The Sixties

Lansdale-based rock band, The Sixties, recently released their debut full-length album There It Isn’t on Get This Right Records. Eleven punchy songs comprise an entire album that any rock fan can find appealing.

The Sixties have been steadily growing a fan base in the Philly scene after the releasing their debut EP, On The Road, and playing some great shows. There It Isn’t takes it a step further, with the help of producer Vince Ratti (who has worked with other local acts Circa Survive, Daylight, The Wonder Years, and Balance and Composure) with a full album of crafty guitar licks and engaging vocals prove that these guys are seriously skilled musicians, just as their live show does.

The first track “Remote Control” introduces you loud, bold, 90′s-era rock, while lyrically bringing up the political repercussions of a “Generation full of want want want,” and how when it comes down to it: “We don’t even want our freedom / We just want remote control / We don’t care about the problem / Oh no!.”

After that, “Jean Jacket,” the first single off the record speeds up the pace, and brings in a quick and tasteful guitar solo before ending on a restless confession. More stylish guitar work comes on “Illuminati Biscotti” and “Philadelphia Calm,” which focuses more on the less calm side of things lyrically. The bass thumps and the drums keep cool beats going as the guitar shreds for basically the entire three minutes of the song, making it a clear standout.

“Cocaine Steering Wheel” lives up to its name. The distorted vocals, cut-throat guitar riffs, and quick drum fills make it the most gritty track on the record, and the quickest to end. “The Context” starts off a little soft, but the chorus lifts the song off its feet as the guitar uses a whammy pedal and vocalist C.J. Morgan soulfully sings “We all do what we’re told / She already knows / And I feel my heart / It moves and breaks everyday / And I know the score, I’ve been here once or twice before.” Other standouts on the album are the groovy ”No Route (At All),” which shifts into a head-banging chorus and brings back some more ideas on the grand scheme of things, What if we run out of gas? / What if there’s no route at all? / What if we’re already there?. The song follows a triumphant drum fill into a ambiance of vocal melodies and guitar, before punching in the chorus one last time. ”Warning Label” ends the album with an aggressive mindset that encompasses the whole album, Morgan sings with raspiness in his voice: “I know this is the end for me / Though I find I’m fine with that / These days of life are fleeting then gone / Come on, come on, lets start a fire now!” and the album closes out with a last mind-blowing guitar solo.

Want more? Come rock out at North Star Bar this Saturday, August 16, 2014. You can find tickets here!

Until then, check out their video for “Jean Jacket” below! You can also stream There It Isn’t here, and pick it up on CD here! - Rock On Philly

The Sixties were reared in the DIY scene surrounding the Montgomery County burg of Lansdale, and are tight friends with some of its players (including The Wonder Years, who they opened up for at The First Unitarian Church last year). But don’t let that typecast them. They’re only sorta punk; they’re not even remotely pop-punk. More to the point, these dudes are unapologetically hard rock, aggressive and anthemic and loaded with hooks, vocal bravado by frontman C.J. Morgan and serpentine shreddery by lead guitarist Chris Wagner.

There are hints of Kings of Leon and The Strokes in the four songs they recorded for us this week in The Key Studio Sessions – “Jean Jacket” particularly reminds me of “Reptilia” from the latter’sRoom on Fire - and if that’s not your thing necessarily, give this session a listen anyway. Morgan writes insanely catchy songs, whether you’re talking opening jammer “Forgetting Yesterday” (one of the new tracks from their Get This Right Records LP There It Isn’t that impressed us earlier this year) or “On The Road,” an old number they dusted off to close the set. Free of contrived genre exercises and free of pretense, these songs are simply good songs and they will be echoing in your head long after you’ve finished listening. Need more? Catch them at the North Star Bar on Saturday, August 16th; tickets and information on the show can be found here. - WXPN 88.5

The Sixties are alive and well!

No, I don’t mean that lovely musical era in the past where everyone was naked and everyone was partying. Well, the EDM craze is pretty much that, but that’s beside the point. The Sixties I’m talking about is a rock band out of Lansdale, PA, and rest assured, they’re not going back.
The Sixties, featuring CJ Morgan on vocals and guitar, Chris “Wags” Wagner on guitar and badass solos, and Chris Mehr on drums, don’t sound like the sixties, but they do hail from a new era of rock that isn’t afraid to dig down to their roots. For 2 years they labored to bring us their most recent album, “There It Isn’t,” and it was well worth the wait.
We had a chance to chat with the unproclaimed front-man of the band, CJ Morgan, to discuss The Sixties band, the sixties era, and another sixty or so things.

