"An old soul in a young man's voice" is the headline on the front page of t… Read Full Bio ↴"An old soul in a young man's voice" is the headline on the front page of the Los Angeles Times Calendar section. The article is about 26 year old Keaton Simons, whose voice is described as having a "lived-in quality that will echo in our minds and hearts for years to come". Keaton's fascination with music surfaced early. Singing since he could talk and picking up Beethoven on the piano by ear while still in preschool, Keaton finally started his lifetime love affair with the guitar at age 12.

As a 17 year old out of high school, Keaton started thinking about college. He decided on The Evergreen State College, located in Olympia, Washington. The area, which has become known as a fertile breeding ground for music and art, proved perfect to set in motion his initiation into the immense world of music. It was there that Keaton started writing songs. He dove in headfirst, taking on courses ranging from 20th century classical composition to Indonesian gamelan music to jazz and quite a lot in between. Keaton's years at Evergreen not only introduced him to diverse global music but also taught him to incorporate everything into his own sensibilities. Major record labels have accused Keaton of being too diverse to contain.

After an early graduation, it was back to Los Angeles, playing music with old friends like Tre Hardson (of The Pharcyde) and new ones like singer N'Dea Davenport (of the Brand New Heavies), Kim Hill (of the Black Eyed Peas), underground hip-hop legend Medusa and appearing on Jay Leno's TONIGHT SHOW with hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg.

Before Keaton was 21 years old he was asked to compose music for the motion picture Mercy Streets. Labels began to investigate and eventually he landed a deal with Maverick Records. Keaton released a five-song EP with Maverick entitled "Currently". The EP displays a taste of bluesy, rootsy, guitar-driven songs & ballads, with stylish arrangements that showcase his rich, often spooky melodies. Indeed, the disc's delicate, down-home title track is in rotation at radio stations around America. Recently reaching ..1 on the charts of Tucson, AZ's KWMT 92.9 The Mountain.

One of the first to play Keaton's music was influential LA public radio station KCRW, which afforded him the opportunity in early 2005 to play the Universal Amphitheatre supporting Coldplay. Keaton's music has also been featured on LA's ..1 mid-day radio show, KLSX 97.1, "Heidi, Frosty and Frank". Here is where leaks have started of some of the tracks on Keaton's album that were produced by well known producing team, The Matrix. The timing for Keaton's meeting (through a mutual friend) with the Matrix really worked for both. Keaton's songs were thought of as being too alternatively structured to be radio friendly, though many agreed there was something there. The Matrix, just off Avril Lavigne's COMPLICATED, were seeking something to ground them, and reveal the soul in their pop music. The team loved every second of working together, and ended up with an album that was completed just in time for the record label to conclude changes that made releasing such a "big album" impossible. Hence, a move to the beautiful freedom and diversity of CD Baby.

Keaton participated in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival as a part of BMI's annual showcase. Sharing the bill with Vanessa Carlton, Minnie Driver, Joe Firstman and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service). Keaton is no stranger to the world of film and television. It's kind of the family business. Keaton's little stepsister, Emma Roberts, costars with JoJo in the just completed AQUAMARINE. Emma has an album coming out, featuring songs from her television series UNFABULOUS. Keaton's sister, Morgan Simons, is a culinary artist who tries to feed actresses healthfully enough such that they will not need to name their babies after food!

Keaton's grandfather, Don Garrett, has been publicist to such world renowned sensations as everything from The Supremes to "The Flintstones". Another of Keaton's grandfathers, screenwriter David Rayfiel, wrote such loved films as "Three Days of the Condor" & "Round Midnight", to name a few. Keaton's grandmother, Lila Garrett (whom Keaton immortalized in the song "Joseph" on which Keaton took the opportunity to play all the instruments including drums, bass, piano, guitar and vocals) has credits and Emmy awards as writer/ producer/ director on pretty much every situation comedy from the 1960s to the 2000s. Keaton and his father, Jimmy Simons, had a chance recently to work together when Keaton appeared on Fox Televisions' MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, which Jimmy produces and sometimes directs. Keaton was cast by his episode's director, Bryan Cranston, who also plays "Hal" on the series. Keaton's mother, Eliza Roberts, has made a name for herself as a Hollywood Jane of all trades. From actress to casting director, manager to writer. In her early 20s she became producer of the pre-MTV phenomenon "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". With baby Keaton in tow, Eliza's show hosted live performances from such acts as Chuck Berry, James Brown, The Brothers Johnson, Donna Summers, Abba, Natalie Cole, and featured early comedy by David Letterman, Andy Kaufman, Michael Keaton and almost Robin Williams - but no one could quite figure out what his act was.

Beyond MALCOLM, like many musicians today, Keaton has crossed over into the world of acting, having performed a heart-stopping rendition of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" on NBC's acclaimed "American Dreams". Keaton will also be seen starring in Henry Jaglom's upcoming feature film, "Hollywood Dreams" (Lots of "dreams" needed to sort through some of the harsh realities of our world these days, it would seem). Keaton's earliest work features his mother, Eliza (Garrett), three months pregnant with him, when she appeared as "Brunella, at the desk" in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE.

Mood Swings
Keaton Simons Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Underneath
there's no relief
from all the pressures
of her self-made
strife
I hear her shuffling her feet
she has the presence of a Poltergeist

on no
don't go
starting from the top again
way high
way low
makes me want to scream
and she doesn't even know
she holds out her hands again
expecting to get things
all for naught
all for naught
she can't have it that way
her mood swings
pretending she has reasons
to please him
cold and hot
cold and hot
you can't treat me that way

never mind about the crime
it's not abuse unless you leave a mark
but in between you make a scene
you keep ‘em comin'
till you break their heart

oh no don't go
starting from the top again
way high
way low
makes me wanna cry
and she doesn't even know
she holds her hands again
expecting to get things
all for naught
all for naught

she can't have it that way
her mood swings
pretending
she has reasons
to please him
cold and hot
cold and hot
you can't treat me
that way
that way…

starting over
starting from the top again
too much on your shoulders
starting from the top again
you go on hiding
while I'm left deciding
way high
way low
you make me want to scream
and you don't even know
she holds out
her hands again
expecting to get things
all for naught
all for naught
she can't have it that way

her mood swings
pretending she has reasons
to please him
cold and hot
cold and hot

you can't treat me that way
that way

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Keaton Simons’s song “Mood Swings” describe the experience of being in a tumultuous and unpredictable relationship with someone who has severe emotional ups and downs. The singer in the song is trying to navigate the extreme mood swings of his partner, who creates problems and then expects him to solve them. He describes the pressure and stress of constantly having to deal with her problems, and how she creates a chaotic atmosphere that feels like the presence of a poltergeist.

The song explores the idea that the woman is trying to please her partner but is doing so in a manipulative way, pretending to have reasons for her behavior when really she is just being erratic and unpredictable. The chorus repeats the refrain, “her mood swings”, emphasizing the woman’s inability to maintain a steady emotional state. The song acknowledges the difficulty of dealing with this type of dynamic, where the partner is constantly starting from the top again and causing frustration and sadness.

Line by Line Meaning

Underneath
Beneath her surface demeanor

there's no relief
She can't find any peace

from all the pressures
due to the stresses and demands

of her self-made strife
that she has created herself

I hear her shuffling her feet
I notice her agitation

she has the presence of a Poltergeist
her restless energy is like a supernatural entity

on no
Oh, no

don't go
Don't start

starting from the top again
Restarting from the beginning

way high
Very high

way low
Very low