Boots
stomp. Guitars crunch. Soulful vocals croon. Intricate guitar patterns in the
vein of introspective troubadours like Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith are
picked, while passionate folk-rock energy is injected with a gritty,
street-level psychedelia that can only come from a locale as singular and
scintillating as Asbury Park, NJ. Forget Williamsburg, Bushwick, and all those
played-out portions of Brooklyn — just like with The Boss in the
‘70s, the real musical deal is coming straight out of Monmouth County.
Born and
raised on Long Island, Scott Liss bounced between Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
New York City and recorded as NightOnlyVisual before settling on the real
Jersey Shore in 2007, where he quickly fell in with a burgeoning music scene
that includes Nicole Atkins, The Parlor Mob, and Sikamor Rooney. When the
predominantly solo Liss got an offer to play Austin’s South By Southwest Music
Festival in 2008, he tapped drummer James Griffith and bassist Gianni Scalise
to temporarily back his guitar and vocal explorations. The lineup meshed so
well, however, that they officially became Scott Liss & The Sixty-Six, and
they haven’t slowed down since, touring, writing, and recording like madmen.
The band released their first album, The
Blackpool Letters, in June, and frontman Liss graciously gave EasternSurf.com a look inside their nuanced,
intelligent, and dedicated world.
ESM: You guys are really busy at
the moment. Bring everyone up to speed on what’s going on.
Scott Liss: Our new record, The Blackpool Letters, came out on June 11th, so we played some
record release shows where we had a few tricks up our sleeves after fine-tuning
everything. Beyond that, we're in talks with an agency for this summer and
beyond. Ultimately, we're a live band that enjoys playing for people, so we
want to hit the road, tour our music, and just get out there and do this.
ESM: For those who’ve heard it, the
record feels like an instant classic. What were your influences and
inspirations behind the tracks?
SL: Human emotion is definitely a key influence. It's a
universal language. Sadness, fear, and love, for example, are understood
globally. Music is a medium for emotion. I aim to let emotion guide me when I
write. Paying attention to the world I live in is definitely an influence; I
try to keep up on current events, society, humanity... it all matters. It all
has an influence. Musically speaking, the artists and bands that inspire me the
most are the ones that respect and understand melody as key. Radiohead, Elliott
Smith, John Lennon, and Chopin were and are big influences. My producer for
this record, Paul Ritchie, was certainly an influence. He's got a very strong
creative sixth sense. The way that he works in the studio reflects that. The
guy's got a finely tuned set of ears and a brilliant understanding of how to
use the studio as an instrument to capture the energy and emotion in a
performance.
ESM: We've heard a few people go as
far to tag The Blackpool Letters as on par with a Radiohead album. How
does that comparison make you guys feel?
SL: That's a lofty comparison. I'll take it.
ESM: With all the scenester
Brooklyn bands out there that buy into whatever the sound of the moment is, how
hard was it for you and The Sixty-Six to stay true to such a hard-driving
rock/folk/psychedelic album?
SL: It wasn't hard at all. We're not doing what we do to
simply fit into a category that's easily packaged, easily swallowed, easily
dropped into a slot along with pointless crap, and then just as easily
forgotten when the next hot-shit fad of the moment comes around. It's not hard
at all to stay true to yourself when you very simply refuse to entertain the
thought of doing anything other than just that.
ESM: Besides yourself, Gianni, and
James, there were quite a few different musicians from other bands that
contributed to The Blackpool Letters. Give us a run down of who contributed
and how they helped.
SL: Well, Paul Ritchie from The Parlor Mob produced the
majority of the record. P. Mob's Sam Bey played drums on a few tracks, along
with Dave Rosen on guitar for two tracks and bass on one. My friends Jeff
Plate and Anthony Chick from the band Sikamor Rooney also lent themselves
to some piano and gang vocals, respectively. I had a couple other friends come
in for some gang stomps and claps as well.
ESM: Dave’s pretty much an honorary lifetime member of the
band, right? How crucial is he to your sound?
SL: Dave is like a brother to me. He writes some amazing
songs of his own, and he’s one of those artists that respects melody as key.
His melodies and his chord progressions for his own songs make sense
to me. He brings new ideas and sounds to my band's songs. For those reasons,
along with the fact that he is a brilliant guitar player, he is an honorary
member for life. We will always have a place for him in the band. That said,
the solid and permanent three-piece that Gianni, Chris, and I have going is the
core of Scott Liss & The Sixty-Six. We do gain some great aspects when
we're playing with Dave, but we don't lack without him.
ESM: How do you feel about the
current state of music? Major-label vs. self-released, quality vs. quantity,
etc.
SL: I think
it's like a 60/40 ratio: sixty percent sucks, forty percent is decent or good.
Well, maybe it's more like 70/30. It used to be worse. Major labels generally
churn out shit, but are starting to sign a few decent artists here and there
that have been successful on smaller indie labels. And indie labels are doing
pretty well for themselves. I can find a number of new artists that are
promising. I can't just generalize and say, “It all sucks," because it doesn't all suck.
I think if you seek good new music, you'll find it.
ESM: Now that your last batch of recording sessions are over, how much
emphasis are you and The Sixty-Six putting on your live performances?
SL: We put
great emphasis on our live shows. A great live show is extremely
important. We strive to be masters of our instruments and masters of our music.
Nearly anyone can record an album; nearly anyone can sit down and learn
ProTools and make something sound good in the studio... it's a tool. But if you
can't pull it off live, well, how do you ever connect to your fans on that most
important level? We love playing live, and I think that the positive energy we
create comes across to our fans. Likewise, I think that the positive energy
that the crowd generates certainly feeds us while we play. It's amazing.
ESM: All of the tracks on The
Blackpool Letters sound as though they were written from a very serious
emotional place. Was that the feel you were going for, or did it just come
together that way once the music was composed?
SL: It was not my intention to write a “serious” record per
se... not any more than I intended to write a happy record, or a “carefree
summertime” record, you know? I write with sincerity. What I feel is put into
my music. If it's a serious feeling, there you go. I tend to connect more with
darker sounds and vibes. That's what I feel.
ESM: What’s your ultimate goal with
music? Where do you want to take it from here?
SL: I want to
take it as far as it can go. My ultimate goal is to connect with as many people
as I can and bring them something that touches them. Music and art in general are
such important aspects of life. My band and I are dedicating our lives to it.
SCOTT LISS & THE
SIXTY-SIX TOUR DATES:
7/31 The Studio At Webster
Hall…………………………………. New York, NY
For all
things Scott Liss & The Sixty-Six, visit www.myspace.com/nightonlyvisual or www.facebook.com/ScottLiss66
To purchase the band’s
2010 album The Blackpool Letters,
visit
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-blackpool-letters/id379443985
