Press Release for "The Dragon" "Simon has a style of his own and he's breaking new eclectic ground" Mike Varney Guitar Player Magazine Simon Gardner is a Brisbane based guitarist who has appeared in the international magazine Guitar Player,national and local street press, has released three albums of instrumental guitar and continues to push the envelope in the genre with his latest release The Dragon. The Dragon is brilliantly written,virtuosically played and packed full of emotion. Like Simon's previous releases, it is an eclectic recording, ranging from bone crunching rock to blues to country. All of the compositions have soaring memorable melodies and could easily find themselves getting commercial airplay. Simon's influences are also eclectic.They range from contemporary composers such as Ralph Vaughn Williams,Claude Debussy and Gustav Holst to jazz masters such as Miles Davis, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny to masters of rock guitar such as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.This broad base of influences gives you some idea of Simons' depth, musicality and sheer guitar playing ability. Recently Simon supported one of his heroes, Joe Satriani at his Brisbane show. Playing an acoustic set with his band, here are some quotes from fans at the Joe Satriani Online Fan Club; "...gotta give a rap to Simon Gardner and his band who were a great supporting act.." "...support act Simon Gardner who I have heard of but never had the pleasure of hearing; his work was quite impressive and the set and his band was tight...." "....the supporting act Simon Gardner was awesome - he has what I would call a "Tommy Emmanuel" quality......." Simon can't wait to get on the road and take his music to the public. The release of "The Dragon" firmly asserts Simon at the vanguard of contemporary music and guitar playing in Australia.