Simon Joyner is one of the originals, a folk singer-songwriter whose first solo effort, 1992’s Umbilical Chords, placed him square inside a burgeoning and exciting world of lo-fi guitar wonders making humble cassette tapes and simultaneously inspiring a generation. Like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (with whom he has collaborated) or records by early K Records luminaries Beck or Calvin Johnson himself, the influence of Joyner’s confessional style have reverberated throughout independent music - and not just in Omaha, either, where Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst has taken it upon himself to enjoy the mainstream success that Joyner has eschewed for so long. more ›