The Apples in stereo

The Apples in stereo’s “Told You Once” is NPR’s Song of the Day!!

(New York, NY): This past Friday, The Apples in stereo’s “Told You Once” was the National Public Radio’s Song of The Day!

NPR’s Christian Hoard explains: “The best song on The Apples in stereo’s newish album, Travellers in Space and Time, “Told You Once” is written from a point of view that recalls The Beatles‘ “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl.” The singer addresses an uncaring boyfriend, warning him that his bad behavior will cost him his lady — whom, unsurprisingly, the singer is happy to pick up off the pavement. The bright sing-along chorus (”I told you once, I told you twice / I’m gonna treat your baby nice”) comes off as almost comically polite.” Listen here.

In other news, the band will start their tour to the West Coast on October 22^nd.

Friday, October 22, 2010  DENVER, CO  The Bluebird Theater
Saturday, October 23, 2010  COLORADO SPRINGS, CO  Armstrong Hall
Sunday, October 24, 2010   SALT LAKE CTY, UT   The State Room
Monday, October 25, 2010   BOISE, ID  Neurolux
Tuesday, October 26, 2010   SEATTLE, WA    Crocodile Café
Wednesday, October 27, 2010  PORTLAND, OR  Mississippi Studios
Thursday, October 28, 2010  ARCATA, CA  The Depot @Humboldt State Univ.
Saturday, October 30, 2010  SAN FRAN, CA   The Independent
Sunday, October 31, 2010   SAN JOSE, CA   The Blank Club
Monday, November  1, 2010   LOS ANGELES, CA  Echoplex
Tuesday, November 2, 2010  SAN DIEGO, CA  Casbah
Wednesday, November 3, 2010  TUCSON, AZ  Plush
Saturday, November 6   AUSTIN, TX   TBD
Sunday, November 7  HOUSTON, TX   Walter’s On Washington
Monday, November 8, 2010  DALLAS, TX  Granada Theater

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The Apples in stereo Travel Through Space and Time for West Coast Tour

Perform on Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson

Haw River, NC (July 19, 2010) - The Apples in stereo, fresh from releasing their guerilla-style “Hey Elevator” music video, are pleased to announce the next leg of the “Travellers in Space and Time Tour” in honor of their new album of the same title. Travellers in Space and Time (Simian/Yep Roc) has garnered some of the highest praise of the storied band’s career and has also offered many opportunities to get creative with the web and video, as well as with the way they interact with their dedicated fans.

But first, on the terrestrial front, The Apples in stereo performed on PRI’s “Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson” twice in the past several weeks.  Robert Schneider and the band discussed and performed songs from the new album Travellers in Space and Time, Robert’s “Non-Pythagorean Music Scale” as well as a new fan project. On a second visit, the band performed Schneider’s newly penned American anthem “Beauty of America” custom-written by Schneider for Studio 360 in honor of the July 4^th holiday. Check out the interview, video and music HERE.

The Universe Broadcast Project, presented originally via WIRED Magazine, uses satellite array technology to broadcast messages into deep space. Through UBP’s patent-pending Umail service, the initiative transmits the new album into outer space alongside personal messages by fans.  Check out the story on WIRED.com HERE.

Also in honor of the release of Travellers, the band previously released a short film and video starring their Simian Records honcho Elijah Wood and the exploratory web app at www.stepthroughtheportal.com where fans can watch the videos and explore the Apples catalog and the Elephant Six Collective genealogy. Watch Elijah and Robert discuss the time-twisting film and video in behind-the-scenes footage HERE. Exciting times in the Apples cosmos!

The Apples in stereo Fall 2010

FRI          10/22     DENVER, CO                         The Bluebird Theater

SAT          10/23     COLORADO SPRINGS, CO  Armstrong Hall

SUN         10/24     SALT LAKE CTY, UT               The State Room

MON       10/25     BOISE, ID                             Neurolux

TUE         10/26     SEATTLE, WA                        Crocodile Café

WED       10/27     PORTLAND, OR                    Mississippi Studios

THU         10/28     ARCATA, CA                          The Depot @Humboldt State Univ.

SAT          10/30     SAN FRAN, CA                      The Independent

SUN         10/31     SAN JOSE, CA                       The Blank Club

MON       11/1       LOS ANGELES, CA                Echoplex

TUE         11/2       SAN DIEGO, CA                    Casbah

WED       11/3       TUCSON, AZ                         Plush

SAT          11/6       AUSTIN, TX                           TBD

SUN         11/7       HOUSTON, TX                     Walter’s On Washington

MON       11/8       DALLAS, TX                           Granada Theater

For Immediate Release :

CELEBRATED INDIE ROCKERS THE APPLES IN STEREO RELEASE TRAVELLERS IN SPACE AND TIME ON APRIL 20TH

January 26, 2010 – Studio-obsessed indie rockers The Apples in stereo are celebrating the start of a new decade with the release of their seventh studio album, Travellers in Space and Time, their most hi-fi and hook-laden production to date. Described by frontman Robert Schneider as “retro-futuristic super-pop,” the album is the official follow-up to 2007’s New Magnetic Wonder, and the band’s second release for Elijah Wood’s Simian Records. The album will be released on April 20 via Yep Roc/Simian/Elephant 6.

