Video Premiere: Richard Simeonoff “CIA”

Check out the latest single from Seattle singer-songwriter Richard Simeonoff.  ‘CIA’ is irreverent, full of character and humour, and, most importantly, it’s a damn good tune.  Beginning with a burst of drums, the song maintains a high energy throughout, with layers of guitar and keys over which, Simeonoff delivers a confident and melodic vocal and wailing harmonica.  Simeonoff explains the song’s meaning: “CIA is a song about the absurdity of life. With a narrator that is unreliable at best, you get pulled into a story where the only thing for certain, is that someone is lying. For those people out in our communities we see on the street, this song looks at their perspective. They may be without a home, strung out, or just this side of being committed, but for all we know, they are right. Maybe they are working for the CIA…we can’t be so sure.”

The Coco Foto-directed video shows Simeonoff and his band rocking a performance in a bar, getting folks moving and dancing.  It’s well-shot and gives a sense of the backstage camaraderie as well as the atmosphere of the show, which looks as engaging as the song itself.

The single is the first release from forthcoming EP ‘Listen to This’, which is due to drop on 21st July 2023.  From his early days listening to classic rock while working construction sites with his father, through days out west building movie sets and absorbing old country and the sounds of the desert, to embracing the Seattle music scene, Simeonoff has been blending genres and finding his own style or, “chasing the song,” as he describes it.  That combination of influences – The Eagles, Tom Petty and Creedence merged with the Bakersfield sound – was the basis for his 2022 album ‘Oh Well’ (definitely worth checking out).  He says: “I guess it’s how I grew up; always moving around, figuring out who and where I want to be. Right now, this feels right.”  Now, the new EP takes his music to the next level.  Rock to ‘CIA’ while you’re waiting for the EP.

Written by Americana UK