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Simon Bruce Reviews |
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Simon Bruce Restless Thoughts Editorial - sydney.citysearch.com Eve Jenkin - December 2005 Simon Bruce was unfairly overlooked at the 2005 ARIA awards. His debut album Restless Thoughts is one of the year's best - boasting heartfelt lyrics , perfect pop compositions and a little soul. It's hard to define what genre Bruce falls into. Whilst his sound is akin to crowded House is also has country undertones - which could be the influence of producer Nash Chambers, brother of Kasey. But ultimately Restless Thoughts is an incredibly promising and mature sounding album from the 20-year old singer/songwriter. Let's hope his next album is accompanied by greater recognition. Simon Bruce Restless Thoughts Essence Country Update - November 2005 By Kim Cheshire This would be a superb collection of songs from a veteran songwriter, but coming from a nineteen year old kid from Sydney it is simply a revelation. The quality of the writing, lyrically and melodically, is way beyond his years, and the commitment with which he delivers these 12 songs is no less than you'd find on an early Van or Bob album, and having seen him live many times I can assure you that there's plenty more where these gems come from. Producer Nash Chambers recorded Restless Thoughts in the studio in just three days at his studio on the central coast of NSW. Chambers, better known for his country productions for sister Kasey and Troy Cassar-Daley among others, brought in a crack team of sympathetic musical cohorts in Mark Punch electric guitar, bass player Jeff McCormack, drummers Kere Buchanan and John Watson and Sydney's favourite exponent of the Hammond organ, Clayton Doley as well as the tastefully considered harmonies of "Bella's" Lyn Bowtell. Opening track "The Holy Grail" sets the scene for a feast of musical and lyrical twists and turns with its opening salvo "I'm gonna find you or die trying lady, high mass fills my sail. I'm just a pilgrim baby and you're the holy grail". Bruce's poetic romanticism, covers a lot of ground as he takes us on a fascinating sightseeing tour of his uncannily mature observations, from the restless troubadour of "Turn Myself to Driftin'" and "Rainbow Hotel" where his gentle acoustic picking and harmonica interplay has him conjuring up the ghost of a young Jack Kerouac, to the hopeless romantic spirit of "If You Stay", "Never Say Goodbye" and "Young and Free" where an ever youthful Bruce issues the warning that "If we get old and start thinking grey, we won't make it anyway". There's even some big guitar crunch here in "Crazy like the Wind", "Restless Thoughts" and "The Final Straw" where the musical ensemble revel in capturing the spirit of Neil Young's "Cortex the Killer" style sonic attack, allowing the band to stretch out a little and creating some magic interplay, particularly between Punch's sinuous guitar mastery and Doley's keyboard magic, both musical high points of this album without ever overshadowing the album's purpose, to create a solid foundation for these wonderful songs. "Never Say Goodbye", "Too Late Now" and "What Scares You Tonight?" are probably the closest the album comes to pop, all great songs in their own right and making no concessions toward commercial acceptability other than their mature melodic appeal. With "Peaceful" the longing ceases and Bruce finds his muse in this beautiful ballad where, at his romantic best, he shares with us that "you're heaven's kiss descending, beauty never ending...peaceful". I've been telling just about anyone who is willing to listen, that Simon Bruce is the best young songwriter in Australia today. An artist of this calibre is a rare find indeed; let's not lose him to America. Interview with Australian Musician Magazine Strumming a Christmas gift guitar at five, playing Nashville at 15, touring North America with Tommy Emmanuel at 18, young gun troubadour and Bob Dylan enthusiast Simon Bruce has finally delivered his debut album "Restless Thoughts". So how was your US jaunt last year with Tommy Emmanuel? "I toured with him doing acoustic shows and we went around the east and west coasts. I opened his shows and then we get out and played a few songs together at the end. He accompanied me on some of my songs. It was a really good learning experience for me. I really enjoyed it." Tell us about the "Champagne Sessions" you did in Nashville? "That was through Tommy and