press shots

contact email

simonalpin@hotmail.com
http://www.myspace.com/simonjalpin

track record

Teenage fanclub
Devendra banhart
Willard grant conspiracy
Badly drawn boy
Grand drive
Danny george wilson
kevin kinney
Thad cockrell
Tenderloud
M ward
Thalia zedek
Thad cockrell
Chris Eckman
Jess Klein
Deanna varagona
Viarosa
Bap Kennedy
Brian kennedy
Touques
The Beat poets
Saltgrass
Mark Nevin
les rythmes digitales
Wendy james
The servant
Mad violet
Dirty beatniks
Hayseed Dixie
wyo's
Lisa moorish
Lipnicka/Porter

on the wire

just spent the day doing overdubs for garron friths record with julian wilson playing hammond and assorted other instruments with keys on em it was a long day got a hell of alot done ended off 11pm so a good 12 hours of recording hope it all makes sense ! off to ireland again next week to play with the wyo's shannon based band ...... simon

on way to kiev in russia with transglobal underground working on tracks for their remix record which will be out in the next few months my mix features josh hillman(violin) from willard grant conspiracy also news on a new film soundtrack for an irsih film from the regard the end sessions I think they're going to use "twistification"
currently on tour with Emmanuel jal around the uk info at Emmanueljal.net for all dates check press for details
also working on record for Kathhleen Haskard on her second solo record as yet untitled will begin recording at portisheads studio in bristol from the 9th march 06 also featuring on the record will be Chuck prophet "Green on red"on gtr and Paul wiggins on drums from ""Grand drive""blue aeroplanes" songs are sounding good Kathleen has featured on a song losers weep on Stacy Earles "sister of steve " record which will also feature on Kathleens up and coming record thats it for now ! s

gold record for Lipnicka/Porter I played guitar on, while "Chris Eckman" from "Walkabouts" in the producing chair recorded in slovinia at studio metro . Danny george wilson is currently on tour with Christian Kjellvander across Scandinavia. check out Danny's site for dates WWW.DANNYGEORGEWILSON.COM

Back in the studio producing "The Divers" from ireland / uk with their forthcoming album at the helm nick hunt will be working his magic with the recording / mixing also doing acoustic record with Garron frith with paul wiggins from grand drive on drums josh hillman on violin / viola currently doing overdubs in britol at portisheads bass players studio copletion date end of jan then heading out to slovinia to work with christian kjellvander at studio metro also gigs coming up with jess klein and danny gearge wilson in jan feb 2006 keep you posted simon
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Also currently working on soundtrack for independent film maker simon pattison from new zealand very cool film to be involved in should be finished special effects post production in november. also recorded jess klein whilst on tour with Danny g wilson for the forthcoming lomax album she did a great job we had a day off in the peak district it ended up not being a day off ! have lap top will record ! also recorded jess and dannys set for hopefully a forthcoming live ep sifting through the recordings to see what i got ! bye for now simon

film credits

stuck on you : farrelly brothers film staring matt damon and greg kinnear
valve man : simon pattison (independent)
snow oddessy : (independent) snow boarding film

gig reviews

Danny George Wilson, Jess Klein, Simon Alpin and Christian Kjellvander - Carling Academy, Liverpool -13th July 2005 Review by Barry Jones

Eine Klein nachtmusik. (Or something like that!) A sultry, warm Liverpool night and Danny George Wilson, still on sabbatical from Grand Drive, and Willard Grant Conspirator Simon Alpin are back for a short tour promoting Danny’s Alpin produced Famous Mad Mile solo album. Danny’s Fargo stablemate Christian Kjellvander opens the show, to a disappointingly small, but nonetheless educated and enthusiastic audience. Christian is Swedish, tall, blonde, deep voiced, with thoughtful songs and a gentle laid-back electric guitar accompaniment. The lone, under-employed, barmaid was very impressed and she has impeccable taste. His first time in Liverpool, let’s hope he comes back soon. Jess Klein, straight from a warmer and sultrier New York City is next and charms the place completely. A diminutive figure with a big guitar, she gives real substance to songs from her recent Strawberry Lover, the title song of which has apparently been acclaimed as one of the top ten sexiest songs of the moment by The NY Daily News, and who could argue with that? She even tackles a Willie Dixon blues and makes it her own. Her other role this evening is providing backing vocals on Danny Wilson’s set. Jess has worked with Simon Alpin before, with Willard Grant Conspiracy, and contributed backing vocals to The Famous Mad Mile from a distance, as seems to be the norm these days. Having only met Danny the day before the tour started, things might have been a bit haphazard, but it was just the opposite, their voices complemented each other perfectly, to form a union of gentle acoustic summer sounds augmented by Simon’s mandolin and occasional low harmonies. It was a privilege to witness it.



