Ignorance Is Bliss

Like every other band out there, each one of us has a passion for music. Its where you let your passion take you that sets you apart from the others. Ignorance is Bliss was formed back in 2009 under the name 'Aleister', after the Infamous Aleister Crowley. Due to the name not catching on with people who didnt understand it, we decided it was time for a change to 'Ignorance Is Bliss', another name with similar Mystique.
Ignorance Is Bliss or IIB: Takes its influences from many different artists.

Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, OLP, The White Stripes, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, The Allman Brothers, Rush, Sublime, Nirvana, Collective Soul, Audioslave, AC/DC, Stevie Ray Vaughn... God theres toooo many to list but those are some of the main ones.

Our first gig was played for free at the Dizzy Weasel in Hamilton Ontario on Barton st., playing cover songs. Due to the turnout from our crowd we ended up getting paid $400, which is a hell of alot better than $0!! A few months later we played again at Brooklyns Bar and Grill, which we were paid a very small sum for. With two members being young and finishing school the 'Band' was put on hold for almost 2 years until the winter of 2011.
November 2011, after almost two years of time away from the music it was time to 'Jam' again. After two months of practice we had our first show since 2009, at the Legendary Gladstone Tavern (or legendary enough around here at least!). With The Gladstone sounding solid and a huge turnout we were booked again at The Four Seasons Nudist Resort in Freelton, only this time with a few Originals under-way and under construction! Expecting Nudists we were shocked to see it had been turned into Fernbrook Resort campground and trailer park. But none the less they would love us and have us back for 3 more shows!

Spending a night with us you'll be able to tell what sets us apart from other bands. A lot of musicians define themselves by a genre, or by their particular expertise-skill, or by what achievements they've made.
We are no particular genre. Each one of us listens to such a wide variety of music and plays such a wide variety of music it would be impossible to narrow it down.. But we tried haha.. As far as expert-skill is concerned, not one of us is what you would call a 'master/professional' musician. We play off of feel. A performance/performer can thrive off of the energy they get from the audience, but its up to us to give you that energy! Its better to feel what your playing and to play what your feeling than to play for any other reason! With Steve-O being Richies father, they have an incredible chemistry thats grown off of 23 years of blood and playing together. Both self-taught musicians from Hamilton Ontario and born to live through music. Steve being in his mid 40's has over 25 years experience playing drums and in the Music scene, growing up in the age of Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Sabbath to name a few...

Darryl Filko, 26, years old was born and raised in Hamilton as well. Also self-taught with maybe a guitar class or two, music has been his passion since he was young aswell. With a classic rock'n'roll style voice, and scorching scream like his, he was meant for music. For him like the rest of his bandmates, music was always a way to enjoy yourself and be happy when times werent so bright, and even more so when they were. Darryl met Richie and Steve-O in highschool through some friends at a party at Richies. At the time Steve-O had been through a rough patch. The only thing in the house were a fridge and some cooking stuff, clothes, two mattresses, some pillows and blankets and most importantly the instruments. This would be just one of the many times in their lives that music would make the world seem a million shades brighter. Its reasons like this that we play what we feel and feel what we play. Over the next 4-5 years Darryl and Richie sewed a friendship that the band wouldnt work without, being the two young energetic frontmen of the band.

Mike Rice, from Steel City (Hamilton), Ontario, brings a whole other dynamic to the band. Mike is in his mid 40's like Steve and grew up around the same time with the same influences except on Bass. The thing with Mike is that he is technically a wizard on the bass and 6-string guitar. Infact he teaches guitar in his spare time. Its his technical knowledge of music and guitar that has allowed him to evolve and become such a God on the bass. Mike, Steve, and Richie all used to play in a cover band together for three years before I.I.B (Ignorance is Bliss), called Black Armed. Needless to say the chemistry between the three was amazing, and after a few jams he rest was history.