After attending the Colosseum’s Tsunami Relief Live concert we couldn’t help but catch up with Si and his silvery-toned guitar after being very impressed with his nylon-plucking skills. His writing abilities have already seen him have some self-penned pieces aired in a Radio 4 play. In the beginning  | | Simon Hayden |
Coventry born and bred, the talented instrumentalist first picked up his first guitar when he was nine or ten, having found it in a wardrobe several house moves previously. Despite being a real horror to play Simon developed, by his own admission, a: “mysterious urge to sit long enough without getting bored to try and demystify exactly what intrigued me about such instruments, be it mandolin, bass, violin, saz, sitar, electric guitar, classical guitar, etc.”. Flamenco guitar Having plumped for the acoustic guitar, Si fell in love with the Flamenco guitar a few years later and was asked by a friend if he would write some music for a play they were writing for Radio 4. Set in Catalunya, Si’s Spanish-style licks were just the ticket.  | | Simon Hayden |
The guitarist’s influences aren’t totally what you’d expect – Simon cites Santana and Nick Drake along with more contemporary artists such as Goldie and Massive Attack as those who have played their part in creating his style. And we’re not alone in championing Si’s efforts. Warwick Core wrote: "A one-man musical magician fusing funk, jazz and a splash of drum'n'bass in a single, Flamenco-styled, nylon-stringed guitar". Enough said! You can catch Si at Coventry’s Jazz Festival. He’ll be performing at The Tin Angel on Friday, 27 May. The gig’s free and starts at 5pm so why not check him out.  | | Simon Hayden by Psjutla |
To whet your appetite, click on the link at the top right of this page and listen to a snippet of Si's piece of music called Armitage. How to get featured BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's Band of the Month feature aims to showcase the best local musical talent. If you think you and/or your band are worthy enough of a feature then email us at: coventry@bbc.co.uk or by using the address on the right. | 