I think he was a big fan of what I was doing at the time. It was pretty mind-blowing. When I was writing songs I never really thought of anything else. It was just me and an acoustic guitar so it opened a lot of doors when we did that recording." Nashville is almost a second home for you now? "Somewhat. I've just been going there because it's a great place. It's not as full-on as say New York or LA. It's almost a country town as well and there's lots of writers and it's still laid back ad has a big musical emphasis about it. There's so many songwriters there and you can just feel it. Everyone has a new song and that inspires you to write. Just the songwriters nights and all that kind of stuff, just going out and observing that inspires you." Can you feel the history there? "I was in Nashville during September 11 so that was a pretty big shock. A lot of people in Nashville, being in the music industry, knew a lot of people in New York City because they're music towns. So it was definitely felt in Nashville." Is it true singers suffer respiratory problems in Nashville due to the air pollens? "Yeah, I've heard about the pollen and the fact that it's down in a valley although I don't think I ever really had a problem with it. I don't really get affected by that sort of stuff." I guess most 14-year olds would be partial to Slipknot but at that age you read poetry and wrote songs? "Yeah, all that listening to Dylan and the Beatles. I was a pretty strange cat I guess. I grew up with a lot of music and it just came naturally to me. Songwriters like Dylan opened up a whole new aspect for me. His body of work is really overwhelming, like Shakespeare, one person doing that body of work, it's overwhelming." Do you watch and learn from other musicians you've toured with ' Tommy Emmanuel and John Hiatt? "Definitely, just watching in the wings and seeing how they carry themselves and carry the songs and just sponging it all in. I learned a lot of chords from Tommy and a lot of styles of picking in Nashville. Take what you need and leave the rest I guess." How did you find working with Casey Chambers' brother Nash on the album? "We just decided to get together and make a record. I'm really proud of it, really happy with it. It was all live in the studio, live to tape, the old reels, which is something I really wanted to do, to capture the moment. It was a lot of fun." I heard it only took three days? "This album was all live. The "Champagne Sessions" was just me and Tommy with him doing a lot of overdubs and playing drums and adding stuff later. But this time it was just live and keeping it real. A lot of my favourite records were recorded in the late 60s early 70s when a lot of it was just live and I wanted to do it like that." You busked a lot as a teenager in Sydney and the UK. Did that spontaneous live mentality come in play when recording? "I think if you can play on the street you can play anywhere. It's actually a really hard thing to do, it's harder then anything. I'd find it hard to go back on the streets now. It's really full-on but it teaches you to really carry songs and try to be heard. When I was busking I was doing a lot of waltzes and stuff and folk songs. I started in Glebe Point Road in Sydney and that was always a good spot, a good vibe during the markets." I read you were the youngest musician, at 17, to play Austin's South By Southwest festival. "The festival was amazing itself, to play to that kind of audience and in front of those people was really good. I've been going back to Austin and Texas ever since because they really love their songwriters and stuff and I think it's more of a performance town than Nashville. In Austin I played an arts thing that they'd named after a Lucinda Williams song, Big Red Sun, and there's this great record store that has a whole shelf of local artists who they really support. They have a great college radio and they really like their music. And the Tex-Mex food's great too." Did the whole child prodigy role impact on you in hindsight? "I'm sort of glad that I made the full album when I did because I wasn't really ready back then. I think it would have been premature if I had have done it a bit earlier. I might not have played to the best of my ability." Can you run through some of your gear? "On the album I play a J45 Gibson, a reasonably new model and I've been playing a lot of shows with that. It's kind of like my baby. Haha! Just recently, I've also been getting into the Fender Tele, playing with