an interview w/ simon says || simon says notes from the road
An interview with Matt Franks and Zac Diebels of Simon Says
Just a few short years after doing anything they could to get out of high school, Matt
Franks, Zac Diebels, Michael Arrieta, and Mike Johnston (aka Simon Says) are doing
whatever it takes to get back in. Their simple yet utterly brilliant plan of touring local
California high schools has earned this Sacramento, CA, quartet an "A" in
promotional effort. For the past several months the band has been serving up hot lunchtime
performances to throngs of hungry teenagers, kids who are both thrilled to witness a live
rock band up close and grateful for the extra recess. "Before we signed our deal with
Hollywood, we'd play high schools once a week or once every two weeks," says vocalist
Matt Franks. "When we finished the record, we knew we'd have a few months off before
the start of a national tour. Rather than sit around and do nothing, we figured we'd play
these schools on a daily basis and just make a little tour out of it. The response has
just been amazing." A quick history lesson: The band formed in 1993 when 16-year-old
juniors Franks, Diebels, and Johnston discovered a common denominator in music. Their
chemistry was perfected five bass players later when Mike Arrieta was brought in.
Naturally, you can't major in music without minoring in economics, and in 1995 they
self-released "Little Boy," an album that went on to sell more than 5,000
copies. Not bad for a bunch of high school kids. In 1997 they followed that up with
"Perfect Example," an 11-song CD that immediately sold out its limited-edition
run and attracted the attention of Hollywood Records, who signed the band in the early
part of 1998. Their Hollywood debut, "Jump Start," is simultaneously brash and
inviting, an album whose startling range belies the band's young age. Produced by
Grammy® Award-winning producer Rob (Green Day) Cavallo and Mark (Cake) Needham,
"Jump Start" is meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy with a sound best described as
"melodic crunch." We recently sat down with Matt and Zac to find out what Simon
Says. Please have a No. 2 pencil handy. There will be a test later.
Q: HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME OF THE BAND?
Matt: There really is no special meaning behind it or anything like that. We were coming
up on our first show about six years ago and we still didn't have a name. Somehow we got
on the subject of games for kids. At one point, we were called "Mother May I"
for about a day. We changed that to Simon Says and it stuck.
Q: IF NOTHING ELSE, IT'S BETTER THAN "HOPSCOTCH."
Matt: Exactly (laughs).
Q: COLLECTIVE INFLUENCES?
Matt: As a band, I'd say we're influenced by Filter, Quicksand, Failure, Tool, Radiohead,
Deftones, Far, and Pantera. But individually, we have a wide variety of influences: Our
drummer, Mike, loves Phil Collins and all kinds of instrumental and world music. Zac and I
are into really heavy bands like Pantera and Fear Factory, and our bassist, Mike, is into
old funk, James Brown, and Primus.
Q: WHEN YOU DO THESE HIGH SCHOOL SHOWS, WHERE DO YOU PLAY?
Matt: It varies. We generally try to play inside, either in the gym or the cafeteria, but
a lot of schools prefer us to play outside.
Q: WHAT KIND OF RED TAPE DO YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO BOOK THESE SHOWS?
Matt: We have to send our lyrics, a bio, and a press kit with some newspaper articles.
Luckily, we've gotten letters of recommendation from other schools and that's helped a
lot.
Q: DO ANY MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY COME OVER BEFORE THE SHOW AND ASK YOU NOT TO PLAY TOO
LOUD?
Zac: Well, we have an obscene amount of gear and it's pretty intimidating to the eye.
Usually before we play, you can see the teachers kind of biting their nails going,
"Oh my God, what is this going to be?" Then they'll come over to us and say,
"You guys know you're gonna have to keep it down, right?" We've had teachers
come up to us in the middle of a song and ask us to turn down.
Q: WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Zac: Well, it's all perception. I walked over to the amp and acted like I was turning some
knobs, but I really didn't. After the show, she came over and said, "Oh thank you, it
sounded so much better after you lowered it." The truth is, I never even touched it.
Q: IT WASN'T ALL THAT LONG AGO THAT YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL YOURSELVES. DO YOU NOTICE ANY
DIFFERENCE IN THESE KIDS AS OPPOSED TO THE ONES YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WITH?
Zac: I don't know about you, but when I was in school I walked around with just enough
money to buy a can of Coke or something like that. These kids are buying like two or three
of our shirts each and they cost $10 apiece!
Q: NOT THAT YOU'RE COMPLAINING.
