SIMON SAYS... Have You Been Xperienced?

Sacramento's SIMON SAYS, on headlining the X Games, touring high schools across the nation, and being part of the emerging Sacramento music scene

SIMON SAYS is part of the latest trend of Sacramento bands going national, joining Cake, Oleander, and the Deftones to have hit the national airwaves and catch the eye of America. They are currently headlining the 4th Annual ESPN X Games Xperience (an infusion of extreme sports and up-and-coming bands), as well as a whirlwind tour of high schools up and down the East and West Coast. They've been together since 1993, when they were local high school kids, and have played all around Sacramento, from the Press Club to fraternity parties in Sacramento. Their next scheduled stop in Sacramento is June 20th, at the 98 Rock Real Rock Jamboree, at Hornet Stadium. We interviewed Matt Franks, Simon Says' lead singer, over the phone on May 24, 1999.
 
sacstate.com: Hello? This is Matt? (Matt Franks, lead singer) What's going on?
simonsays: Not much.
 
sacstate.com: Where are you guys right now?
simonsays: We're in St. Louis.
 
sacstate.com: You're on the X Games Tour - How's that going?
simonsays: It's going pretty cool. This is actually one of the coolest places we've been to while we've been on tour.
It's a lot of fun - we're just part of a bunch of up and coming bands on tour right now - you know, bands that are about to break through. We've been playing with bands like Second Coming, The Ernies, other smaller bands. It's been a lot of fun and we've been getting a lot of great publicity out of it.
 
sacstate.com: How does it feel to part of the Sacramento scene that is starting to break out?
simonsays: It feels pretty good. Sacramento music has really been emerging lately, but no one single area seems to be breaking out. Bands like Far, Deftones, and Oleander have all been positive influences on us. We're just happy to be part of it all.
 
sacstate.com: What was your first gig as a band?
simonsays: Our first gig? It was on August 23rd or 24th, 1993, at what used to be the Cattle Club in Sacramento (now Bo Jangles's). It was when they'd have bands play on Tuesdays and Thursdays out there -
 
sacstate.com: You guys must have been pretty young back then -
simonsays: Yeah, we were like 16 at the time.
 
sacstate.com: What are some of the favorite places you've played so far on the tour?
simonsays: Wow, there have been so many- St. Louis was really cool. Detroit, Grand Rapids - all the places we've gone to have been pretty good experiences. CBGB in New York was totally cool - I mean, it's such an influential place and we were honored to play there. We haven't had any really bad experiences yet- we've been fortunate that cities have been really cool with us.
 
sacstate.com: Are high schools usually pretty receptive to you guys?
simonsays: Oh, totally. We've been trying to really emphasize the high school scene because they have provided a really strong fan base for us. It's all about getting out there to the younger crowd - the high schools have been so much fun, because they really get into it, and they've supported us so much. We've been doing quite a few high schools up and down the coast, it's just been a lot of fun.
 
sacstate.com: Have you guys met any big bands so far?
simonsays: I guess you could say so. We've been touring around and playing with a lot of the Hollywood (Records) bands - we're also pretty close with the guys from Filter - we've done some stuff with them.
 
sacstate.com: Have you guys met Jesse Camp (the former MTV V.J. and current Hollywood artist)?
simonsays: No - but we're going to be playing with him in August at the Playboy Mansion.
 
sacstate.com: You guys looking forward to that?
simonsays: Oh, definitely, It's going to be called 'Boobs and Bands', I think. (Laughs)
 
sacstate.com: What are some of your favorite Sacramento bands?
simonsays: Oh we're into a lot of bands from Sacramento. The Deftones and Far have definitely been big influences with us. So many people say 'Oh, you sound like this, you sound like that' - we just want to play, and so what if they've influenced our music. It's who we are, what we're about. We pride ourselves on our live performances - it's who we are.
 
sacstate.com: Do you have any long term plans in the band, a couple of years down the road?
simonsays: Just to keep on touring - we love playing before audiences. We really feel that's what we're about. We just want to play as much as possible and get out there, establish a good fan base.
 
sacstate.com: What are you guys doing in your free time besides playing?
simonsays: We've enjoyed going to a lot of shows, doing some sightseeing at the places we've been, you know- we also cruise around and find different kinds of shoes that you can't find anywhere else. We're kind of into shoes - we've got this huge collection af shoes from all over the place. We're not really party animals, though. The guitarist, Zac and I, might have a beer every now and then, but nothing really exciting. (Laughs) We're kind of boring people. We're not really in to partying.
 
sacstate.com: Yeah - I read you guys don't smoke, do drugs, or any of that stuff.
simonsays: Yeah - I dunno. We don't make much of a deal about it. We're not going to preach or anything, we just don't really party that much. It just doesn't really do much for us.
 
sacstate.com: Are you guys looking forward to coming back to Sacramento and playing at the Real Rock Jamboree (at Sac State)?
simonsays: Oh definitely. It will be great to get home. We're looking forward to playing with Oleander - we haven't played with them in a long time. We can't wait to play for all of the fans who have supported us over the years. (Laughs) This may sound a little condescending, but we're going to try and lay low once we get home. We only have 4 days and we want to take some time and enjoy it. Last time we had like 48 hours and we were like, 'Oh, I gotta see my Mom, gotta see my Dad, my grandparents, my girfriend, see some shows with my friends...' We never got the time to relax. We were running around the whole time. But yeah, we'll definitely be looking forward to going home.
 
sacstate.com: Did any of you guys go to Sac State?
simonsays: Yeah, Zac, our guitarist did. He was a government major. He stopped short of graduating - he didn't have much to go. We give him shit about it but playing with the band was what he wanted to do. He didn't feel government was the way to go and he had so much fun playing - so we're on tour and doing it all.
 
sacstate.com: Was he involved with anything at school?
simonsays: Yeah, he was in a fraternity - he was a SigEp. He's an alumni of the fraternity now.
 
sacstate.com: Yeah, I remember you guys from back when you played at a fraternity parties for us.
simonsays: Yeah, I think I remember that - we played a few of those.
 
sacstate.com: Allright, thanks for taking the time to talk to us - we look forward to seeing you at the Real Rock Jamboree. Good luck with the tour!
simonsays: Definitely. Thanks for the interview.
 
SIMON SAYS will be playing June 20th, 1999 at the 98 Rock Real Rock Jamboree, at Sac State. They wll be playing with Oleander, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Kid Rock, and Loudmouth.
 
You can get their new album, 'Jump Start', in stores now. The Fourth Annual ESPN X Games Xperience CD will be out on June 15th.
 
also see:
SIMON SAYS official website
Order 'Jump Start' On-Line
The 98 Rock Real Rock Jamboree III
 
sacstate.com | e-mail us