the band, and that's been really cool. It's a 70s model, it was my dad's, a Sunburst, really cool. "With the Gibson, I've always wanted one, you know, the Beatles and Elvis used a Gibson. It's a songwriter's guitar and it's just a classic. I can see mine right now actually." I heard your first guitar was a nylon string Le Grande? "It was a cheapo, I don't even remember what it was called. But that was my first, I've still got it actually. I got it from Santa." By Steve Tauschke "Restless Thoughts" is out through Capitol. dig's New Music - Reviewer: Stuart Matchett - 25/08/2005 Australian singer of the Springsteen ilk, Simon Bruce is the feature, plus the great Daniel Lanois, some Eno inspired ambients remixed Motown and more. ++Feature Album Simon Bruce - Restless Thoughts Simon Bruce is a singer songwriter from Sydney and this is his debut album. It's produced by Nash Chambers (sister of Kasey and son of Bill). You might thing therefore that this is a country album but it's not. There are country influences but there's also folk and rock. He plays with a strong band and they sound like Springsteen's band than any country outfit. This album is really strong in both the song writing and performance. A new Australian talent well worth watching. DAVE'S DIARY - 16 AUGUST 2005 - SIMON BRUCE CD REVIEW SIMON BRUCE RESTLESS THOUGHTS (ESSENCE-EMI) Forget that Simon Bruce busked on the streets of London at 13 and cut his second EP in Nashville at 15 with Tommy Emmanuel producing and Keith Urban guesting. Or that he toured the U.S. with John Hiatt at 19 and worked the Texas kicker circuit with revered peers Slaid Cleaves and Nathan Hamilton. Just grab the moment - at 20 he far exceeds the hype on his debut album. Bruce mines the troubadour trove of early mentor Dylan with delicious dexterity and delivers without those aural imperfections. Vocally, he has the allure of Urban or a younger Graeme Connors but could be a lost love child of Dylan's most enduring protégée Eric Andersen. So, those are the salient signposts - what about the artist. Well, Bruce charts his course from the first note of riveting entrée The Holy Grail and reflective ruptured romance of Turn Myself To Driftin'. It's not just the artist soaring over a sea of organ but poignant passion injected into his single Too Late Now and the mystical harmonica driven Rainbow Hotel. "This old road keeps losing weight/as I drift to the nearest state," Simon sings in the latter, "where I'm going, I don't know/just as far as my feet can go," Wanderlust is Bruce's strong suit and he wears it well on Restless Thoughts, idyllic If You Stay and eerie rhetorical What Scares You Tonight?, penned with Nashville hit writer Angelo. There's no point of return in unconditional love for the flawless goddess in Never Say Goodbye or unbridled adulation - "I'm the suitcase in your hand, the love heart in the sand" - in Crazy Like The Wind. Bruce exploits idealistic bliss in Young N Free, a climatic metaphor in the poetic joy of Peaceful and flirts with failure in vitriol, drenched finale The Final Straw. So what makes Bruce one of the most exciting homegrown artists of the decade? Well, all songs have a true depth and Nash Chambers' production ensures that every nuance and note impacts with nothing lost in the mix. Bruce deserves commercial airplay but will be rewarded more on eclectic formats of Americana stations and ABC and community airwaves here. A shame - this is a gem with few flaws. - David Dawson, NuCountry TV Simon Bruce / Restless Thoughts EMI/ Essence Records A glance at the CD cover shows Simon Bruce looking like a bored, young Bob Dylan. Scary thing is, when you slip this young Australian into the player, he sounds like Mr Zimmermann, too, right down to the harmonica, acoustic guitar and Hammond organ. Derivative as this may sound, Bruce actually delivers good, solid folk rock. His straightforward melodies and direct lyrics result in a clutch of songs that are spookily mature for one so young. Deserves a listen, especially if you’re a fan of Dylan, Petty, Urban & co. RH blazemedia.com.au 5 August 2005 Simon Bruce / Restless Thoughts (Essence/EMI) three and a half stars Again, producer Nash Chambers and his session regulars John Watson, Jeff McCormack, Mark Punch et al take a young, country-influenced singer-songwriter and turn him into something exceptional. Simon Bruce has an interesting voice. He knows how to write a strong, memorable song, such as Too Late Now, The Holy Grail or The Rainbow