Zac: Not at all. Buy as many shirts as you want! (Laughs) We're having a great time
watching the reaction from these kids. When you get into the business side of music and
record deals and all that, sometimes you forget what it's like to have that innocence of
just being a fan. These kids go absolutely nuts at our shows. They come and talk to us
afterward and are amazed to find that we're just four regular guys. They think we have
some kind of fancy giant tour bus parked outside the school, when all we really have is a
yellow Ryder truck. We played my old high school not that long ago and I saw the
vice-principal and all my old teachers and they were like, "What are you doing back
here?" I said, "I play guitar for a living, isn't that great?" I was kind
of a geek in high school and they had no idea that I was into music or that I played in a
band.
Q: WERE YOU A GOOD STUDENT?
Zac: I was a really good student. I graduated with honors and I was on the tennis team and
I went away to college and all that. I did everything I was supposed to do, but on the
weekends I would play music and that's what I really enjoyed doing, but no one knew that
side of me other than my parents.
Q: SO THAT SHOW WAS YOUR CHANCE TO SHOW THEM YOUR TRUE SELF.
Zac: Yeah, it was like, "Here's what I was doing back then when you weren't
looking."
Q: DID YOU FIND YOURSELF TRYING A LITTLE HARDER TO SHOW THEM WHAT YOU GOT, MAYBE THROW IN
A FEW PETE TOWNSHEND-STYLE WINDMILLS?
Zac: (Laughs) No, nothing like that.
Q: WHAT WERE YOU GUYS DOING FOR DAY JOBS BEFORE YOU GOT SIGNED?
Matt: I was working at a Federated in Sacramento, Zac was a government major in school,
and Mike Johnston was attending school and gave drum lessons at a local music store. Mike
Arrieta, the bassist, wasn't doing shit. (Laughs)
Q (TO ZAC): YOU WERE MAJORING IN GOVERNMENT?</font><br>
Zac: Yeah, I wanted to work in a lobbying firm. I didn't want to run for public office,
but I wanted to do something active in government. Everyone in the band gives me sh*t
because I'm a Republican. I like Rush Limbaugh and I listen to AM radio and I was actually
gonna join the Air Force because having a military background can be really helpful for a
career in politics. Although it sounds like a cliche, I really wanted to make a
difference.
Q: SO WHEN DID MUSIC ENTER THE PICTURE?
Zac: When I was in the sixth grade, I wanted to play the guitar because I saw the movie
"Light of Day" with Michael J. Fox. My father signed me up for guitar lessons
right after that.
Q: MOST GUITARISTS CLAIM TO BE INFLUENCED BY GUYS LIKE HENDRIX OR VAN HALEN. IT'S NOT
EVERY DAY THAT YOU HEAR OF A GUITARIST INFLUENCED BY MICHAEL J. FOX.
Zac: Well, in the show "Family Ties" he played Alex P. Keaton, this total
college/business kid, and I could relate to that because I was like that. But at night I
was like his character in "Light of Day," playing music. But I never wore a tie
to school.
Q: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO DEVOTE ALL YOUR TIME TO MUSIC?
Zac: Toward the end of my final semester, I wasn't really excited about what I was doing.
The only thing I felt passionate about was playing in the band. I did well in school, but
it felt like I had to study twice as hard to get the same grade that other students seemed
to get naturally. But when it came to music and the band, everything about that seemed
natural for me. When I would talk to my parents about the future, somehow the conversation
always wound up turning to the band. I finally decided that my happiness was more
important than anything else. We eventually got signed, so it's like it was meant to be.
Q: PLUS, UNLIKE POLITICIANS, BEING IN A BAND MEANS YOU CAN PLAY AROUND HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
AND NOT GET IN TROUBLE.
Zac: Exactly. (Laughs)
Q: WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS SAY WHEN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WERE GIVING UP A CAREER IN POLITICS?
Zac: They were really supportive, especially my father. He was excited. He knew that we
worked really hard for this. I'd play with the band four or five times a week, then study
from midnight till four in the morning. Plus, I think he gets to live vicariously through
me. He owns two insurance companies, and has always played guitar, but he's never been in
a band. He tries not to miss a show and I think he puts pressure on his employees to come
see us -- like they'll get brownie points with the boss if they come to our shows. Every
time we play in town, 25 of his employees show up with their kids. Then you walk into his
office and there are posters of us everywhere and newspaper clippings of the band on his
desk. He's one of our biggest fans and even knows all our lyrics. All of our parents are
like that. We've been really lucky all around.
simon says tour notes
4/12/99 || back to top
A late start...
