Simon Wilcox

"Simon Wilcox is an astounding find. On the first listen to her third release I had the same reaction to when I first heard the recorded debuts of Kate Bush and Mary Margaret O'Hara as well as to hearing any Van Morrison album in the '70s. She has recorded a classic work."
- Larry LeBlanc, Canadian Bureau Chief Billboard.
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I quit my job as a secretary and went to the UK in search of inspiration. I've written and co-written songs with many artists, including "Home" with Three Days Grace, and "Tell All Your Friends" with Projet Orange. I had some ideas about the kind of record I wanted to make, and for the first time ever, I had a small budget, so I wasn't as reliant on anyone doing me a favour and imposing their vision on my work.
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I found what I was looking for in Liverpool. I went back to thinking about music the way I did when I was a kid. I moved into a bed-sit just off Penny Lane (where there was often no heat or hot water) and wrote and co-wrote songs.
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In Liverpool I met Pete Wilkinson and Simon Finley (then the backing band for Echo and The Bunnymen) Pete was also the bass player in the seminal U.K. band Cast and currently tours with The Hours. We went into the studio and recorded demos of songs. It was a tiny room at Parr St. (Studio 3) where Coldplay recorded their first album. Ken Nelson dropped by the studio and gave us some guidance. I flew back to Toronto and played the songs for Michael McCarty, Barbara Sedun and Ron Lopata at my publishing company. They encouraged me to fly back and record some more. A kid from Manchester (who worked in a music store there) named Michael Moore came in and added some guitar. We could only afford about two days in the studio, but the foundation for the album and the defining sound was established during that session.
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Back in Toronto again, Ron Lopata and I worked on overdubs with Saam Hashemi (a young British engineer/producer who flew over to mix). Many friends came by the studio and added parts. Tomi Swick played acoustic guitar on one song, and Ian Smith from the Miniatures on another. Saam mixed the record at Silverbirch Studios in Toronto. Andy Krehm mastered it.