Simon Spire
Hear it Now
Just in case you missed it the first time, a little background: Simon Spire has always been a musician. As a child in Auckland, New Zealand, he played the piano, but at 13-years-old, he took up the guitar after hearing a classmate play "Come As You Are," Spire said. "I saw that the music I loved could be recreated on my own - on the guitar," and so his career as a singer-songwriter turned in a new direction. Spire began playing in the high school jazz band and with a cover band that played everything from The Beatles to Ricky Martin.
"It wasn't always music I'd listen to on my own, but it was just kind of fun to play those pop songs," said Spire.
After the first album was released, he "spent a lot of time in New Zealand, sharing music on TV on getting radio airplay, which was very exciting. But I started spending a lot of time in the U.S. around that same time. I knew I wanted to write more." That drive led to working with collaborators and a couple of "great" producers in New York, where the new album, Four-Letter Words (not those kind) was recorded.
"It's the culmination of my time living in NYC and the idea of the profound and profane -- life and love and hate and all those other things. It's inspired by self inquiry and exploration, all the stuff that comes with being human, the potential and mess."
Heady stuff for a pop-rock singer-songwriter type, but if anyone has the talent to pull it off, it's Spire. When we asked him about what he would share with other future musicians, he replied "that stage in life is so confusing -- the difficulty of knowing oneself is a process, and there are so many influences contending for attention. During high school, I wish I had a better idea of possibilities and pontential." Sounds like good advice for anyone, but particularly thoughtful songwriters.
As for the man himself, he's gearing up for an album release (in New York, of course) followed by an east coast tour during the fall.
To hear more stories from Simon Spire, listen to the tracks below or check out his photos and video, which is something really special. Also, you can always find him on Facebook.
Share this on: