We recently connected with BlissBliss and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, BlissBliss thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

We each grew up in homes that enjoyed music. Lang’s mother played piano and his step dad played the sax. He was exposed to classical and jazz early on.

Renee grew up listening to Motown music as a little girl but was also introduced to many different kinds of music through her high school choir and college experiences.

“I, (Lang) was initially self taught on drums by playing to the radio in the basement everyday after school on a drum set my parents bought me. I played in high school band and then went on the road full time right after graduation. After I had been playing professionally for a number of years, I took a sabbatical to go to school in New York City for drumming.” 

“We both learned songwriting in somewhat the same way by simply doing it. We each learned the basics of melody and harmony on piano and guitar growing up, but being in the studio and on the road and working with very successful songwriters and artists, was an education all it’s own and shaped what we hold to, as personal and professional standards.”

Renee remembers a story from when she was on the road with Amy Grant as a background vocalist, “There was some equipment used to help “play” some of the parts of Amy’s songs that were done in the studio that we couldn’t recreate live on the road without bringing more musicians and singers out. It was a keyboard called an “Emulator” and there were certain parts that it would play in addition to what we were singing and all of the musicians were playing. Well, one night it broke down and we were all a little afraid of whether or not the audience would notice it not being there. They didn’t; we beat the machine!”

Nowadays, someone can have no music theory knowledge and no experience or training, but with a computer program, create a, “song”. The question has really become, is a human being really needed in order to make music that people will be affected by in a positive way? We hope the answer is obvious… yes, human beings have to be the creators!

Our opinion is that the most effective way for people to experience music is still “live”; and a true musical experience between an audience and artist can’t be faked. It requires a lot of work and dedication to “learning the art” of music by the artist, and then creating experiences for the audience to enter into. When it happens, there’s literally nothing like it!

BlissBliss, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are recording and performing artists and have been in the music industry in various roles for a long time. 

As a quick history, Renee sang background vocals for pop artist Amy Grant for 10 years and then signed a record deal to the label owned by Amy’s managers. Along with singing and recording her own songs, Renee sang background vocals for other artists and producers in the studio and on the road.

Lang has played drums for a number of different artists in the contemporary christian, country and pop music industries both on the road and in the studio as well.

We came together to do BlissBliss because we loved a lot of the same music, as well as for relationship reasons. We knew we’d have to be together a lot more if we wanted to stay married; continuing to tour apart wasn’t gonna help that!

We were signed to an indie label in Nashville and scored the first #1 for the label on CHR radio, with our song, Fight For Peace.

We had a second song called When The World’s Asleep, that went to #6 on radio.

Through lots of ups and downs (maybe more downs than ups.. ha!) we have continued because we believe that our music is more than just a desire but a calling, so to speak; it really is the driving force.

Our message is one of perseverance and restoration.

We believe that the world can be changed by people who are doing what they’re made for; designed for by God. Our offering just happens to be in the form of songs and stories.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

So, we were working on our first record as BlissBliss and even after the release of it, we were really excited to see all the dreaming and hard work come together finally. Things looked great and we couldn’t wait to start touring, doing shows and promoting our music and ride the wave of scoring a #1 single. 

What we didn’t know, was that the label was going under because of really bad choices made by the president of the label. Behind the scenes, things that were out of our hands quickly spun out of control.

We didn’t know about any of it until the radio promoter at the label, told us on a phone call one day. He said they didn’t have any money for postage to send off our third single to radio stations. 

From that point, things went downhill quickly. The whole thing was like a ship on fire that people were trying to jump off of to save themselves. Word got out on the street that the label was going under so no booking agent wanted to work with us. 

So we had no label home, no booking agent and the management company we had to break ties with, threatened to sue us if we did anything with our music outside of them. 

So it was the death of a dream of sorts and we didn’t…couldn’t pursue anything… for a period of 5 years. 

There was a lot of discouragement, disillusionment and anger. 

But we kept writing and kept believing.

Now, 25 years later, we joke about it and say, “you’re not a “real artist” if you’ve haven’t been on a label that’s gone under!”

Many things have changed since that time. The music industry has gone through monumental shifts.

But what’s remained at the core for us, is the desire to keep creating music, tell our story and encourage others to not give up on their God given dreams.”

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

By the time you see an unknown band playing live, an artist trying to sell their CDs or downloads online, or a video on YouTube by some singer you’ve never heard of, they have probably done it all on their own, with little to no money or recognition.

Most are doing it for the love of it and would do it (to some degree) even if they never made a penny.

All of that to say, music has become a very difficult career to make a full time living at. 

So, when music fans buy directly from the artist, it makes a huge difference. Apple, Spotify, etc., are wonderful but those companies keep a percentage of the sales. An independent artist is very much akin to a local business owner. If you like what they make, you’ll show support for them by buying their products and promoting them; by sharing with others, what you love. 

Happy customers/fans, buying music and sharing their love for an artist’s music and shows, is the way that society can best support artists and creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blissbliss.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/blissblissmusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/blissblissmusic
• Youtube: youtube.com/blissblissmusic

Image Credits
Allen Clark Photography, LP Vargas, Keoni Keur Photography