I say it's a late start for one reason. We're heading into our third week of this tour and
this is my first entry. I've just been so preoccupied with the fact that we're on the East
coast for the first time. There are so many amazing things to see and experience as a
band, and on our own. It's definitely a huge culture shock from Sacramento.
The Experience Tour started April 10th in Charlotte, but we left a week early for a string
of High School shows in southern California. It was a lot of fun playing to so may kids.
We ended our little So Cal jaunt with a terrific show at the Viper Room in Hollywood on
April 6th. It felt really good to play in front of our new family at Hollywood Records.
Being that we only had three days to get to Charlotte, we were forced to get on the road
immediately after the show. We spent 14-18 hours a day in our van and saw some of the most
beautiful (and boring) country along the way. Although it wasn't as bad as I thought it
would be. We kept each other entertained and slept through the desolate parts. CDs were in
constant rotation, but I think we're all sick of the music we brought. Oh well, they're
only nine or ten weeks left...ha ha.
Anyway, we just played both dates in Charlotte and they were amazing. Everyone has been
really cool to us and we definitely appreciate it. So, we're on our way to Atlanta at the
moment...looking forward to a show at The Point tomorrow. I think the funniest thing we've
encountered, so far, is the fact that we're the people that talk funny. Zac was telling
some people that he thought that their Southern accents were great. They looked at him and
asked, very curiously, "What do you mean?"
I died in laughter. It was great. Well, until the next entry...
Matt - 4/12, 5:36pm
4/18/99 || back to top
The world is a very big place.......
It is 1:10 am on Sunday April 18th. As I sit here in my hotel room reflecting on the past
few days I have a lot of smiles. I, like Matt, have been meaning to start this journal for
the last three weeks, but have been so amazed and preoccupied that it is until now that I
get my lazy ass in gear. The last week was awesome. After playing at the X-Games dates in
Charlotte, NC we stayed for an extra day to play at a local high school. It went so
awesome. The kids were so into it. It was a little scary because we had never played a
high school out of California, but they were so nice and really into us, so that subsided
any nerves we had right away.
The next couple of days were a little crazy. We had to drive to Atlanta, GA play a show
then drive back to Charlotte, NC to play at another school. Both were awesome, but as we
are learning, driving is a large part of touring and everyone is slowly becoming
conditioned for it. I think one of the coolest things about this entire experience is that
I can see us developing in leaps and bounds. Every show gets better and better, and our
entire team is becoming a lot more well oiled or smooth in the way we run things. It is
awesome to be able to feel safe and trust the others around you when you feel like you are
exposed and really on your own.
Every day I cannot wait until the next. I am excited to go home tomorrow and play on
Tuesday at our release. That is going to be awesome. It is very much a dream come true. I
think the home crowd will boost us up a lot.
Well until next time.....We just found out about some club shows in the North East and are
super excited. We are going to play with Moster Magnet in New York. Hell yeah.....BRING ON
THE ROCK!!!.......It all starts here.......
Zac/Simon Says
4/20/99 || back to top
The big day
Wow, Sacramento rocks. Its Tuesday April 20, the CD release date. It was the big day.
We started the day to a good start. We locked the gear in the van with the keys. About an
hour later someone with an extra set of keys came and unlocked the door. Once that little
sidetrack was worked out we threw all the gear on the stage and did a quick sound check.
Zac ended up having a great time with one of his processors. It started making a strange
buzzing noise, so he ended up taking it out for this show. After sound check we made our
way to the KRXQ bus for an interview before we hit the stage for the show. On the way to
the bus we were bombarded by people asking us for questions and autographs. About five
minutes later we all made it to the bus just in time for the interview.
We did a short interview and immediately hit the stage. By this time a nice size crowd had
formed of a few hundred people. We hit the stage in full Simon Says force; flailing
guitars and jumping like kangaroos. It was a six-song set that ended up with one more
added in because of the frenzy the crowd had built itself into. Once finished we rushed
off to the inside of Tower Records and immediately sat down for autographs. By this time
it was about seven. The people were wrapped around the building to just get a chance to
meet us. That is one of the weirdest feelings for a person to have. It is very gratifying
to have that many people at a show for us but at the same time it's awkward because I'm a
shy guy. We sat in Tower signing autographs and taking pictures until about ten at night.
Finally the night was over. We packed the few things we brought and headed home so we
could get some sleep for the show tomorrow.