Patrick Emmel: The first thing that came to my mind about The Sixties was the decade, but you guys don’t look like you’ve come close to being born in that era. You’ve probably got another twenty years before that. Why did you name the band The Sixties?

CJ Morgan: Obviously it was a huge decade for music, but we had a name that we all really liked, but we got served a “cease and desist” and we had to change the name. Changing the name of a band, and even just naming a band, had become my least favorite thing in the world, and we were literally on a conference call [going]: “How about this?” “No.” How about that?” “No.” I was trying to have my Grateful Dead moment where I was looking through a book for a word or phrase and I was looking through a “Best of Rolling Stone Magazine” interview book. Every other page was “the sixties this” and “the sixties that,” so I said, “What about The Sixties?” And it was the first thing that everyone didn’t go, “No, I hate it.” So we latched onto it. The joke’s become that, every time we play a show, I say we’re a concept band and all of our songs are about people in the sixties.

Patrick: (Laughs) Well I guess it’s better than playing up a joke about being a sixties cover band.

CJ: (Laughs) We’ll play shows and no one the bill will be anything close to a cover band. It’s all sorts of alternative rock bands from Philadelphia or wherever, and still someone will ask: “So you guys play sixties music?” And we’re like: “Well, you’re going to be disappointed…”

Patrick: (Laughs) Well, as far as musical stylings, I heard two songs I though may be leaning towards a sixties influence, but I heard a lot more seventies. But don’t go changing the band’s name again, you know, since you hate naming bands. I even heard a ghost of Stone Temple Pilots. How did you guys find yourself in this genre of music?

CJ: This band was about not paying attention or feeling pressured by any noise outside of our circle. Sometimes you feel pressure to write this way or that way, but we decided to just do what we want to do. If it turns some heads, cool! When we first started, we played that “Remote Control” song a lot and a local magazine wrote us up and compared us to “punk rock CCR [Creedence Clearwater Revival].” (Laughs) I guess that goes with what you were saying about the seventies but that stuck for a little longer than it probably had to. We ended up on flyers: “The punk rock CCR!” I don’t even know what sort of image popped into people’s heads when they saw that. It’s really just about going for music that we would want to go home and listen to.

Patrick: You guys sound like you’re having a lot of fun! The drums, there’s hardly ever a time when they’re not active. You’ve got guitar solos out the #ss… I don’t know how you have the energy to get through a whole show, but I guess I’ll have to see!

CJ: That may be another part of the equation, too. I feel like there’s something to take away from so many different types of music, but some types of music have something that you can’t quite sink your teeth into. We’re in a world that’s too cynical sometimes so maybe a band like Van Halen couldn’t fly anymore with the theatrics and the over-the-top lead singer persona. But at the end of the day, the guitar solo is awesome! We don’t have to be wearing spandex to do that!
As far as the album itself, this album just about figuring out who you are, looking at yourself in the mirror and not completely knowing how you got to where you are, taking ahold of your life and doing what you want to do. Probably very common themes to people in their mid to late twenties.

Patrick: You mentioned a music video earlier. What song?

CJ: We did a music video for “Jean Jacket.”

Patrick: Will you be wearing a jean jacket?

CJ: (Laughs) Okay, I’ve had shouting matches with my dad. Maybe not so much shouting matches, rather my dad shouting at me because we’ll write a song and end up naming it “Illuminati Biscotti” or “Jean Jacket” and he goes, “This is a pretty good song! And you go and name it some stupid thing!” I don’t know why I do that.
The director for the video “Jean Jacket” used a jean jacket in the video to symbolize this thing and tie it all in, so the title “Jean Jacket” will have more of a meaning now than it did.

Patrick: Staying in line with the sixties being prevalent in The Sixties, the first song on your new album There It Isn’t titled “Remote Control” has an interesting vibe to it. Almost like you’re calling out the people of our generation that are trying to latch onto causes like the youth of the sixties did, but not really fully investing themselves into those causes. Is there any correlation between that idea and the song?

CJ: Yeah! When I had written the song, at least lyrically, I was wondering if anyone was going to catch on to that, and that’s awesome that you were able to read into that. To be honest with you, if I’m talking to anybody, it might be myself more than anybody. When we had written the song, the Occupy movement was still going pretty strong. I know there was a ton [of people] that was really invested in that and were prepared to get hurt for it or die for it, but there was a bunch of kids who were kind of latching on to a trend. And you look back on people protesting Vietnam and things of that nature, you realize they were actually doing what we’re trying to say we’re doing now.
It’s funny because, in college, probably like everybody, I had a really politically motivated edge. That was going to be my life: I was going to get into politics, I was going to go to law school, and you find out that too many people that go down that path just enjoy the sound of their own voice, and you end up being turned off by it when you see how things work. It’s almost like the reality of House of Cards.

