SIMON KORETZ

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.. GETTIN' TIGHTER(With Glenn Hughes)
.. .. .. BURN (WITH GLENN HUGHES) IMPROVISATION GUITARIST FOR "8FORTY8" - GUITARIST/VOCALIST FOR "THE STEVIE RAY, CREAM & HENDRIX EXPERIENCE" - GUITAR TUTOR: Simon first picked up the guitar at nine years of age; he quickly developed a strong passion for the instrument and had undeniable natural ability, flair and enthusiasm. Born into a musical family, he was influenced at a young age by Blues, Folk and Classic Rock, enjoying the music of The Hollies, Led Zeppelin, The Stones, Pink Floyd, Bread, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Neil Young to name but a few. Within no time, Simon had mastered all the open chords and had developed a strong sense of rhythm, he was quickly recruited by his school teacher to be second guitarist to herself in classroom sing a -longs and in church, he became her right hand man and soon over took her in technical ability, although still only nine or ten years of age. Once at high school, Simon was advised during his first guitar lesson with the music teacher to ‘sit out the remainder of the year’, as there was nothing she could show him, in fact it was he that was teaching her riffs, “Smoke On The Water” is one that still proudly comes to mind. That year, 1984 and in the third form, Simon joined a rock band and picked up the electric guitar for the first time, he took to it like a duck to water and thrived on the environment of being in a band. The group was writing and performing original music, and had a handful of gigs, they played a support gig to Shona Lang, a well known New Zealand musician who’d previously had the hit “Glad I’m Not A Kennedy”. The gig was at the Renonsense Festival in New Plymouth, an annual art and music festival; they also played school balls and The Mountain Festival to a crowd of 2000 plus, all great experience for a budding musician at 13 years of age. A friend that year introduced Simon to the album “Deepest Purple” “The Very Best Of Deep Purple” an act that would unforeseeably change his life, nothing before had captured Simon the way this music did, and here began his lifelong love affair with the music of Deep Purple and the guitar playing of Ritchie Blackmore. Over the next five years every Purple album was purchased and studied, learning all the techniques applied by his guitar hero, it was a huge source of inspiration and a high bench mark set, following in the footsteps of one of the greatest super groups of all time, and arguably the greatest rock guitarist of all time, would be no mean feat and would put Simon in good stead for the future. Little did he know that in 2008, he would perform onstage with one of his heroes, none other than Deep Purple's legendary former bassist/vocalsist Glenn Hughes (the voice of rock)! they performed a set of classic MkIII & IV Purple to a full house at New Plymouth's TSB Stadium as part of the "G-TARanaki International Guitar Festival" along with Joe Satriani and Uli Jon Roth to name a few, it went down to treat with the fans, Glenn blew the roof off the place and left the Kiwi audience stunned and wanting more! In 1989 Simon formed a band called 8Forty8 with his brother Marcel, they played hall and pub gigs performing original music, and a wide scope of classic rock material that was always delivered to the highest standard, and they soon developed a strong reputation as a tight, energetic and powerful group. Around this same time, Simon’s musical horizons were expanded when he discovered the guitar playing of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, this became the new challenge and Simon would spend up to 8 hours a day in his bedroom perfecting the style and technique of these new found guitar heroes, coming out only for coffee, food or other necessities. By now his playing had reached a new level of technical expertise, he had the ability to play whatever he set his mind to. In 1992 he began writing a whole bunch of new songs that would become 8forty8’s debut album “Edge Of Time” which had the song “Don’t Turn Your Back” receiving considerable airtime on The Rock 93Fm, and becoming the station’s most requested song at the time. The album went on to win the “Album Of The Year” in the 1993, Rock 93 FM rock awards. 8Forty8 continued building a strong fan base by playing a mixture of originals and classic rock/ metal covers on the club/pub scene, over the next few years, they also did highly successful tribute shows to Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen. In 1998 they played the Hells Angels 50th Anniversary gig at the Meremere Dragway, combining the Halen and Zeppelin shows which went down to treat! They were highly complimented by Angry Anderson of “Rose Tattoo” and “Mad Max” fame, who signaled his musical admiration with the kind gesture of handing them his bottle of Jack Daniel’s before he himself took to the stage, a testament to the quality of 8Forty8’s performance. In addition to his performance career, Simon has been a full time guitar teacher since 1991 and has taught thousands of students in both New Zealand high schools, and from his home base, he has developed a strong rapport with each and every one, and has been an inspirational figure to them, always drawing the best from each student. Today, Simon continues to write and perform with 8Forty8, and recently formed a tribute band to the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cream, & Jimi Hendrix, a trio called “The Stevie Ray, Cream & Hendrix Experience”, with himself on guitar and vocals, Derek Shaw - bass and Alan Grady from NZ’s most well known 80’s metal band “Knightshade” on drums, forming a strong, experienced combination. The trio’s played some highly successful gigs in 2008 including “The Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival” and “Shake The Lake” concert. Simon continues to wow audiences with his technical prowess and in depth feel for the instrument; he’s mastered the art of improvisation in a range of styles, and has a strong singing voice to compliment his guitar talents. Today, Simon draws from his vast experiences in all aspects of writing, performing, recording, teaching and studying music, and has developed into a mature, well rounded musician with the capability of conquering any musical challenge embarked upon. To this day, music remains Simon’s number one passion, the enjoyment and reward of making music is a life long highlight. Influences include: Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tommy Bolin, David Gilmour, Peter Frampton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tony Iommi, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Emmanuel and many more…