Todd Simko - R.I.P.

Sad news: Todd Simko, guitarist for the Vancouver band Pure, has passed away.

I first heard the band Pure when I was still living in New Brunswick and planning to move to Vancouver. The video for the song "Blast" was getting airplay on MuchMusic's alternative programming, and I distinctly remember driving in my car back home listening to "Blast" and imagining the new life that awaited me on the West Coast. I was moving here to pursue a career in the film industry, and in the same way that The X-Files represented the career I envisioned for myself, Pure came to represent my dreams of the nightlife in a big city full of cool bands and live shows.

   

Pure were just reaching the peak of their popularity when I arrived in Vancouver, and they were the only band I managed to catch at the legendary Town Pump before it closed down. When their album "Generation Six-Pack" was released it received major airplay on the local rock station CFOX, and Pure were as big as any band of that era to me. When I think of 90s music I still think of Pure long before I think of Nirvana.

   

Todd Simko's monster guitar sound was a major reason why I loved the band, and I never really understood why they didn't make it big. One thing I've always said about Pure is that if you take their three best singles, Blast, Anna Is A Speed Freak, and Denial, they're as good as any three singles from any 90s alt-rock band.

   

The news of Todd Simko's death would have made me sad at any time, but I think it's affecting me even more because I heard about it the day before my 40th birthday. I've spent a lot of time these past few weeks thinking about mortality, my lost youth, and wasted opportunities, and Todd Simko's death resonates with everything I've been feeling lately. Todd Simko was never more than a sound in my headphones and a name in the liner notes, but he represented so much more.

Every time a Pure song came up on my iPod or I caught a glimpse of one of their CDs in my collection, I would always think the same thing: these guys should have been huge. I always root for the underdog, and with Dynamic Range Radio I always try to promote artists I believe to be underrated or unappreciated, just like Pure. Why? Probably because I feel underrated and unappreciated myself. I can relate to the Todd Simkos of the world more than the Chad Kroegers or Scott Weilands.

 

At the end of the day, and the end of his life, all I really know about Todd Simko is that his guitar work and his band meant a lot more to me than a lot of better known artists that made a lot more money. I hope he was satisfied with what he's achieved in life and that he died without too many regrets. And I know that as long as Dynamic Range Radio exists, Todd Simko's guitar will still be reaching people who might not have heard it otherwise.