Simon Says No! are an outfit that have the potential to do great things -- you can hear it in ways they meld their love of shoegaze with their hardcore-obsessed past. It's the passion that's in every ounce of their being that bubbles through on stage, and it's in every note of every one of their recorded songs.

The seeds of Simon Says No! were formed years ago, before the band was even a figment of anyone's imagination. Current and future band mates Ruben Nesse guitar/vocals) and Simon Oakland (guitar) were on a European tour with their then current band, hardcore outfit Jeroan Drive. As the days plodded along, Simon and Ruben discovered their mutual love for all things shoegaze -- My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive being the closest to their hearts.
With tensions growing high in the hardcore band, Ruben and Simon split from their bandmates in Milan and began to chart their own course as merry pranksters without a bus. Simon Says No! began almost as a joke when Ruben wanted to construct a shoegaze band around Simon and his karma, but his response was a clear "No!"

The band recorded "Midnight Romance" and released it on cassette in late '06, and they were lucky enough to have it picked up by Jørgen Hegstad on NRK P3, Norway’s leading radio-station, who named them “Band of the Week” on their program “Urørt" (meaning "Untouched").

Their debut EP, Ahoi de Angst, yielded the band-defining "Shiver" and the band's hit single "Sleeping Heart." According to the band, the former song "captures the essence of Simon Says No!...shaped through time, different band members, and cold dark winters."  According to the band, "Every concert is unique. We don't know what happens before it does. Bring your earplugs and join us in our voyage."

(photo by Vegard Haug)

• http://webtv.tv2.no/webtv/?progId=366445&itemId=35879
• http://www.myspace.com/nosayssimon

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