SIMMONS has been a “fringe fixture” – his words, we at Big Stir Records see him in the centre of the spiral! – on the power-pop scene since his band sparkle*jets u.k. made its first splash in 1998 at LA Pop festivals International Pop Overthrow and Poptopia. Two albums, hundreds of shows, and many years later he is still making music, generally to greater and wider acclaim than he's willing to acknowledge. He’s put out a plethora of covers as part of POPDUDES with pop journalist and author John Borack, and in 2014 put together the most unknown pop supergroup ever, YORKTOWN LADS, with Big Stir artist Addison Love and Cameron Lew of GINGER ROOT (a band that is very big indeed… google them!).
Over the years he’s worked as an engineer and producer with many different bands you’ve probably never heard of (or, knowing our audience, you may well own their entire catalogs) He's spent the last 20 years working at a performing arts high school putting on huge concerts and teaching the next generation the importance of JPGR.
As a solo artists, he released the widely-acclaimed First Days of Summer in 2018, his first truly solo original music since his formative years.
Since then he has released a number of singles and covers compilations such as Singing in My Heart (2021), the Happy Traum EP (2022), and Denny Laine EP (2023) and Number Two (2024) with Popdudes.
This year sees him adding to that list with a brand new collection of covers, wistfully entitled Fun Where You Can Find It. If there is a through-line here it's a combination of willfully nostalgic joy, and a loving tribute to the great artists we've begun to lose to the ravages of time. It's a fun and great sounding playlist, ranging from Pop Rock bangers to thoughtful ballads, and you will find surprises and delights at every turn! Jump on board this rocket ship of nostalgia and fun! Available in 140gram Black Vinyl as well as Compact Disc.
