Guest teacher profile: Blyss

I am a bassist and bass instructor located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since relocating from New Orleans in 1994 I have had the great honor and pleasure of playing with some of the Bay Area’s most talented singers and songwriters. Since late 2000 I have played with Nya Jade , whose videos, “Live” and "One Pill" can be seen in regular rotation on Vh1 Soul and MTVu. I have been lucky enough to have shared stages over the years with Outkast, the Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence, Maroon 5, The Donnas, Latoya London, the Dave Mathews Band, the Roots, Longview, Crossfade, Better than Ezra, Collective Soul, the Dresdon Dolls and Raphael Saadiq . I've also played and recorded with members of Smashmouth and members of Michael Bolton, Shania Twain, Janet Jackson , Stevie Wonder & David Bowie's backing bands. I suppose that, in a way, one has to say a bunch of things in their bio about what they’ve done so that they appear to be more “legit”. While I have sometimes been in the "right" places at the "right" times, and reasonably prepared to do the job, the most legit thing about me is that I’ve played bass since I was 14 years old and the more I learn the more I realize I know nothing. It has been and continues to be a wonderful journey. I love playing music. I love being a part of the rhythm section and being there to support a vocalist or instrumentalist. I love the interaction, the conversation of music. I love those moments when I can look over at a band mate and wink as if to say "Oh yeah, I felt that!" just as much as those moments when noone has to say a word because we're all feeling the same thing. I have been what some call lucky; to have been able to pursue my boyhood dream of being a musician. I call it blessed.