At first glance, it is easy to mistake guitarist J.D Simo as a straight-ahead young bluesman. But this record blows that assumption out of the water. While the blues does play a significant part in Simo’s sound, there's a lot of other stuff going on here: jazz, psychedelic rock - literally something for everyone.
I first heard Simo's music in a record store on the Danforth, in Toronto, almost next door to The Danforth Music Hall. I'd gone to Toronto to see a show by alt-rockers The Growlers, who were appearing at the Danforth, and had some time to kill before the show. The record store was almost next door to the music hall so that's where I headed. The store's owner, an older guy with a long white pony tail, was playing this record and it immediately got my attention. I asked him who was playing and he showed me the cover of this record. I've gotta say it's not a record I'd have ever bought for the cover.
But that's the cool thing about independent record stores: you never know what you're going to hear in them, and every once in a while you hear something like this, something you weren't expecting that comes at you out of nowhere and blows your mind. This is one of those records, and hearing it I knew I had to add it to my collection despite the lousy cover art.
I immediately bought a copy.
Recorded live "off the floor" during a three-day break from a tour with Phil Lesh (of the Grateful Dead), this record features no studio trickery or overdubs. "It's just honesty and a tape machine," is how Simo puts it. The record opens with Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights, a track recorded by many artists over the years but which most people are familiar with because of Pat Travers' 1970s interpretation. But Simo's band - Adam Abrashoff on drums and Luke Easterling thumping the bass - attacks the old standard with a good dose of high octane gusto. JD’s vocal is reminiscent of Gregg Allman's bluesy growl, and between the three of them they really rock the old chestnut. It'll definitely catch your attention, although it might also fool you into thinking you're going to be hearing a blues record.
But by the second song, the title track and the first of five Simo originals, you are no longer in Bluesville. It really is where things start to get interesting. Turning away from the straight-ahead blues-rocker approach of the opener, Off At 11 grooves along almost like a Grateful Dead mid-song jam. Some of Simo's other influences are here, too. Blindfolded, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a Santana record as the song begins, and from there it gets a bit Allman Brothers-y. It's the song that was playing when I walked into the record store, and it would be great music to turn out the lights and get stoned to. It's the kind of stuff I could listen to all night long, and while it may seem familiar on many levels it's also very much an original. Simo takes his influences and pushes past them into not entirely uncharted territory, but in a very original way that sounds wonderful and carves a new route.
The band as a unit is very impressive. Every member is extraordinarily talented, but they don't overdo it. They meld together nicely, and where they really shine is when they're in jam mode, which makes me really want to see them perform live someday post pandemic, which is now beginning to look as though it might be sometime in the mid-2030s.
The B.B. King song, Sweet Little Angel, shows up close to the end of the record and is sweetly interpreted. It's an homage to Simo's roots, which I think was done intentionally. When they say all modern rock music stems from the blues, this track could be held up as evidence.
The record's closing tune, Accept, is a 17-minute stew of influences that mixes together just about everything in Simo's bag of tricks. From jazz and rock to blues and psychedelic rock - it's all here and the band navigates it with authority and an ease that showcases their love and mastery of the various different stylings, meandering in and sometimes very far out, but never too far and always with the ability to keep everything tied nicely together just enough so as to be able to find their way back.
This record is a stunning accomplishment, especially for someone so young. It left me wondering why I'd never before heard of J.D. Simo, and I'm eagerly anticipating his next move. Blues purists might not like it as much as I do, but they don't have to, and I don't think this was ever meant to be a strictly blues album anyway. It's what happens over time. It's called evolution. This is, most assuredly …
At first glance, it is easy to mistake guitarist J.D Simo as a straight-ahead young bluesman. But this record blows that assumption out of the water. While the blues does play a significant part in Simo’s sound, there's a lot of other stuff going on here: jazz, psychedelic rock - literally something for everyone.
I first heard Simo's music in a record store on the Danforth, in Toronto, almost next door to The Danforth Music Hall. I'd gone to Toronto to see a show by alt-rockers The Growlers, who were appearing at the Danforth, and had some time to kill before the show. The record store was almost next door to the music hall so that's where I headed. The store's owner, an older guy with a long white pony tail, was playing this record and it immediately got my attention. I asked him who was playing and he showed me the cover of this record. I've gotta say it's not a record I'd have ever bought for the cover.
But that's the cool thing about independent record stores: you never know what you're going to hear in them, and every once in a while you hear something like this, something you weren't expecting that comes at you out of nowhere and blows your mind. This is one of those records, and hearing it I knew I had to add it to my collection despite the lousy cover art.
I immediately bought a copy.
Recorded live "off the floor" during a three-day break from a tour with Phil Lesh (of the Grateful Dead), this record features no studio trickery or overdubs. "It's just honesty and a tape machine," is how Simo puts it. The record opens with Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights, a track recorded by many artists over the years but which most people are familiar with because of Pat Travers' 1970s interpretation. But Simo's band - Adam Abrashoff on drums and Luke Easterling thumping the bass - attacks the old standard with a good dose of high octane gusto. JD’s vocal is reminiscent of Gregg Allman's bluesy growl, and between the three of them they really rock the old chestnut. It'll definitely catch your attention, although it might also fool you into thinking you're going to be hearing a blues record.
