INTERVIEW: Angie Aparo
- Bob Gajarsky
Angie Aparo hasn't been declared the future of rock and roll, the American savior, or a poet laureate. But with the poignancy, storytelling, and sheer intelligent rock and roll present on his major label debut The American (Melisma/Arista), he may soon receive some of those accolades.
Limiting Angie's music and lyrics to one genre is not only be impossible, but would misrepresent the artist. A refreshing voice that is a cross between James Taylor and Ireland's Saw Doctors, landing somewhere near Jeff Buckley, this part-folkie, part-rocker hybrid truly defies simple categorization.
"My influences have always been singer / songwriters who have been 'plugged in'," Aparo states. "Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie are two of them, and as far as bands, U2 was a big influence."
That influence comes through most clearly on a track such as "Green Into Gold", which could have been come out of a Joshua Tree era cut. And while first single "Spaceship" might have been culled from a poppier Jeff Buckley cut and other tracks including "Hush", "Free Man", and some other dark moody tracks bring to mind old Toad the Wet Sprocket, the most redeeming quality of The American is its ever-changing musical landscape.
Part of this was brought to fruition by producer Matt Serletic, who has worked with artists such as Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Aerosmith and Santana, yet cut back some of his production time to work with newcomer Aparo.
"A great producer magnifies the artist's vision and I think also contributes greatly to the sonic interpretation of the lyrics - and Matt is all that," expresses Aparo in obvious respect for Serletic's contributions. "Having the immense resources of Matt's ability, money and time {the latter two from Arista}, I was able to get to a place that was more than a document. I love Out of the Everywhere, but I definitely didn't have the luxury of any of those resources."
Out of the Everywhere was Aparo's independent project which generated a fan-based buzz. Although only one track ("Wonderland") surfaced on The American, its indie success helped pave the way to this major-label debut.
Aparo honed his trade around Atlanta and on the road, including the various "Writers in the Round" series that have started to permeate certain major cities.
"I love performing there {in the 'rounds'} because they're part living-room, part jam, and part laboratory," Aparo enthusiastically explains.
He also hosted one of a "pretty successful" round in Atlanta a couple of years ago, but since then "I haven't had the time while in pursuit of this record and the subsequent band."
While opening for artists such as Matchbox 20 and Edwin McCain, fans continued to wonder when a 'new' release would surface. Songs which appeared here were first premiered at some of these concerts, and one thing which has garnered Aparo's growing legion of fans in the Southeast is his liberal concert taping policy. And landing on a major hasn't changed Aparo's view of the tape trees which helped cultivate the popularity of bands from the Grateful Dead, Spin Doctors and the Dave Matthews Band.
"I could still support that {taping of the live concerts} - the notion of a live experience belongs to everyone {who attends}. But I can't speak for the label!," laughs Aparo.
It's OK, Angie. If the music-buying public has half a brain, I have a feeling that the subsequent sales of The American will alleviate the fears of any bean counters at your label.