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Danny George Wilson
Simon Alpin
Josh Hillman
Barrels, Friday, March 11
'The idea was to get out and sing some songs', said Grand Drive's Danny
George Wilson after a magical night in Barrels, Berwick on Tweed. That
modest, almost humble mission statement hides the fact that the songs in
question came mainly from Grand Drive's back catalogue plus half a dozen
from Wilson's forthcoming solo release, The Famous Mad Mile. By the way,
save time pre-order it, it's going to be great. With that and two members of
Willard Grant Conspiracy alongside you, you're hardly going around singing
just any old songs.
Barrels is built for a night like Friday, acoustic guitar, mandolin and
fiddle were never going to be 'Rock the Casbah', but the rough cast walls
threw back the shadows created by the music. The unstructured, unpolished
night became an intimate, almost conspiratorial evening, artists and
audience became confidants sharing secrets.
Without the need for any noticable 'performance' in the accepted sense, it's
all about creating an atmosphere and Danny George Wilson did that
immediately with Somewhere Else Instead and Track 40. Wilson writes love
songs, whether it be people, places or memories of childhood as with Track
40, all are honest, real and affectionate love songs. If the night proved
one thing it was that Danny George Wilson is one of this country's best
writers, time after time he gently drew us into the middle of the song. He
instinctively understands that songs need to be about the listener as much
as the musician
Although the night seemed to be centred around the Grand Drive singer
alongside him were Simon Alpin and Josh Hillman from the Willard Grant
Conspiracy and it was the contrast between Wilson and Alpin that provided
the light and shade.
Where Wilson was light, Alpin was the dark brooding presence, a spell only
broken by the fact that between songs he was a thoroughly pleasant bloke. He
introduced himself with the wonderful Is It Gone but his 'moments' came with
Ry Cooder's Billy The Kid and a song known only as Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, which
involved all three performers in a wailing harmony that had the rhythm of an
ancient funeral cortege. All we needed was a pyre, a widow and we could have
had a bit of suttee in the north east.
There was a spontaneous, songwriters circle feel to the first half as if
three guys had walked in off the street and just wowed an open mic night. It
made for a low key but hugely attractive set.
But it was the second half that truly showed the trio as the accomplished
performers they undoubtedly are. Beginning with some lively reels from the
fiddle of Hillman. One Irish one bluegrass showed the seamlessness
transition of music from Celtic folk to Americana. And, although it pretty
faithfully followed the format of first half, with Alpin and Wilson swapping
vocals and instruments it was a more energised set. Epitomised by Alpin's
slide guitar blues Another Man Is Gone, which, with his apparently
bottomless voice, sounded as if it had come direct from another world. He
appears at times a reticent almost reluctant, he has nothing to be reticent
about but again it provided a neat difference as Wilson lives and blooms in
the spotlight.
By the time the encore had come and gone, the trio had almost exhausted
their bank of songs but it was not enough. To say that the pair were reduced
to singing lullabies would be to deny the poetic beauty of Hey Little and
Little One. The first, sung by Wilson, inspired the second, sung by Alpin,
both were written for respective children and those two songs encapsulated
perfectly why the night was an unforgettable experience because at the end
of a night of Americana at its very best, it came down to two fathers
sharing songs written for the most important people in their life, who could
ask for more.
If Friday is the result of musicians of the calibre of Danny George Wilson,
Simon Alpin and Josh Hillman getting into a van with the vague notion of
singing songs, then more should do it. Whether they'd do it as well is
highly debatable. written for 'Maverick' magazine, by Michael Mees.

simon j alpin - The Maze, Nottingham - 11th March 2004 Review by Jeremy Searle (Americana uk)


  Simon j Alpin is a completely different kettle of fish.  when he’s not being a key member of Willard Grant Conspiracy, tonight they come as a full band, with the fiddler and drummer from WGC, plus bass, drums and keyboards.  Live they are very different, and in fact rather better, than on their eponymous album. The album is rather lower-fi and intense, whereas live they are on the loose rather than the ramshackle side of under-rehearsed, and frequently recall The Band, particularly with the keyboards and time signatures. With the occasional bout of calculated discordance, the prominence of the violin, and a general sense of tension there are also elements of the Velvets here too. The set is split roughly fifty-fifty between their debut album and new songs, a rather spurious distinction for most of the audience one suspects.  Simon Alpin takes to the frontman role to the manner born, and the violin (definitely not fiddle) and keyboards underpin the sound superbly. After an hour of interesting and challenging music and two well-deserved encores, they leave the stage and the Maze a rather better place than they found it.



