It all began when Simeon’s vocalist, guitarist and pianist Aaron Brooks split from former pop-punk band Trendy in late 2007. The departure marked a change in the musician’s tastes and ultimately led him to the other members to create the psychedelic, cello-infused stylings of Simeon. “I think it was just a matter of the right timing, like everybody having everything together at the right time,” Aaron says.  “The stars aligning, as they say.” Now that the band has everything together, touring isn’t even an option. “We figured out that the best way we can get our music out on grassroots level is to play as many cities as possible,” say Jim Garibaldi, the band’s bassist.  “We have fan bases in all these cities, too,” Aaron adds.  “The reason we have fan bases is because we’ve been going there frequently and playing. That’s the only way, like Jim said, on this grassroots level that we’re going to be able to expand our fan base on a regional or national level.  Or on an international level, for that matter.” Aaron is referring to show they’re playing in Germany in April – a tour that pretty much fell into their laps. “We were playing at Arlene’s Grocery in New York City and our guitar technician, Ryan Lubin, convinced this German couple to stay for our set,” Jim says. “They came up to us and said how much they loved it. Then they rerouted their flight so they could come to our show the next day. After that they said ‘You’ve gotta come to Germany. ’” Aside from making up one-half of that couple, Bernd Buchberger also plays bass in the German band Der König und sein Offizier and submitted Simeon Soul Charger’s press kit to German clubs. This ultimately led to the band landing a gig at the Uferlos Festival and even headlining the event’s opening night.  “I guess it was just the right place at the right time,” Jim says. Aside from touring overseas, the band will be hitting US cities in April. The tour includes an EP release show at the Kent Stage April 17. Of the EP, Jim says, “It’s new and it’s evolved. It’s extra psychedelic. It’s just awesome.” He said one of the things that allowed the group to push its boundaries was recording with Rick for the first time.  “He pushes everybody else to get better because he is a ridiculously amazing guitar player. So it’s much more riff-heavy; there are a lot of harmonic guitar riffs.” “If you liked our first EP and you’ve seen us live, it’s not so different.  You’re going to be thinking it’s a different band,” he explains. “It’s just that we’re experiencing new realms.” And of course, the band has more in store.  “By the time we get back from Germany and we’ve done a support tour for this new EP, our immediate goal will be to start working on our full length album,” Aaron says. That’s just the starting point, really.  “I feel accomplished as far as things we’re doing now,” drummer Joe Kidd says. “But I’m also hungry.” Aaron agrees, saying, “Nine times out of ten we’re so busy in the cycle of things and keeping up with what we’re doing that there hasn’t been a great deal of time to sit back and reflect upon it. We’re just kind of seeing what happens next. But there’s definitely a universal hunger from all of us. We want to continue climbing up the ladder.”