Mike A- 4/20, 10:45pm
5/3/99 || back to top
Hey there boys and girls. This is Mike J. and we are now in our 5th week of the tour and
things just keep getting better and better. I know that I will never be able to explain
all the amazing things that we are experiencing on this tour but I will do my best. Here
is a sample of the happenings of this week. 3 high schools, 1 all girl Catholic school, a
pool with a slide, self-nipple licking (I'll explain later), and more and more sleazy
hotels.
Well this week we were in many new and different places. We played in Ross and Louisville,
Kentucky, Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio, and probably some other places too. The most
memorable gigs were definitely the high schools. One of the high schools we played at this
week was Bullet East High. Those kids were so amazing. It is the most incredible feeling
in the world to be three thousand miles away from home and have fans. This school was so
out of control. They treated it just like a regular Says show. Zac even went crowd surfing
during Slider. There is one thing that stands out in my mind about Built East more than
anything else though. There was this kid named Nick who was hanging out with us.
Before the show we were all just talking about stupid stuff when, out of nowhere, Nick
says, "I can lick my own nipple." Bam! We had to see this. Nick agrees to our
request graciously, lifts his shirt, and low and behold, the boy sticks his own nipple in
his mouth. Can I please get a round of applause for the public school system?
Another one of the schools we played this week was Mother of Mercy High school. Mother of
Mercy is an all girl Catholic school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Talk about a dream gig. Four
band members, three crew guys, and six hundred and fifty girls. Not a bad ratio. Honestly
though it was probably one of the most energetic high schools that we have ever played.
Everyone there was so cool to us. When we first showed up they told us who the last band
that had played there was. THE BACKSTREET BOYS. Yikes! Well we didn't let that stop us. We
played at 8:30 in the morning and the response was insane. They were all screaming so loud
that we had to cover our ears after every song.
Now on to the hotels of the week. Two Days Inn's, four Ramada's, and one that I don't even
think had a name. One of the Ramada's had this amazing indoor pool with a waterfall and a
slide. Well, you may not know this but when it comes to silly, immature, childish, stuff
like an indoor six-foot water slide Matt and I are there baby! We must have gone down that
thing fifty times each until we ran out of cool tricks.
Well I'm going to catch up on some sleep because tomorrow we play in Washington, DC for
the X games trials. Thanks so much to everyone that bought the CD since its release date.
You are all making our dreams come true. Thanks again.
Mike Johnston
5/4/99 || back to top
I hate the rain!
Damn, I hate the rain! It's so depressing. I think I speak for all the guys when I say,
"I WANT SOME SUNSHINE!" Anyway, we're in Boston tonight. We're playing at Bill's
Bar. It's actually a really cool place. I was expecting a typically bland club because of
the name, but I've been shocked to see that it's really nice. I guess you really can't
judge a book by its cover. We drove in from Albany, NY. Here's the story: We played in
Scranton, PA last night with Monster Magnet. This was definitely a highlight of the tour.
The show was awesome. We were a little concerned that the Magnet fans wouldn't be down for
us being that we might be perceived as little, young punks from Sacramento. It was quite
the opposite. We got a great response. It felt really good to win over their crowd.
Everyone was really cool and there was even a little "pit" going on. We were
stoked! It was so cool sharing the stage with Monster Magnet. Kids in Scranton know how to
rock! So we packed up and got as far as Albany before we all just about passed out. We
woke up this morning and had about a three hour drive into Boston. There's the story. In
any case, the tour has been great. We've been having a lot of fun out here. It's been over
a month, but the time just flies by. It's getting more and more grueling as we go, but
it's good to be so busy. It definitely allows you to appreciate what little down time
there is. We're typically playing two shows a day because of all the High Schools. I have
to say that High Schools have been the best part of this tour. All the kids have been so
stoked and supportive. I really wish to thank all of the High Schools. The ESPN shows have
been cool too. All the bands we're playing with are great. I feel kinda funny saying
everything is great, but it truly is. I just want some sunshine, DAMMIT! We all miss our
family and friends at home, but we keep in touch. I think I'm gonna faint when I get my
cell phone bill. Zac's sitting next to me spouting off about some story on the news. He's
eating an apple with his shirt off looking really "White Trash!" His hair's all
messed up and I know he hasn't showered or brushed his teeth in days. Well, I've talked
long enough. I better go see what's going on about getting some dinner. Until next time.
Matt - 5/4 6:44 p.m.
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