Science Music: May 2004 Archives

"Silver Apples is an organic mechanism composed of the Simeon and the Taylor Drums. The Simeon presently consists of nine audio oscillators and eight-six manual controls, enabling Simeon to express his musical ideas. The lead and rhythm oscillators are played with the hands, elbows and knees and the bass oscillators are played with the feet. The Taylor Drums at this point include thirteen drums, five cymbals and other percussion instruments that Danny uses to develop his own mathematically pulsating systems, creating both rhythm and melody. As the two artists each create melody and rhythm, the resulting sounds interchange and grow to an electronic evocation."

so wrote barry bryant, an insurance actuarial/60s dropout that, despite better judgement, spent 1967-1970 as manager, mentor, and, most importantly, benefactor to Simeon Coxe and Danny Taylor (who, incidentally, looks a lot like Isabella Rossellini to me), the electronic anomaly known as Silver Apples. With an mountainous amassment of unruly, hand-soldered oscillators and an equally vast drum kit (actually, two drum sets side by side), the band recorded two of the most unprecedentedly transcendent records of the '60s, to an understandably indifferent audience.

their partnership began in early 1967 as members of a cover band called The Overland Stage Electric Band, the Silver Apples formed after the band's other three members abandoned ship as a result of Simeon's obnoxious "electronic evocations." Initially composing songs as a soundtrack to the poems of acquaintance Stanley Warren (and vice-versa), Silver Apples combined the drones of Simeon Coxe's Frankenstein monster, the unwieldy "Simeon", with Taylor's specially tuned drum kit, designed to assist Simeon with chord changes. Simple vocal melodies were then added to make things slightly more palatable. With the help of long time fan Bryant, the duo's throbbing, other-worldly sound somehow found its way onto KAPP Records, a label best known at the time for lounge piano performers. In the two years that followed the band was able to record both a self-titled record and a follow-up, Contact, before the label went belly-up.

With the help of followers like Spacemen 3 and Stereolab (not to mention talented rip-off artists like Clinic), Silver Apples have reaped the considerable benefit of the 90s' "lost classic" re-issue market, prompting the 1996 reformation of the band (Simeon and a new drummer), with expectedly mixed results. In 1998, Danny Taylor resurfaced with the tapes from third Silver Apples record, thought lost for nearly thirty years. Since then Simeon broke his neck, and...

wait.

this is about the Silver Apples being the Greatest Band of All Time, isn't it? So yeah, Silver Apples. Two awesome dudes that made the music that would inspire a good deal of the music that inspires me. Two dudes oscillating and driving and singing completely earnest songs about Velvet Caves and Gypsy Love. Two dudes who made super-literal, super-awesome sonic references ("Song about the radio? We should totally record radio signals!!!" "Song about the telephone? Telephone sounds!!!") throughout the bulk of their recorded catalogue. Two dudes who look a lot like Italian female movie stars. or, one dude. Anyway, Greatest Band of Blah, Blah, Blah.

The End.