Patrick: Yeah! And they [Vietnam protesters] had to be in it because they couldn’t just go on the internet and click “Like” on something…

CJ: Right. I’m not trying to separate myself from this at all. If anything, it’s a conflict with myself. You rant and rave and you put up a Facebook post, but what are you actually doing?

Patrick: So how did you guys get the band together? Was it the normal story of childhood friends playing in garages and making a go of it, or was it something different?

CJ: Yeah, it’s basically that story, only if you add some tenuous bulls#*t to it. With Chris Mehr, we’ve been doing this together since we were fifteen. Wags [Chris Wagner], Mehr, and I were all in a group [together] in college, and that kind of dissolved. To be honest with you, I was over it. I had my heart broken by this thing a couple times too many and I kind of put music in the rear view. Wags was the one that knew it wasn’t done yet. He kept nudging me, “Come over and write.” “Come over and write with me.” “Come over and write.” We finally got together and he showed me what he was working on. During the time that I had gotten a job and tried to play real life, he had just been playing guitar. The first time we sat down after hanging out together, we popped out “Warning Label,” which is the last track of our record here [There It Isn’t] and it became a, “Yeah, here we go again” kind of deal.

Patrick: So now the album is out. Are you guys jumping right into a tour, or what?

CJ: That’s the next step. A lot of our energy went into getting this record out and building some excitement for the record. We’re looking to tour in the next few months for sure.

Patrick: Will there be at least a record release party in Philly?

CJ: Yeah, absolutely. We have a really great local scene where we come from, a town called Landsdale outside of Philadelphia, so we’re having a release show here. It’s where we come from, it’s where we love to play. Then, not even two weeks later, we’re going to do a show in Center City, Philadelphia. Then the next step is touring.

Patrick Emmel was not born in the sixties, either. You can see more of his work at The Inept Owl or heckle him on Twitter @Patrick_AE.
Patrick previously strummed some conversational chords with Max Collins and said anything in New Strings Attached: Max Bemis. - Man Cave Daily

Written By; Alex Bear


Philly post-punks The Sixties have got their name right—their debut album, There It Isn’t sounds like our time machine has finally worked, and we’ve jumped back in time to the glory days of rock and roll. With the sounds of a cassette tape, “Remote Control” kicks off the album to a bass-led start. The chant of “We don't even want our freedom / We just want remote control” is an accurate critique of today’s media-obsessed society, so we can only hope you put down your remote control, because this is a song you don’t want to skip. Neither is the next track, “Jean Jacket”. Picking up the pace, you’ll be bouncing off the walls in no time, air guitaring to those spiralling riffs.


With a rather cynical twist, “Illuminati Biscotti” hits, with alternating riffs that are enough to give you motion sickness, but in the best way possible. You can hear echoes of Queens Of The Stone Age running through their music, especially in the following track, “Philadelphia Calm” in its endless solo-esque riffs a constant factor in its melody. This is a band that is bringing in the new age of old school rock, where the guitars take the lead—a refreshing change.


“Cocaine Steering Wheel” starts off with a dial tone—bet you haven’t heard one of those in ages! The vocals are a bit more forceful here, setting us up for “The Context”, which is much more vocal-orientated—but the use of a wah-wah pedal lets you know what this band are really about. And just to hammer that point home, the solo in “The Line We Were Sold” is locked and loaded to blow your mind.


“Misery” has a rather military feel, with staccato riffs you can march along to, and “Forgetting Yesterday” continues in this vein, but at the same time it pulls in sunny melodies that will make you want to march right on out to your car and go on a road trip to nowhere in particular. “What if we’re already there?” is a question asked in “No Route (At All)”, showing that The Sixties don’t care where you’re headed, just that you have an awesome soundtrack to your journey.


Closing the album is “Warning Label”, with the chant, “let’s start a fire now”—maybe not something we should all take literally, but metaphorically. This is a band who will reignite that love of good old fashioned rock and roll, and make you want to start a band just so you can act like your inner rockstar. - Punk Nation

The Pennsylvania post-punk /garage rockers, The Sixties, premiered the amazing new music video for their song “Jean Jacket” earlier today with Under The Gun Review! You can watch the video below.

