Bliss 66

Cheyenne Goff : Lead Vocals
Aaron Schossau : Rhythm Guitar
Jordan Barnett : Keyboard, Vocals
Bob Cook : Drums
Rob Harbin : Lead Guitar, Vocals
Don Patty : Bass

Detroit’s rock city reputation — already reverberating with the cool blues groove of Robert Bradley, Eminem’s rap manifestos, and the kick-ass crunch of Kid Rock – has now become even more impressive with the startling debut of Bliss 66, a new, hard-rocking band.

Bliss 66, who hail from the southern reaches of the Detroit area balance their brazen sound with sensuous melodies. On the band’s debut album, Trip to the 13th, songs like the tough-and-tender arena ballad “Not Quite Paradise,” the haunting “Crazy World,” and the wickedly good first single, the love-obsessed “Sooner or Later,” rumble and rock with the classic intensity of moody rockers like Screaming Trees and Pearl Jam. “Sooner or Later” also pitches headlong into a hopelessly catchy chorus ridden by Goff’s aggressively-anguished vocals.

Each of Bliss 66′ eleven tracks, principally written by rhythm guitarist Aaron Schossau, ride on the soaring, sand-scratched vocals of frontman Cheyenne Goff. The singer is backed by Schossau, lead guitarist Rob Harbin (first cousin to bassist), bassist Don Patty, drummer Bob Cook, and keyboardist Jordan Barnett. Add the magic touch of mega-producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morrisette, Dave Matthews, No Doubt), to the equation and Bliss 66′ Trip to the 13th may well be one of the most impressive rock ‘n’ roll debuts to come driving out of Detroit in years.

“Bliss 66 comes from the heartland of traditional rock and roll America,” explains Ballard. “And while they definitely are from the rock side of the street, their melodies have a pop sensibility that creates something special.”

Straight from the flatlands of the Midwest, Bliss 66, with most of its members just out of high school, has toured extensively throughout the cities and towns of Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana. With the help of the Group’s own homemade CD, the support of local radio stations, and the Band’s own savvy manager Rick Smith (Days of the New), Bliss 66 has found the right outlet for their potent brew of pop-impassioned rock.

That balance between two genres has a lot to do with the yin and yang of Bliss 66, namely lead vocalist Cheyenne Goff and songwriter Aaron Schossau. Goff, who channels Bliss 66′ gritty rock conscience, hails from the urban streets of Detroit. “When you live there you can’t help but notice what’s going on,” explains Goff. “In the early nineties I was nothing but Snoop Dogg khakis and a pair of Chuck Taylors, but at the same time I also had that rock backbone.” Goff, who is just 19, professes to admire an eclectic array of influences, ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Axl Rose to Richard Ashcroft.

In comparison, Schossau, from the tree-lined southern Detroit suburbs, is an unabashed fan of top 40 radio and the melodic rock of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams. “We’re definitely each other’s foil!” says Goff, who points out that all the other band members innocently play yin to each other’s yang. Easily distracted keyboardist Jordan Barnett and super-organized guitarist Rob Harbin are subtly mirrored by the loose, mellow vibes exuded by drummer Bob Cook and bassist Don Patty.

Despite their differences in personality, the cohesive power of Bliss 66 is vigorously evident in the band’s explosive, yet strangely elegant sound, from the dynamic “Trip” to the wiry, guitar-stoked “Do It Again,” the band’s first breakthrough song.

“This Detroit radio station called 105.1, The Edge, starting spinning “Do It Again,”” Goff recalls. “And they called Rick Smith, our manager. He called us, got us a booking agent and we started clubbing three or four nights a week while I was still going to high school.” How in the world did he balance school with such a relentless gigging schedule? The singer laughs. “I lived off of caffeine pills for the most part!”

But first, rewind back two years. Before they were Bliss 66, the future bandmates first met through a youth group. One by one they were eventually recruited in a more formal fashion by big dreamer Schossau who envisioned creating an outfit that would play his own songs. Although he first hestitated bringing Cheyenne in the mix (“I wanted to sing,” sighs Schossau) he finally realized — after Cheyenne gave a startling, impromptu concert in a parking lot — that he’d be a fool not to sack his vocal coach and invite the gifted singer into the mix.

“Collectively and individually we’re all very spiritual,” says Goff, “so whether I write a song about the woman I love or about a tragedy in Colorado (“Crazy World”), it’s never going to be conventional.” In fact, Goff says that he swiftly penned his reaction to the tragic 1999 shooting at Columbine High after coming home from school one afternoon and simply reacting to the sight of one of the survivors sobbing on CNN.

“I remember being so moved that I just grabbed my guitar,” the singer recalls. “I wanted to be a voice of comfort. I felt like I could really sympathize with the tragedy – I saw some chaotic things when I lived in the barrio. Despite the band’s need to express such spiritually-touched moments, Goff firmly stresses that the band’s name ‘Bliss’ emerged from a discussion regarding the group Oasis – and how much they liked a one-word name. Beyond that, says Goff, 66 means two parallel numbers with mystical qualities for which derive strength.

“It’s a meeting of groove, chordal structure and melody,” says Ballard, who first recruited Bliss 66 to record the song “Not Quite Paradise” for his soundtrack for the 2000 sci-fi flick Titan A.E. “And this band can play their music live to perfection.” Ballard relished the chance to work with Bliss 66 on Trip to the 13th. “I think it’s lovely because you have the great benefit of a young life of experience and a potent storage of inspiration to draw on.”

Bassist Don Patty puts it more simply. “You’ve got Aaron and Cheyenne writing the songs and they both come from a different side of the tracks. You mix that together and it just makes this music that I dig … and I think the rest of the world will dig it too.”