Some Stuff About Simon
By day, I'm a geeky computer spod. At other times, I'm a handsome guitar hero but no-one else knows that so don't tell anyone :-)
I started playing guitar in about 1981 when a mate gave me a half-size acoustic. Although it was hardly tuneable I got the taste of the whole guitar 'thang' and, shortly afterwards, I swapped something laying around the house (nobody in the house mentioned losing anything so it was probably mine to swap) for a nasty Kay Strat copy and from that moment I began to take the instrument much more seriously.
In 1985 I met Steve whilst working at W.H. Smith. I immediately formed an opinion of him, easily expressable in a word of one syllable, when he and his henchmen mounted a sustained campaign of terror upon my bicycle for reasons that have never been sufficiently explained.
However, following a chance encounter involving a guitar machine head, we got together for a jam, discovered some like-minded qualities that didn't involve terrorising my bike and we started writing songs together almost immediately.
While Steve has pursued the vocal and lyrical path, I have taken a keen interest in every aspect of the guitar, from playing them to making them and, in recent years, I have branched out into other musical avenues, more especially
keyboards, progressing from the complexity of synthesizers to the relative simplicity of the piano. Since Steve and I finally decided to record some of the songs that we have written over the years, this 'branching out' has been of enormous benefit, enabling us to expand our sound and to add extra dimensions to our recordings. Also, as a
result of diving into the recording process, I have through necessity gained new insights into the music process and I am continuing to do so. There is always something new to learn where music is concerned.
I started playing guitar in about 1981 when a mate gave me a half-size acoustic. Although it was hardly tuneable I got the taste of the whole guitar 'thang' and, shortly afterwards, I swapped something laying around the house (nobody in the house mentioned losing anything so it was probably mine to swap) for a nasty Kay Strat copy and from that moment I began to take the instrument much more seriously.
In 1985 I met Steve whilst working at W.H. Smith. I immediately formed an opinion of him, easily expressable in a word of one syllable, when he and his henchmen mounted a sustained campaign of terror upon my bicycle for reasons that have never been sufficiently explained.
However, following a chance encounter involving a guitar machine head, we got together for a jam, discovered some like-minded qualities that didn't involve terrorising my bike and we started writing songs together almost immediately.
While Steve has pursued the vocal and lyrical path, I have taken a keen interest in every aspect of the guitar, from playing them to making them and, in recent years, I have branched out into other musical avenues, more especially
keyboards, progressing from the complexity of synthesizers to the relative simplicity of the piano. Since Steve and I finally decided to record some of the songs that we have written over the years, this 'branching out' has been of enormous benefit, enabling us to expand our sound and to add extra dimensions to our recordings. Also, as a
result of diving into the recording process, I have through necessity gained new insights into the music process and I am continuing to do so. There is always something new to learn where music is concerned.
Influences 'N' What I Like
Main influences are exponents of discernibly melodic guitar, primarily minor key influenced (cos it's miserable :-) ) - Richard Thompson, Mark Knopfler, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Archive & Muse.
Other bands that can be found amongst my LPs are:
Afghan Whigs, Air, Ashra, George Benson, The Bluetones, Blur, Jeff Buckley, David Byrne, The Caesars, Cake, JJ Cale, Carbon-Based Lifeforms, The Clash, Cold War Kids, Crowded House, The Cure, The Devlins, The Doors, Dodgy, Fairport Convention, Five O'Clock Heroes, Fito Y Fitipaldis, Franz Ferdinand, Gotan Project, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, James, Jean Michel Jarre, The Jeevas, David Knopfler, Kula Shaker, The Modern Lovers, Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company, Wes Montgomery, Nirvana, Ocean Colour Scene, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Radio Futura, Gerry Rafferty, The Rakes, Razorlight, Chris Rea, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, REM, The Rolling Stones, Santana, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths, Al Stewart, Supergrass, Talk Talk, Television, Tapes 'N' Tapes, Ultimo De La Fila, U2, Paul Weller, The White Stripes, Frank Zappa.
I also love cheesy Hammond jazz organists such as Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff.
Other bands that can be found amongst my LPs are:
Afghan Whigs, Air, Ashra, George Benson, The Bluetones, Blur, Jeff Buckley, David Byrne, The Caesars, Cake, JJ Cale, Carbon-Based Lifeforms, The Clash, Cold War Kids, Crowded House, The Cure, The Devlins, The Doors, Dodgy, Fairport Convention, Five O'Clock Heroes, Fito Y Fitipaldis, Franz Ferdinand, Gotan Project, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, James, Jean Michel Jarre, The Jeevas, David Knopfler, Kula Shaker, The Modern Lovers, Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company, Wes Montgomery, Nirvana, Ocean Colour Scene, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Radio Futura, Gerry Rafferty, The Rakes, Razorlight, Chris Rea, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, REM, The Rolling Stones, Santana, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths, Al Stewart, Supergrass, Talk Talk, Television, Tapes 'N' Tapes, Ultimo De La Fila, U2, Paul Weller, The White Stripes, Frank Zappa.
I also love cheesy Hammond jazz organists such as Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff.