Attention Canadian fans! The true north strong and freak…

This edition of the Official Sparkling Apple Blog is strictly for Canadian fans! Hard Core Apple will soon be available online on the Canadian Amazon site, although being the helpful and polite Canadians we are, we must alert you to a potential problem: Amazon.ca is indeed selling the CD, but it’s only for sale from them as a USA import (due to the fact that the CD is shipped from CD Baby in Portland, Oregon), and is therefore priced accordingly! I think Amazon’s price is something like $19.73 plus shipping. Yikes! That’s a tad pricey considering it can be obtained much cheaper directly from the band. And how do I do that, you ask? Well we’re glad you brought it up, otherwise we wouldn’t have mentioned it…

If you live in Canada and don’t wish to pay exorbitant import prices, the solution is to order direct from us via PayPal. That way, the CD is only ten bucks plus tax & shipping. A screamin’ deal as they say. Now you American folks can still continue to order CDs from CD Baby & Amazon.com without any problem and we heartily encourage you to do so. The same goes for those of you classic rockers in England, France, Germany, Austria and other parts of the solar system.

However, we stress that the link below is ONLY FOR CANADIANS!

Thanks for your support, wherever you live!

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Live and Impersonal

Sparkling Apple promo shot for appearance at Frenzy’s in Gastown 1980 (Vancouver BC). Photo by Simon Gunn.

Another free download! The sound quality is “not up to present-day community standards”, but in any event this song is included here due to its historical significance.

The link below is a live recording of Sparkling Apple from the “C-FOX Live At Eleven” broadcast on August 13, 1979. Monday nights, local radio station C-FOX would present a live broadcast from Gary Taylor’s Rock Room, Vancouver BC, and the resulting tapes would be edited to create the very first C-FOX Vancouver Seeds album (shown below). The track “Get Off the Stove You’re Too Old To Ride the Range” was NOT included on the Vancouver Seeds album, and is presented here for the first time anywhere in Low-Fi Sludge-O-Rama ®.

 

Taken from the back of the record’s sleeve:

“November, 1979: “VANCOUVER SEEDS” represents the culmination of efforts by C-FOX-FM99 Vancouver and Gary Taylor’s Rock Room. Our intent was to showcase live concerts, featuring as many Vancouver artists and relatively unknown groups as possible and to give them an opportunity to be heard on their FM rock station, then be released on record. “VANCOUVER SEEDS” is a complilation of some of the best performances during “Monday Night Live at Eleven”, recorded at Gary Taylor’s Rock Room over the Summer and Fall of 1979. Special thanks are due to Gary Taylor and Cal Woosnam of Challenger Sound.”

TRACK LIST:

Side One:

1. KARROLL BROS – I Need Your Love
2. KARROLL BROS – If I Can Fall In Love
3. SIX CYLINDER – Strong Woman’s Love
4. FOREMAN-BYRNES BAND – I Had Your Love In The Palm Of My Hand

Side Two:

1. POWDER BLUES – You Been Mean
2. SPARKLING APPLE – Midnight Flight [an edited version of this song can be found on “Hard Core Apple”]
3. SPARKLING APPLE – It’s Criminal

Recorded off the radio, so the voice you hear at the start is that of radio DJ Ellie O’Day, who can also be heard at the beginning of “Two Time Affair” (from “Hard Core Apple”).

Previously unreleased: Switchblade Rock 1979

Lots of great old Sparkling Apple tracks can be found on our new CD, Hard Core Apple – but here’s a recording that was dropped from the final song list. It’s Switchblade Rock, a rockabilly/metal hybrid written by drummer Captain Maniac, performed here at the fabled Scottsdale Pub (Delta BC) in August, 1979. Played here in its entirety, the tune features the 1979 lineup of Captain Maniac (drums and lead vocals), Art the Fart the Heavy Metal Kid (lead guitar) and Buzz Constantly (bass guitar). This highly-collectible song is registered with SOCAN, but has never been released anywhere until now. A free download, kids!

