Simon Kerr

Simon currently lives, as of 2008, in Melbourne (that's in Australia!), but he used to live in Dunedin (that's in New Zealand), and then, before that and up until 2005, he was living in Christchurch (also in New Zealand). He used to live in Auckland (not proper New Zealand!). In 2000 he finally decided he really wanted to play music. So he turned up at an open-mic night at the Christchurch Folk Club, played two original (though not particularly good) songs, and one (really good) Bruce Cockburn cover and was invited back to do an opening spot a few weeks later. Hmm... this was fun.

Now, in truth, most musical resumes begin by noting that the artist in question began playing the guitar/singing to audiences/signed their first record deal at 7 years of age. Ok, maybe 13, but you get the point. Simon didn’t start performing until he was in his late thirties; it never occurred to him that he could write music. This has become an important theme in his music; the stories in our heads are a much bigger determinant of success than raw talent (this is the theme of his song 'The Stories we Tell Ourselves' - see lyrics page).

Lets go back a bit...

Actually, Simon began playing guitar at Youth Groups in his late teens in Gore because it was a good way to meet girls (Editors Note: Gore is a town commonly mocked by New Zealanders who do not live in Gore, but it does have New Zealand's, and perhaps the world’s largest fiberglass Brown Trout. So there…!), but graduated (to his parents horror) to a drum kit when he turned eighteen. He played consistently for the next three years in a variety of rock and pop bands in the Gore area, all the time managing to avoid country music, except for one gig with Country and Western legend, 'Dusty Spittle' (Editors note: this is actually true). Going overseas put an end to the drumming, but the guitar keep him busy playing church songs with three chords for a few years. But he never sang solo. After seeing the skeptic's version of 'the light', and thus leaving church life behind him in the early 1990s, there was not much opportunity for three chord guitar music, so music disappeared for a few years.

The first decent guitar...

Then in 1998 he bought a hand built Norman Guitar from Canada and decided to try to get to grips with this lovely creation of wood and steel. Over the next couple of  years he practiced as much as possible and then, as the new millennium dawned, he turned up at different venues around the South Island and played. He progressively improved, somewhat to his surprise, and music started to take on greater importance. People started to take notice of this new musician about town and opportunities to perform began to grow.

Songwriting and Performance...

After his first invitation as guest performer at a music festival in 2003, he turned much more seriously to song writing and now performs mainly original songs and instrumentals. He has written a large number of songs since then, drawing from a variety of traditions. His music encompasses, for the sake of labels, folk-roots, reggae, alt-pop, and strange Indian sounding music (world music!). He does have one country song as well, about, yeah, you know, bloke in love, gets dumped; had to be a country song!

Some songs are deeply personal, but they capture universal themes audiences can relate to. Simon seeks to avoid clichés like the plague (!) and tries to capture the complexities in life when writing songs. He also writes 'theme' songs, some serious (Global Warning, The Key, for examples), some in 'wonder' (Goodbye Voyager, for example) and some lighthearted (Ode to Slot Cars, for example). (See Lyrics Page for these).

He is also a guitarist and instrumentalist with a distinctive sound. He plays in a variety of styles, from power chords to rhythmic percussive styles, from flat-picking to finger picking. He also uses a number of alternative tunings (Get a load of this one: DADDDD...! He got that from Luke Hurley). But in all this he has developed his own style. He can range from the gently melodic to highly charged guitar attack. Versatility is important, and he believes in creating different sounds and moods. More recently, he has added a loop-station to his set-up. Oh, and a ukulele, which he uses mainly to for bass solos. And swatting mosquitoes.

Early important musical influences ranged from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and more recently Bruce Cockburn, John Butler, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, and Luke Hurley, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Gillian Welsh, Nick Drake, and among many others.

Simon Kerr & the Acoustic Junkies

Despite developing a solo career, Simon always had the idea in the back of his mind to develop a group of musicians to play his music with. In mid 2006 Simon was introduced to master bass player Gary Moss. Gary learnt his craft in London with Rob Burns, now Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music at the University of Otago (http://www.otago.ac.nz/music/). Since arriving in New Zealand in 2000 Gary has played with a number of singer-songwriters and bands, which has involved, among other things, touring with The Chills. Gary had also played with eclectic drummer, Samdrub Dawa, a student of music at the University of Otago, and suggested that Sam get involved with the ‘Junkies’.  He did... and it worked, really well!

