The Apples in Stereo
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For the indie-dance band of the early 1990s see The Apples (group)
The Apples in Stereo is an indie rock band associated with the innovative Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, Secret Square and Olivia Tremor Control. They currently include members Eric Allen (bass), John Hill (rhythm guitar) and Hilarie Sidney (drums, vocals) while lead singer/guitarist Robert Schneider writes the most of the band's music and lyrics. Their debut release was 1995's Fun Trick Noisemaker (with Jim McIntyre on bass).
They are best known for their bright, catchy lyrics and 60s pop/rock sound that often provokes comparisons to The Beatles.
Their major influences include The Velvet Underground and The Beach Boys.
Band history
Origin
Robert Schneider had met Jim McIntyre on a bus to Denver, Colorado. They later became friends when Schneider asked McIntyre what his favorite band was, to which he replied "The Beach Boys" (a band Schneider was a fond fan of). Realizing that they shared many musical interests, McIntyre would introduce Schneider to John Hill and Hilarie Sidney (who was his roomate at the time). Schneider would introduce McIntyre to friends Will Cullen Hart and Jeff Mangum, who would later go on to create the Elephant 6 Recording Company.McIntyre and Sidney were already part of the band Von Hemmling with McIntyre on bass and Sidney on drums, along with other members. With Schneider, they discussed the idea of starting a band and even a recording label. The first incarnation of The Apples in Stereo formed at this time as The Apples, featuring Schneider providing guitar and vocals, Sidney on drums, McIntyre on bass and Chris Parfitt contributing guitar. Many early recordings followed.
Parfitt would soon leave the band as well as McIntyre. In an interview for Optical Atlas [link], McIntyre stated many reasons why he left. His emotional insecurity would eventually lead his fellow members to hesitate going on tour with him ("People used to be freaked out about my temper and walked on a few proverbial eggshells around me.") The stress of the band's change in direction was also a factor. After Parfitt left, the band was less focused as a four-piece rock outfit and became more of a visionary project of Schneider's. Eventually, in addition to these factors, a love triangle prompted him to leave. The band's name thus changed from The Apples to The Apples in Stereo.
Not regretting the situation, McIntyre states that the change was warranted to prepare for the future. "Everything worked out for the best because the breakup set the stage for the future. I got to spend my time on my music, we collaborated on the studio and Robert was able to reach his potential as band leader."
Though McIntyre left the band before Fun Trick Noisemaker was released, he wrote and co-wrote a few Apples singles that can be found on the compilation Science Faire. McIntyre would release two EPs, Von Hemmling and J.W. Kellogg EP, under the Von Hemmling monicker.
Recent history
Though the band is popular with fans of independent music, they haven't had much commercial success. Struggling with money issues, the band members looked towards alternative ways of breaking even. In 1999, after the release of Her Wallpaper Reverie, The Apples in Stereo became one of many artists early on to gain revenue from allowing their songs to be used in television advertisements after licensing "Strawberryfire" to a Sony ad. They were soon after interviewed by The New York Times [link]. Most recently, The Apples song "The Rainbow" has been used in a television advertisement for Hewlett-Packard for their digital photography campaign (famous for using the songs such as "Picture Book" by The Kinks and "Pictures of You" by The Cure).In 2004, Robert Schneider and Hilarie Sidney, who had been married, briefly took time off from The Apples in Stereo to pursue other projects. Schneider would create the album 010 by his newly created band Ulysses while Sidney would sing lead vocals and play guitar for The High Water Marks. The High Water Marks released their album Songs About the Ocean with 010 on Eenie Meenie Records. It was during this time it had been revealed that Schneider and Sidney had been divorced.
In 2005, Schneider began touring to promote his second album release for the solo project Marbles.
News of the divorce upset fans who began to worry that The Apples in Stereo had broken up. A number of factors assured that this was not the case. A new Apples song covering Bruce Haack's "Liza Jane" appeared on the internet (recorded for Dimension Mix on Eenie Meenie Records). Word of a new album also spread, which has yet to be released. In addition to this, The Apples almost immediately began touring together after the 2005 Marbles tour ended. Their shows currently feature all new songs in addition to old fan favorites.
New Magnetic Wonder
The new album is being produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Evan Dando) and was recorded in Brooklyn, New York at Trout Studios. As of October 2005, The Apples have finished recording 15 basic tracks. In November, the band returned to finish overdubs and general recordings.
In early 2006, the title of the album has emerged as New Magnetic Wonder.
The band hopes to release New Magnetic Wonder sometime within the first half of 2007. After finishing a ten year deal with spinART, who have released most of The Apples in Stereo LPs, the band has decided to begin discussions with "a well-known independent record label" who will release New Magnetic Wonder.
Discography
Albums- Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)
- Tone Soul Evolution (1997)
- Her Wallpaper Reverie (1999)
- The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone (2000)
- Velocity of Sound (2002)
- New Magnetic Wonder (2007) (future release)
- Apples (1993)
- Hypnotic Suggestion (1994)
- Look Away (2000)
- Everybody Let Up (2000)
- The Bird That You Can't See (2001)
- Let's Go! (2001)
- Science Faire (1996)
- Sound Effects (2001)
- Man You Gotta Get Up (????) 7" single
- Please (????) Promo CD single
- On Your Own (????) Promo CD single
- "Onto Something", split single with Sportsguitar, (1996)
- "Liza Jane", Dimension Mix (2005)
- "Avril En Mai", Pop Romantique (????)
Trivia
- The name for the band originated when Robert Schneider and Will Cullen Hart were driving around and listening to Pink Floyd songs. Schneider was trying to think of a good name for a band when the song "Apples and Oranges" was playing. He eventually grew fond of the band name "The Apples". He would later muse in an interview [link] that he would later add "in Stereo" simply because it sounded "more psychedelic".
External links
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