This week I pulled from my shelf of old cassette tapes which I have at the office something that I haven't listened to in quite some time: Kim Simpson's debut album, Destination. Simpson is a guitarist, folk singer, and general scholar of fine music who got his start in the early 90s in Utah; Melissa and I heard him multiple times from 1992 to 1995, once when he opened for a local Michael Hedges appearance (here he is performing at Mama's Cafe, a regular hang-out of ours way back then; it's entirely possible that I was in the audience during this performance, though I don't see myself in the crowd), and we never went on a road trip without that album being played in its entirety. It was that tape which introduced me to Nick Drake through Simpson's wonderful cover of "Place to Be" (Melissa's favorite song off it was "When Her Morning Sun"). Unfortunately, besides the above (not too wonderful) clip, I can't find any other live recordings of him from that era. But here's the next best thing: a very nice video of Simpson--who has since relocated to Austin, TX, and honestly we really need to make a trip down there with the intention of catching a show of his one of these days--indulging in a little nostalgia by playing my favorite song, and the title cut, from his second album (which, yes, I have on CD), Midnight Apparitions. Enjoy.
