Simon Apple
Encyclopedia
Simon Apple are an American progressive rock band based in Philadelphia, (Pennsylvania, USA).
playing music of Genesis
, Rush
, ELO
, Supertramp
, Steely Dan
, Pink Floyd
, Kansas
, Billy Joel
, Elton John
, Marillion
, Level 42
, Earth Wind & Fire, Bruce Hornsby
, Toto
, etc. The band became very popular in the regional area (Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland). The original line-up included Jeff Miller (keyboards), Buzz Saylor (drums), Mark Ludwig (guitar), Kurt Manderbach (bass), Brad Weisman (vocals). The band also incorporated a 3-piece horn section on select gigs (Dave Miller - sax, Harry Stevenson - trumpet, Lou Zanine - trombone). The band later went through a few personnel changes that included Alisa Anderson (vocals), Warren Daugherty (bass) replacing Weisman & Manderbach. At the time, the horn section was dropped, but Dave Miller remained on sax as a feature on many Pink Floyd and Supertramp songs.
In early 1998 Simon Apple independently released their first single It's Over, taken from their debut CD "From The Toybox". By April "It's Over" had climbed to #21 nationally on the Adult Contemporary Gavin Radio Airplay Chart. By late summer their second single "A Boy Like Me" broke into the Adult Contemporary Gavin Top 30 again, reaching #29. A third seasonal single "Scenes of December" also received national airplay and reached #43.
The 2004 album release, "River To The Sea", featured several Grammy-winning and multi-platinum guest artists including bassist Tony Levin
(Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, John Lennon, Pink Floyd), guitarist Buck Dharma
(Blue Öyster Cult), saxophonist John Helliwell
(Supertramp), cellist Hugh McDowell
(Electric Light Orchestra), bassist Steve Rodby
(Pat Metheny Group) and trumpeter Dave Stahl (Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick, Jr.).
In December 2005 the first single from "River To The Sea", "Hold Me (Like A Lover)", cracked the U.S. Adult Contemporary Top 10 FMQB radio chart - giving the band their first U.S. Top 10.
The band remains a 3-piece with the live additions of Pizzuto on bass, and Dave Miller on saxes.
Early Years
The band was formed in late 1987 in the Reading, PA area (outside of Philadelphia) as a cover bandCover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
playing music of Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, ELO
ELO
- Music :* Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group** The Electric Light Orchestra , the group's debut album** ELO 2, the group's second album* ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light Orchestra- Sports and games :...
, Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
, Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
, Earth Wind & Fire, Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
, Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
, etc. The band became very popular in the regional area (Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland). The original line-up included Jeff Miller (keyboards), Buzz Saylor (drums), Mark Ludwig (guitar), Kurt Manderbach (bass), Brad Weisman (vocals). The band also incorporated a 3-piece horn section on select gigs (Dave Miller - sax, Harry Stevenson - trumpet, Lou Zanine - trombone). The band later went through a few personnel changes that included Alisa Anderson (vocals), Warren Daugherty (bass) replacing Weisman & Manderbach. At the time, the horn section was dropped, but Dave Miller remained on sax as a feature on many Pink Floyd and Supertramp songs.
1992-1995
Saylor and Miller decided to stop performing as a cover band and pursue their own songs, with the intentions of writing material that combined their favourite elements of pop, progressive rock, and jazz, coupled with positive, hopeful, thought-provoking, even sometimes humorous messages. The band invited guitarist Eric Beebe to join. The band became a 3-piece, with additional players live, adding Stefon Pizzuto on bass, and Kevin Checket on drums. Saylor became the lead vocalist at this time.1996-1999
John Feldman took over as lead vocalist and live guitarist. Jeff Miller performed guitar in addition to keyboards in studio on "From The Toybox". Saylor went back to the drum seat. Beebe & Checket had departed. Pizzuto remained in the live band.In early 1998 Simon Apple independently released their first single It's Over, taken from their debut CD "From The Toybox". By April "It's Over" had climbed to #21 nationally on the Adult Contemporary Gavin Radio Airplay Chart. By late summer their second single "A Boy Like Me" broke into the Adult Contemporary Gavin Top 30 again, reaching #29. A third seasonal single "Scenes of December" also received national airplay and reached #43.
2000-2007
Feldman left the band due to family commitments. After auditioning over 800 singers worldwide, Miller & Saylor invited Dan Merrill from Portland, Maine, to join the band. Writing and production then began on what would become "River To The Sea".The 2004 album release, "River To The Sea", featured several Grammy-winning and multi-platinum guest artists including bassist Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
(Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, John Lennon, Pink Floyd), guitarist Buck Dharma
Buck Dharma
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967...
(Blue Öyster Cult), saxophonist John Helliwell
John Helliwell
John Helliwell is an English musician and the saxophonist and occasional keyboardist and woodwind player for the rock band Supertramp...
(Supertramp), cellist Hugh McDowell
Hugh McDowell
Hugh McDowell is an English cellist best known for his membership in Electric Light Orchestra and related acts.-Career:...
(Electric Light Orchestra), bassist Steve Rodby
Steve Rodby
Steve Rodby is an American bassist.He joined the Pat Metheny Group in 1981. Prior to joining Metheny, he was a member of the Simon-Bard Group and the Fred Simon ensemble. Rodby continues to collaborate with Simon .Rodby studied bass at Northwestern University, a student of Warren Benfield of the...
(Pat Metheny Group) and trumpeter Dave Stahl (Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick, Jr.).
In December 2005 the first single from "River To The Sea", "Hold Me (Like A Lover)", cracked the U.S. Adult Contemporary Top 10 FMQB radio chart - giving the band their first U.S. Top 10.
The band remains a 3-piece with the live additions of Pizzuto on bass, and Dave Miller on saxes.
2008–Present
In 2007, Saylor was diagnosed with cancer (currently in remission). The band decided to take an extended hiatus to let Saylor heal, and also to pursue various other musical projects individually. Writing has started for their next album, but no time-frame for completion or release.Previous
- John Feldman: Lead Vocals
- Alisa Anderson: Lead Vocals
- Kurt Manderbach: Vocals and Bass
- Mark Ludwig: Guitar
- Brad Weisman: Lead Vocals
- Warren Daugherty: Bass
Albums
- From The Toybox (1998)
- Apples to Apples, Dust to Dust...Archives (2000)
- River to the Sea (2004)
- River to the Sea Bonus Tracks 2 CD Set (2004)
- Apples to Apples, Dust to Dust...Archives (Remastered 2005)
- River to the Sea (2004)
- Official Bootleg 1 (2005)
- Official Bootleg 2 (2005)
Influences
- The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
- Blue Öyster CultBlue Öyster CultBlue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
- Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
- Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
- Kevin GilbertKevin GilbertKevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...
- Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
- John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
- David MeadDavid MeadDavid Worth Mead is a Nashville-based pop singer-songwriter, best known for his soaring vocals and such albums as Indiana and Almost and Always...
- Pat Metheny GroupPat Metheny GroupThe Pat Metheny Group is a jazz group founded in 1977. The core members of the group are guitarist and bandleader Pat Metheny, composer, keyboardist and pianist Lyle Mays , and bassist and producer Steve Rodby...
- Sting
- SupertrampSupertrampSupertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
- James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
- YesYes (band)Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...