Lee Simmons

A veteran of many coffee shops and eclectic venues, Lee Simmons brought his brand of poetry and harmony to Austin via San Francisco a couple of years ago. A few EPs already under his belt, the singer/songwriter has finished cutting his full-length album and expects to release it before the end of the year. Backed up by bassist JJ Plasencio and drummer Kevin Pearson, Simmons crafted melodious pop/rock with introspective lyrics to brighten the midweek Momo's malaise on July 6th. Simmons and JJ met in El Paso, but lost touch for nearly a decade before inevitably meeting up again in Austin. They met Pearson through local artist Craig Marshall and eventually the current line-up was formulated. Songs like "Death of the English Language", "Middle of Everywhere", and the hauntingly beautiful "Hold On Sweet Christine" have the qualities of radio station material (especially 107.1 KGSR, if not Mix 94.7) while my personal favorite is the pop gem "This Is Only A Test." Simmons' talent separates him from the ordinary while his resolve for improvement is only an asset; the power pop promised at Momo's did not disappoint.
-Adi Anand (August 2005) - Reloaded Monthly

Wringing evocative, unfettered emotion from sensual morning-after sentiment, [Lee] Simmons spins affecting, ambiant melodies. His voice may be cloaked in melancholia, but the adept instrumentation--a ukulele here, a breezy whistle there, a rousing chorus elsewhere--makes these six songs instantly accessible. -- Performing Songwriter, Mar/Apr 2009
- Performing Songwriter

Lee Simmons
Antebellum
Produced by Brian Davis and Lee Simmons

The easygoing, literate songwriter rock on Antebellum should serve well to establish Lee Simmons as an up-and-coming force on the folk rock circuit. Calling to mind the breezy, smart pop of both the Finn brothers (he has the worldly-wise eye of Tim and the melodic breadth of Neil), Michael Penn and Glenn Phillips, these songs are enjoyable and eminently listenable.
Be it the Daniel Lanois-style guitar clattering in the background of “Caroline’s a Clown” or the throaty acoustic on “Green,” the playing and instrumentation here is both driving and unintrusive—always keeping the focus on Simmons’ well-crafted melodies and lyrics.
- Performing Songwriter

Lee Simmons seems to be part of a growing legion, that of the pop musician artist which actually has some depth, with intelligent lyrics and non-melodramatic melodies. Listeners rejoice! The songs here are melodic, dreamy, wistful, sometimes sad and sometimes pert. But they are all well balanced, with a 'less is more' approach. For example, take the lyrics from "Flare": "We are talking round in circles, knowing we've been here before... If I had my wits about me, I would never play pretend." Maybe if the record label bigwigs get smart and their whole "girls with blonde hair and blue eyes who can't sing" schtick falls apart, they'll actually sign on a guy with some musical and lyrical talent like Lee here. Then the people who've been despairing over the state of the music industry will have something to get genuinely excited about.
- Indie Music Paper - Toronto

Come here, Mr. Simmons. Siddown. Listen to me very carefully.

Sending me a CD this beautiful with hardly any press materials is really, really cruel. Halfway through the first track, I was tearing apart the envelope it came in, scanning the measly 4-paragraph artist bio and muttering “Who IS this guy?”

Yes, I talk to myself. Stop changing the subject.

I listen to many indie CDs a year. In the three years I’ve been writing reviews, I’ve heard maybe three or four that I think are perfect from beginning to end. Every note is perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. I can’t understand why the artist is not already famous. Well, now you fall into that category. So who the heck ARE you?

Why do I like the CD so much, you ask? You’re changing the subject again. Okay, fine. As a writer, I fall easily for intelligent lyrics. You just say what’s on your mind, writing from your soul, not trying to make it sound cute. I love the part in “Mona’s Ocean” where you ask a hyperachieving woman, “Are you ever lonely underwater?” I’m also impressed with how you took an old idea of a sad clown with a happy face and gave it a fresh presentation in “Caroline’s a Clown”: “Maybe this is suicide, maybe I’ve got no place to hide, except behind the colors on my face.”

Hey, stop rooting through my refrigerator and get back here. Yes, I still eat Lucky Charms – put those back. Explain to me how you make those minor chords jump out the way they do. “Room Above” and “Green,” both quiet, echoing, thoughtful pop/rock ballads, have those minor chords that hit without warning. They grab at the heart.

You could have at least thrown one more paragraph in your bio about the experience of recording this CD. I would have loved to be there when you recorded “Falling From The Sky” so I could see you make all those playful additions to the music. Hands clapping, birds chirping. Sounds that spontaneously appear and disappear while the guitar jangles on. I could have helped out – I play a mean set of spoons.

You do realize that my friends have come to know me as someone who really knows her indie stuff, right? So what am I going to tell them when I’m driving around with some friends in my car and “Falling From the Sky” comes up on the mix tape and they start asking me who you are? Huh? Are you TRYING to ruin my reputation? Thanks to the often-rambling bios I get from other artists, I can say things about them like, “This band recorded the world’s only known death metal version of Bridge Over Troubled Water,” or “This woman paints her teeth with fluorescent White-Out.” But what can I say about Lee Simmons from San Francisco?

