Questions for Rob Bliss, event planner and WOOD-TV multi-tasker. So you’re here to promote your waterslide event, and you called me directly for this interview. Did you fire your PR firm?
No. They were doing pro-bono stuff. They’re not really doing PR for this event or any event this year.
Didn’t they help you promote your ArtPrize entry “100,000 Paper Planes and Melodies Over Monroe” that turned you into something of a media darling locally?
Or a complete target. That was a crazy time I was living in. I was getting so much hate mail. Some dude would put up a picture on my Facebook page for the paper airplane event that said “F#@* you, Rob Bliss.” Stuff like that would happen two to three times a day. It was very frustrating.
You did become a very polarizing figure. People either loved you or had nothing but venom for you. Why?
I think it’s because I do a lot of different things and they get reported on, so they’re reintroduced to myself and my events over and over again. And if they mildly dislike me to start out with, it’s going to get annoying. If you have a leaky faucet, it probably doesn’t bother you the first time you notice it, but after the twentieth time hearing it, it’s going to annoy you and push you over the edge.
So you’re an annoying leaky faucet?
I guess so. Some people don’t dig what I do, but some people really dig it. I’m having a lot of fun, and I love having fun with other people. And that’s just about as complicated as it gets.
What do you think of all the Rob Bliss haters on MLIVE? Sometimes it seems like people on there blame you for being 21.
I guess. Yeah. I just do things that sound like fun to someone my age. A big dance party sounds like fun. An enormous waterslide sounds like fun. It sounds like fun stuff that I’d want to attend.
What are you doing at WOOD-TV?
I have my feet in a little bit of everything. I was hired by sales, but I go to a lot of news meetings, and I’m working with the Internet department. Probably the biggest thing that I do is management of the Facebook page. Like if there’s a tornado warning at 1:30 a.m., I’m on my computer responding to people, answering questions, getting information to people.
Are you telling Suzy Geha what to put on her Facebook?
I do not. (laughs)
What happened on the Founding Day parade? People felt you were being disingenuous and blaming the rain instead of acknowledging it was flopping.
There definitely was a bit of both. The rain was like a pretty heavy final straw. Fundraising for it was really difficult. Some businesses and groups I thought would instantly fund it had no interest, and it was blowing my mind. And getting people to make floats for it was a very painful process.
How much longer are you going to do events?
I can’t really see myself taking it much further or taking it to another level beyond what I have done in terms of fundraising. I feel like I’m hitting the ceiling. There’s one other large event that I’ll possibly do after the waterslide event.
What’s that?
That is the September event, which I can’t really talk about right now.
C’mon, Rob. That sounds like another Rob Bliss media buildup. Why not just say what it is?
I don’t want to talk about it if it’s not going to happen. I learned that from the Founding Day Parade event.
Fair enough. It sounds like you’re getting ready to hang up the event planning. What are you going to do?
Focus on other things like stop screwing around and finally work on music. It’s taking more of a front seat to what I’m doing. I feel like I’ve run as far as I can run with the events.
See related story about Bliss’ water slide event in this month’s Hot Issue.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED AND EDITED BY BRIAN EDWARDS
PHOTO BY SETH THOMPSON
