Simon Katz performing on stage with Gorillaz in 2001 at La Cigale in Paris.
Simon Katz is an English musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the first guitarist of the Gorillaz Live Band.
Role in Gorillaz[]
Simon Katz became the guitarist for Gorillaz Live Band in 2001. He performed on Gorillaz LIVE and all other live shows from 2001 to 2002.
Katz also contributed additional guitar and organs to the tracks P45 and Lil' Dub Chefin' from Spacemonkeyz' remix album Laika Come Home.
Musical Career[]
Simon Katz joined the band Jamiroquai in 1995. Katz was a recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocal for Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" in 1997, and the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection with Jamiroquai in 1999. Katz left the band in 2000. In 2001 he joined Gorillaz on their series live performances and Tour. From 2002 to 2003, Katz served as musical director for Ms. Dynamite. In this time, he also helped perform Mali Music live alongside other fellow musicians Cass Browne, Mike Smith, and Roberto Occhipinti.[1] 2010, Katz co-wrote the ballad "Be Good to Me" for Sia's fifth studio album, We Are Born.
Katz occasionally works in film. Most notable examples include the 2002 film City of God, the 2006 documentary ...More Than 1000 Words and the 2008 film Ball Don't Lie.
Trivia[]
- Darren Galea, Katz's bandmate from Jamiroquai was also a member of Gorillaz Live Band at the time - more notably he is part of the Spacemonkeyz crew.