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| Featured Artist Link REALLYMUSICRADIO presents
Keaton SimonsCommunal life may not have been in the cards, but Simons segued from writing instrumental pieces to co-founding the jazz-influenced band Nobody Knows. Rehearsing, writing and gigging relentlessly, he found himself in the company of such leading lights of the Los Angeles hip-hop scene as Tre from the Pharcyde and Kim Hill of the Black Eyed Peas, both of whom hired him as a band member and musical director. After the unexpected and tragic death of Nobody Knows' bass player, Simons stopped to reevaluate his life. He ultimately decided to attend Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. The move changed the young musician's life in ways he could never have anticipated. He flourished at Evergreen, studying everything from advanced theory to classical and experimental composition. But when his mentor, ethnomusicologist Sean Williams, introduced him to the sounds of Southeast Asia, Simons felt as though a new world had unveiled itself. His years at Evergreen not only introduced him to diverse global music but also taught him to incorporate everything into his own sensibility. Thus he was able to find his voice while absorbing classical and global approaches, not to mention pop standbys like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix. "There was something about learning music that was so far from my ear that changed the way I listened," Simons remembers. "Now even though there are some types of music I like more than others, I can at least appreciate and find the value in everything." Around this time he also began to pen songs with lyrics. Within a year, he'd assembled his own band and begun playing his own songs. "I'd already established relationships with some great L.A. venues, like Temple Bar, and everyone was really supportive." he notes. "I put together a really cool band that started off as a trio, and kept it simple and tight. It was really fun, and we never stopped playing." "I'm really excited about this record because I feel like it's a strong introduction to what I'm about, musically and emotionally," Keaton Simons volunteers. "And this is just the appetizer. I can't wait for the main course."
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