a typical Bliss show.
I suspect we'll play The View again.
Hope so--it's the closest club to my house--literally just down the street.
I was home in under 5 minutes, although running that red light sped things up.

ReBar Is Bliss's Bitch

2009-01-18T02:40:00.000-08:00

Just like every other club in recent memory, ReBar got the full Bliss treatment tonight and is ready to start turning tricks for us.

This skull is starting to turn up everywhere, internationally. Coming to a bookstore near you. Seriously.

Steve and Chrissy

Chrissy and Rikk

In the midst of pandemonium

Repeat Images By Special Request:

(Thanks for the beers!)

Revolution Room Wants More

2009-01-11T23:07:00.000-08:00

More encores, more fights, and now they want us to play twice each month.
My guess is that standing-room-only crowds and bulging cash drawers finally penetrated the layers of BS between the nightly business and management.
There had better be a substantial raise involved--do the math. If the club makes a thousand or two more whenever we play that has to be worth a hundred or 2 more for Bliss. Am I right?
I don't know for sure what's driving the recent surge in our popularity, but if I had to guess the answer would be....me.

A toast--I think this one was "The Birds", now featuring 33% more swallowing because Bliss always tries to do better than last time.

"Take that you sweet Paiste whore cymbal".

Bones & Jager

2009-01-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

Just screwing around with some new equipment.

Sea Monkeys Released Into The Bay

2009-01-04T02:26:00.001-08:00

Started slow, ended strong.
Old friends, familiar surroundings.
The best Sea Monkeys show since Cheetah joined the band, and we keep improving so watch out for insane progress in 2009.

I've gotten the old Hitmen back-lights into a useable state.
Now I just need to take them home and clean the lenses inside and out, blow out the dust, plus find replacement parts for the truss system and access plates.
And lubrication. Don't EVER forget the lube!

It's all Steve and Rikk for this entry.
Neglected them at the Bliss show last night, and have been shooting too much of the pretty-boy singer in recent months anyway.

Considering I only take pictures for maybe 2 minutes a night total, y'all are lucky to get anything that doesn't blow goats.

Or ducks...

Where are we next weekend?
Fucked if I know.

String Theory is at StoneWerks Big Rock Grill on Thursday.
I'll be the guy freezing his ass off while doing a Sudoku puzzle and texting my lady.

BLISS at Retox

2009-01-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

The first show of 2009 could not have been better.
What a great audience!
The 5 of us kicked no small amount of ass if I do say so myself.

The Sea Monkeys will be at Retox tonight.
It's in the old Iguana Bay, and 3 of us are former Hitmen so come by for some nostalgia and drinks.

Lettuce Entertain You

2008-12-28T03:14:00.000-08:00

Guadalupe River Club is the only gig where I'll eat--the planks of fish are great and we love the fries.
Sylvia and I split a burger tonight and it was pretty good.

Chrissy got playful with my ketchup and it kicked ass so much I had to take a picture.
Destroying her art with my fries was fun, too.
Look for their new item The BlissBurger.
It's #420 on the menu.

GRC is always a good time, but tonight's audience was out of control! I guess it helped that the band was in rare form.

But just wait until next time--ladders and drills will be involved, speakers will be moved, lights will be moved, I will be moved, the crowd will definitely be moved...
I'm tired of compromising the quality of our sound and lights so we're going to do things MY way and take it to the next level.

A Blissful Christmas

2008-12-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

A highlight of our party Christmas Night was when Florin graciously consented to entertain my guests--he was a big hit!

Not to be left out, Jesus Cantu took a turn on my guitar--the very first electric he's ever played.

Music, drinks and fire--all you need for a successful party.

Private Bliss

2008-12-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

We played at a quinceanera in the Shertz Civic Center tonight, and it went really well--at least all of the major goofs were by someone else.

Rikk watching the powerpoint slideshow while playing 'Yellow'.

A rare sighting of Chrissy in a dress and heels--this lasted for 3-4 songs before changing into her usual stage gear.
I thought she looked very pretty and sweet.

Southside Sounds's Frank and Noel handled the DJ duties (and beer fetching) with skill and grace, and Bliss thanks them for their hard work.

The father of the birthday girl was very nice to us all night, and the big bottle of Jagermeister was mucho appreciado. We killed it.

The crew at Shertz Civic Center were terrific--staying out of our way and not being event nazis, plus helping us out quickly when it was decided we needed a bigger stage. The facility is new and excellent.

The huge group of teens were well behaved and many of them had mad hiphop skillz--several of the guys got served.

Can't say much about the photo/video duo except that I'm not sure if the emo assistant was mute or just a moron. There was a condescending attitude coming from them that I suspect isn't warranted judging by the way many things were shot--you can't bounce flash very well off of ceilings and walls when in the middle of a huge room like that, but that didn't stop them from trying. Buy a diffuser next time.
And why no umbrellas or softboxes plus a background for taking portraits on this special night? Huh?
Emo spent a lot of time shooting bootleg video of our show, so now I'll have to spend a lot of time searching YouTube and MySpace to see if they violated our copyrights.
The sound and light production was mine, and the performance belongs to BLISS.
If I find anything that doesn't suck, it belongs to us now.

The off-duty cops handling security were cool, and also stayed out of our way by hardly doing anything at all.
Thanks, boys in blue!

Rev Room Gets Pwned

2008-12-14T02:33:00.001-08:00

Just Wow!
Music and magic and drinks--the planets aligned and Bliss wins the hearts and minds of a huge crowd of rowdy fuckers.

No Bullshit Friday At Hooligan's

2008-12-13T03:07:00.000-08:00

Better late than never--This was the first Bliss show since the night before Thanksgiving, and it was fairly typical for Hooligans's in that everything was 35% more awesome and nobody died.

The full moon was illuminating some wild clouds while I was loading the gear into our trailer--made me wish I had a tripod along to do it up right.

Revolution Room Saturday December 13th!!!
Come out early for equipment maintenance day--I'll be drilling and tightening and rotating all kinds of things...

The Sea Monkeys At Charlie Brown's

2008-12-07T01:32:00.001-08:00

A decent crowd saw a great show.
And The HITMEN everywhere you looked!
It was fun hanging with John and David and Matt--I missed those crazy fuckers.
We had more than enough people to do a complete reunion show.

Retox Bar

2008-11-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

What do you do after Detox?

It was a blast from the past to be destroying another audience on the night before Thanksgiving in the same building where The Hitmen used to do the same.
Flashbacks and fruitflies--I guess the renovation money ran out before the bathrooms got fixed.
Or cleaned.

Jack actually pours--pump and hoses and shit.

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Chrissy!

I was trying to get a photo of the girl with a cardboard box that was completely full of shots a minute earlier when Chrissy got in the way, but this version showcases all the cool colors in her hair so we'll keep it.

Mmmmm--JelloShot!

Bob's Christmas Treat

2008-11-23T22:38:00.001-08:00

Good old Bob "fixed" the members of BLISS last night in Kerrville.
As I understood it, he scored some forbidden-in-the-USA 160 proof schnapps from Belgium and soaked apple chunks in it for a day or two.
By the time you have chewed just one of the already soft apple bits your tongue and gums are numb, and after only a few it's time to either fight or cry.

After 28 years in this business I thought I had seen everything (and tried many of them) but this was a new one for me.
Not for amateurs!

Thanks, Bob!