The track is from There It Isn’t, which was just recently released via Get This Right Records. The album, also The Sixties’ debut full length, can be purchased digitally here: http://bit.ly/1nb59h6 or buy a physical copy here: http://bit.ly/SQOmYs
Produced by Vince Ratti (Circa Survive, Balance and Composure, The Wonder Years), the eleven track album touches on themes of fighting for what you love, finding your place in the world, and holding on to who you are through it all.

The band is also currently offering a free download of their song “No Route (At All) with WXRT – Chicago’s biggest CBS local radio station. To download the track, visit: http://bit.ly/TSy8ie

Pre-order “There It Isn’t”
Digital: http://getthisrightrecords.bandcamp.com/
Physical: http://www.coldcutsmerch.com/gtrr

There It Isn’t Track Listing:
1. Remote Control
2. Jean Jacket
3. Illuminati Biscotti
4. Philadelphia Calm
5. Cocaine Steering Wheel
6. The Context
7. The Line We Were Sold
8. Misery
9. Forgetting Yesterday
10. No Route (At All)
11. Warning Label - Planet Stereo

In this Dream Tour segment, the punk band, The Sixties, share the acts that they would include on their ultimate tour lineup. You can check out their picks, after the break.

1) The Arctic Monkeys: Aside from being among a favorite of ours, The Arctic Monkeys have “been in the game” since they were very young and haven’t shown any signs of going away anytime soon, all the while growing with respect and dignity (for the most part). One of the great aspects of being on tour with other bands, but not always first to be mentioned, is being able to really get to know the other bands, as well as learn from one another. Just being able to hear their ideology and approach to music, and the subsequent “business” that is the necessary evil behind it, would be quite interesting. You hear about a lot of bands that grow too quickly or take advantage of success and it ultimately leads to their downfall. These guys, who arguably blew up just about as fast as you can and garnered such huge success, were able to keep their wits about them, not just in the public eye, but with their artistic integrity. They’ve been a band (to us) that have continued to evolve and grow on their own terms, with a level of consciousness and a genuine want to better themselves as musicians.

2) The Strokes: “The Saviors of keeping popular Rock & Roll music cool.” Ya don’t know exactly what it is about ‘em, but you’re automatically cooler when associated with these guys. They’re definitely a prime example of taking into consideration the “how” to do things, in addition to the “what.” Not to take away from their musical content, which is awesome in its own right, but how they convey it, in having that “Je ne sais quoi” element, is something you just want to be in close proximity of in hopes to absorb it somehow.

3) The Whigs: A band that we were fortunate enough to open up for once in a club in Philadelphia, PA, The Whigs have shared stadium stages with such established acts as The Kings of Leon and The Black Keys and back again. They run the gamut on touring. They have such control over their act and a honed-in craft of performing. To be able to adjust accordingly to the venue, whether it be a grungy city club, or a high production stadium stage, is stuff you just watch, take notes from, and learn. These guys are the epitome of Road Warriors. Not only do they always seem to be on tour, but they have the endurance to do it without the luxuries of jumbo jets or a fleet of tour buses.

Keep up with The Sixties on Twitter and Facebook! - Digital Tour Bus

There It Isn’t’
The Sixties (Get This Right)
3.5 stars out of 5

There’s a new player on the indie rock scene in Philadelphia post-punk/garage trio The Sixties, who deliver an enjoyable, high-octane debut LP in “There It Isn’t.” C.J. Morgan, Chris Wagner and Chris Mehr have spent the past couple years fine-tuning their sound, landing supporting gigs for The Wonder Years and The Whigs, and they put everything together on this rock-solid 11-track release.

The one-two opening punch of “Remote Control” and “Jean Jacket” sets the tone, and The Sixties also score with “Philadelphia Calm,” personal favorite “The Line We Were Sold” and “Forgetting Yesterday.” I’m eager to hear what these talented Pennsylvanians come up with next. (Jeffrey Sisk) - Pittsburgh In Tune

Lansdale rockers The Sixties recently released a new music video for its song, “Jean Jacket” from its debut album, There It Isn’t. A mix of alternative and punk with a heaping dose of garage, the song’s video follows a character making a choice. Should he put on the business suit and continue on with his mundane, bleak life or put on that jean jacket and return to his rocker ways? It’s like one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. In the end, he picks the jean jacket (right choice) and joins The Sixties — taking lead singer C.J. Morgan’s place. Check out the music video for “Jean Jacket” below and download There It Isn’t here. - The Key