Hotel, but at this point in his career he wears his influences - among them Bob Dylan and Neil Young - a little too obviously on his sleeve. This is a memorable debut album from an Australian with enormous potential. Bruce Elder The Sydney Morning Herald 22 July 2005 Restless Thoughts - Simon Bruce (Essence/EMI) 7/10 Simon Bruce plants his standard on the opening cut of his debut set: "I'm just a pilgrim, baby/And you're the Holy Grail," he sings above a mix of acoustic guitar and Hammond organ. The 20-year-old, now based in Sydney after spending time in Nashville, is deep in thrall to Bob Dylan and his successors. While Bruce doesn't yet have the mastery of form that Ryan Adams showed with Cold Roses, Rainbow Hotel and Peaceful are proof of his promise. Craig Mathieson, The Sun Herald, 3 July 2005 Simon Bruce: Restless Thoughts - Adelaide Advertiser, July 2005 Every music fan dreams of discovering the next big thing before superstardom arrives. This just might be the case with Simon Bruce – a sheepish 20-year-old whose debut album is compelling listening. Bruce's command of the acoustic guitar, harmonica and melody belies his years. His music, which he started writing before he hit his teens, echoes a fusion of musical history (Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Mario Lanza, Elvis Presley). Bruce might be raw, even occasionally awkward, but this is simply part of the charm of his emerging career. – Paul Starick SIMON BRUCE - Restless Thoughts - XPress Magazine, Western Australia, July 2005 Four out of five stars One listen to Restless Thoughts, the debut album by twenty year old Sydney performer Simon Bruce, and it will come as no surprise that the talented songsmith is the youngest performer ever to be invited to perform the South By Southwest music festival. It was that fruitful trip that lead to three years of regular touring in the United States, where Bruce came to call Slaid Cleaves, John Hiatt and Keith Urban contemporaries and friends. It is no wonder that Bruce would find himself in good company with tunes like Holy Grail, Too Late Now and Rainbow Hotel embracing the classic songwriting feel of '70s, in a form that would make his heroes Neil Young and Bob Dylan proud. The time Bruce spent in Nashville has played its obvious part in the direction of Restless Thoughts where he has managed to capture the magic of the musical city without its associated cheese. Restless Thoughts is a classy debut from a newcomer who's sure to continue to turn heads with those who like their folk and country of the alt. persuasion. _CHRIS HAVERCROFT Beat Magazine June 2005 [ SIMON BRUCE - RESTLESS THOUGHTS ] ESSENCE/EMI Forget that Simon Bruce busked on the streets of London at 13 and cut his second EP in Nashville at 15 with Tommy Emmanuel producing and Keith Urban guesting. Or that he toured the US with John Hiatt at 19 and worked the Texas kicker circuit with revered peers Slaid Cleaves and Nathan Hamilton. Just grab the moment – at 20 he far exceeds the hype on his debut album. Bruce mines the troubadour trove of his early mentor Dylan with delicious dexterity and delivers without those aural imperfections. Vocally, he has the allure of Urban or a younger Graeme Connors but could be a lost love child of Dylan’s most enduring protégée, Eric Andersen. So, those are the salient signposts; what about the artist? Well, Bruce charts his course from the first note of riveting entrée The Holy Grail and the reflective ruptured romance of Turn Myself To Driftin’. It’s not just the artist soaring over a sea of organ but the poignant passion injected into his single Too Late Now and the mystical harmonica driven Rainbow Hotel. "This old road keeps losing weight / as I drift to the nearest state," he sings in the latter, "where I’m going, I don’t know / just as far as my feet can go," Wanderlust is Bruce’s strong suit and he wears it well on Restless Thoughts, the idyllic If You Stay and the eerie and rhetorical What Scares You Tonight?, penned with Nashville hit writer Angelo. There’s no point of return in the unconditional love for the flawless goddess in Never Say Goodbye or unbridled adulation – “I’m the suitcase in your hand, the love heart in the sand” – in Crazy Like The Wind. He exploits idealistic bliss in Young N Free, a climatic metaphor in the poetic joy of Peaceful and flirts with failure in the vitriol-drenched finale The Final Straw. So what makes Simon Bruce one of the most exciting homegrown artists of the decade? Well, all his