The Sixxis

What started as a collaboration of different musicians on June 6th, 2006 became a powerhouse band consisting of world class musicians. The SixxiS, initially the brainchild of the lead singer, Vladdy Iskhakov, went through all the bumps and turbulence of an original band trying break out into the mainstream. Their music presents a core sound of a variety of different influences coated in a powerful, heavy, seductive, and emotional shell of sound reminiscent of Rush, Muse, Soundgarden, System of a Down, Kings X, and Alice in Chains. The members’ musical backgrounds allow them the opportunity to toy with time signatures and syncopation, to grasp the magnetism of robust dynamics, and to focus on the individual mastery of each respective instrument while continuing to be a cohesive whole. The lyrics demand attention from listeners, as they are messages of a soul crying out for spiritual awakening and awareness. The combination of haunting melodies, soaring vocal harmonies, distorted guitars, and a truly “powerhouse” rhythm section of drums and bass make The SixxiS sound so unique and unforgettable. This diversity of musical influences allowed the band, when performing live, to play to a wider audience, capturing fans with fantastic electric performances as well as equally impressive acoustic shows. In 2012, The SixxiS began experimenting with different audiences, playing their own headlining shows as well as sharing the stage with bands like Winger, Buck Cherry, The Memorials, and The Adrian Belew Power Trio, they honed in on their live performance. After catching the attention of Grammy Award winning producer, Malcolm Springer , The SixxiS immediately hit the studio, and tracked a 5 song self-entitled EP that they released in 2013. 2013 has been a busy time for The SixxiS. They went on their first successful 5 week, 20 show tour of Europe as the direct support for the legendary Wishbone Ash. Having sold out of all their CDs they came back home with great praise and recommendations not only from the headlining band (Wishbone Ash), but also all the promoters, managers and agents that were involved with making the tour happen. Shortly thereafter, The SixxiS were invited to join The Winery Dogs (consisting of Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, and Richie Kotzen) on a 15 show run in 8 different countries spanning Western Europe (England, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal). While on that leg of the tour, The SixxiS also got added to the Winery Dog’s full U.S. tour immediately following the European tour. As soon as this tour was over, The SixxiS jumped back into the studio with multi Grammy Award Winning producer, David Bottrill (Tool, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Silverchair, Stone Sour, etc) and tracked their first full length album entitled “Hollow Shrine”. The album should be available on itunes, amazon, CD Baby, and other digital media outlets late in the spring of 2014. In February of 2014, The SixxiS were invited by Mike Portnoy to join the Progressive Nation At Sea 2014 progressive rock cruise (PN14) where The SixxiS performed their new set along with other bands such as Kings X, Big Elf, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend Project, MSPS, Adrian Belew Power Trio, Riverside, etc. The SixxiS now consist of Vladdy Iskhakov (lead vocals, violin, piano, and rhythm guitar), Mark Golden (bass guitar, synth), and Josh “JBake” Baker (drums, percussion, pads, vocals). They have also recently added multi-instrumentalists Paul Sorah and Cameron Allen to their lineup. Each member of the band brings a completely different influence to the compositions, giving the band its life and a sound that separates itself from everything else. The members also bring a lifetime of training on their respective instrument and the abilities to perform on more than one instrument, adding more to what makes this group special. The SixxiS plays “music for the sake of music,” says Vladdy Iskhakov, lead singer and guitarist. “It’s all about relating the emotions, and we all agree on that. It’s that kind of musicianship, that kind of chemistry, that lightning in a bottle type of element that makes us who we are.”