Silver Apples
Formed in 1967 as an electronic rock duo featuring Dan Taylor on drums and Simeon on a homemade synthesizer consisting of 12 oscillators and an assortment of sound filters, telegraph keys, radio parts, lab gear and a variety of second hand electronic junk, the band quickly gained a reputation as New York's leading underground musical expression.
First full-length album was released in 1968 on KAPP Records. The self titled album rode the Billboard Magazine Top 100 list for 10 weeks.The first cut on this album, Oscillations, was released as a single, and made the Top Ten list in numerous cities. One music critic wrote, "What's so amazing is that they make absolutely mind shattering music with all this junky equipment."
The second full length album was released in 1969, titled CONTACT. A national tour was launched by the band's recording popularity. A third album was recorded in 1970, but not released when KAPP folded.Without a record label the band disbanded, and, except for an occasional bootleg release, was not heard from again until 1994, when a German label named TRC, without license, re-released the first two albums in a double CD version, complete with
poster. Since then numerous artists around the world have released covers, tributes and samplings of Silver Apples material.
In 1996, Simeon re-activated Silver Apples, recording and performing with many musician friends and admirers. Some of the projects included a release of a 7" vinyl on Enraptured Records of London which included on the A side FRACTAL FLOW, the first new song by Silver Apples in 26 years! It has since sold out through three pressings.
January 19, 1997 marked the re-emergence of Silver Apples as a live performance band. Before a celeb-packed audience at the Knitting Factory, this concert was hailed by the press as being better than anyone dreamed possible:
"The Gods of Space Rock re-emerge!" Now Magazine
"A timely return by the late 60's technorock genius Simeon" The Village Voice
"Silver Apples... a beautiful and mysterious artifact." The New York Times
"Simple weird magic. It's pop from outer space." New York Post
"Wielding the handle of a homemade oscillator like a whammy bar, Simeon, the King of Plug, drove his ensemble of brushcut technoids like Mad Max conducting Kraftwerk." Rolling Stone Magazine
A 16,000 mile national tour was booked for that Spring, a 6-week tour of Europe started in the Summer and in the Fall the band played a tour of Japan. In all, Silver Apples played over 100 concerts in 1997 and 1998.
In July of 1997, thirteen songs were recorded with Steve Albini in Chicago and compiled into the band's long-awaited, new CD from Whirlybird Records called BEACON. Released in late '97, BEACON secured world wide distribution and has gotten rave reviews from critics everywhere:
"Given the band's historical role in the development of an entire genre of music, Silver Apples deserves a biography and probably a shrine. In the meantime, this record will do just fine." CMJ New Music Report
"A peculiarly pastoral version of cybernetic music, a hissing machine-in-the-garden driven by Simeon's fey vocals, piping and fluting like an Elizabethan troubadour at the Court of the Crimson King" Spin Magazine
Another new CD, DECATUR, was released in 1998 and represents an entirely different aspect of Silver Apples' interstellar sound. Silver Apples performed at the Terrastock II festival in San Francisco and at the Meltdown festival in London in 1998.
1998 saw Simeon and Peter Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom, of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum) collaborating on a musical collection called A LAKE OF TEARDROPS, which was released in early 1999 on Space Age Recordings (www.spaceagerecordings.com) and distributed worldwide.
1998 also marked the historic reunion between Simeon and original drummer, Danny Taylor. Dubs of the long lost third album THE GARDEN were found undamaged in a cardboard box in Danny's attic. After a delay of almost thirty years, the material was released on Whirlybird Records, the band's label.
1998 also saw the release of BEACON REMIXED, a much acclaimed collection of remix contributions from around the world of the Albini sessions.
Simeon and Danny performed their reunion concerts in the New York area, and it was after one of these, at The Cooler, that their van was forced off the road by another driver, causing the crash that broke Simeon's neck. After over a year and a half of therapy, Simeon is back in action. To see him walk or perform today, you would not be aware that he is still partially paralyzed.
In 1999, Simeon teamed up with British musicians "The Alchemysts" for a CD now out on Woronzow (www.woronzow.co.uk) and Rubric (www.rubricrecords.com) to rave reviews. Simeon also remixed 4 bands, the CD now out on Third Stone Records worldwide (wwww.spaceagerecordings.com).
In January, 2000, Simeon performed at the Knitting Factory/Whitney Museum of American Art's New York Festival of Electronic Music to a packed house. "WOW!" said one music critic. Silver Apples rides again!
On March 10, 2005, original drummer, Danny Taylor, passed away of a heart attack in Kingston, New York. He was 56 years old.
Working as a solo performer, with Danny's drum sounds recreated by electronic means, Simeon has continued the Silver Apples live concerts with performances at 2 ATP Festivals, one in England and one in Australia, the Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland, the Aula Cultura CAM Festival in Spain, the Netmage Festival in Italy, the Aurora Festival in Houston and concerts throughout Europe, America and Japan.
Currently Simeon is still recording and performing as a solo.