But by the second song, the title track and the first of five Simo originals, you are no longer in Bluesville. It really is where things start to get interesting. Turning away from the straight-ahead blues-rocker approach of the opener, Off At 11 grooves along almost like a Grateful Dead mid-song jam. Some of Simo's other influences are here, too. Blindfolded, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a Santana record as the song begins, and from there it gets a bit Allman Brothers-y. It's the song that was playing when I walked into the record store, and it would be great music to turn out the lights and get stoned to. It's the kind of stuff I could listen to all night long, and while it may seem familiar on many levels it's also very much an original. Simo takes his influences and pushes past them into not entirely uncharted territory, but in a very original way that sounds wonderful and carves a new route.
The band as a unit is very impressive. Every member is extraordinarily talented, but they don't overdo it. They meld together nicely, and where they really shine is when they're in jam mode, which makes me really want to see them perform live someday post pandemic, which is now beginning to look as though it might be sometime in the mid-2030s.
The B.B. King song, Sweet Little Angel, shows up close to the end of the record and is sweetly interpreted. It's an homage to Simo's roots, which I think was done intentionally. When they say all modern rock music stems from the blues, this track could be held up as evidence.
The record's closing tune, Accept, is a 17-minute stew of influences that mixes together just about everything in Simo's bag of tricks. From jazz and rock to blues and psychedelic rock - it's all here and the band navigates it with authority and an ease that showcases their love and mastery of the various different stylings, meandering in and sometimes very far out, but never too far and always with the ability to keep everything tied nicely together just enough so as to be able to find their way back.
This record is a stunning accomplishment, especially for someone so young. It left me wondering why I'd never before heard of J.D. Simo, and I'm eagerly anticipating his next move. Blues purists might not like it as much as I do, but they don't have to, and I don't think this was ever meant to be a strictly blues album anyway. It's what happens over time. It's called evolution. This is, most assuredly …
BONUS TRACK
J.D. Simo was born in 1985 and grew up in Chicago, which explains his deep love of the blues. He picked up the guitar at the age of five, and by age 15 had formed a band and released a live EP that sold 5,000 copies.
Unlike most kids his age, Simo spent his teen years honing his guitar chops by touring almost constantly, either as a solo artist with his own band or as a sideman in various other bands.
In 2006 he relocated to Nashville and became the lead guitarist in the Don Kelley Band. He also gained a reputation as a guitar wunderkind of sorts and was employed as a session musician.
In 2010 he joined bassist Frank Swart and drummer Adam Abrashoff to form the rock band SIMO, and in 2015 they signed with the Mascot Label Group. The band's second record, Let Love Show The Way, was released in 2016 and debuted at Number 4 on the Billboard Blues chart.
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Simo participated in the 100th Birthday celebration for Les Paul in Waukesha, WI, in 2015, and followed this up with his first national tour the following year that kept him on the road pretty much full-time..
In 2018 Simo was on tour opening for Tommy Emmanuel, which went a long way to helping establish his reputation as a guitarist of note among blues music fans. He continued to tour throughout that spring and summer with a revolving cast of musician friends that culminated in the recording of his first solo album toward the end of the summer.
This album was released in 2019. along with the announcement of US and European tour dates alongside the Allman-Betts Band and Tommy Emmanuel. Simo hit the road again, but has been sidelined since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Tour plans are on hold, but Simo plans to make up for lost time as soon as possible.
Expect great things from this young guitar master in the future! In the meantime, this is a great record that should keep you satisfied. It's one of the only records I can recall that has gathered so many perfect scores from critics and reviewers.
J.D. Simo was born in 1985 and grew up in Chicago, which explains his deep love of the blues. He picked up the guitar at the age of five, and by age 15 had formed a band and released a live EP that sold 5,000 copies.
Unlike most kids his age, Simo spent his teen years honing his guitar chops by touring almost constantly, either as a solo artist with his own band or as a sideman in various other bands.
In 2006 he relocated to Nashville and became the lead guitarist in the Don Kelley Band. He also gained a reputation as a guitar wunderkind of sorts and was employed as a session musician.
In 2010 he joined bassist Frank Swart and drummer Adam Abrashoff to form the rock band SIMO, and in 2015 they signed with the Mascot Label Group. The band's second record, Let Love Show The Way, was released in 2016 and debuted at Number 4 on the Billboard Blues chart.
.
Simo participated in the 100th Birthday celebration for Les Paul in Waukesha, WI, in 2015, and followed this up with his first national tour the following year that kept him on the road pretty much full-time..
In 2018 Simo was on tour opening for Tommy Emmanuel, which went a long way to helping establish his reputation as a guitarist of note among blues music fans. He continued to tour throughout that spring and summer with a revolving cast of musician friends that culminated in the recording of his first solo album toward the end of the summer.
This album was released in 2019. along with the announcement of US and European tour dates alongside the Allman-Betts Band and Tommy Emmanuel. Simo hit the road again, but has been sidelined since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Tour plans are on hold, but Simo plans to make up for lost time as soon as possible.
Expect great things from this young guitar master in the future! In the meantime, this is a great record that should keep you satisfied. It's one of the only records I can recall that has gathered so many perfect scores from critics and reviewers.
