"Can You Hear Me?": Keaton Simons Talks About New CD, Touring and More! Podcast!!

I have been missing my music! Not that I haven’t been communicating with musicians but sometimes life interferes with heading out and meeting all the musicians and seeing the shows. I have some podcasts that finally are done and coming out of their dungeon and more will be coming. This one features one of my favorite musicians (and good friend) Keaton Simons whose career arc I have been following for quite some time.

Previous posts featuring Keaton Simons are here:
Post 1 Blink, It’s Keaton Simons Hitting the Concert Trail
Post 2: Indie Musician Keaton Simons Wraps — and Rocks– the Hotel Cafe
Post 3 Keaton Simons Hits the Hotel Cafe & More. Video of Title Track of New CD
Post 4 Check out Hot new Keaton Simons CD Can You Hear Me & Podcast!!
and that’s the edited version of the list of posts! Needless to say, he’s always on my top 10 list of musicians.
This is a podcast that I did with him earlier in the year, before he was starting his tour with Tyrone Wells.
While we talk about a stop that he made a local music venue, we did discuss his new CD “Can You Hear Me” available on CBS Records. Because we have known each other so long, it’s easy to talk to Keaton because the short hand of knowing the back story is already in place. It’s an interesting history here that he shares.
For those of you who might not have heard the CD, it’s a mix of tunes he had recorded several years ago and I spent over 2 years embedding in my soul and some new ones that are getting serious listening time. As you can hear on the podcast, I think Mama Song got seriously edgier and Joseph got some better production values that gave it a slightly different feel.
What I do love about the new songs are that he’s managed to intertwine with the older material and bring something really fresh and meaningful to the table. Can You Hear Me is a great one and I liked it the moment I heard it. Unstoppable pulls on that musical side of my heart because it speaks of things that I remember occuring– because he wrote about a time and a place — “snowing out in Malibu” — and there’s a podcast with someone else on this blog where we are talking about just that specific time. The deep feeling that he injects into that song reaches into you the more you listen to it. Another song that will grow on you is Misfits which at first wasn’t a favorite, but eventually become something that I loved driving too and would sing random bits through my day as it noodled through my brain. It’s musical hooks and great lyrics talk about a relationship that is just different and whether the girl and boy are friends, relatives or lovers– one doesn’t know. The song changes up every time you hear it. Simons lyrics and musical backing create a different feeling every time you hear his songs and this song is specifically one of those that will change for you each time you hear it. Burch Mog is a bluesy sort of tune that’s still got some rock back up but definitely has a statement to make in the lyrics. This is Keaton Simon showing off his serious musicianship — because it’s not upbeat song but it’s just got something going for it that touches you. You know what he’s talking about.
This CD should be on your IPod or –better yet– try getting the hard copy and download the tunes your mp3 player and then you have the back up.

Nobody Knows Video!!
Check out www.keatonsimons.com or www.myspace.com/keatonsimons for tour dates.
Buy his CD on Itunes, through his site or CDBaby.com. Also check out this:

Keaton Simons music is heard on several tv shows including NCIS– buy the soundtrack and find Keaton and other CBS recording artists (like Will Dailey) on the CD too.
TOUR DATES:
Youth Empowerment and Liberation Project benefit
April 14, 2009 08:00 PM – Hotel Cafe 1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd
:$15 www.hotelcafe.com/tickets
Keaton Simons, Kina Grannis, Cipes and the, People, Davey G. Project, John West, and special guests!!! 9 PM start time. Great benefit and roster of performers!!
Great big thank you to Keaton Simons for giving me a chunk of time before getting ready to hit the stage and perform!!
Stevie Wilson