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Time has a way of softening the edges of raw cultural excitement. It's difficult for us to remember now the fervor we felt at the end of the 20th century for finding strange beauty in the harshest of landscapes. We sought peace in the whispers of the dead... we caged ourselves within walls of mechanized death. Surrounded by the well-oiled whirr and clack of weaponry both psychic and physical...and we found empowerment for change in the cries of the tortured and abused, and finally, ultimately, in silences... most of all. For it was only in gulfs between notes could each of us meet that which we truly feared.

PAIN TEENS 1985-1995

PAIN TEENS was an experimental noise rock band formed in Houston, Texas in 1985 by Scott Ayers and Bliss Blood. The band used tape manipulation, digital delays, sampling, tape cut-ups and other effects in their music. They also included guitar, sitar, bass, drums, violin, marimba, saxophone, percussion, and many other musical instruments.

PAIN TEENS is distinguished from other rock groups mainly by Scott Ayer's guitar playing--a unique sound that combined swamplike psychedelia and twisted, effects-laden sounds. Bliss Blood's disturbing lyrics and icy delivery helped the PAIN TEENS sound like no other band on earth.

Beginning in 1987, PAIN TEENS released nine out-of-print cassette tapes and two LPs on their own Anomie Records label. Soon after, they released four LPs for Trance Records, an Austin, Texas label run by King Coffee of the band Butthole Surfers.

The live version of the band went through several lineups, including Steve Cook on bass, Ralf Armin on guitar, David Parker and Bart Enoch on drums in 1988, followed by Kirk Carr on bass and Frank Garymartin on drums. They ceased performing live in 1993, after touring with the Boredoms, Fudge Tunnel, Brutal Truth & Season to Risk in that year.

Bliss Blood moved to New York City in 1995 after the release of their sixth full length release, "Beast of Dreams", and formed The Moonlighters with Henry Bogdan from Helmet; Delta Dreambox, a 1920's style blues band; Voodoo Suite, a 1950's exotica lounge jazz group, the "crime jazz"-style Nightcall with Stu Spasm from Lubricated Goat, and many other projects. She currently lives in Brooklyn.

Scott Ayers and Frank Garymartin continued playing together in their new band Walking Timebombs, releasing several cds, Culturcide, and Truth Decay with Ralf Armin. Kirk Carr played with Scott Ayers and Bart Enoch in the Non-Dairy Creamers, and with The Trolls and other groups until his death from cancer in May 2008.