Posted: December 30, 2012 in Uncategorized
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 8 years to get that many views.
CD review in the Province
Posted: December 27, 2012 in 21st Century, New CD, Rock n Roll
An actual review of "Hard Core Apple" in our morning newspaper, The Province. The original article appeared there on December 11, 2012, and can now be seen on the Internet HERE. This review was written by Tom Harrison, who wrote about us in the same paper back in 1979. Looks like we STILL can't be taken seriously, but then we've always been serious about not being taken seriously!
Screen capture of Province blog, featuring a review of "Hard Core Apple"!
We made it through another one!
Happy Bandcampers!
Posted: December 12, 2012 in 21st Century, New CD
We now have a new location at Bandcamp! Yes, you can still buy Sparkling Apple CDs at CD Baby and CD Universe, and now you have yet another online source for our music: the one & only Bandcamp. Not only does Bandcamp offer digital downloads, but physical CDs are available as well, for those of you into an ancient frisbee-friendly musical format that's soon to be as relevant as 8-tracks. Unlike CD Baby, real, honest-to-god Sparkling Apple compact discs are shipped directly from our warehouse in beautiful downtown Surrey, BC. Shipping and tax are automatically calculated depending on your geographical location, and we will ship anywhere on the planet (intergalactic orders are being considered as we speak). What are you waiting for?
In the words of Andrew Dubber: "Music is pretty much unique when it comes to media consumption. You don't buy a movie ticket because you liked the film so much, and while you might buy a book because you enjoyed reading it so much at the library, typically you'll purchase first, then consume…But music is different — and radio proves that. By far the most reliable way to promote music is to have people hear it. Repeatedly, if possible — and for free. After a while, if you're lucky, people get to know and love the music. Sooner or later, they're going to want to own it…whether it's a pop tune, a heavily political punk album, or an experimental, avant-garde suite — the key is very simple: people have to hear music, then they will grow to like it, and then finally, if you're lucky, they will engage in an economic relationship in order to consume (not just buy and listen to) that music. That's the order it has to happen in. It can't happen in any other order. There's no point in hoping that people will buy the music, then hear it, then like it. They just won't. Nobody really wants to buy a piece of music they don't know — let alone one they haven't heard. Especially if it's by someone who lies outside their usual frame of reference. And a 30-second sample is a waste of your time and bandwidth. It's worse than useless. That's not enough to get to like your music. Let them hear it, keep it, live with it. And then bring them back as a fan."
Click on the Bandcamp button below to access our merch site!
Posted: December 4, 2012 in 21st Century, Gigs, Rock n Roll
Captain Maniac and Art the Fart the Heavy Metal Kid at Donegal's Pub
We've been bulldozing you with posters over the last month, but we can finally & gratefully say that the Double Header show has been completed and was a resounding success (as we well knew it would be). Thanks so much to The Apple Corps, our friends & followers who have faithfully supported us along this long, strange trip (40 years at last count), who partied hearty with us at the Double Header at Donegal's Pub on Saturday, December 1st, 2012! It was a monumental gig like no other, and we can't thank you enough for being a part of our wild & crazy lives. This event was a reunion of sorts, as we hadn't played a gig with Buzz Constantly in over 30 years!
– House Party, who severely rocked the joint as our "Spatial Guests"
– The tireless staff at Donegal's for enduring the jubilant madness which often accompanies us
– Petra Hoffman and her staff of 50/50 volunteers
– Buzz Constantly, who travelled all the way from Victoria to join us onstage, and was once again The Life of the Potty!
and countless others too numerous to mention. We couldn't have done it without you.
As those of you who attended can confirm, we pre-sold tickets ahead of time – but rather than print out tickets, we chose to use wristbands which could be easily identified by door staff on the night of the event. Our ticket sales were brisk leading up to December 1st, but nothing compared to the evening of the show. At 7 pm there was a lineup at the door of dyed-in-the-wool followers who had procrastinated long enough and were eager to kick some major butt!
Joe Staples and his loyal bandidos "House Party" were co-billed with us, so as a result we presented alternating segments over the course of the evening. House Party opened, Sparkling Apple played the second set, and the whole process repeated itself for the 3rd and 4th sets. We opted for basically the same choice of songs as the ones we performed at the CD Release Party in July, so our set was top-heavy with rock n roll chestnuts like Born to Be Wild>;Magic Carpet Ride, Shakin All Over>;Gloria and other Drinkin' Tunes. As Christmas is fast approaching, Kevin sang Chuck Berry's Run Run Rudolph, and Jumbo (I'm sorry, I mean JIMBO) made an unscheduled appearance staggering through Roadhouse Blues ("I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer"), with the inimitable Dave Fauteux on drums.
Kevin in a "zen moment"!
We were joined in the last set by certifiably unhinged Sparkling Apple alumnus (and composer of "It's Criminal") Buzz Constantly, who sang Da Blooze for all and sundry. Despite limited rehearsal time , we were still up to the task of boogie-ing 'til the cows come home. Buzz sang lead vocals on Too Rolling Stoned/Rock Me Baby, Never Gonna Kiss You Bye Bye, and of course It's Criminal, as well as his trademark, the BBM tune High Price of Love. As an added bonus, the Big Mama Thornton version of Hound Dog was unearthed!
Buzz Constantly (real name Ric Whitman)
House Party, as mentioned, did an exemplary job of rocking the house with their arsenal of Classic Rock favourites (did somebody mention The Beatles?), and turned out to be a welcome addition to the party at hand! In today's vernacular, "they rocked"!
Captain Maniac and Art share a joke
Now THIS is rock and roll!
Captain Maniac in stick-twirling mode
Sparkling Apple
The high price of love!
Too Rolling Stoned
Run Run Rudolph
Rockin is my business
Play that funky music. White boy.
Let's do this again some time! All photos by Lisa Freakrock.