Before opening for Monster Truck at La Maroquinerie, singer and guitarist JD Simo took a moment to talk about the new album “Let Love Show The Way”, available since January 19th 2016.
Hi, really nice to meet you.
JD Simo (vocals/guitar): Nice to meet you.
How are you today in Paris?
JD: I’m really amazing, what a gorgeous day! I’m glad and we’ve just finished 46 shows in States just 2 days ago. We had not even a day off really at home. We were at home just for 2 days off. So I mean, what a gorgeous day to be in Paris. I want to be here longer.
This is your first show in France, how do you feel about that?
JD: This is our second show, technically. We did a press show about, I guess, 3 months ago. We came in November just to do press show. So this is the second one technically.
So this is the first one in front of the french audience.
JD: Exactly, I mean this is the only show with Monster Truck our label made. So it gonna be fun tonight and I guess it’s sold out, we’ll have a good time.
Are you excited, stressed?
JD: I can’t wait to play. No, I don’t get stressed. I mean, I’m not stressed about playing, I like to play. It’s more confortable to me. I think a lot of musicians are in that way: you start to play music cause you feel out everywhere I guess, in high school. So, I’m exciting looking for playing, getting use to be in over here again. Like I said, we were working so hard so it’s a kind of our pleasure.
To begin, how could you describe your band for people who don’t know you?
JD: We’re a rock band. (laughs) I love that! But we are! We are a rock band, musicians. I want to say old school musicians and in certain regard we are cause, we have a kind of improvisation, we’re not jazz musician, but in a rock context. The shows are very open, we never play the same set every night: the set is completely different every time and then improvisation happens. Cause we have a song structure right, but we have freedom. For exemple, the 3 of us are fans about band like Nirvana. When I was a kid, people doesn’t even talk about Nirvana in this way: Nirvana used to give a very opened expressive music and that was a big part of what they did. I was influenced by this when I was a kid. So I mean, we’re not really a blues band, blues it was I wanted to do, but I can’t call us as a blues band. We’re not a jazz band, we cannot fall in between several different distinction but there’re a kind of bohemian style. It’s a very long answer but that was what I think: I really don’t know how to answer.
You’re a young band, just together for six years.
JD: Yeah, we‘ve been together for 6 years but I was a session musician, playing on records, I mean I was playing professionnaly since I was 8. I think I really start over 20 years but with the band, this year especially, it’s kind of a beginning for us, cause even we’re been together for 6 years, we took in totally last year for the proper management. All the things that you get with label. We are just a baby band that developing our fanbase.
Have you a funny short story to tell us about your experiences?
JD: I have a lot of them probably. I think the essence of the band is funny story. As the way we formed, it’s a funny story cause we were litteraly formed in a room, jamed for 4 hours, we didn’t stop. I’ve never done that before, I’ve never started playing music with two others guys, with anybody! As a session musician, you play what you have to play, but with my band it’s like: we were in a room and we’ve just started playing and we’re playing for 4 hours and we’re finally stopped playing and i’ve never experienced that kind of connection with another humans. So, it was clear we gonna have a band now.
Your voice follow solo guitar parts, which is very cool. Is it something that define your style?
JD: It’s interesting as a vocalist to have a time together and I appreciate you dig it cause I like it! I mean, I play guitar but I’m a singer, so both suppose to be in a kind of arrangement expression, a lot of guitar players just be rather playing guitar and for me I enjoy the both. For me, the most important aspect of music is the things you can connect truly to a person. I think everybody say that but, I think voice it’s the most important thing.
When we listen to your new album, there’s like a 70’s vibe. Are you nostalgic about the music from that period?
JD: Sure yes! The 3 of us love music from these years, I mean it’s good music!
You’re young. (laughs)
JD: I know but it’s good music! And we like music like The Black Keys and Jack White. I think everything Jack White doing, I love it. The way they were making record: we were in a room and we were performing, even the vocal, there no tune. We made our record the way we did that. So I think if you work that way, it’s the way it gonna sound. Cause if you work in a computer, you count things, and you tune things. As a musician, I wanna sing good, we wanna play well so it’s important. I think it’s a pride thing for us, we wanna make record the way we gonna sound, because a lot of band hide behind the staff.
You didn’t use voice effect, it’s a very pure sound. Was it important for you?
JD: Yeah it is! I mean, just do what you do and if you do it well, you don’t need to tune it! I can’t dig it.
It just feels like that more and more young people, young bands, especially from USA, come back to basics like rock n’roll, blues, the very good old sound. How can you explain that?
JD: I think, you’re talking about Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Beatles: it was amazing f****** music! No matter what continues to happen in music, the staff from these years always gonna be there.
Old musicians often say that new bands are very good in studio with effects, but they can’t play very well on stage. Have you the same feelings?
JD: Yeah unfortunately! Our generation got a lot of interesting things. But the biggest thing is we have access to every ridiculous informations. I think at the same time, it makes us forget to life itself, to the air that we breath and so the regard to the music. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s completely true but I certainly not disagree with the feeling. But I mean, I’ve never had a job, I’ve always been a musician.
Our favorite song is “Stranger Blues”, what’s yours?
JD: I don’t have one, I love to sing “I’ll Always Be Around”, because it’s about a relationtship, it’s about a friend of mine, a guy that we got a big falling out so it’s not about like a sexual relationship: it’s about friendship. We gonna probably play that one tonight. The others songs are not as emotional but that one is.
When will we see Simo own french show?
JD: Probably in summer. Because we’re coming, when we finish this show, we go back to USA to another five weeks in America, and after we gonna have 4 days off back to Europe the last week of June. We start in Italy, I’m exciting cause we start with Milan and then we’re doing 14 or 15 festivals all in Europe. We’re doing dates around so we will be back. I really wanna play in Paris. I wanna play in the south too, Nice, especially during the summer. (laughs)
What are your plans in the near future? Recording a new album?
JD: We are always recording. The label wants to release new album early next year. So we’re spending every moment to work on it. They want to make it in January but we really don’t. We problably haven’t finished, probably in August.
Last question: as our website is called “RockUrLife”: what rocks your life?
JD: My wife, she is my rock and I love her! She rocks my life in very different ways, she’s my baby and my rock.
Thanks!
JD: Thanks you too.
Website: simo.fm