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SIMON J ALPIN - BRIGHTON

SIMON ALPIN from WILLARD GRANT CONSPIRACY. Such is the quality of this bill, that we have a member of that mighty band open a four-act show! For those of you that saw him play with WGC at our show in August, you will need no reminding of the talents of this man. He is the bands lead guitarist, he co-produced and co-mixed Regard The End, and has become ROBERT FISHER's natural dynamic foil in the band, taking them to majestic heights with that beautiful latest album. Away from WGC, Simon is pretty much always busy as an in-demand session man with the ilk of GRAND DRIVE, and could be seen as keyboardist on tour with TEENAGE FANCLUB last year. But having written hundreds of songs from before and since gaining a publishing deal at age 15, and never really havng done anything with them, this laid back, totally lovely North-Easterner has decided the time is right to step to centre stage to see what happens. This is Simon in earthy country mode, and the few songs we have been lucky to hear are right up our allies. Yours, too, we suspect.
 

tour news

TOUR NEWS 2006 !
with dannygeorgewilson
Mon 23rd January - 'What's Cooking @ Upstairs At The Sheep Walk', LONDON call 020 8556 1131 for tickets and details
Tues 24th january - muscian -leister 0116 283 5533 supporting Jess Klein (jessklein.com)

ONE OFF ACOUSTIC SHOW !
In rememberence of the late John Peel 13th october @ Black Lion Pub (upstairs), Main Road, Radcliffe on Trent. on stage 9pm doors 8pm should be a great night of music hope you can make it ! s
Thankyou all that showed up for the show in nottingham it was a great night of music and drinking it's allways a pleasure simon

HOUSE GIG FOR AMERICANA UK ANNOUNCED !
I will be doing an acoustic show in Liverpool for the guys from Americana uk which our last tour with danny george wilson turned out to be one of my favorites on the tour even being a bit worse for wear after a great how in the barrels in berwick apon tweed so over the moon to be invited back the show will be from 8pm on friday 4th of november the address is as follows hope you can make it simon

Americana UK
29 Avonmore Avenue
Liverpool
L18 8AL

Contact mark@americana-uk.com for details

Thankyou everyone who showed up for the house gig i really enjoyed playing for you folks in liverpool always a warm northern welcome simon
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TOUR DATES !!

Danny will be heading out on tour this July, accompanied by multi instrumentalist and 'Mad Mile' producer Simon Alpin. The very special guests on the tour will be Jess Klein on all dates and also Fargo labelmate Christian Kjellvander on dates marked with *. See you there!

Tuesday 12th July 2005: BIRMINGHAM Bar Academy (0870 771 2000) *

Wednesday 13th July 2005: LIVERPOOL Carling Academy 2 (0870 771 2000) *

Thursday 14th July 2005: NEWCASTLE The Cluny (0191 232 1232) W/ THE BOTTLE ROCKETS

Friday 15th July 2005: BEDFORD Star Rowing Club (01234 269519/822138 or 07818 493053) *

Sunday 17th July 2005: CARDIFF Chapter Arts Centre (02920 400687)

Monday 18th July 2005: BRISTOL St. Bonaventure's Club (0870 4444 400) *

Tuesday 19th July 2005: BRIGHTON Hanbury Ballroom (01273 325440) *

Wednesday 20th July 2005: LONDON Bar Academy (0870 771 2000) *

Friday 22nd July 2005: MANCHESTER The Mitre Hotel (0161 832 1111)

Saturday 23rd July 2005: WELLINGBOROUGH Deportees Club @ The Victoria Centre (01933 277400 / http://www.thedeporteesclub.co.uk)

Sunday 24th July 2005: HULL The Adelphi (01482 348216)

Tuesday 26th July 2005: LEICESTER The Musician (0116 283 5533)