When Savoy Brown’s founder/guitarist/primary songwriter Kim Simmonds died on Dec. 13, 2022, he left behind a whopping 42-album discography that few artists can match. His understated yet endlessly inventive playing anchored the band during the classic period of “A Step Further,” “Looking In,” and “Street Corner Talking,” but also powered them through to the modern age on late-career gems such as “Witchy Feelin’” and “Ain’t Done Yet.”
2023’s “Blues All Around” can be added to that list, as well, with the band’s most consistent lineup of Kim, bassist Pat DeSalvo, and drummer Garnet Grimm coming together to give the group a send-off worthy of its legacy. It wasn’t easy, but Kim was determined to not let his condition dictate what he could and couldn’t do with his guitar.
Drummer Garnet Grimm spoke with me recently about the album and how being able to collaborate with Kim was an experience that will forever occupy a special place in his heart.
MNOD: Given everything that Kim was going through during the time that this album was recorded, what was the process like?
Grimm: It was very different. We used to do everything live in the studio, but Kim sent us demos that weren’t necessarily 100% finished and then he ultimately decided what he wanted to do. Pat and I would lay tracks down over the demos. I would add percussion later instead of building everything from the ground up. I had some reservations at first, but I’d say that it worked out well and really brought a different perspective.
MNOD: How did you and Kim first come to meet?
Grimm: I met him in 1999 and I’ve know Pat even longer than that. I was aware of him living in the area and a mutual friend introduced us. I knew what he had a lot of success and was pretty well-known. We started rehearsing together and it was just really easy. I think the fact that we were all friends was the key to having success later in our career, because we were always really tight. The amount of time we spent together outside of music definitely helped our working relationship. We would be on the road and always working on new songs at soundcheck. This final lineup was a special group. It felt good to play with them. I would always get an intuition early on if something was going to work out or not and I knew right away that what we had was going to be great. It was always an honor for me to play with him and he was just so creative and prolific.
MNOD: What was his work ethic like near the end?
Grimm: Everything always had a sense of urgency to it. He was one of the most tenacious musicians I’ve ever worked with and I was always stunned at the amount of music he could write. He had 42 albums to his credit, which is a total that not too many of his contemporaries can match. His approach didn’t change at all, because he was always writing and always working on the next album. We all knew that ‘Blues All Around’ might be the last one, so we wanted to make it a pretty darn good product. Another thing about Kim was that he was English, so he had a reserved humility about him that never wavered. He influence everyone he played with, but always stayed current and never focused on the past. He stayed positive right up until the end.
MNOD: How does “Blues All Around” build upon what you guys had done previously?
Grimm: I can definitely chart a growth process since I’ve been a member of the band. 2011’s ‘Voodoo Moon’ was good, but I think I became more confident as time went on. I got more comfortable with bringing ideas to Kim or bringing things up while in the studio. The amount of gigs we played between 2011 and 2019 is what really made us so tight. We pounded the pavement. ‘Witchy Feelin” from 2017 is definitely a standout, as the band was insanely tight and it went to the top of the blues charts. I look at each album we did together as capturing a particular moment in time, but I think this last one will always be special to me given that it’s the last one that Kim was physically here for. It’ll always hold a special place in my memory. The response has been great, as well, with streaming numbers being pretty solid.
MNOD: When did you first know that drumming was what you wanted to do?
Grimm: My father was a local drummer in the Central New York area, so I always had drums around the house. I don’t have a memory of ever not having drums around. I loved The Beatles and blues rock from the ’60s and ’70s. I always had a strong connection to blues artists like John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells. Music is in my DNA and I’ve always taken a multi-pronged approach to my playing. I would start out playing along to commercials on the radio, but I also got a lot out of formal lessons. I would take a little bit from each teacher that I had and then branch out on my own. Not everyone touches the instrument the same way, so I really benefitted from listening and watching players until I found my own approach. My dad never forced me to play a certain style, but he did have plenty of jazz, blues, and R&B around the house. In fact, the A Shuffle beat ended up coming in very handy for what Savoy Brown does.
MNOD: What do you have planned now that the Savoy Brown chapter of your career has come to an end?
Grimm: Pat and I are still playing together with a guitarist named Sean Chambers. When it was decided that Kim would no longer be able to tour, Sean invited us to play and Kim gave us his blessing.
“Blues All Around” is available now wherever music is disseminated, but do us all a favor and pay for a physical copy.
Music N' Other Drugs 
Leave a comment