I had the delightful pleasure of attending The Civil Wars show last night at the Egyptian Theatre with my friends Brenna and Emi. It was beautiful. I would say it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. I was blown away by their sheer talent and it was so fun to watch them because their joy was so evident in what they do.
I saw this on Tumblr and I just had to share. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are so... magnetic... I just love this performance. It totally turned my mood around and I'm listening to it over and over again while I dance around in my dorm room.
I'd like you to meet some cool guys. Their names are Alex, Ben, Bryan, and Trevor. Also known as the charming Apple Horse. Apple Horse is a band from my hometown, Boise, Idaho. I actually grew up down the street from Ben! Ben and his sister and my siblings played together as kids and our moms are good friends. Fast forward ten years and I not only discover we have a lot of mutual friends, but Ben is in a band. Not just any band, but a good band.
Over Christmas break Kip and I did a shoot for Apple Horse. Kip directed a music video for them and I ended up shooting most of their photographs.
Much thanks to Ben for answering the questions.
How did Apple Horse come together? We've been close friends since around 6th grade (a bit longer with Bryan who happens to be my cousin). We started playing music together in a church setting, but it's important for people to know that the real connection we had with each other through friendship and music developed by straying from that phase of life.
What inspires Apple Horse? Discovering and grabbing hold of those things in life that prove themselves to be true. Also, tasteful and adventurous music.
What are your favorite musicians? Did any bands have influence over your current album? Reoccurring favorites among us include the Flaming Lips, Cold War Kids, Vampire Weekend, Local Natives, the Black Keys, Sufjan Stevens, Ugly Casanova, and Arcade Fire to name a few. The songs on our album were influenced most by bands I've always drawn lessons from (Cold War Kids, U2) and also the music we listened to on the van ride to San Diego (Local Natives, Miniature Tigers, Vampire Weekend).
What's one of the best memories you have together? Recording the album. The other guys would concur, I think. Some life-changing stuff happened for all of us on that trip. Details might seem a bit irrelevant to the average person, but I always look forward to telling someone about it face to face. We're all pretty spiritual people, so the immaterial aspects of life are probably going to come up if you talk to any of us long enough.
What's new for Apple Horse? The album has been picked up by a few production companies, so you may be hearing some AH tunes on various television networks this year. Mainly just trying to stick to writing music in a way that we love. I'm excited to be writing songs that we will hopefully be playing for future friends in surrounding states this year. I wish everyone could hear everything we're writing right now, so it didn't lose any freshness down the road.
What do you think differentiates Apple Horse from other bands? A heavy stint in the church-life has certainly instilled a pretentious disregard for cliches in sound and music for me, and I see similar disdains and dislikes in my friends. So, you're not going to hear us play anything that sounds like it was written for top-40 radio (no offense). While our album may seem like a bit of a contradiction to this statement, the one thing that I see tying our music together, is the positivity contained in each song. My favorite songs usually came from a night of jamming and hanging out with my friends, and connection is always the goal with our music. Personally, I love writing songs that have a cheery melody, or some unspoken, but very uplifting quality.
Meet the men of Apple Horse:
Name: Bryan Konkol Name: Alex Johnston Age: 17 Age: 20 Hometown: Boise, Idaho Hometown: Boise, Idaho Favorite band: The Flaming Lips Favorite band: Black Keys Coffee or tea? Coffee Coffee or tea? Coffee
Name: Ben Konkol Name: Trevor James Schultz Age: 20 Age: 20 Hometown: Boise, Idaho Hometown: Boise, Idaho Favorite band: Vampire Weekend Favorite band: Sufjan Stevens Coffee or tea? Coffee Coffee or tea? Tea
Also, if you're in Boise this weekend and need something to do, Apple Horse is playing at the Knitting Factory on Saturday night! Wishing I was in town to hear them play. So, go for me!
Apple Horse is awesome and giving away a few copies of their latest album. Just comment on this post with your name and email address by next Saturday night and you'll be entered to win.
If you follow Apple Horse on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr, comment in seperate comments for more chances to win. You can also click "like" on the bottom of this post to share the interview with your Facebook friends!
What's your favorite Apple Horse song? Mine's Baby Love.
(Brenna and then Brenna and I this past summer. Being silly and smoking my air cigarette.)
This is one thing I've been meaning to blog about since Christmas. My beautiful friend Brenna wrote me a song for my Christmas present! Brenna is one of those people I've always felt so blessed to know. She's a crazy talented artist, writer, and musician. Brenna is so kind and so supportive and always, always there to kick someone's butt if they're messing with me. This song... It's been such a source of comfort and joy to me.
Kip introduced me to this local Minneapolis band during Christmas break and I've been smitten with their delicate, souful, and unique sound. Their name is Roma di Luna and I do believe you should listen to them and buy an album or two.
I used to hate Christmas music. And then I started hating it less. And now I can't say I love it, but I've been listening to this indie, sad-with-happy-moments, wintry, sort of Christmasy playlist I made over a container of sparkling cider that I drank all by myself straight from the bottle on Friday night. And I've had it on constantly since then.
I've met a few people in my life who are... soulful. Forgiving, thoughtful, kind, genuine, and when spilling a secret to them, their eyes feel the pain with you in a forgiving way? It's hard to explain. (Must write a letter to one I know this week. Haven't seen her in so long.)
I don't know Amy Seeley. But if I did, I sort of think that is what she is like. I saw this video months ago and I completely understood what she was talking about. I can't write music or sing, but maybe it's the artist thing?
I've been a big fan of Amy's music for awhile. And I just think you should go buy her music and watch her videos and take some time to be quiet and thoughtful and all those things. If you go to her website, you can get a free song! Do it.
P.S. There is a little interview and giveaway going on at Andrea's blog, Knitty Bitties. Check in there to win one of my classes and slide picture necklaces. Thank you, Andrea!!)
Jessica posted about Janelle Monae a little while back. And, yeah, I'm digging her. I don't listen to happy upbeat music, so this says something. Her hair, her hair! She's got style and she's wearing clothes, yay!
I told myself last night that I would get up and get things done this morning. Instead I've spent it listening to music and adding to my iTunes Wishlist. And then I found this song that I've looking for awhile. He opened for Ingrid Michaelson. I remember standing there with my eyes closed and wanting to hug someone, because this song made so much sense. Tis beautiful, no?
My iTunes Wishlist.(minus the albums I want. click image to see it big.) What's on yours?
