By Alan K. Stout- Weekender Editor

Being in a local rock band for more than 10 years can provide a group of musicians with plenty of fun memories, but for longtime modern-rock favorites Bliss, the best of times are right now. Though 2006 marks its 10th year as a working band, the group’s members say that since taking some time off from performing in 2001-2002 and reuniting in 2003, things have been better than ever.

Who says you can’t go home again?

“The first run wasn’t as much fun as what I’m having right now,” says vocalist Joey Stevens, who adds that he’s been completely surprised by the group’s longevity. “I thought we’d just be doing this for a year or two. I never had a musical background, like the rest of the band, so I just thought it would just be fun for a (while), and that would be it. It’s a complete shock to me, to put it mildly.”
Bliss was actually formed 11 years ago, in 1995, though they disbanded four years ago to focus on family and careers. In and effort to be accurate, the band does not include that time when calculating its history. Thus it notes 2006 as its 10th anniversary.

Though the group doesn’t perform as often as it did during its first six years together - mainly due to job responsibilities and because there aren’t as many local rock clubs as there once were - they still get together for a few gigs each month. The band features Brad Polidori on bass and Jim Graham on drums. Jamie Chorba has replaced original guitarist Joe Angeloni.

A quick glance at the band’s MySpace page reveals a pretty colorful history, or as they joke, “useless information.” The band has played in 10 states along the Northeastern region of the United States, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. It once traveled more than 17,000 miles in one year to perform and it is estimated that the group has played to over 250,000 people. The band’s biggest show was at Seacrets in Ocean City, Md., in July of 2000 before a crowd of 7,800.

All good times, says drummer Jim Graham.

“There’s always been big shows for us, which we’re thankful for, but one of my fondest memories was playing the Fourth of July weekend down at LBI,” he says. “The vibe down at the beach is just amazing, especially during holidays. I remember there just being cases of beer stocked up in our room. We had a lot of guests come with us from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, who would drive down, and if they didn’t get their own hotel room, they’d crash with us. It was like a core group of people. We got paid a good amount of money, but we probably threw it right back at the bar.”

Bliss’ covers include tunes by Pearl Jam, Blink 182, Dave Matthews, Panic at The Disco, The Killers and Hinder. The group had always done a good job at balancing its own personal tastes with songs it knows a crowd wants to hear and has enjoyed its role as sheer entertainers.

“I think playing covers is fun, just because I like the music,” says Graham. “I couldn’t be in a wedding band. I like Sinatra, but I don’t think I could cover his stuff all the time. I like playing Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, R.E.M. and all sorts of stuff. Anything alternative modern-rock, I’m just into it. If I wasn’t playing in band, I’d be playing it in a garage. That’s what I’d be listening to.

“When we first started, it was sort of the end of the grunge era,” he adds. “You had a band like Hootie & The Blowfish be the biggest band in the world, then you had Oasis be the biggest band in the world. Then Hootie sort of faded, and Oasis sort of faded. You see the cycles. One day I ran across an old set-list of some of the songs we did that were totally one-hit wonders that you haven’t heard of. They had a good rock song that was on the radio for a couple of months and then they disappeared.”

The band has also seen changes in music, but also the way people act in the clubs. The changes, however, have been positive.

“When we first started, people used to get loaded, mosh all night, go out to the parking lot and throw up and drive home,” says Graham. “Now - and it’s a good thing - people aren’t getting as fall-down drunk as they used to. I think that’s been a huge difference. A couple of bar owners told us that the crowd that we get are good drinkers and good tippers … but everybody’s a lot more careful than they used to be.”

Stevens agrees. He says stricter laws regarding DUIs have affected the size of club crowds, but have also made the roads safer. “People try to stay closer to home,” he says. “People are still power-drinking, but they’re doing it closer to their house. The days of people driving to Wilkes-Barre to see us if they could see us in Scranton are over with, and vice versa.”

Still, Bliss can still pack ‘em in just fine and on any given weekend at a club like Tink’s they can still draw 400-500 fans. The band says it is thankful for such support among not only area music fans, but also fellow musicians. Times, they say, are better.

“When we first started as the young new bucks, there were a lot of cover bands with a big, big attitudes,” says Graham. “Now, you could be in a cover band one day, and then asked by Breaking Benjamin or whoever to fill in. Because it’s a small knit community of original people and cover people, who are constantly switching bands, but are still friends with each other. Everybody gets along more. Nobody’s fighting to be the biggest cover band or original band in the valley. Everybody just wants to get out there and play.

“It’s just a much better vibe.”

Cover band celebrates 10 years in NEPA clubs 

Being around for 10 years is nothing to snicker at when it comes to the music business, especially when you're a local cover band. NEPA is known for chewing up and spitting out bands, but for Bliss, its 10-year anniversary is just the beginning. 

"At this point we're not looking to be the next Pearl Jam, we just want to be the first Bliss," said drummer Jimmy Graham. "And we just have so much fun doing what we're doing, it's crazy."

Birthed in 1995, Bliss has played to packed rooms locally and regionally at venues in New York, Connecticut, and Maryland - once performing for 7,800 people at a New Jersey venue. "Playing isn't the most important thing now, it's actually playing and having a good time," said vocalist Joey Stevens. "When we just started out we tried to play four times a week, and the last thing we felt like doing - because we're all basically working too - was sitting down and tying to pump that out."

Bliss - Stevens, lead vocals; Graham, drums/vocals; Brad Polidori, bass/vocals; and Jamie Chorba, guitars/vocals - has endured the trials and tribulations of 10 years in the cover band scene. But with a devoted fan base, the shows, the band said, are getting better and better. "I think we're having more fun now than we did when we were 22 years old," said Graham. "I don't know if it's because we appreciate it now or what, but we just love everybody that comes out to see us, and everybody in the group just gets along so well and plays together so well when we're not drinking as much." 

While not aspiring to be the next Pearl Jam, Bliss is rocking covers of Pearl Jam, The Killers, Fuel, Incubus, Rusted Root, and other radio-friendly, modern rock hits. Along with its staples, the band is incorporating new tunes from the likes of Panic! At the Disco and Nickelback into its sets. "We've never pretended to be anything that we're not," said Stevens. "I think collectively our regret is that we never just sat down and tried to get an album out, but you just play the cards your dealt. There are absolutely no big regrets in what we do." But the band is finally going to begin working on original material to put out sometime in the future.

With a slew of local shows in the upcoming months, everyone can get a dose of Bliss. "It's like a fine wine, it's just getting better with age," noted Graham.