The long rambling version...
Simon started his long career in folk music in NZ in 1965 (aged 11) by confidently striding to the stage at the Taita Intermediate School Talent Quest with ukulele in hand, cocking his foot on a chair, and singing the Pete Seeger classic "If I had a Hammer". The winner of the Quest, classmate Roger Dibbs, played that sultry Cliff Richard number "Travelling Light", on a guitar. He (Roger) was mobbed by tweenies after the show. The next day Simon got his brother's guitar out of the wardrobe and started practising !
Early influences included Tom Rush and of course Dylan, and after a number of appearances with and without friends (nothing sinister there) at Wellington's premier folk spot (the improbably named Chez Paris), Simon's musical career headed south... to Dunedin. There he helped organise the Otago Uni folk club and discovered the inner Celt in a city that was almost named New Edinburgh. A few duo appearances were made with fellow biochemistry student John Wright (who later went on to make a bit of a career for himself in cricket) before Simon finally saw the light and crossed the 'ditch' in the late '70s. Strongly influenced by English guitar greats Martin Carthy (who he saw live in the UK many times) and Nic Jones (his seminal album "Penguin Eggs"), and NZ's own Paul Metsers ("Farewell to the Gold"), Simon developed his finger style technique and adapted it to traditional English folk numbers.
The lure of the fleece, and regular paid work, led to a 3 year stint with rollicking bush band Black Sheep. In the early '80s this 6 piece band travelled the length and breadth of Victoria, playing to a wide range of audiences (and usually getting them up to dance too) . They also did club spots at the Rainbow Hotel and other well-known Melbourne watering holes, and were the curtain raiser for touring Scottish band Boys of the Lough. As hayfever finally took hold, bush dances and shearing sheds lost their appeal a bit. Not long afterwards Simon joined 5-piece band Fine Fettle, who were producing a unique blend of English and French songs and tunes.
The day job then swept him westwards in the early '90s, where in Perth Simon discovered the WA Folk Federation Orchestra (Waffo). Playing guitar accompaniment to two hurdy gurdies, a fiddle, and a highly strung piano accordion presented its own little challenges, but as every Aussie knows, they do it different over there (bless 'em). Returning to Melbourne in the late '90s Simon stumbled on the incipient rumblings (in Michael & Helen's kitchen) of what has now blossomed into the wonderful Newport Fiddle and Folk Club. When not playing at the NFFC or helping organise their gigs, he plays guitar and mandolin and sings with Richard Bevan ("Travelling Concessions"), sings and occasionally plays guitar with the community choir "Shaking the Tree", and does the odd solo spot. Whilst living in the Macedon Ranges he played Celtic music with three roguish ladies in the band Black Forest Rogues, but has now returned from the mountains to reside in Newport, Centre of the Known Universe.
The short pithy version - Simon sings a wide variety of songs; blues, Celtic, trad., folk, as well as self-penned songs. He accompanies himself with precise, punchy finger-style guitar and uses a number of tunings to add a haunting quality to his music. He is apt to stray into the odd political polemic, and is a passionate advocate for our beautiful environment.
He'll have you singing along in no time.
Simon started his long career in folk music in NZ in 1965 (aged 11) by confidently striding to the stage at the Taita Intermediate School Talent Quest with ukulele in hand, cocking his foot on a chair, and singing the Pete Seeger classic "If I had a Hammer". The winner of the Quest, classmate Roger Dibbs, played that sultry Cliff Richard number "Travelling Light", on a guitar. He (Roger) was mobbed by tweenies after the show. The next day Simon got his brother's guitar out of the wardrobe and started practising !
Early influences included Tom Rush and of course Dylan, and after a number of appearances with and without friends (nothing sinister there) at Wellington's premier folk spot (the improbably named Chez Paris), Simon's musical career headed south... to Dunedin. There he helped organise the Otago Uni folk club and discovered the inner Celt in a city that was almost named New Edinburgh. A few duo appearances were made with fellow biochemistry student John Wright (who later went on to make a bit of a career for himself in cricket) before Simon finally saw the light and crossed the 'ditch' in the late '70s. Strongly influenced by English guitar greats Martin Carthy (who he saw live in the UK many times) and Nic Jones (his seminal album "Penguin Eggs"), and NZ's own Paul Metsers ("Farewell to the Gold"), Simon developed his finger style technique and adapted it to traditional English folk numbers.
The lure of the fleece, and regular paid work, led to a 3 year stint with rollicking bush band Black Sheep. In the early '80s this 6 piece band travelled the length and breadth of Victoria, playing to a wide range of audiences (and usually getting them up to dance too) . They also did club spots at the Rainbow Hotel and other well-known Melbourne watering holes, and were the curtain raiser for touring Scottish band Boys of the Lough. As hayfever finally took hold, bush dances and shearing sheds lost their appeal a bit. Not long afterwards Simon joined 5-piece band Fine Fettle, who were producing a unique blend of English and French songs and tunes.
The day job then swept him westwards in the early '90s, where in Perth Simon discovered the WA Folk Federation Orchestra (Waffo). Playing guitar accompaniment to two hurdy gurdies, a fiddle, and a highly strung piano accordion presented its own little challenges, but as every Aussie knows, they do it different over there (bless 'em). Returning to Melbourne in the late '90s Simon stumbled on the incipient rumblings (in Michael & Helen's kitchen) of what has now blossomed into the wonderful Newport Fiddle and Folk Club. When not playing at the NFFC or helping organise their gigs, he plays guitar and mandolin and sings with Richard Bevan ("Travelling Concessions"), sings and occasionally plays guitar with the community choir "Shaking the Tree", and does the odd solo spot. Whilst living in the Macedon Ranges he played Celtic music with three roguish ladies in the band Black Forest Rogues, but has now returned from the mountains to reside in Newport, Centre of the Known Universe.
The short pithy version - Simon sings a wide variety of songs; blues, Celtic, trad., folk, as well as self-penned songs. He accompanies himself with precise, punchy finger-style guitar and uses a number of tunings to add a haunting quality to his music. He is apt to stray into the odd political polemic, and is a passionate advocate for our beautiful environment.
He'll have you singing along in no time.
