The 4 members who were consistent throughout were Mike Bartalos, Sean Fallon, Evan Zilko, and myself. We were accompanied by many others at various times and for varying periods of time. There were siblings, there were friends, and there were strangers. There were guest guitar players, drummers, brass and woodwinds, and two female vocalists, one Irish and one Japanese. The Irish one sang in Gaelic and the Japanese one sang in English (I think). Her vocal cords were tuned by Merzbow.
We had memorable gigs at CBGB's, at Downtown Beirut, and at Lismar Lounge. Audience members and members of other bands would often join the on-stage antics. Gigs did not unfold without controversy, our Easter Sacrifice Show being a prime example. We tended to gig around holidays, as it seemed easier to get venues on those nights. I don't think we ever received any complaints about our Columbus Day shows. Go figure.
The peak of our success was not in the studio or on stage at one of our gigs, but rather in the widespread appeal of the Happy Apple tee shirt. Printed in two runs, one by hand using nipple-sanding enamel inks, and the other professionally silk-screened, it's sinister, yet friendly face made it's way from sea to shining sea, across the chests of it's adoring fans. It was sold, traded, gifted, and stolen. It was worn by children and adults alike. It magically appeared onstage at The Ritz, on the body of a crazy stage diver, as Sonic Youth returned for their encore during the Daydream Nation tour. We continued to receive requests for tee shirts long after the 4 band members last played together. ...to be continued...
April 10, 2006
...Well, it really happened. The second Happy Apple reunion has taken place. The Happy Apple Family Reunion was around 1992, if memory serves. I'll have to search for the tape of the event. Hopefully it's labelled. Now here it is, April 9th, 2006...
The Happy Apple Rock 'n Roll Circus came to town, invading Detour in NYC for one enchanted evening.
Reviews to follow.
Were you there? Send in a review!
-Paul Doliner
an audience, Open is the essence
of the Happy Apple.
Musicians improvise. Some bands seek out or express new ideas by jamming. And then there was the day that we got together to work out a set list for our first ever gig. We had four songs and a half hour in which to play them. It didn't take us long to figure out we would have about 16 minutes to fill with introductions and thank you's if we didn't come up with some other way to fill the time.
The obvious choice was to incorporate the stuff we played all the time in between songs at home, but unless we listened back to the tapes and took the time to give these "interludes" names, we just didn't title them. So we wrote out a set list that looked something like this...
1988 (60 secs)
mp3 files below
As new files are displayed to the right, the older ones will remain available here for as long as possible.
Open
Live at CBGB's October 10, 1988
To get a real taste of what Happy Apple was (and is) all about, one has to hear an Open. However, some of the best Opens often ran more than 5 minutes. So, due to bandwidth restrictions here, I've cut one into seven sections for sampling. Over the next few weeks, all seven sections will become available right here. Enjoy!
-Paul
Matt Doliner, Lawrence Zilko, and some guy from Germany join the band for this one.
Live at CBGB's October 10, 1988
Disclaimer:
And oh yeah, before I forget... Please don't confuse us with that other Happy Apple that came along from Minnesota in the late 90's and plays child-friendly jazz-rock. They may have some degree of fame, and a few cd's to their name, and I'm sure they're swell guys... but it was our name first :o)