songs have a true depth and Nash Chambers’ production ensures that every nuance and note impacts with nothing lost in the mix. Bruce deserves commercial airplay but will be rewarded more on the eclectic formats of Americana stations, ABC and community airwaves here. It's a shame – this is a gem with few flaws. ABC Wide Bay, QLD Monday 16, 2005 An acoustic sound that's big on melody with a splash of country and a good old rock 'n' roll feel throughout; that's one way of describing the debut album of Simon Bruce. At 19 years of age this young Australian definitely knows where he's going, and his album 'Restless Thoughts' is the result so far of a career that has seen him work with some of the biggest names in the industry. Recorded in just 3 days, featuring brilliant musicians and even a Hammond organ, this recipe has all the ingredients to be simply great. To add to the long list of quality credits on this album the experienced Nash Chambers was at the helm of production. The first single to be released from 'Restless Thoughts' is 'Too Late Now' an energetic ode to love, there's 'The Holy Grail' (not the cover) which is an amazing opening and then you've got the doleful 'Rainbow Hotel.' A highlight to this production is the feeling and emotions that shine through the lyrics. Simon believes it's the influences like Bob Dylan that have inspired him to write with such meaning. While this latest release will see Simon Bruce hit the road in his own right, touring and promoting his debut material, this is definitely NOT the first taste of pleasing live audiences. Simon Bruce has been around the world developing and fine-tuning his talent and along the way touring with the likes of Dido and the mentor type figure that is Tommy Emmanuel. All in all, turn it up and enjoy some easy listening homegrown material! - Scott Lamond Review -Tommy Emmanuel Concert- Sunset Events Center - 24 September 2004 - www.kingkoncert.com Opener Simon Bruce, a 19-year-old Australian singer-songwriter that Emmanuel has produced, also joined Emmanuel on stage for the final tune. Bruce’s opening set featured original songs revealing passion and yearning and a penchant for “starry nights and golden days.” Despite kind of cool, Bob Dylan-ish looks and rock and roll poses, Bruce’s music was characterized by a sweet, expressive voice. "Keep It Unreal" by Mark Mordue Simon Bruce: Just turned 18; likes Spanish girls (so he told me once), country music and most things before 1975. His first demo, The Champagne Sessions, was recorded when he was 16! It exhibits all the romantic rawness of a young Springsteen, highlighting a literacy and seriousness rare in this division. He's living in Nashville now but visits Sydney to play supports for the likes of Kasey Chambers. The Big Issue - No. 212 - 20.09.04 - 5.10.04 Nashville Reviews, June 2004 SIMON BRUCE - WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS By Phil Sweetland - Country music and radio contributor, The New York Times NASHVILLE, May 2004 - When Australian singer and songwriter Simon Bruce turned 19 in May 2004, he had already covered more ground both musically and geographically than most musicians will explore in their entire lifetimes. Simon has been mesmerized and influenced by the music and poetry of folksingers Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and of rockers like Elvis and The Beatles - artists whose greatest fame occurred decades before he was even born in 1985. Yet his thirst for insight led him to read and explore further, discovering early on the writing of the British poets Lord Byron (1788-1824) and William Blake (1757-1827). He had also already played professionally on three continents, beginning in the island nation of Australia before appearing in clubs and on street corners in Britain and now in nightclubs and recording studios in Nashville and New York, with a California tour coming this summer. Simon’s first album of original songs, a six-song EP called The Champagne Sessions (2000) cut in Nashville when he was 15, was produced by Aussie guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel and featured another esteemed Australian on background vocals - Keith Urban. A 12-song CD on Essence Records is due out soon. Simon’s life work started very early. Simon’s family, to put it mildly, was a musical lot. It was a life that quickly came to fascinate young Simon, especially when he discovered he could get paid for singing on street corners - busking. Like everything else about