It would serve you right if I just made stuff up. “Oh, this guy? Great artist. Now that he’s finally out on parole after that whole Carrottop-stalking incident, maybe he’ll go on tour.” --Jennifer Layton - Indie-Music.com

Simmons, an Austin pop/rock singer/songwriter, pens and sings songs that sidestep the obvious while hitting the mark with those who pay attention. - Jim Beal

Lee Simmons has created an impressive album complete with hooks that will have you humming his tunes for days. I found myself deeply engrossed in the musical overtones all through Sometimes Fools, which ended up rattling around in my head until I listened to the album again and again and again.

The heavy influence of the late-eighties/early-nineties pop sound is evident throughout the CD. Simmons has created an upbeat mood with the use of the minor key. This sound is very reminiscent of bands like Better Than Ezra and Crowded House. Simmons delivers with an acoustic guitar and an uncanny knack of knowing when to highlight his well cultivated voice. My only complaint is that the lyrical depth doesn’t quite match up with Simmons’ musical prowess. However, this does not deter from the fact that the album is thoroughly enjoyable.

The album starts off with the enthusiastic “Death Of The English Language,” which sets the pop precedence for what is to follow. The listener is then treated to “Middle Of Everywhere,” which sounds as though Neil Finn gave the song to Simmons to make his own. “Hold On Sweet Christine” slows the tempo down, but in no way slows down the momentum of the album, as Simmons’ uses his voice on this song to drive his musical vision. The album ends on the reflective note of the title track, a ballad that features the eloquence that Simmons brings forth with not only his guitar and voice, but also with the piano.

Sometimes Fools is a collection of delicate yet durable songs that revive the happy-go-lucky sound of the nineties before grunge took over the airwaves. I, for one, am happy to see this resurgence and hope that Simmons keeps up the hard work to bring us more.

- Indie-Music.com

Singer-songwriter Lee Simmons’ debut full-length, Sometimes Fools, is a welcome collection of insightful lyrics and memorable melodies. Now a veteran of the Austin coffeeshop, Simmons moved from San Francisco a few years ago and has found new inspiration in family life and the capitol city. Tightly knit pop is Simmons' forte, and he delivers live with plenty of warmth and sincerity. Simmons will be joined on stage by Jeff Moore, Kevin Remme and David McPherson. Additional support from multi-instrumentalist Kullen Fuchs, and occasional nuances by John Leon on the pedal steel make for an eclectic evening. Simmons has already started work on his next album, but might still be convinced to play his colorful cover of “Billie Jean.” - The Austinist

Doug Pullen/ El Paso Times
Posted: 12/16/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

Austin singer-songwriter and former El Pasoan Lee Simmons. (Courtesy of Lee Simmons)EL PASO -- Lee Simmons is a business journalist by day, musician by night and husband and father all the time. The 34-year-old ex-El Pasoan has carved out a nice little niche for himself on the Texas music capital's coffeehouse circuit.

"Music is a passion of mine," the singer-songwriter said. "If it ever became something that was an income vehicle for me, I would dive in head first."

He was 19 songs deep into an album when he and his business partner noticed that some of the songs just didn't fit.

"We realized six or seven songs sort of stood out from the rest," he said by telephone from Austin. "It was intended to be a rock record, but the songs kind of had a story and a theme of their own."

The result is "Doniphan Nights," a seven-song folk-pop EP that is mostly about El Paso.

"I was beginning to think back to my time in El Paso and for whatever reason the actual track, 'Doniphan Nights,' launched this series of songs about my upbringing and background," he said. "Suddenly, all these songs started coming out that had this El Paso theme."

The title track was inspired in part by the 1993 Coronado grad's childhood -- running through the irrigation ditches and cotton fields near his grandparents home off Country Club as a little kid, and cruising Doniphan and Mesa in high school.

Opener "City Lights" reflects on the sea of lights that El Pasoans may take for granted, but greet visitors with a warm glow.

The song's more about the push and pull of home, written from the perspective of a guy who was a self-described "little artistic kid" who couldn't wait to get out of El Paso because there was no scene for him.

"There were absolutely no outlets, other than listening to my stereo in my bedroom and learning to play guitar to Michael Penn records and old Beatles records," he said. "I couldn't wait to leave."

Simmons went to New Mexico State for a couple of years, then transferred to UT Austin, where he graduated with a degree in journalism. He wrote for the Austin Business Journal, then spent two years at the Rock Hill Herald in South Carolina ("that was a huge cultural change"), then moved to the San Francisco area.

He returned to Austin six years ago with Christine, his wife of nine years, and little else, which inspired the song "Waiting for Something to Happen," the title of which could easily apply to restless youth in El Paso. He's now a research editor for Hoover's, a business research company, and has two children, Jack, who's 4, and Sophie, 2.

They're the reason why he tries to maintain "a pretty careful balance" between music and his day job, both of which involve writing. Simmons has a home studio, and performs at coffeehouses in Austin when he's not at work or at home.

He still has family here -- including parents Jerry and Edita Simmons -- and comes back a couple of times a year. He thinks age, marriage and fatherhood have given him perspective on his hometown.

"I have a lot of really great memories of that time now and of the city," he said. "I didn't realize until I started writing (these songs) that El Paso had really gotten under my skin," he said. "I think anybody's hometown can do that to you; it becomes a part of you, whether you like it or not. I've sort of embraced that idea."

Simmons hopes to have "Doniphan Nights" in stores soon. It can be ordered from www.leesimmons.net and www.myspace.com/leesimmons, or www.cdbaby.com.

Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397. - El Paso Times