Cody Simpson – The Prince Music Theater – Philadelphia, PA – January 19, 2014 – photo by Sami Speiss © 2014
Cody Simpson
Our New Mate Goes Acoustic
by Ali Speiss and Sami Speiss
The United States has a new Australian mate, Cody Simpson. This beach blond, blue-eyed heartthrob is a singer, instrumentalist and songwriter who is spreading his sunny, positive tunes to kids and adults alike. Simpson's Gold Coast roots show through his catchy tunes with his beachy, groovy style.
Simpson recently kicked off his Acoustic Sessions tour, creating an unforgettable show for everyone who attends. On stage his talent is showcased in a more stripped-back setting, performing songs off of his latest album Surfer's Paradise unplugged. Young or old, Cody is sure to capture you're heart.
Backstage at his recent Philadelphia show, we sat down with Simpson to discuss his music and the new shows.
How does this tour differ than your other tours?
This tour is all acoustic. I haven't done it before. Obviously there is always an acoustic element to the shows, but this time it's all acoustic. It's all stripped back. It's organic. It's rawer. It's new. It's all live. A lot of it is just improvised and fun, so I feel really confident and comfortable up there. It's a good time.
Do you prefer a larger venue or a smaller venue?
Obviously arenas would be fun. But every once in awhile to be able to come do a show like this – where it's much more intimate, where you can see all of the crowd and it's just a different atmosphere – it's good. I love it.
You recently filmed a music video for "Love" with Ziggy Marley. How was that?
It was great. He is an awesome guy. Love that song. We filmed a really, really cool video for it. I'm looking forward to that coming out.
What is your favorite song to perform acoustically?
There are a couple of them. Some of the bonus tracks that I don't do very often like "Children Of The Ocean." Stuff like that that is new. I love taking a song that was originally produced more heavily and then taking it and giving it a totally different vibe. Like with "All Day," which is a song that I released when I was a little younger. We totally reinterpreted it in to this acoustic reggae version. It's really cool.
Do you have a favorite song from the album?
"All Day" is my fave because its just so different from the original.
How do you describe your music style?
It differs because not every song sounds exactly the same obviously. All around its pretty feel good. A lot of it is relaxed. Some of it is more groovy. Apart from that, it's feel good. Music that you can listen to anytime of the day, in any way that it will make you feel good.
Who do you draw your inspiration from?
My fans. All the girls mostly. What happens in my life, experiences. That's basically where all the inspiration for the lyrics come from.
If you didn't know how old you were, how old would you be?
18. Really? I would think I was 20 something?
Really? No, I'm 17 so I would probably think I was 18. That was a good one.
What can you tell us about your unreleased song "Neck Kisses"?
That was funny because it was an experiment with something that I wrote on the tour bus. I recorded it and it went online. I didn't really expect to release it or anything, but it leaked. I think that's all that is going to happen with it. It was just like a bit of fun. So you don't think it will be released?
No. Unless I do it acoustically, I don't think it's going to come out. It's just something that's up there. A little snippet of it's leaked and fans like it or not. So I'm just going to keep it like that.
How was your holiday back home in Australia?
It was awesome. It was awesome. I had a couple of weeks off over Christmas. Just had an awesome time with friends and family. It was great. It was cool. It's summer there, which is weird to think.
Yeah it's warm all year round. I miss that. Well I guess that is where you are from specifically. Aren't there parts that get cold?
Parts of Australia are a bit colder, but there are no extremes. We just had four degree weather. We couldn't go to school.
Really? Summertime gets pretty hot but in the winter you wouldn't have to put on anything else other than a warm jacket. Which one came first, the chicken or the egg?
Depends on what you believe in, I guess. There is actually a scientific answer.
What is it? It's the egg. If two different species mate that are different – one like a bird, one like a chicken – then they mate and have a chicken.
Okay got you. Like evolution.
Before you tweet, do you have to clear it with anyone?
No, I just tweet. I am pretty responsible. I am aware of the fact that everyone is going to see it. I handle it all myself. I just will never tweet anything that I don't want seven million people to see. Especially when people are signed up for those tweets that go to your phone.
Yeah. If you delete it one second later. I've done that before. Nothing like controversial or anything. I saw that even if I delete it, it's still there on their phone. You have to be careful.
Copyright ©2014 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted:January 21, 2014.
Photo Credit © 2013 Sami Speiss. All rights reserved.
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