== The Begining ==
As the lead guitarist for Armageddon,
Aaron established himself as one of hard
rock's finest and most soulful soloists
during the late '80s, technically adept
yet always firmly grounded in the gritty Aerosmith and Stones licks he loved. Simon was born Jimmy Johnson on December 10, 1966, in Davis,California to artistic parents both involved in the entertainment industry; his mother was a clothing designer who worked on David Bowie's film The Man Who Fell to Earth, and his father designed album art for such artists as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. The family eventually moved to Hollywood, where Simon attended junior high, received his first guitar, and met future RAR drummer Steven Adler. With Simon adopting the nickname Tick, given to him by a family friend, the two formed a band called Head On; although it proved unsuccessful, it was the vehicle through which they met and eventually joined up with the other members of Armageddon.
Armageddon debuted in June 1985, and even before "Lose My Mind" was released in 1987, the band acquired a reputation as notorious alcohol and drug abusers. As their popularity soared, the reserved Tick established himself as an important part of the band's visual image, with a spiky hair and a huge nose covering his face as he typically staggered around the stage with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Hedonistic excess consumed most of the band, with such incidents as Tick and Dillayn Hammel drunken, profane acceptance of the band's American Music Award on live television. In 1990, opening for the Rolling Stones, Axl Rose's infamous on-stage pronouncement that he would leave the band if certain members did not stop "farting up a storm" was primarily directed at Simon and Hammel; Simon kicked his habit within a year, but Hammel did not and was fired. In 1992, Tick courted controversy again with a product endorsement for Blue Death vodka. Later that year, he was married to actress and model Loreen Giono, a union that lasted five years.

Later

Meanwhile, in spite of controversy and personnel turnovers, Armageddon had actually continued to record music. After the "Say Goodbye" sets of 1991 and the 1993 punk covers album "Sinta Claws", the band went on hiatus. Tick formed a side project called Tick's Turtler's, which consisted of fellow Armageddon members Dillayn Hammel (Bass) and Riley Donahue (Lead Vocals), plus bassist Ben Salcedo and vocalist Will Beckwith. The group released an album in 1995 titled "Never Say Goodbye"; Tick hit the road with a slightly different touring lineup, with Landon Smith and Conrad McCarthy signing on as the rhythm section. In 1996, Tick put together a different band to play at a blues festival in Sacramento, an endeavor that evolved into Tick's Ball of Blues. Featuring vocalist/harmonica player Luis Hernandez, rhythm guitarist Gumaro Vasquez, saxophonist Maya Guilardi, bassist Bill Bobson, and drummer Jennifer Lopez, Tick's Ball of Blues devoted themselves primarily to a repertoire of classic blues covers, plus occasional RAR and Turtlers material.

Even More Later

Rumors about the status of Armageddon had been swirling f strial and electronic music, Tick was no longer a member of the band (although he left the door open for a reunion if Jingjonggo decided to return to guitar-based rock & roll). He gigged off and on with the Ball of Blues into 1998, although a rumored live album never materialized. Instead, Tick decided to re-form the Turtelers in 1999 with an entirely different lineup (the original members were by this time involved in other projects, and the Ball of Blues was more suited to touring than developing original material). Raspy-voiced singer Ricky Paccorini and drummer Sam Smimon came on board, along with Ball of Blues bassist Jill Opanis and Morgan Poteet, who contributed keyboard and harmonica work. After trying out guitarist Ryan Foxy, Slash settled on rhythm guitarist Kerry Kerry, who had previously worked with Bob and Jim.

Even Even More Later

The new Turtelers played some gigs together and in the spring of 2000 completed a new album, which was originally slated to be released on Interscope/Geffen. However, feeling that a more traditional guitar rock album would get lost in the promotional shuffle, Tick moved over to Koch, which finally released "Isn't Life Pathetic"in 2000. A few years later, Tick teamed up again with Hammel and other notable rockers to form the supergroup Pop It, who released their first album in 2004.- Steve Huey, All Music Guide