Simi is a violinist, guitarist, pianist, composer, and
singer. Born and raised in Woodstock – the magic of the mountains is in her
blood. She has performed and toured with Simone Felice, Connor Oberst, Dan
Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, Amy Helm, and Duke and the King.
When Simi
Stone was eight years old she locked herself in her room. She emerged three
days later with an independently recorded and produced cassette tape titled
"Cloudy Day On Mountain Lodge". She handed it out to her grade school
classmates, and had wired up third graders singing her songs on the playground.
Born and raised in Woodstock, NY by a hippie mom who brought her kids up on
brown rice and The Rolling Stones and a Jamaican born father whose mother
traveled on the blues circuit playing piano in the south, it’s no surprise that
Simi Stone ne: Simantha Molly Lou Sernaker has since turned into a formidable
power house fueled by a raw and edgy vocal style, virtuoso violin chops and
enough charisma to burn down a house.
At seven,
Simi took up the classical violin, and at ten was admitted to the New York
Conservatory for the Arts, where she studied musical theatre, dance, and voice
and all the while continued to write the songs of her own. Upon graduating high
school, she moved to New York City, and pursued a degree in acting at Marymount
College, performed in musical theater and off Broadway plays. Soon, Simi was
using her well-honed theater skills to front a rock band. Along with her fierce
electric violin and guitar playing, Simi was a draw for teenyboppers and
seasoned musicians alike. She played on Conan and was featured in Cornershop
and Metallica videos. She appeared on the cover of the Cornershop CD, Born for
the Seventh Time. A piece about her appeared in Women’s Wear Daily and Greg
Tate in The Village Voice called her “Kurt Cobain in hot pants.” Ink 19
Magazine said, “When shredding the bow on her electric violin, she just plain
looked badass.”
Later, after
being part of the Afro-Punk Movement, she experimented with a more gritty rock
‘n roll sound, forming Suffrajett with sideman Jason Chasko. They performed in
numerous NYC venues including Bowery Ballroom, Irving Plaza and played several
Summer Stage events with Joan Jett, the Roots, Erika Badu and others. With Suffrajett
she released two records, Suffrajett and Black Glitter on indie labels In Music
We Trust and Giant Step Records which garnered considerable critical acclaim
from magazines such as Rolling Stone, Esquire and earned five stars in the
press, The Chicago Sun Times. Suffrajett had their first major tour out of
Chicago. She earned her stripes the old fashioned way, with numerous
cross-country tours playing every club under the sun from Detroit to House of
Blues in LA. Leading her band, she continued touring with acts like Local-H,
Urge Overkill, Cheap Trick, Eagles of Death Metal, and Juliette and the Licks.
Time Out Chicago said of Suffrajett: “ This New York via Chicago band has
justifiably gained a rep for Detroit style whiplash rock and roll without acting
like it’s a low down dirty shame…
When she’s
not sounding like The Shangri Las Mary Weiss, she’s summoning the ghost of
T-Rex’s Marc Bolan, who knew how to make a whisper sound like a threat.” Around
this time, the heavy mid-west rock n’ roll lifestyle started to weigh on Simi.
Suffrajett took a long hiatus ...
Called to
the mountains of her native Woodstock home, in 2009 Simi reconnected with
Simone Felice and Bobby Burke, The Duke and the King, while opening for their
band as a solo artist. With the Duke and the King, Simi began touring in Europe
and all over the UK. The band was featured on Jools Holland in London, Saturday
with Brendan O’Conner the biggest late night talk show in Ireland and in Paris
appeared on the popular show Canal Plus. She sang her song “No Easy Way Out” on
Belfast’s biggest radio station and on BBC Radio’s “Loose End” in London. Mojo
Magazine gave the Duke and the King four stars. Allen Jones from Un-cut
magazine called her "The sensational Simi Stone" and calls her voice
"striking" and her violin, "a thing of mournful beauty.
Simi
Has,more recently been excitedly working on her first solo album! With musical
partner David Baron she has been lucky enough to gather an amazing band of
players...including Zachary Alford, Sara Lee, Gail Ann Dorsey and others to
make up some incredible recordings and live shows to come.
Simi also
has spent time recording and performing with artists such as Simone
Felice,Natalie Merchant, Conor O'Berst, Tracy Bonham, Amy Helm, and many more.
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