Brad Apple's Music Blog

Thoughts on the Media

2011-05-04T13:52:00.001-05:00

I often wonder what my grandparents would think if they were alive today. They most certainly would be shocked at how the world is. I know one thing for certain. My grandpa Apple would never had paid almost $4 a gallon for gasoline. He would have parked his truck and just bought enough gas for his lawn mower and that’s it.

But things were different back in their generation. They knew how to be thrifty because they had to be that way much of their lives. Going “out” to eat to them was taking a sandwich from home and taking a Sunday afternoon drive to a park somewhere and enjoying their meal in nature. My grandpa told me once when I was a teenager that I couldn’t always spend money the way I wanted to like on eating out, etc., because I’d have other responsibilities and bills and such. Boy, was he right! I don’t think my grandma ever ate out during her working career either. I remember she had some Tupperware dishes that she would fill with food from home (mostly leftovers from yesterday’s supper) and take with her to work and eat. I don’t think my grandpa took his in Tupperware dishes, but he either went home to eat or took a sandwich with him when he was working.

Life was more simplistic in many ways back in my grandparents’ day and even my parents’ days. You could trust other people much more in those bygone days than you can now. You could put in an honest days’ work and expect an honest wage. Nowadays, with the corporate culture, it’s all about how much money you can make the corporation and they’ll give you some chicken feed in return. Oh, and if you don’t like it, move over, because there’s a thousand just like you they can get to take your place.

People nowadays don’t realize just how much they’ve been conditioned. We’re conditioned to be slaves in so many ways. You have your time taken up working for other people with an unfair return in wages in many cases. People are slaves to the popular media in that they tell you what music is good. This is of course to some big executive’s benefit, because if you buy his record label’s music, it’s money in his pocket. So don’t expect the media to tell you any different-because big money controls the media. This is sad because so many beautiful art forms go unrecognized, unappreciated. But the world we live in discourages beautiful art, because they know if they cram their music down your throat long enough and tell you it’s good, that you’re going to buy into it soon enough.

The best stuff is almost always the stuff you have to dig for. So, the moral of this blog is, don’t always swallow exactly what the media pushes at you. Do some investigating, find out for yourself what is good. You might be surprised.

Music and Time

2011-03-21T10:52:00.001-05:00

I know a lot of musicians are probably like me in that different periods of time in their lives are synchronous with music. Let me explain some. From the time I was old enough to start having memories, I can remember jam sessions in the living room of my Grandpa and Grandma Apple’s house. I remember how the old time music sounded in that little small living room with the hardwood floor. I remember summer vacation from school there also. After dinner (the term we used for lunch) Papaw (my Grandpa Apple) would often times play the banjo he had or other instruments around the house. I hadn’t yet taken up an instrument, but those sounds, sometimes archaic, surely made an indelible impression on my young mind. During those same summer days, I’d often play records on Papaw’s old turntable. That’s where I first heard the sounds of Flatt and Scruggs.

A few years later in the mid-1980s, I was listening to the bluegrass program “The Ozark Mountain Hop” on KABF radio out of Little Rock, Arkansas and heard the Virginia Squires for the first time. If memory serves me right, the first song I heard from them was “The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee.” I was hooked. I bought every recording they made. I had never heard someone play the bass like Ronnie Simpkins. I was really knocked out when I heard him take a solo on “Turkey In the Straw.” To this day he’s one of my favorite bass players and I’ve come to know him and his brother Rickie, who is also a great musician. One of the most tasteful fiddle breaks I’ve heard to this day is Rickie’s solo on “Hard Times In Kentucky.” Listen and see. Their fire and enthusiasm and musicianship really set my own desire to become a good musician ablaze. Around this same time I heard the Lonesome River Band’s very first recording on KABF. They were to also become an influence. I can’t end out the 1980s without mentioning that Tony Rice and more progressive sounds from bands such as New Grass Revival were also sticking in my mind.

In my next post, I’ll move into the 1990s, and the sounds that shaped that era for me.

Audio Archivist for Hire

2011-03-09T11:29:00.003-06:00

My ideal job would be that of an audio archivist working from my home studio. I have 20 years experience in recording, mixing and mastering audio. I've worked in many different formats, including analog reel to reel, cassette tapes, DATs, Modular Digital Multitracks, Vinyl Records, 8 track tapes, and current digital recording technology.

Ten of my years in audio was spent working for the largest recording studio and duplication house in Arkansas, Raney Recording Studio. There I restored many old recordings to a fresh new life on CD or other media.

My interest is in preserving older recordings so that they will be around for future generations to enjoy and study as I have the many older recordings that I possess.

If you have any of these jobs, please contact me via my blog site here.

Friends In Great Places Concert

2011-03-07T15:36:00.004-06:00

Howdy folks! Just had to write a post about our performance Friday, March 4, 2011 at the 3rd annual "Friends In Great Places" concert at UACCB's Independence Hall in Batesville, Arkansas. I must say I had a blast. It is my personal opinion that this was the best one yet.

Me and my brother Brandon got to be a part of the first set along with a lot of fine musicians. The Cobb Brothers from Mountain View, AR kicked off the show and really set the crowd on fire. Brandon and I followed with our set and I was overwhelmed by the great positive and enthusiastic response we got. Gary Rounds followed us and he did 3 songs with just himself and Tim Crouch and then me and Brandon and Danny Dozier joined back in. I played the bass for those guys and had a blast. I don't get to play bass as much as I'd like to in this kind of setting, but I always enjoy it when I can. My old Tune Bass Maniac never sounded better.