him, Simon’s earlier musical influences are surprising. "Mario Lanza and Shirley Bassey," he says, citing a tremendously popular Italian opera star and a more obscure British soul singer best known in America for her spellbinding 1965 theme from "Goldfinger". Lanza and Bassey both had voices that were larger-than-life, instruments that dripped with musical emotion. "I kept listening to this tape I had of Mario Lanza. It was probably painfully romantic," Bruce says. "And then later on, when I got into Elvis, I could hear a kind of similar thing going on with his voice as well." As a performer, the theatricality of Elvis soon became a model for Simon. Th songwriting influences came elsewhere. "The first time I got into Bob Dylan was when I had a Byrds record," he says. "I looked at the back of the album, and I said, ‘Who’s B. Dylan? He wrote all their songs!’" But unlike Dylan, an American from the upper Midwest who relocated to New York, Simon is very much an Australian. His Aussie wanderlust is like that of the nomadic American Beat Generation novelist Jack Kerouac, who certainly influenced Dylan: "This old road keeps losing weight/As I drift to the nearest state," Simon writes in "Rainbow Hotel". "Where I’m going, I don’t know/Just as far as my feet can go," he continues. Australia is also a very multi-cultural place, and a country that embraces diversity and appreciates the arts, just like America. At first, like any little kid, Simon was a pest who wanted to join in on the family gigs but couldn’t really play or sing. That quickly changed. Once Simon began studying Dylan and The Beatles and writing his own music, there was something special there. Thus began a worldwide journey supported by his family to give Simon a realistic chance to achieve his musical dreams. After appearing at school concerts and wining prizes in prestigious Australian competitions like Tamworth, Simon was adept at both harmonica and guitar. In September 1998 he took a working musical vacation to the UK. Much like Paul Simon over 30 years earlier, Simon Bruce quickly became enamoured of the English folk scene. Performing on street corners is a tough way to make a buck (or a pound or a Euro), but it also instills in those who are good at it a natural ease and stagecraft. To this day Simon loves performing and recording, but of all the tools in his remarkable skill set he loves songwriting the most. "I like writing a lot, the process of it," he says. "It’s a form of expression. When you write something good, you know it. It’s a kind of high." Like many writers, he was at first reluctant to sing his own compositions. That has changed now, as audiences around the world are amazed at what this young guy is creating. Much of that comes from the fact he loves to read, and his reading list is not exactly typical. "I like to read poetry," he says. "I like Robert Burns. I like Byron as well." Why? "Heavy. Despair. Kind of darkness." And what of the influence of Robert Zimmerman, alias Bob Dylan? "He’s overwhelming," Simon said. "You can read what you like into his songs. That’s my favourite kind of thing. Vagueness is cool." So is Simon Bruce. Beware! If you don’t know his music yet, you soon will. New York Reviews, November 2003 ASCAP's Loretta Muñoz hosted ASCAP night at the New York Songwriter's Circle at the famed club The Bitter End. The audience was treated to an intimate evening of remarkable music from Simon Bruce, Amy Correia, Johnathan Rice and Spottiswoode. Pictured (l-r) are ASCAP's Jenna Derhammer, Spottiswoode, Bruce, Rice, Correia, the Circle's Tina Shafer, Muñoz and the Circle's Caroline Bernard and Julie Henry.  Texas Reviews, March 2003 Simon Bruce Friday, February 28, Anderson Fair, Houston Phenoms aren't so rare on the instrument side of the music business, but it's downright astonishing to find a songwriting talent this developed and mature in an 18 year old. Australia's Simon Bruce made his American debut three years ago at the Nashville songwriters' haunt Bluebird Cafe; while in that city he also recorded a six-song demo called The Champagne Sessions (featuring Keith Urban on backing vocals), which has served as his calling card ever since. After appearing at last year's South by Southwest, Bruce spent a month touring Texas, highlighted by a guitar pull with Slaid Cleaves and Nathan Hamilton in Gruene and a gig with Sisters Morales in San Antonio. And he just wrapped up an Australian tour with Kasey Chambers, with whom he inevitably will be lumped in some