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NOW PLAYING: I Dont Mind - Simon Bruce

SIMON BRUCE BAND
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SIMON BRUCE
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SIMON BRUCE MUSIC
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new, unrelased stuff, demos and rare old tracks.

 

more videos....

EMI/Capitol Release
Too Late Now

EMI/Capitol release
Holy Grail

 


"Combustion's Engine Drive More than Typical Nashville Fare" - Billboard

Combustion Music, which also includes a production company and soundtrack label, is the atypical partnership of Chris Farren, a songwriter/producer who brought 20 years of experience living and working in Los Angeles to Nashville - and Ken Levitan, a Nashville music-business veteran who manages the like of Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt.

"...the main thing we've tried to do at Combustion is not be boxed in any matter or limited to any one format", Levitan notes. Levitan also singles out new signings Simon Bruce -

"an unbelievable rock alternative songwriter from Australia" - Canadian writer/artist/producer Gordie Sampson, and singer/songwriter Andy Gullahorn, who has penned songs for hit artist wife, Jill Phillips.

tour schedule...

If all that we keep is the journey, then young Simon Henry Bruce already has his hands full. At age 23, Simon has toured the world playing for thousands of audiences and has created a following of diehard fans of all ages and in every continent.

Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, Simon found an affinity with Italian opera singer Mario Lanza. "I really dug Mario Lanza and then I got into Elvis. I was pretty young, probably eight or so, but I thought he really rocked and I really dug him. I also found out that Elvis had listened to Mario Lanza and had studied his work. That was really interesting" Soon, Bruce started playing guitar. "I got it from Santa," he laughs. By age 12, he began writing original songs and listening The Beatles. Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan


(simon w/ Jeff Lynne)


(simon w/ DIDO)


(simon w/ leanne rimes)

During high school, Simon moved to Sydney and was soon lugging his guitar and repertoire of mostly cover songs, busking up and down the local weekend markets. At 15, he spent a few months in the UK busking through Bath, York and London. "That was a real experience, I loved it. I was playing a lot of folk songs, Dylan tunes, waltzes and that was the real start for me. Returning to Australia, he played at the Tamworth festival and then made musical history as the youngest musician invited to play the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. He was granted an Outstanding Talent Visa, giving him the right to work in the US and soon moved to USA.

(Simon w/ John Hiatt)


(Simon w/ Tommy Emmanuel)

Simon landed a high-profile support slot touring the US with John Hiatt, playing among other venues, the Bitter End in New York and Threadgill's in Texas (Janis Joplin's favorite gig.) He also toured Australia and New Zealand with Dido, playing to more than 200 different audiences.

In 2004, Simon recorded his first full length CD "Restless Thoughts", released in Australia on Essence/EMI Records. It follows his successful independently-released EP "The Champagne Sessions", (featuring Keith Urban on backing vocals). Recorded live in just three days, with Nash Chambers producing.“Restless Thoughts” was laid to tape "like in the '70s". Along with guitar and vocals, Bruce plays harmonica, which instantly imbued the songs with sentimental warmth. “Restless Thoughts” is all about strong songs big on melody, playing filled with both contemporary spark and a strong sense of history, and lyrics that belie their creator's tender years. "Dylan to me is definitely what got me into words, made me want to think and write from different angles," says Bruce.

In 2006, Simon returned to the US to reside in Nashville. He toured both coasts with another Melbourne-based band Bluehouse and continued songwriting. Recently, Bruce recorded ten songs for his next full length CD, and writing with friends Jesse and Noah Bellamy, and other Nashville-based songwriters. Currently Simon is in the studio recording his new album "These Illusions"