Alternative Music, playing the organ at church, composing, publishing and religious music.
DM) Where does the name Simon Apple come from?
JM) Simon Apple is a fictitious name that Buzz came up with.
He wrote a short story years ago called "The Legend Of Simon
Apple"...just for fun - it was never published. If I remember
correctly, Simon Apple was this spirited older gentleman who
was in need of a loan. He went from bank to bank but was turned
down by all of them. Out of frustration, he threatened to start
his own loan company, offering much lower interest rates. He
did so, & in a short period of time became quite successful
by stealing away many of the customers from those banks in the
process. The name of the band really has nothing to do with that
story. It's just a fictitious name that doesn't mean anything.
Sort of like Pink Floyd or Steely Dan...no one in the band is
named Simon!
DM) Where was your first gig?
JM) We started out as a cover band in the late 80's. Although
the faces have changed since then. Only Buzz & I remain from
that line-up. But the first gig was in Reading, PA. at a place
called The Silo. It's a pretty big room. It can hold maybe 1000
people. We were able to get in that room out of the gate because
Buzz was in a successful cover band before that... which he left
obviously. I believe the week after that, we played the same
room opening for Bachman Turner Overdrive. So that wasn't bad
for a first week....then it was all downhill from there! No,
seriously, we actually did really well as predominantly a cover
band. But that only goes so far and wears thin musically &
creatively after awhile. That all seems like a lifetime ago!
DM) What were some of the covers?
JM) We played stuff that not too many other bands covered...
considering that the late 80's & maybe into '90, most bands
were still doing the hard rock/pop/pretty boy thing...we were
doing Pink Floyd, Genesis, Supertramp, Kansas, Billy Joel, Rush,
Elton John, Steely Dan, Queen, etc... On some gigs, we also had
a horn section and included stuff like Earth Wind & Fire,
Phil Collins, Paul Simon, Level 42, Howard Jones, etc... Naturally,
we were told from the start that our set-list would never fly
in clubs. But before too long, we were actually one of the biggest
drawing bands around.
DM) Did you prefer any aspects of that period?
JM) For a little while, doing that type of gig is fun...especially
when you're playing covers that you genuinely like and people
are filling the rooms to see you. Certain songs in particular
were fun to play. Like First/Second Home By The Sea by Genesis...Shine
On You Crazy Diamond and Us & Them by Floyd...Scenes From
An Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel... Funeral For A Friend by
Elton John. But when you're a writer, even the coolest cover
songs get old fairly quickly. Buzz & I were already writing
together very early on simply because we had a lot in common
musically. We had similar musical tastes and more or less envisioned
the music the same way. We only performed maybe 5-7 original
songs with the band during that time. We all wanted to become
more of an original band, but the chemistry of the band wasn't
right. There were too many stylistic differences.
DM) Was music your first love or did you have another career?
JM) Yes, for the most part music was my first love. That is,
when I realized in 5th or 6th grade, I probably wasn't going
to make it as a professional baseball, basketball, hockey or
football player! I started taking piano lessons at age 5. But
I didn't really love music until about 11 or 12...when I started
to listen to rock music. At that time, I was turned on to ELO...and
I loved them! Still do actually! That's when I was "bit
by the bug"....I wanted to be Jeff Lynne! So it was at that
time, that I started to take it pretty seriously, and began writing
music.
DM) Does your piano teacher know about your new career?
JM) Absolutely! (Although this isn't so much my new career
as it's been the ONLY career I've ever had!). My piano teacher
was the organist at our church. I still belong to the same church,
so I see her very regularly. I still play at the church a few
times a year also. Plus, playing in church my whole life, and
being exposed to that music, led me to write some sacred choral
pieces for adult and children's choirs. So far I've had 7 of
them published, which have sold 25-30,000 copies. It's a nice
escape compositionally, and I try to write them when I can find
the time.
DM) Now you've inspired me with even more questions! Most
people are familiar with how record albums are sold and distributed,
but how are compositions sold/distributed?
JM) Since this is print music, first the song has to be accepted
for publication. So the first step is to send the manuscript
to one publisher at a time. I was rejected quite a few times
initially. It took me about a year until I finally had one of
my songs accepted for publication. I have six songs published
by Abingdon Press from Nashville, and one published by Choristers
Guild which is a large publisher of children's choral music.
The city they are based escapes me, but it is in Texas. After
the chief editor makes editorial suggestions, if any...it goes
to print. I'm not 100% sure of the distribution end, but there
are music distributors that they go through nationwide that deal
with print music. They might also distribute themselves in conjunction.
But in either case, church music/choral directors nationwide,
are usually sent samples, sometimes with cassette demos, that
feature the new "catalog". Then the order is placed
with the distributor or the publisher. From the composers' point
of view...after the song is accepted, the rest of the work is
basically handled by the publisher... so it's pretty painless!
Unlike the recording industry where it's hard to get great distribution
& promotion unless you're signed to a major label!
DM) What do you play at the church?
JM) Instrument? Piano. I played the 4 manual pipe organ for
about a year or two when I was a teenager. It's pretty cool,
but I just never had the ambition to keep up with it. It's easy
for a piano player to switch to organ...but not vice-versa. If
you're referring to what music I play...I fill in for services
when the organist is on vacation, and also usually play "special"
services like Christmas, Easter, etc.. When I fill in, I usually
get to play a song by myself, and I usually take hymns and improvise
around them...which is actually quite fun...putting a "jazz"
spin on them. This is all pretty night & day from the band...so
how did we get on this anyway?! (laughing).