yet-to-be-written article about how all the great young songwriters are from down under these days. Bruce may not be a great songwriter yet, but the emotional depth and polished songcraft on display in The Champagne Sessions doesn;t sound like it could have come form anybody who was the six years shy of legal drinking age. John Nova Lomax, Houston Press Sydney reviews, October 2002 Kasey Chambers - Enmore Theatre 9 October 2002 Seventeen year-old Glebe local Simon Bruce kicked off the night of country fair to a healthy Enmore Theatre crowd. His folky story-telling guitar songs were really enjoyable and for such a young lad he certainly has plenty of presence and a great voice, so expect to hear loads more from him.... ...Casser-Daly joined Kasey on stage for the ballad "Baby Jesus". Simon Bruce did likewise on a Bob Dylan cover and the Kasey teamed up for a duet with her dad - band guitarist Bill Chambers... The crowd raised some deafening claps, cheers and hollers beckoning Chambers back on stage and Kasey obliged... She also thanked everyone in the crowd for coming along to what was a truly entertaining gig from Australia's foremost country entertainer. Huggy Drum Media, 5 November 2002 Texas reviews, May 2002 From My San Antonio magazine: Simon & the Sisters At an age when his peers are trying to decide whether they're going to get a prom date or chuck it all and join a punk band until their parents pack them off to military school, Simon Bruce is hopping continents to make music. Tonight Bruce, a 17-year-old singing songwriter from Australia, will open a Casbeers show for Sisters Morales. Bruce is busily working the area with a six-song disc, "The Champagne Sessions," produced in Nashville by guitar ace Tommy Emmanuel. "Champagne" is reportedly Bruce's third release. Yes, he has more poise and writing chops than most of his peers. Bruce picked up guitar at 5 and eventually started singing on the streets, covering tunes by Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the Beatles. For those eager to find "sounds like" hooks, Bruce does have the solid rasp of a young Dylan. But even Dylan was in his 20s before he started scaring his elders. Listening to tunes such as "Rainbow Hotel" and "Thursday" makes one believe it would be foolish to bet against this kid. He has something to say and to sing and he does it well. If you're not aware of Sisters Morales, get busy. Lisa and Roberta and their band do hip, fun pop, folk, honky-tonk and traditional Mexican music. The voices and the music combine to produce fun and passion. Jim Beal Jr.'s Night Lights covers the area music scene Wednesday in S.A. Life and Friday in Weekender. He also plays bass in the local band Ear Food. Send e-mail to jbeal@express-news.net. Beal will be the host of the "Third Coast Music Network" show from 3-7 p.m. Thursday on KSYM, 90.1 FM. 06/14/2002 Nashville reviews: On his September 2001 tour Simon continues to enthrall Nashville singer-songwriter establishments with his fresh lyrics and rhythms. CJ Watson at the French Quarter Cafe complimented Simon's skills, noting that Simon's songwriting bettered that of people twice his age. Jack Scott at the Boardwalk Cafe was similarly impressed, while Lee Rascone at the Broken Spoke summed it up in one word - "Awesome". Simon Bruce performing at the famous writer's night at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe on Monday 10 September. Simon sang his haunting composition "Thursday" from his CD "The Champagne Sessions", dedicating it to all the many musicians in the room. Performers and audience alike responded overwhelmingly to Simon's performance with comments such as "awesome!" and "fantastic!". Australian Music Week "The Champagne Sessions is a brilliant blend of folk/pop and rock. 16 year old Simon's lyrics are compelling, and his delivery is timed to perfection". National Art School/East Sydney TAFE Simon returned to the National Art School in Darlinghurst on 24 July and this time played his full set without interference from the nearby Supreme Court. The sun shone and the large Orientation Week crowd stood and sat around soaking up the sun and the magnificent sounds of Simon's own compositions. Accompanied by Gary Brown on dobro, Simon played a range of songs from his early CDs, his current release "the Champagne Sessions" - including "Rainbow Hotel", currently receiving airplay on ABC radio - as well as some new numbers Simon has recently composed. Sales of his CD were brisk and the audience were