Simon Apple is an American progressive rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
History
Early years
The band was formed in late 1987 in the Reading, Pennsylvania area (outside of Philadelphia) as a
cover band
A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...
playing music of
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
,
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
,
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...
,
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending ...
,
Steely Dan,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
,
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the " Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mos ...
,
Level 42
Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...
,
Earth Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...
,
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical trad ...
,
Toto
Toto may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets
* Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''
* Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns''
Characters of agency
* a ...
, etc. 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. 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 Feldmann 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 and 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''.
2000–2007
Feldmann left the band due to family commitments. Miller and 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
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
-winning and multi-platinum guest artists, including Buck Dharma of Blue Öyster Cult, John Helliwell of Supertramp, Steve Rodby of the Pat Metheny Group, Hugh McDowell of Electric Light Orchestra, Tony Levin of King Crimson, Peter Gabriel.
The first single released from "River to the Sea" was "Hold Me
ike A Lover, which peaked at #10 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary FMBQ radio chart.≈≈≈≈
Discography
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)
* ''Official Bootleg 3'' (2013)
EPs
* ''Spot the Looney'' (1988)
* ''Simon Apple'' (1993)
Member solo albums
Dan Merrill
* ''Revolution'' (1996)
* ''Tomorrow to Yesterday'' (2008)
External links
*{{official website, http://www.simonapple.com/
Interview with Jeff Miller
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Progressive rock musical groups from Pennsylvania