I moved to Los Angeles in 1991. I had visions of great things - destiny had finally arrived! I had a nice job, and made some great new friends. But I was anxious to get out to the world-renowned Sunset Strip that I had visited so many times before. For you tourists out there, the strip is actually a stretch of Sunset Boulevard, that is filled with rock-oriented clubs, restaurants, and tattoo parlors. I had visited there many times, and the streets were always filled with long-haired rockers (and their scantily clad counterparts), who were into good times and great music. This area had so much activity, even on weeknights, that the police would often close the area off to thru traffic.

Well...you can imagine my surprise when, in 1991, I took my triumphant stroll down to the Strip, and found...nothing! Just a bunch of deserted clubs and businesses. The scene that we had read so much about in our youth, was gone. You can imagine how silly I felt in my snakeskin boots...

I spent some time mourning the loss of the rock scene. All this work to get here, and it was all gone. I had an old girlfriend move in for awhile, who encouraged me to get back into music anyway.  I really felt the need for something new.

For the next two years, I placed a bunch of ads, went on countless auditions, and played with a pile of hair metal refugees.  Some of them were excellent, and some, well...needless to say, each one eventually fell apart. It seemed like everyone was either playing Guns & Roses songs, or living them...

One afternoon, after a particularly good audition, I got a call from some guy named Shime (pronounced shee-may). He sounded Japanese. I had just hooked up with some decent players, and I'm thinking, what do I need with this Japanese dude? I call him up, and it turns out he's playing instrumental guitar music. Now, I'm a huge guitar fan. Everyone knows I adore Vai and Satriani. But, most guitar players out here only go instrumental when they can't find a decent singer! So you can imagine my reluctance...

Damir Simic-Shime

Well...I finally went down and met with the guy.  Shime had actually played with different singers - he just didn't want any.  The guy, absolutely, is a virtuoso. And as it turned out, he's not Japanese at all! But from Croatia - and yeah, I knew where that was. He, too, had left his homeland in '91, to find the same empty stretch of Sunset that I had. We both loved the same guitar heroes; and, we were the only two musicians who still thought of Coke as just a great soft drink! With that in common, we began rehearsing for several months.

Me & Shime taking it to a whole new level.

My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was playing with this guy.  This music was intense, and  the chord structures were more difficult than anything I'd played before. I practiced every day, just to be ready for my biweekly sessions with Shime. I wasn't big on shredding at the time; but, I worked very hard to learn his songs, and our friendship blossomed.

Shortly after we met, Shime got a publishing deal with Warner Chappell. We recorded a slew of songs together, some of which have ended up on soundtracks in different parts of the world. Along the way, Shime began building his own studio, and picking up on various recording techniques. 

Me and Ricky, mugging it up for the fans

It took some time to find other musicians who could play this caliber of music, and also the commitment to stick with it. And Shime would not settle. (He always tells me, "In Croatia, they say you can not afford to buy something cheap!" He pursues the same excellence when it comes to his music - and it's infectious.) Most of the seasoned players out there are "hired guns", and are always running off to play some great world tour. (It was not unusual for us to think we'd finally found the "missing piece", only for the guy to leave the following week to  a tour with someone like Yngwie!) It was during our tenure with Black 13 that we finally came across Ricky Riccardo. Once Keith Graham came aboard in 1996, Shime's band finally had the talent and stability to really get down to business.

During this lengthy search for the right people, we had a lot of down time. I seemed to find enough side gigs to keep me busy - but, when it was time to work, we worked. Nothing was going to keep me from playing in this band.

Ricky, myself, super-drummer Mike Terrana, and Shime, on Mike's last night in the U.S.

Playing with Shime was a real blast. Besides being a great friend, our partnership opened a lot of doors. Shime has played with the best of them - and has befriended a lot of these guys along the way. One such friend is Mike Terrana. Mike has played on a pile of albums, including Shime’s early demo’s.  After a stint with Yngwie Malmsteen, Mike went on to play with Tony MacAlpine - this is where things got interesting. 

