NEWS:
Jillie & Thomas will be playing the Make-A-Wish Foundation Charity Event at Webster Hall on April 25 - see details by clicking on calendar. Their new performance format will be going under the name Jill & Thomas Simon/Musiciens Sans Frontieres.
March 2008:
Thomas just returned from recording in Indonesia (3/08) and is currently developing a new performing format, utilizing all the sounds, world rhythm samples he recorded in combination with the alternative rock, xtc sounds of MUSICIENS SANS FRONTIÉRES. A new album is in the works. Live Shows and touring will resume late spring & summer.- The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Committee has placed Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres on the Official Ballot for the 2008 Grammy Awards in the following categories:Category 1 - Record of the Year
Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres - AffectionCategory 7 - Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocal
Thomas Simon Musiciens Sans Frontieres - Affectionmore:
Thomas Simon - MUSICIENS SANS FRONTIÉRES are
Rock Alternative Experimental Ecstasy
- working on shedding geographical and musical boundaries."Remember Me" off "Sattelite" was written in memory of Marla Ruzicka, an American activist, who worked in Iraq and Afghanistan to raise awareness and money for the victims of U.S. bombing raids, rallying in Washington numerous times, before being killed in Bagdad in 2005 at age 28.and our latest music video "Green Revolution" came about because there's "no more time for pollution
no more time for lack of evolution"... - we will be out and playing soon....stay tuned! below are some of the current write up's...
peace in the universe, TSMSF--ZIARUL Clujeanului, Transilvania, Romania, - May 17th, 2007:
An alternative to Bregovic ...
The band’s powerful recital started around 10pm and it lasted until midnight when the audience called them back on stage for an encore. For the audience this was an opportunity to sense the difference between Romanian and American bands and Thomas Simon’s sound was exceptional. Stage presence was also at the highest level..."--B24FUN Bucharest, Romania, - May 25th, 2007
How globalization can be anti-globalist
-Thomas Simon - producer, film maker, musician and composer – toured the U.S., Canada, (and beyond)... and here he is now with his “Thomas Simon Musiciens sans Frontieres†formula playing in the Bucharest club Utopia... the band is a great indie rock traveller. On stage, Jillie Simon is the feminine voice that counterbalances Thomas Simon’s... She is always almost painfully sensual and most of the reviews describe her as being “the light in the dark atmosphere†of the band’s music. She has a delicate voice that seems to penetrate dramatically... The band is more than just a geographical wanderer, they also stroll through different musical territories – critics mention the Dead Can Dance tribalism, the Nine Inch Nails twilight, Moby’s funk, etc....This means that, as their French name discloses, they are diligently tearing down frontiers; only that which they globalize is not commercial waste. ....--Willamette Week Online, Portland, Oregon, - Dec. 26th, 2007:
Thomas Simon - Musiciens Sans Frontieres...
Pretty easy to imagine Musiciens Sans Frontieres as an actual offshoot of Doctors without Borders, with band members parachuting into war zones...
Art should...inspire.--ISCHLER WOCHE, St.Wolfgang, Austria - May 18th, 2006
GOTH & GRUNGE AT THE GRABOVSKI ...
The Vienna born New York Multi Media Artist has reached a lot of acclaim with his experimental progressive fusing of Goth and Grunge. By creating a sensitive web of space and rhythm, Simon leads his listeners, with a noir-ish style, through the myriad of his musical works.--MONITORUL DE CLUJ, Transilvania, Romania, - May 15th, 2007: MUSIC WITHOUT FRONTIERS ....
The Thomas Simon MSF concert marks the first event by a New York cult band in Romania, bringing with it something of the old CBGB spirit, a New York club famous around the world. ... the “feel†of the place is being kept alive by the music of those who performed there, from the Ramones to Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth or Thomas Simon.--ZIARUL Clujeanului, Transilvania, Romania, - May 15th, 2007:
Frontiers Are Falling Down!
"Their music is very energetic and diverse, and also very interesting because of the singer’s cool stage presence. - Andras Kovacs from KUMM about Thomas Simon Musiciens sans Frontieres"A BIT OF BACKGROUND...
Musiciens Sans Frontieres was born in the fall of 2005, and is co-fronted by singer-songwriter-actress Jillie Simon
"... garnering rave reviews and probably more than her share of stalkers..." - CMJ New Music Report. "...exotic vocalist Jill (Simon) who spins together a chanteuse style of glimmer and fury and commands a stage presence of erotic force. ...Come see the excitement first hand. But be prepared to melt under the white light of (Jill's) voice and the blistering noise of Simon and the rest..." - Infinity Press- - - The pair had previously founded the alt-rock band LOVE ALIEN, which toured Europe, the Middle East, Canada and the U.S.
- Martin Johnson wrote
"LOVE THAT FUSION: Their band is like a fusion of Screaming Trees and Sophie B Hawkins. They have a slightly grungy psychedelic sound, and Jill has a sensuous stage presence and breathy vocals that seem to owe a bit to performance art. It's an intriguing and original sound that is often riveting." - NEWSDAYRotating members of their bands have included:
Alan Gevaert (Chris Whitley, dEUS); Brian Hardgroove (Public Enemy, Chuck D); Alex Alexander (Dido); Lior Shulman (Sheva); Amos Friedman (various artists); Les Warner (The Cult), Tony Bridges (Buddy Miles, Deodato); Tada Hirano (Blonde Redhead);-Network of the World (NOW) UK said - “one of the most promising up & comers in the N.Y. scene†- - Legends Magazine review of "In The Waves" by LOVE ALIEN "...a tasty mix of fuzzy, funky, jammy and grungy guitars and Jill's pure angelic voice... The music on the album is so good and Jill's voice is so pretty I had no choice but like it and listen again and again and again. If you need a positive and soulful change of pace, from your hard rock or hip- hop...give Love Alien a listen...mixes well with mellow grunge, Neil Young, Kate Bush, Phish and Tori Amos" full review at: http://www.legendsmagazine.net/146/loveal.htmRadiopositive/P ositive Music Radio "- positive–conscious music with a message of unity and the power within each of us to achieve our highest potential", (currently featuring “Shine†and “Galaxies†from "In The Waves" -LOVE ALIEN ) - is now at the URL www.ncreview.com ( new consciousness review )SOME MORE FACTS
Thomas has composed music for a "Sesame Street" short (PBS) as well as for feature films in the thriller genre - "Black Wine" , which was in several film festivals, and "Sanctified" which will be released in 2008. He's also fused extensive tribal jams with big rock beats, occasional vocals and dashes of industrialized rhythms, on his Thomas Simon WalkAbout world experience.
To hear songs off soundtracks, go to myspace.com/ThomasFilmScoreJillie had, among other film-work, a lead role in 6 time Emmy Award winning writer/director William Electric Blacks's "Copy Shop", a black comedy, not yet released, a role in the psychological thriller "Confess" (starring Ali Larter & Eugene Byrd), a recurring role on "As The World Turns" and has been cast in a lead role in the upcoming indie feature "The Toussaint Project" (dir., Audley Haffenden) For more info go to myspace.com/jilliesimon
- the first webisode of the animated feature "MMovie", (dir. Nate Taylor), that Jillie just starred in ( as the voice of Bridget Pwns and Lara Croft) is up and viewable at
http://mmovie.voig.com/
