Episode 6 of Under the Influence is here! This time, Rob Lane and I discuss the heaviest music we got into, during our formative years. We also talk about what constitutes “heavy” music.

I write a lot of music. I’m writing songs and riffs all the time. Sometimes, these pieces of music don’t make it through to my band, so I’ve ended up with loads of stuff on my hard drives, just sat there doing nothing.

So, over the various lockdowns, I made a conscious effort to try and finish some of these songs. Now I’ve ended up with several new “solo” songs, which I will be posting over the next few weeks.

Not only did I want to get these songs into a completed state, I NEEDED to do it. Like many of my fellow musicians, the pandemic has been very hard for me mentally. I needed a focus, whilst I couldn’t rehearse, play gigs etc. God knows how I found the time; I suppose I made the time.

So here is “Let Them Go” Even though I’ve sung harmonies and backing vocals for many years, this is my lead vocal debut. I hate hearing myself sing at the best of times, so it has taken some nerve for me to put this out. I usually just hide behind my guitar!!

There are several more tracks to come, and, you never know, I might be able to gig them one day…

Here we go! Under the Influence Episode 5 is here.

For this one, Rob Lane and I each selected an act, who we felt were unfairly branded as “un-cool” and then took on the task of defending them.

Lets just say that one of us (not me!) went a bit left field with this one!!

At the start of the school year, my schedule usually changes in some way, so I thought I’d provide an update on current availability.

Due to a couple of students starting university, I’ve had a couple of slots become available in the Duffield (Derbyshire) area.

I have 2 teatime slots free on a Monday and potentially, another one on a Wednesday. Get in touch if you are in or around Duffield, and we can discuss times.

I may also have a limited number of Skype/Facetime/Zoom slots free, subject to fitting those around face to face lessons.

I offer lessons for acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar and ukulele.

Lessons are currently charged at £18 per half hour slot, including all teaching materials, TAB sheets, sheet music etc.

Get in touch via the contact page on my website or by emailing guitargeeksimon@gmail.com

After a little, unintentional hiatus, here is Episode 4 of “Under the Influence” This is my (fairly) regular series of videos, that I produce with my good friend Rob Lane. We talk about our love of rock music, trying to keep a slight Hard Rock slant. It’s been going down really well, so we’ll keep making them as long as people want us to.

In Episode 4, we both pick 5 hidden gems from our record collections and chew the fat about what makes them great. As usual, there are also a few tangents!!

Here is Going Loopy Part 27. This track is actually one I’ve demoed for my band, but I came up with a guitar melody I liked, so I thought I’d use it for a studio jam video.

I wasn’t 100% happy with the main solo part to start with, but it’s grown on me! The initial melody was planned out, but I then improvised everything that came after. Sometimes, you just have to be satisfied with what you came up with in the moment.

Here is the latest instalment of Going Loopy. I’m using the Amplitube plugin by Ik Multimedia again here, but this time my pedalboard is plugged straight into my Focusrite audio interface. This allowed me to use the loop pedal on my board.

The solo section, is again completely improvised.

Here is Part 25 of Going Loopy. Its another “studio jam” with me trying to channel some rock n’ roll!! Look out for a special guest appearance…

Here is Going Loopy Part 24. I thought I’d start doing something different with this one, by putting together a “jam track” to improvise over the top of.

The drums and the bass are Apple loops, but all of the guitar is me. As usual, the lead guitar is completely improvised.

Like buses…