Not your ordinary household detergent or Japanese anime! Bleach is the latest in St Louis Rock-n-Roll!

The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill was filled with fans of all ages of this teen group on Friday, July 26th. This was not Bleach’s first time performing at the Duck Room, in fact, any more performances and they may surpass the great Chuck Berry!

Bleach is a three piece band made up of guys that first met in the fourth grade! Lance on bass guitar and vocals, Jackson on the electric guitar and Kaleb on drums. The band did not start out this way; Kaleb was not the original drummer, as he was added to the group after the original drummer decided to pursue baseball instead of music. Actually Bleach did not come about until Kaleb joined the band in 2016. Prior to Kaleb’s addition, the band was known as “Abandoned Subway.” A summer music camp sponsored by Mozingo Music landed Kaleb with Lance and Jackson, as the duo wanted to be paired with a “really great drummer!”

There are two stories of how the band’s name Bleach came about. The guys will tell you it’s the influence of Nirvana and their studio album “Bleach.” The album was released in 1989. These guys are 17. Let that sink in.

We’ve all experimented with our hair. Lance did just that. He wanted to dye his hair. The process actually bleached his hair a bright orange and it was finally corrected to a bleached blonde look. As Lance’s hair grew out, it was Jackson’s turn to get the bleached look. Kaleb took a strong convincing and finally hi-lighted his blonde. Thus the band Bleach was formed. Their first show was at Ballpark Village on July 16 of 2016.

Their musical journey has been influenced by bands such as All American Rejects, Blink 182, Green Day, Train, Imagine Dragons, The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix and Highly Suspect.

I was at The Firebird, to photograph another band, when I experienced Bleach for the first time. A friend that was running sound mentioned to me, “listen to this band, tell me who they sound like.” First couple of notes of their original music and I could hear it. I turned to Coco and mouthed “Highly Suspect” and he shook his head yes. I was hooked. These “kids” were great!

Bleach has had a great year. They won 105.7 The Point’s battle of the bands to open the side stage at Pointfest 2019. They’ve been put into rotation on 100.7 The Viper and have been featured on The Local Show with Cornbread on 105.7 The Point.

I’ve photographed Bleach at several shows over the past year. I’ve watched them grow into young men and musicians. This last show at The Duck Room, their set list included their originals Pressure, Wild One, Spit, Soles, Backseat, Dead and Elizabeth. They closed the show with the Beatles 1968 hit “Helter Skelter.”

The guys put on a high energy, fun and exciting show. No fancy lights, no dramatic pyrotechnics, just rock and roll.

If, what am I saying… WHEN you see BLEACH on the marquee at your local venue as a supporting act or a headliner, do not hesitate buying that ticket. It is well worth the money to see these guys perform. One day you can tell your kids, “I remember watching Bleach play The Old Rock House when I was younger,” just as we are saying “I remember seeing the Foo Fighters play Mississippi Nights…”

Bleach can be found on Spotify and Apple Music – BleachSTL

Social Medias – @BleachSTL – BleachBand.net

YouTube Music Videos – BleachSTL – Official video for Wild One directed by JT Ibanez