left hoping that Simon would make another return visit to the campus soon. The Curtain Folk Australia, July 2001 "Simon has a sensitive poetic quality to his songwriting and his musicianship matches his ability to write and sing. What a find!" Glenn A. Baker on Simon: "Simon Bruce may well be the most remarkable, in fact the most astonishing unknown opening act I've ever experienced. His performance of "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" at a Bob Dylan tribute night was so intense and so emphatic that you could almost close your eyes and believe it was the young Great White Wonder himself up there. Simon's own songs have an engaging charm about them and display an honest musicality which bodes well for an impressive future. I'll certainly be watching with more than a little interest." Glenn A. Baker Radio Interview - 2NSB - Wednesday 13 June 2001 A few weeks ago I got an email from another dad of another performer. "My son/daughter is pretty good and you may want to hear and then play the music on your show" I never say no, but I never expect much, a shelf of once played CDs is testament to the past. SIMON BRUCE is amazing. He is coming on the show on Wednesday night the 13th from 7 till 9 fm99.3 Sydney. DO NOT MISS IT!!! It will be one of those opportunities to say "you were there when" You know I have heard a lot of young musicians. This guy is the best I have ever heard. Mature Gifted Amazing. I promise you,,,,you will be amazed at the talent and that you have never heard of him before.......... Michael Beaumont Hi Honey I'm Home 2NSB fm 99.3 Wednesday Nights 6.30 to 9pm AAA Music Please visit my web site www.natronics.com.au/mbeaumont  SB with Michael Beaumont (click to enlarge) Update - Simon's 1 hour interview provoked plenty of response from Hi Honey I'm Home listeners. Some doubted that his two live performances were really live - believe it, Simon really was picking those strings and singing into the radio microphone on the beautiful "Where Roses Fade" and fatalistic "Take It As It Comes"! All the listeners were agreed on one thing - this is a sixteen year old whose star is on the rise, from his Tommy Emmanuel-produced CD "the Champagne Sessions", to the interest already generated with American record companies, to his captivating voice and lyrics. Radio audiences want more of this music, and they seem agreed that it won't be long before they have it. Tuesday 12 June - National Art School/TAFE, Darlinghurst Music history was made today when acoustic guitarist singer songwriter Simon Bruce was - wait for it - closed down for being too loud! To the "boos" from lunchtime students who had enjoyed half an hour of Simon's original compositions, the campus Operations Manager declared "no more" after a court officer from the nearby Supreme Court claimed the music was interfering with murder trial proceedings. "Not even unplugged" was the Operation Manager's response as organisers tried to negotiate a way around the problem. Even though the court was about to rise for lunch, the court officer was adamant that the music had to stop. Rather than defending the students' rights to listen to music, the TAFE op manager fell in line with the man in blue - although students later queried what power the court officer was invoking to support his demands. "I'll be back" said Simon, when asked for his reaction to the furore. "The students liked my music, they bought my CD "The Champagne Sessions", and they want more - I'm booked to return on 24 July." Don't miss the July gig - but be prepared for more than just music! The Curtain La Bar, Darlinghurst, Thursday 14 June 2001 The attractive setting of La Bar was a perfect venue for Simon Bruce to perform a half hour set, opening with the up-tempo favourite "Rise and Shine", continuing with several more original compositions including the very appropriate "Meet Me in the Cold" on one of Sydney's coldest nights this year, and finishing with the haunting "What You See is What You Get". And what the crowd got on Thursday was nothing short of a star performance, with Simon's songs sounding their best yet. The lyrics were praised by other musicians as coming from the soul, while the show's compere marvelled at Simon's skills when taking into consideration his age - just 16. Music industry representatives were similarly impressed, and insiders agree it won't be long before Simon's songs are reaching much wider audience. The Switch News |
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