Ramona Jones and her band followed in the second half and they did a fine job. I couldn't help but be filled with joy and pride standing in the wings of the stage hearing the audience response to acoustic music. I thought "acoustic music is the most beautiful, moving music, ever." I think the audience response proved that.

I stood there proud of my musical heritage and the long line of tradition that I am fortunate to be a part of and carry it on for others to hear and enjoy, and best case scenario, be inspired to take it up and carry it on too.

On The Road Again

2010-02-24T20:29:00.000-06:00

With our performance schedule growing more and more as we head into the year, I am looking forward to getting out and fulfilling our performance dates. I am looking forward to it as much or more than ever. I guess being away from something for a while makes you appreciate it more. When Brandon and I were just kids, I don't think we gave it much thought; performing that is. But, now we have added appreciation for the ability to express our art in front of others.

I remember the past when we played literally all over the country as young kids and teenagers. I remember the nervous anticipation right before walking out on stage. I remember the many road trips and countless thousands of miles we've driven and the conversations in between. I remember stopping at truck stops along the way for a restroom break and snacks, and the smell of diesel in the misty night air. I remember the many thousands of people we've got to see and become acquainted with. All these things linger in memory and are missed when one is away from them for an extended period.

This past couple of years have seen some big changes for the both of us. For starters, we both got married to our wonderful wives and that has been a great blessing for us. Then we also moved back to our old hometown from the big city, which was another adjustment. Add in working full-time as we both do, and other responsibilities and performing out on the road for folks has taken a back seat for a while. But now as we've settled in we're looking forward to getting out on the road and playing for the many nice people we've met and anticipate meeting this year.

We have several recording projects in various stages of completion. Brandon and I have another CD together that we're working on, and I have two solo projects also in various stages of completion. I'm not bragging, but I think they're going to be really good if I say so myself.

So, long story short, come on out if you can and catch us at one of the tour dates listed. We look forward to making many more good memories with all of you.

The Genius of Larry Rice

2010-01-29T10:09:00.002-06:00

Far too many times the magnitude of someone's genius is not appreciated until after they are gone. I've always admired the genius of bluegrass musician Larry Rice and I'm glad that more and more people are coming to realize what a great talent he was.

I got to know Larry quite well from 1996 onward until his untimely death in May 2006. I had been a fan for a long time before I ever was to make his acquaintance. The first song I remember hearing that Larry wrote was "If You Only Knew" recorded by his brother, Tony, on his "Cold On The Shoulder" album around 1984. Soon after that in the mid-1980s, Larry emerged from a long period of inactivity with many fine solo releases on the Rebel Records label. "Hurricanes and Daydreams" was released in 1985. I still love hearing "Four Wheel Drive", "Tabasco", "Starbound Heroes", "Dad's Old Coat" and many more. I won't give an album by album and song by song review here, but if you don't have the "Hurricanes and Daydreams", "Time Machine", "Artesia", and "Clouds Over Carolina" records, you should get them because they are all fine pieces of musical artistry by the master, Larry Rice.

Now, let's go back to the spring of 1996. As I mentioned, I was already a big fan of Larry's playing and songwriting. I was immersing myself in songwriting by this time and had written the first of my original songs and wanted to have a BMI music publishing company just like Larry had his own publishing company by his name, "Larry Rice Publishing." I found Larry's phone number listed in an issue of Bluegrass Unlimited and I decided to call him up. I was nervous not knowing how he would react to a complete stranger calling out of the blue on a Sunday night (April 21, 1996 to be exact-still recall the date). Larry was very nice and kind ot me and told me what I needed to do to get up and running as a BMI publishing company, which I did. In that first call he also told me of a recording project that he and Tony had just done with Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen which he said would be released soon. This was very cool to me because I was really into the Desert Rose Band as well. That project came to be known as "Out of the Woodwork" and was followed by two more fine projects with the same collaboration.

Larry and I became good friends over time from that day forward. He even recorded with me on a solo CD I did in the year 2000.

I feel his contributions to music sometimes are not recognized as much as they should be. HE was the one who came up with the idea for the Rice, Rice, Hillman, and Pedersen projects. They turned out some REALLY GREAT music. Larry's songwriting prowess is in great form on these CDs. Just listen to the awesome "Streetcorner Stranger" "Me and You" and "The Year of El Nino" if you need proof.

One thing I loved about Larry was that he didn't have the big head. He was common and down to earth. He was always encouraging and willing to help a person along if it was within his power. He was going to come to Arkansas and spend a few days and record with me again. Unfortunately Larry was diagnosed with mesothelioma in late 2004 and fought a battle that he would ultimately lose. I talked to Larry as much as I could throughout his treatment, either by phone or email. We even wrote a song together about Hurricane Katrina, which I hope to release on a future project.

May 14, 2006 was a sad day for me. I had been in the studio recording what was to become me and Brandon's "Old Time Saturday Night" CD. When I checked my phone I had a message from Larry's wife, Linda, telling me that Larry had passed away the previous day.

To me a part of my own musicality died that day too. Larry was a music hero of mine. I believe that his contributions to bluegrass and acoustic music are tremendous and that his absence is deeply felt by all who were touched by his music.

One of the greatest feelings I had after Larry's passing was when his uncle, Frank Poindexter, told me that Larry had told him that he really thought a lot of me. I thought a lot of him too and always will. If you haven't already, please check out some of the many fine recordings he left us and see for yourself the genius of this music giant.