Keaton Simmons shows in August

L.A. singer/songwriter/guitarist Keaton Simons appearing:

Fri 8/8 Pomona, CA Glass House (with Kate Voegele)
Sun 8/10 Los Angeles, CA John Anson Ford Amp (solo acoustic, Koffeehouse Music benefit)

His CBS Records debut, “Can You Hear Me,” came out June 10. In a recent Los Angeles Times Sunday “Calendar” feature, Keaton’s album was praised by writer Scott Gold as “…a deft effort at capturing Simons' unusual and versatile sound. The songs include delicate, jazzy ballads and powerful blues numbers, peppered with elements of Elvis Costello, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Lenny Kravitz.” You can read the rest of the profile here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-ca-simons15-2008jun15,0,2264033.story?page=1

Throughout “Can You Hear Me,” Keaton’s tasteful Rock/Blues fretwork, masterful songwriting and searing vocals bring an honesty and integrity that’s instantly embracing, a warm emotional center core that reaches from the tangled vulnerability of opening track “Without Your Skin” and the lean, sensual drift of “To Me” to the spry suggestion of the title track and the playful intrigue of “Misfits.” “Nobody Knows” proves instantly infectious, its sinewy rhythms wrapping around an irresistible refrain, while first single “Good Things Get Better” touts an optimistic view of the bonds that develop and strengthen through the inevitable ups and downs of relationships.

Music seems to be in Keaton’s genes. He was singing from the time he started talking…even before his first birthday. By the time he was two, he was entertaining his classmates in day care. At age twelve he was already adept on guitar, and by fourteen he had decided to make music his career. That obsession carried over to college, earning him a degree in Ethnomusicology -- the study of World Music -- at The Evergreen State College in Washington State. Absorbing a varied array of classic influences -- Hendrix, Dylan, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Robert Johnson among them -- he immersed himself in all forms of music, from Rock to Jazz, Blues to Bluegrass and melded them into a mix that’s timely and timeless.

www.keatonsimons.com
www.myspace.com/keatonsimons