Pages tagged “apples in stereo”

Look at Elijah Wood, beaming like a 3rd grader during show-and-tell. Wood and his Elephant 6 buddies, Apples in Stereo, are auctioning that very guitar to benefit the folks over at Housing Works, Inc. to fight AIDS and homelessness. Brooklyn folk artist and longtime Apples friend/collaborator Steve Keene (who has also worked with Pavement) painted the guitar, which you can currently bid on here. At the time of this posting, you have precisely 12 days, three hours and 37 minutes to get your bid in.

The Apples In Stereo, after recently releasing their album of b-sides and rarities, Electronic Projects for Musicians, decided that they wanted to get out of the stereo and onto the stage...and the screen. In the next few months, they'll be appearing in venues, movie theatres and living rooms near you.

If you're feeling low on blindingly bright pop songs about math equations and cranking up the radio, The Apples in Stereo are here to help. Denver's indie pop standard-bearers and Elephant 6 Recording Collective old schoolers are releasing a b-sides and rarities collection to follow up last year's New Magnetic Wonder. The 2007 album, incidentally, is an amalgamation of tracks so shiny you could see your reflection in 'em and was released and distributed in part by Elijah Woods's imprint, Simian Records. The new disc, entitled Electronic Projects for Musicians (named after a 1980 how-to manual by Craig Anderton), will street April 4 through Simian, Elephant 6 and Yep Roc Records. Yep Roc warns it will more logically continue the train of thought started by the 1996 compilation Science Faire.

Following Robert Schneider's train of thought is harder than it sounds. How many other bands out there have frontmen who consider themselves equal parts rock star and mathematician? Schneider has split his efforts of late, spending what time he has away from the band to develop a non-Pythagorean musical scale based on the natural logarithm function (meaning it isn't based on the frequency relationships we're used to hearing in musical notes), which, if you're really interested, you can read about here. His report includes detailed instructions on how to create the "alien-sounding" noise yourself.

Schneider (who produced Neutral Milk Hotel's legendary In The Aeroplane Over The Sea), always open to brainstorming, uploaded individual uncompressed tracks of last year's single "Can You Feel It?" on the YepRoc.com so fans could remix the song themselves. The best will appear on the digital release of Electric Projects for Musicians. What better way to join The Apples In Stereo's latest adventure into the avant-garde?

Related links:
ApplesInStereo.com
Robert Schneider's appearance on The Colbert Report
Paste: Video of the Day - The Apples In Stereo - "Can You Feel It?"

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Most indie music award programs end up becoming little more than a celebration of "indie famous" and blog-buzz acts. The Independent Music Awards, meanwhile, take a different tack, granting exposure to a host of artists that even the most dedicated music junkie has never heard of. This year's list of nominees features a few notable names: indie pop heroes The Apples In Stereo (nominated twice over and pictured above) and blues veterans Ike Turner and Koko Taylor. After that, however, one finds a collection of regional acts just looking for a big break.

This year, music fans will get the chance to grant exposure to these unheralded artists. While a celebrity panel of musicians (including Snoop Dogg and Les Claypool) will ultimately determine the IMA winners, fans can vote for their favorites online at the IMA website. Along with the official winners, the people's choice champions will receive a major promotions boost. The IMAs work with sponsors like Borders Books & Music, eMusic and others to market the winners to the music industry and consumers alike.

Check out the complete list of finalists (including song samples) here. By signing up through the website, you can also vote for your favorites among the hopefuls.

Related links:
IndependentMusicAwards.com
Paste: Kristy Kruger, Guggenheim Grotto among IMA winners
ApplesInStereo.com
KokoTaylor.com

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For most people, releasing an acclaimed 24-track album and energetically touring to support it is a solid year’s work. But the Apples in Stereo’s Robert Schneider is all about effort, so rather than sitting back, sipping on a mint julep, and basking in the New Magnetic Wonder, the Apples’ frontman has lined up quite an offbeat gig.

Schneider is making waves in a far more exclusive and cerebral realm than the most snobby indie rock clubs: the world of mathematics. He will appear at this year’s MathFest, hosted by The Mathematical Association of America. The favorite musician of numerically-minded academics (sorry Datarock) will be interviewed by MAA President Joe Gallian before playing for the gathered mathematicians. The appearance makes sense, as New Magnetic Wonder is the first album in pop history that features compositions using the Non-Pythagorean Musical Scale. Take that, all other musicians ever!

And yes, you read that correctly. We managed not to make a single math-rock joke in that entire paragraph.

Robert Schneider appears at MathFest on Thursday, August 2. The interview will start at 6:00 pm, and he will start to blow mathematicians’ minds precisely at 9:00 pm. After all, in math, unlike in rock, there is no room for error.

Apples in Stereo dates:

August:
31 - Denver, Col. @ Bluebird Theater

September:
2 - Seattle, Wash. @ Bumbershoot Festival

Related links:
ApplesinStereo.com
The Apples in Stereo on MySpace
The Mathematical Association of America

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The Apples in Stereo meet Lord of the Rings…huh?

“Energy,” the first video for the Apples in Stereo’s upcoming album, New Magnetic Wonder, marks the directorial debut for actor Elijah Wood, and is now streaming on MTV2.com.

The band, assisted by guest members from other members of the Elephant 6 Collective, will take their show on the road for a month two days after New Magnetic Fields hits stores on February 6. The album will be released on Wood’s Simian Records.

In other Apples in Stereo news, lead singer Robert Schneider appeared on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report last month to play his homage in song, “Stephan, Stephan,” to the shows host, fueling a feud between Colbert and indie-faves The Decemberists. You can see Schneider’s performance at ComedyCentral.com

2007 tour dates

February
08-Lexington, KY @ The Dame
09-Cincinnati, OH @ Top Cat's Club
10-Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
11-Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo Icon
12-Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
13-Washington, DC @ Black Cat
15-NYC @ Bowery Ballroom
16-Philadelphia, PA @ Northstar
17-Boston, MA @ Paradise
19-Montreal , QC @ Main Hall
20-Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
21-Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
22-Columbus, OH @ Little Brothers
23-Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
24-Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre (Late Show)
25-Madison, WI @ Univ of Wisconsin (Madison), Memorial Union
27-Ames, IA @ Maintenance Shop
28-Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground

March
01-Kansas City, MO Record Bar
02-St Louis, MO @ Duck Room
03-Columbia, MO @ Blue Note

Related links:
Official Apples In Stereo site
The Apples In Stereo on MySpace
Elephant 6 site

When the Apples in Stereo were looking for a label in 2003 after laveing their longtime home at spinART, Elijah Wood of The Lord of the Rings fame had just launched a record label of his own — Simian Records. Both parties ended up meeting at South by Southwest and their interests collided.

On February 7, the innovative band will release its first record in five years on Wood’s label via Yep Roc/Elephant 6/Redeye Distribution. New Magnetic Wonder is 53 minutes long with 14 songs and is produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Sebadoh, Phish).

Tour dates for the Apples in Stereo will be announced shortly.

Indie-poppers The Apples In Stereo will be opening for The Strokes on a week-long series of dates in late May. They have also confirmed a show at the Athens Popfest in August. Olivia Tremor Control frontman Bill Doss will be joining the Apples onstage, playing keyboards and providing backing vocals.

The Apples In Stereo are also finishing up the recording of their fifth studio album, which will be titled New Magnetic Wonder. That album is scheduled to hit stores in early 2007.

For complete tour dates, click here.