Simon Beck
My name is Simon Beck. I play keyboards, bass guitar, double bass, ukulele and a bit of rhythm guitar, although I have been known to dabble with anything from a chromatic harmonica to a Theremin. I very rarely sing, and I can't read music. But music is part of me, and has been for many years.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
When I was 15 I built a bass guitar and taught myself to play it. The following year I started to teach myself to play the piano, and I've never stopped learning. Since the age of 18 I've played in bands of various types, including electro-pop, jazz and Memphis-style soul. In 1996 I was a founder member of Mississippi John L Watson's Odyssey Blues Band and was their keyboardist for three years, playing on their debut CD "" and at blues festivals including Dublin, Isle of Wight and London's Barbican. Since 2008 I have been playing keyboards with 9-piece reggae band The Skanx.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I have been playing keyboards in a ska/funk/reggae band called The Skanx for the past 5 years. Playing live is one of my favourite things in life. The best live moments for me were playing live on BBC Radio 1 with Mississippi John L Watson (with an 8-piece band and after just one rehearsal), and the weekend when the Odyssey Blues Band played Friday and Saturday nights in the Guinness Blues Festival in Dublin, flew back to London early on Sunday morning and played the opening set at the Barbican Blues Festival.
Your musical influences
Dr John, Ray Charles, Josef Zawinul, Professor Longhair...
What equipment do you use?
Nord Electro 3 73 virtual electromechanical keyboard
Casio WK-3000 keyboard
Squier P-Bass Special
Stagg EDB 3/4 electric upright bass
Ferris electric violin
Squier Telecaster guitar
1958 Framus archtop acoustic guitar
Luna Athena thin-line semi-acoustic guitar
chromatic harmonica
Stylophone S2 analogue synthesiser
Fostex MR-8 digital multi-track recorder.
