Scott Liss & the Sixty-Six- The Blackpool Letters Liss and crew are the poster boys for risk here, blending plenty of expansive musical influences and achieving great results in “ The Blackpool Letters. I admired the skill and patience spent in selecting sounds and sculpting fly trap arrangements on this CD. As Scott says, “Watching it take shape as the songs and through the production is the best part. What I love most is the creative process. I could spend days, weeks, in the studio doing nothing but writing and recording, experimenting with sounds and techniques. alternative tunings, particularly the use of an open D (mainly for tone color) as it allows him to focus on the movement of the internal melody and gives him a better grip on the development of the chords. The CD was recorded at John Noll's Retromedia Studios in Red Bank and Joey DeMaio's Shore Fire in Long Branch. Ask friends like Nicole Atkins and Dave Rosen for help and you really can't go wrong. “The Blackpool Letters” leaps out of the gate with “Shotgun.” Deep reverbed (slightly out of tune) piano and unobtrusive synths roll along silently before waking you up with heavy double-time drum hits and big, roughly chopped guitar hits. Alternative by nature, this is my favorite rocker on the record. The highlight of the performance is when Scott's final vocal note of the chorus lingers to blend brilliantly into the first two measures of the bridge before fading away. And even though Liss has nothing to do with Ozzy, Dave Rosen's main work jumps out of left field with the tonal qualities of Randy Rhoades. Frantic synthetic and expressively maniacal, his Hungarian minor mode (harmonic)... at the center of the card... Captain James and the Pain, Joe Harvard, Colie Brice and others. Saturday featured artists on the beach's large stage. New Jersey artists like Bob Polding with Gary Oleyar (Loggins and Messina) delivered a set with their unique blend of American rock and roll, and Sean Cox delivered a set before giving way to the ever-popular River City Extension.Seaside Music Festival 2010 was better than the last two years combined, but they still have a large demographic to flirt with on the boardwalk. Don't write them off just yet because, as this festival weekend has shown, with the constant participation of vendors, large-scale constructed events and good music, new people are coming and joining this alternative fun by the sea. And this is the ticket that could turn this little festival into a major New Jersey event. For further information see the website: www.seasidemusicfest.com