Scott Liss is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and frontman of the Asbury Park, New Jersey-based band the Sixty-Six. His sound is known for an eclectic mix of alternative folk and psychedelic rock as well as strong melodic content. His guitar technique makes use of numerous alternate tunings. His introspective songwriting is influenced by Elliott Smith and Radiohead.
In the fall of 2000, Liss moved to Baltimore, Maryland to attend UMBC to study music composition and recording. It was during this time that he first began to write and record his original music in the university's recording studio. He also spent this time meeting other artists involved in the Baltimore music scene. In December 2000 he formed the art rock band Katrien with fellow musicians Evan Madden, Kresimir Tokic, Dan Smith, and Seb Roberts. The group played numerous shows throughout Baltimore and recorded a handful of demos before breaking up in 2002. Liss began performing solo. Around this time he began to write what would eventually become his first full-length studio album. In June 2004, Liss graduated from UMBC and moved to New York. He immediately began to record his first album at in Red Bank, NJ with producer John Noll and engineer Paul Ritchie of The Parlor Mob. Liss released his first album, entitled Skylines, in June 2005 under the moniker NightOnlyVisual. Reviewing critics called the album "gorgeous and inspiring, as well as wholly characteristic and continually engaging" and "a strong fist in the air over the heads of hundreds of thousands of self-indulgent rock acts". After the release of Skylines, Liss moved to Philadelphia to play music with his old drummer Evan Madden. Ultimately deciding to remain solo, Liss performed throughout Pennsylvania and gained a strong foothold in Philadelphia's indie folk music scene. Towards the end of 2006 he began commuting in to New York City to involve himself in the undergroundanti-folk music scene.
New Jersey and the Sixty-Six
In early 2007 Liss moved to Red Bank, New Jersey with the encouragement of the rising music scene of the New Jersey shore. Teaming up once again with Paul Ritchie who was this time producing, Liss began recording new material at Retromedia Sound Studios. Through Ritchie, Liss met New Jersey-native alternative rock artist Nicole Atkins. Atkins lent her talents to some of these new recordings singing backup vocals. Additional musicians during these sessions included David Rosen and Sam Bey as well as Anthony Chick and Jeff Plate. After spending the rest of 2007 developing himself as a solo artist within the Asbury Park, NJ music scene, Liss was given the opportunity to perform during the 2008 South by Southwest Music Conference held in Austin, TX. Liss assembled a band including drummer James Griffith and bassist Gianni Scalise. Though only intended to be a temporary lineup for the SxSW festival, the three musicians decided to remain a band and in June 2008 formed Scott Liss & the Sixty-Six. As of September 2009, Scott Liss completed his second full-length album. The album, titled The Blackpool Letters, was recorded and mixed primarily at Retromedia Sound Studios, with additional tracking at Shorefire Studio in NJ, with tracks produced by both Paul Ritchie and Scott Liss. The Blackpool Letters was released on June 11, 2010.
2011 - Present
In January 2011, Scott Liss & the Sixty-Six began performing as "The Sixty-Six". The trio took on a noticeably different style, one with a more aggressive rock edge. Shortly thereafter, in April 2011, the Sixty-Six as a live group parted ways. According to his website, Scott had begun working on new material and a new record apart from his band. As the sole songwriter of the Sixty-Six's music, Scott stated he had been "grateful to have been able to branch off towards a more "aggressive, progressive" style and write music for performers that could tear it up", but that once it ran its course he was focusing on a return to his roots in "acoustic music with greater dynamic range".
