Simon

Simon was founded in Peoria, IL in 1997. The band featured three former members of the Goth band, St. Sirus: Darin Wright on drums, John Northrup on bass and Brad Benson on guitar and vocals. Inspired by British bands like Oasis, Blur and Travis, Simon developed a Brit-pop sound and featured songs written by Benson. The band performed across Central Illinois at popular alternative venues like The Gallery in Normal and Lizard's Lounge in Bloomington. In 2000 Derek Kolb took over on bass and backing vocals and Josh Bradshaw was brought in on lead guitar and backing vocals. The band continued to perform, recording an EP titled Nowland, released in 2001. Dropping back to a three piece band in 2002, Simon recorded a full length album titled A Month of Sundays in their home studio. Upon Kolb's departure from the band in early 2003 Simon went on hiatus while the remaining band members pursued other interests. Simon reformed in 2009 as a studio project featuring Wright again on drums and Benson on guitar and vocals. A number of Bloomington musicians sat in with the band while new material was developed. In 2010, with Wright's departure, Dave Schuster took over drum and backing vocal duties with Lawrence Horvath from the Root Cause taking over on bass. In 2011, taking inspiration from Alex Turner's Last Shadow Puppets side project, Simon released It's Not the End of the World. Since 2011 Simon has increased its commitment to both recording and performing, playing gigs in Peoria, Bloomington and Chicago. The band released two singles in 2013, Alone Against the Sky and Sideways. Both singles continue the Simon tradition of mashing British rock melodies with American pop/punk.  

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/simonsongsincorporated

http://www.jango.com/music/Simon?l=0

Follow this link to their videos from the show