© 1979 RadioActive Records. No unauthorized duplication is permitted without the written consent of the author an/or a case of Sleeman’s Honey Brown Lager, delivered promptly to our ivory tower.

Hype at its finest

Well, it happens that Tom Harrison DID write about us a year ago! Following on a hunch and of course some “leaked” rumours courtesy of Kevin, Tom wrote a short piece about us in his music column in the Province newspaper, mentioning that a greatest hits CD was in the works. (The photo seen above is a screen capture from the online edition.) In the near future, we wish to have Tom review the final product!

Recap: Last summer, we had intended for our new CD to be released in December of 2011 (something to put in your Christmas stocking). Kevin had written the demo for what evolved into Midlife Crisis, and plans were made to record new tunes and transfer old tapes in anticipation of a late-2011 release. Things went sideways, however, and our best-laid plans went astray. Following some misadventures which eventually resolved themselves, we soon picked up the pieces and were able to move ahead in Spring 2012. The rest, they say, is hysterical.

And now, a word from our sponsor! That’s right, folks, our CD was finally released this summer, and you can have your very own copy of Hard Core Apple by clicking on the link below – check out our latest tracks. We have two new songs that should knock your socks off. Literally. One of them features a nice, discreet 48-minute guitar solo. There are some special guests on a few of the songs. Including a cameo by one very famous juggler.  By the way, you do have a choice of either MP3 downloads or an actual for-real shiny new compact disc!

“The first time I heard this music, I cried.” — Rex Hargrove, Montgomery Gazette

“Unmistakable genius!” — Sarah McTarnish, Oakdale Weekly

“Unparalleled musicianship coupled with an artistic vision that defies logic and reason…” — Spivey’s Corner Times

Another call just poured in! “Hard Core Apple has changed my life…”

We actually got a review of our album on EMusic! Presently, you can only download digital copies of the individual songs from that website, but at 49 cents a song, who’s complaining! Check them out and leave your own review, or for that matter, let us know what you think right here on the comments area of the Official Sparkling Apple Blog. Please let us know: do you love it, do you hate it, there it is, the way you made it…. Is Midlife Crisis just fine as is, or would you change it in some way?  Are there songs on this album that are cringeworthy, or songs on here that make you want to get up from your recliner, shake your fist and go “hell yeah”? We need constructive criticism, folks, and what better way to voice your opinion than by speaking your mind right here on the Official Sparkling Apple Blog. The song list on the album is entirely original, by the way, so would you add cover tunes to the next album or boldly go where no human has gone before?

Thanks for listening! Tight lines and straight shooting…   

Schparkling Appel — und you VILL like it!

Screen shot of German Amazon site, where Sparkling Apple MP3 files are downloadable

Sparkling Apple MP3s are now worldwide, thanks to CD Baby. Yes, you can order the hard-copy CD of “Hard Core Apple” direct from the CD Baby website, but there are now several places to obtain digital downloads besides iTunes. Not only can you snag individual songs at the USA site of Amazon.com, but Amazon.co.uk (Great Britain), Amazon.fr (France), Amazon.co.jp (Japan) and Amazon.de (Germany) are all locations where you can download the latest and greatest from *my* personal favorite drunk-rock group. Other international download sites include myspace.com, Zune, Deezer in France, eMusic, Rdio, and others.

Stop Press: “Hard Core Apple” CD now available at CD Baby!

The new Sparkling Apple CD is now available worldwide at CD Baby! You can now purchase your very own highly-coveted, limited edition, hand-crafted and faithfully restored copy of “Hard Core Apple”, still in the shrinkwrap and untouched by subhuman hands, while quantities last. Yes, you locals can buy this must-have disc at one of our gigs or from me personally, but for anybody else on the planet, you now have the golden opportunity to have neighbours complain about the highly questionable sounds of Sparkling Apple in your own dwelling. (And while you’re there, don’t hesitate to leave a comment — good or bad, we don’t give a rat’s hindquarters!)

Join us, won’t you, at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sparklingapple