It didn't take long for the synergy between these three to start radically affecting the songs Simon had written, and while never losing their essence, they took on a whole new feel. The music is now most definitely Junkified! One musician friend commented that the Acoustic Junkies was not a case of Simon and some backing musicians, but of three quality musicians each contributing equally to the music. The Acoustic Junkies have a very special quality!

In November 2007, Simon and the Acoustic Junkies played their last gig at the Empire Hotel in Dunedin, that bastion of old rock music. The Junkies however had quite a rocky sound up their sleeves. They even had one person leave because the sound was too loud! So much for an acoustic band! In any case, this was one side of the emerging AJs Mark I. To commemorate this, they went into the studio to record some of the songs we had been playing but had not got onto the album. They now exist as an important (to them at least) record of the last days of the Junkies Mark I.

A Selection of Gigs

(See the Gig's Page for a more comprehensive and recent list).

Christchurch Folk Club (several occasions)
Mickey Finns Acoustic Café, Christchurch (2002-2003)
Whitestone Winter Folk Festival (2003, 2005)
Canterbury Easter Folk Festival (2004)
Peace Concert, Christchurch Music Centre (August 2003)
New Edinburgh Folk Club, Dunedin (regularly)
Dunedin Public Library Concert Series (New Zealand Music Month, 2005)
Wahi Bush Folk Festival
Christchurch Media Club (2003, 2004)
Christchurch Polytechnic Lunch Time Concert Series (2004)
Lincoln University (2002, 2004)
Mainstreet Café, Christchurch (several occasions)
Arts Centre, Christchurch (2004)
Montmartre Café, Vancouver (2005)
Jetset Bar, Christchurch (2005)
ARC Cafe, Dunedin (2004-2005-2006)
House Concerts
Otago Museum (2005, 2006)
Jam Jar, Dunedin (2005, 2006)
Acoustic Lounge, Tunnel Hotel, Port Chalmers (2006)
Crown Hotel, Dunedin (2006)
Circadian Rhythm - Dunedin (2006, 2007)
The Back Stage - Dunedin  (2006, 2007)
Dunedin Fringe Festival (2006)
Portstock (Port Chalmers)

Radio
Plains FM Original Local Music Show (2004)
Radio Wammo: Lincoln University Student Radio (2004)
Hills AM: Dunedin (Interview and songs) (2005) and (2006
Various Community Radio Stations in the USA (2007)
Folk Music Programme, Christchurch, (2008)

Television
Cow TV, Dunedin, 2006

Simon has another life beyond music. This is a (very) brief overview...

After several years in the voluntary sector, he went to University in his early-thirties. After completing by BA (Sociology) and then a Masters in Applied Science (in Resource Management Policy) he started teaching at Lincoln University, and began a PhD (in Political Ecology). It was during this period that he started playing music in public, and, eventually, began song-writing. Having resigned his lecturing role at the beginning of 2005 (and after submitting his PhD, titled 'An Uneasy Marriage: Ecological Reason and the Resource Management Act') and moved to Dunedin, music took on an even more important role. It became his primary means of artistic expression, and intellectual and emotional outlet. Song-writing is the new form of commentary on the world he inhabits. It can't be as analytic as academic writing, but it is much more passionate. This has led Simon to think carefully about the content of the songs he writes, as well as the emotions they express. Music is therefore many things to him. Whimsical, serious, light and dark, it expresses a huge range of human experience. That's why he loves writing songs.

Until the move to Australia, Simon worked at Otago University (New Zealand) as the Senior Research Advisor in the Research Office. In late 2007 he moved to Melbourne was to take up the position of Faculty Research Manager in the Melbourne School of Land and Environment at the University of Melbourne http://www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/. But when the darkness falls...!

This, then, is a new phase of his life, and the music reflects this. What comes next is now anybodies guess!