By: Jason Dinally
Los Angeles-based South Korean guitarist Simon Seungmin Cheon has begun working on his first Guitar Trio album, taking another step in his career.
Seungmin Cheon plans to record the album late this year and release it by 2025, something his fans are eagerly waiting for.
The LA music scene is known for its incredible session musicians who have shaped the sound of popular music in the city. These session players are versatile, able to adapt to various genres, and have contributed to the success of numerous hit records. This is the case of Simon, who, as a session player, got to experience all types of music throughout his professional career. He plays different styles, such as jazz, pop, rock, funk, and fusion. Simon is also a composer and arranger whose professional career began when he was in Boston for Berklee College of Music, where he auditioned for shows and expanded his network through jam sessions.
His dynamic career enabled him to be part of a multicultural music scene and work with composers and producers from across the globe.
For his first Guitar Trio album, Simon Seungmin Cheon will feature some of his experiences and blend them with the music he grew up with. The album will feature his colleagues from Berklee Andee Liu on drums and Wenrui on bass.
Early in his career, Simon played for the Tower of Power tribute band, where he and his band shared the Tower of Power songs they developed after getting invited to a Berklee’s Spotlight video.
The actual band saw the promo video on YouTube and invited them to the New Year’s show last January 1, 2023. They shared many special moments with some of the members of the band, like Mike Bogert (Trumpet), Tom Politer (Tenor sax), David Garibaldi (Drums), and Jerry Cortez (Guitar). The video was very successful, and it was the second most watched out of all the Two Track Series posted on the page.
But Simon Cheon doesn’t always work in Los Angeles; this summer, he performed in a Midwest summer tour with David Rosales, a local Huntington Beach artist who is known for his “feel good Westcoast Americana music style.” The Tour was called “2024 Trails U.S. Tour” with “David Rosales and His Band of Scoundrels.” Simon joined the band as the lead guitarist, and they performed in 13 cities across eight states.
Besides performing and working on his first guitar trio album, Simon keeps himself busy by working with different artists globally, such as South Korea-based singer-songwriter Onsu, who plans to release her single “Yesterday’s Diary”, on November 22nd of this year. The South Korean guitarist is arranging and recording the guitars for her, hinting at the potential of having two creative minds working on the song.
Simon has also played for Marty Walsh’s projects and demos. Marty himself is also a very successful session guitarist from LA, and he is currently based in Boston. With Walsh as the music director for the recordings and Simon as the lead guitarist, they managed to track 13 songs.
Besides recording sessions, moving to LA enabled Simon to perform in a few musicals, including “The Wedding Singer” by Chad Begeulin and Tim Herlihy. The 27-year-old guitarist is also expecting to participate in another musical titled “Escape to Margaritaville” by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley at GWC Theater, Huntington Beach, by the end of September.
Simon has also recorded sessions for a playback track for the musical “Heartbreak Hospital” by Johnny Cassidy, an award-winning musical writer behind “Authenticity: The Musical,” where he won multiple awards. Simon played nine tracks for his musical and performed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024 for the first time.
Stay posted on Simon Seungmin Cheon’s upcoming album!
Published by: Holy Minoza