Tony MacAlpine, at our record release party, January '98

Any student of rock guitar knows that Tony MacAlpine was a pioneer of guitar instrumental music. Tony had been writing for his new album, Violent Machine, which was to be released on his own Metropolis Records label. Mike approached Shime about handling the recording of this important album in MacAlpine's career. The record was recorded in our studio, and engineered by Shime. Shime finally had the opportunity to put his recording knowledge to good use - and, the experience he received gave him the ability to produce his own album, The Quest, a year later. Both Tony and Mike are featured extensively on this great album, released on Metropolis Records.

Throughout the recording process, we began playing opening spots for MacAlpine, which was great. This string of shows eventually concluded, at a full house at the world-famous Whiskey a Go-Go. This was a special victory, as the Whiskey is the center of the same Sunset Strip that deserted us back in '91. From the Doors, to Van Halen, to Motley Crue - all the great LA bands started here at some point, and went on to great heights.

Exactly one year later, Damir Simic-Shime and his merry men returned to the Whiskey, this time to headline their CD release party, which included a 75 minute show. I call that night a party, because that gig (and every one since) was a running celebration of this band's friendship - and a group of songs we had been working on together for, well...a long time!

On a Saturday night, where LA Guns was playing just a few doors down, and Steve Lukather was putting on a show with some friends across town, we did something unheard of in the 90s - and we quite literally packed the Whisky to the rafters! Sunset was filled with people, and it seemed like we had finally found what we had come out for - and now, we were at the center of it.

Me & the crew know how to do it.

Our friend Richard Black was there, as well as Tony MacAlpine and Mike Terrana, who joined us onstage for a few songs, much to the amazement of the crowd. Our families were there. My sister even flew in to surprise me. Old friends and fans showed up in full force, bringing friends of their own.

But best of all, my good friends Shime, Ricky, and Keith were there. Keith is great, and has always been a comfort to have around. Ricky - even though he took off to tour with MacAlpine for awhile - still brings magic to every stage he stands on. (You can hear the magic they made together on MacAlpine’s recent Live Insanity record.)  But most of all, there was Shime.  He & I had been through a lot during our years together, and his strength of character was a real inspiration.

Shime gave me a lot of room to try new things in the music. He asked me to write an album opener, which is the title track of the new album, "The Quest"; and, encouraged me to record a solo piano track, "Lights of Agoura", which I continued to perform in our live shows. Shime called me "the magic of this band".  It was the greatest compliment I had ever received.  : )

.

Looking out at that first Whisky show.

The release of The Quest brought rave reviews - and even the prestigious Music Connection was extremely positive. This would be the first of several.  They made it sound like we were bringing technical excellence back to the Sunset Strip. (Jeez, when is the last time you saw a band get a stellar review in Music Connection?!?)

 

 

Sounds from The Quest
MP3 Files	Title	Size	Comments
	The Quest	508 k	The keyboard track that opens this massive guitar album.
	The Lights of Agoura	987k	My chance to shine on this great CD.

To hear more tracks from this album, be sure to visit the Rock Sounds page, and the Video page!  If you have never used MP3's before, try downloading

---

To hear some more rocking clips from the band's homepage, click on the image above.

After promotion of The Quest died down, it was time to plan our next move.  Many things had changed...and we started to drift apart.  Maybe we spent too much time reading our own reviews, and believing what other people were telling us - rather than spending time with one another in some sober setting, like the friends we always were.  In any event, the band had a mutual parting of ways with Ricky in 1999 - and myself in 2000. 

The thunder that was The Quest

Anyone who has ever been in a band knows how difficult parting is.  Anyone who has ever built something special with a friend knows how hard it is to say goodbye.  I enjoyed my seven-year stint with Shime, as the longest surviving member of the American incarnation of the band -  and miss those days dearly.  As Shime moved freely in new directions, I devoted my full attention to the upcoming Equinox album.

Striking a now-familiar pose.

;I continue to maintain Shime's website, which was awesomely built by my good friend Tammy Ross. I catch their shows when I can, and they invited me onstage recently for a fun "reunion" performance. God I miss those guys. 

If you would like to learn more about Damir Simic Shime and The Quest, be sure to visit The Official Homepage of Damir Simic Shime.  Also, if you would like to see video clips of the band performing with special guest Tony MacAlpine, be sure to visit the Video Page.

Tammy Ross & myself at the Takara release party

Special thanks to my dear friends, Jasna Simic, Jennifer Morris, Sue Graham, and most especially, Rob & Tammy Ross, for providing us with great pictures for these web sites!