Simeon Online - The Official Band Site

February 2010:
New guitarist, Pete Whalley joins the team full time and hits the road hard with Simeon over the next 4 months. What lies before the guys? Touring in four Australian states and a first tour of Singapore. (Over 70 gigs are on the calendar between now and the end of May).

"But what has lead to this point?" I hear so many of you ask. "What's the history?" Well, here goes...

At the beginning of 2008, Simeon Shinkfield saw the dream of a solid band line-up come to fruition: Guitarist friend Graham Moyle quit his day job and joined the band with new energy, and the talented (or should we say, EXTREMELY talented) Josh Ham (bass) and Chris Broomhead (drums) were approached to form the rhythm section of the band. After a couple of jams it was agreed by all that with their powers combined they could conquour the world!

From February to April, the band recorded their debut album, "Then We Collide", toured NSW, and did acoustic shows across TAS, WA and QLD... not to mention a spattering of gigs in their home state of VIC.

In the second half of 2008 the new album, "Then We Collide" was launched with extensive touring of Australia. The songs, "All Remains Is Love" and "Not Calming Down" were quickly taken up by community radio across Australia. "All Remains Is Love" was the fifth most played song of 2008 on the radio stations that report to TRAA (The Rock Across Australia).

The end of 2008 brought forth an amazing opportunity for the band. Simeon talks about it:
"Will you work with us to help change the lives of some of the world’s poorest people living in Niger, West Africa?

The song “Not Calming Down” developed as I realised a need for change.

Too often we become insensitive to the needs of other people. We can see the pictures of desperation, we can hear the stories of hopelessness, we can know the statistics of poverty; but so easily the faces can become disconnected from the reality that they belong to real people like you or me. We can talk about the struggles faced by so many but do nothing, or very little to help.

“Not Calming Down” is about practical action. It’s about frustration with self - I’m sick of thinking that life is about living for me! I must act in response to what I see.

As a band, we know we can’t just sing and talk about this problem – that would be hypocritical – we need to be active with our time and money. As a result, we approached CBM about getting involved in their work in Niger, West Africa.

The result: “Not Calming Down 4 Niger” - a project that we hope will raise awareness of the needs in Niger and $50,000 for the work of CBM there.

CBM was chosen by us to partner with on this project because of its incredible track record working to rehabilitate the world’s poorest people with disability. It is a fantastic organisation that enables us to quickly become involved in making a difference.

Niger, the poorest country in the world based on many statistics, is a country full of people with very obvious physical needs. I have seen and touched the people when I lived there in the 1990s; thus I have a connection I feel appropriate for this project.

The CD single is now available through TigerMusic and at our gigs. It contains the songs, “Not Calming Down” and “All Remains Is Love” from the album, “Then We Collide” and two previously unreleased acoustic versions of “I Hear Your Voice” and “Wings of Change”. There is also a multimedia component – a clip with footage from Niger set to the song, “Not Calming Down”. View a web quality version now on YouTube (ABOVE).

Our goal is to sell 1,000 copies of this CD at $10 each. The full $10 will be donated to the work of CBM in Niger. The CD contains a great booklet with lyrics, information about Niger and the work of CBM. A great gift for any occasion!

Please log on to: http://www.simeon.cbm.org.au/ to find out more and get involved in this fantastic opportunity by donating or helping spread the word! Join us in “Not Calming Down”. Let’s all spur one another on to make a difference. Together we can do more!"

2009 saw more touring of Australia - both in acoustic duo line-up and as a band - with trips to SA, TAS, NSW, VIC and QLD... and it was in the second half of the year that guitarist Graham Moyle retired (probably due to exhaustion - smile). The amazing Pete Whalley soon took his place. Simeon and Pete finished off the year with numerous shows around Victoria and two interstate tours.

Now the boys push into 2010. We are excited to announce that the 1,000 CDs for the "Not Calming Down 4 Niger" project have been sold. There is still opportunity to give to the project through the website, though. So click on over to: www.simeon.cbm.org.au