Original Spin Media’s Music Documentary Series Innovators In Music To Have World Premiere On Bravo! Canada January 7

Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Mickey Hart, Dave Stewart, Billy Bragg, and Sonic Youth To Headline New TV Series Beginning January, 2010

(December 22, – Toronto, ON): Toronto’s Original Spin Media, producers of the 39 part Beautiful Noise concert TV series and Solos: The Jazz Sessions, are pleased to announce Innovators In Music, a new series of documentary profiles on six dynamic musicians from a variety of genres, backgrounds, and disciplines. The series premieres on Bravo! on January 7, 2010 at 8:00PM EST and includes: Steve Earle (1/7), Levon Helm (1/14), Mickey Hart (1/21), Dave Stewart (1/28), Billy Bragg (2/4) and Sonic Youth (2/11).

Each half-hour episode explores how the artistic impulse extends beyond music-making into other realms of creative pursuit. From photography, painting, and politics to bonsai and beyond, the series examines the surprising and inspiring world of six Innovators In Music.

“We’re very excited about Innovators In Music” states Producer Daniel Berman. “We caught each artist in a variety of places, sometimes in their homes, sometimes on the road – it’s a great cross-section, there are some things shown and said on a more intimate, candid level.” Berman continues, “it was a revelation as a true fan of the genre to go to Levon Helm’s home in Woodstock and tape him perform, and interview him on his 69th birthday; hang with Steve Earle at his favorite guitar store in New York City and go for sandwiches, it’s just stuff you just don’t see that often. I see the programs as mini-documentaries, they’re quick but they have substance.”

Series Schedule:

All shows 8:00PM EST

January 7 – Steve Earle
In the premiere episode, American singer-songwriter Steve Earle passionately addresses the importance of art in society, Townes Van Zandt, the elusive nature of fear, drug addiction and the death penalty, among other topics. His solo performance at the Bijoux Theatre is featured throughout.

January 14 – Levon Helm
Come celebrate Helm’s “Midnight Ramble Sessions: 69th Birthday Edition” directly from his home in Woodstock, NY, with his all-star band including Donald Fagen and Larry Campbell.

January 21 – Dave Stewart
Stewart, best known as one-half of The Eurythmics, is also a very successful Songwriter, Producer and Photographer. He shares songs and stories at his Morrison Hotel Gallery opening of his photography exhibit and book release.

January 28 – Mickey Hart
Innovators grants you exclusive access to Mickey Hart’s creative world – his recording studio, remarkable musical instrument collection and paintings. The Grateful Dead percussionist and world music troubadour also treats you to a special, improvisational jam session filmed specially for our crew.

February 4 – Billy Bragg
Come and check out backstage access with Billy Bragg, as he performs at the beautiful Calvin Theater in Northampton, MA and sits down with us to share his views on politics, music, family and Smokey Robinson.

February 11 – Sonic Youth
Join us as we meet-up with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo to discuss their record collections and musical explorations live from the Kansas City’s historic Uptown Theater. Includes previously unseen archival footage.

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Since 2004, Original Spin Media has produced more than 150 hours of HD content with an international reputation for music specials, nature programming and documentaries. Original Spin’s programs have been broadcast on DiscoveryHD, Bravo!, CBC Bold, HDNET, Mezzo France, VTRChile, HD Suisse, SkyArts UK, ABC Australia, Voom Networks, GloboSat Brazil, OasisHD, NRK Norway, and Knowledge Network among many others.

The Toronto based company has produced multi-part productions including Beautiful Noise, SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions, The Berkeley Sessions, Night Sounds, Rhythm and Blooms, Classic Racers, DUOS: the jazz sessions, and Dewey Time (90m).

# # #

For more information http://www.innovatorsinmusic.com/

Daniel Efram – Tractor-Beam
917-204-8043
dan@tractor-beam.com

Matthew Almeida – Bravo! Canada
416-384-2629
matthew.almeida@ctv.ca

Blindworm Guitars Creates One-Of-A-Kind Elephant 6 Guitar for The Apples in stereo’s Robert Schneider
(VIDEO) Schneider Excitedly Accepts Custom-Made Guitar Made of Meteorite
Schneider’s Kids Project Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine Announces Summer Shows

(Colorado Springs, CO):   Colorado based luthier Andrew Scott has created a one of a kind Elephant 6 guitar for The Apples in stereo’s Robert Schneider.

The guitar, a playable piece of art made out of meteorite, elephant bones and combination of Walnut and Poplar woods, and shaped to play and perform much like a super-charged version of Schneider’s Danelectro DC-3. Scott came up with the idea in order to celebrate Schneider’s role in the long-enduring and profoundly influential Elephant 6 Collective which spawned The Apples in stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control and numerous other members of their friendly confab.

“This Blindworm guitar plays incredibly well. It is the coolest, most beautiful, psychedelic guitar I have ever played!” enthuses Schneider. “The inlaid Elephant 6 logo is made of meteorite dust, and on the headstock, the elephant’s eyes are made of dinosaur bones. It feels like I am holding a living creature.”

“This guitar was custom designed down to the last detail,” explains Blindworm’s Andrew Scott. “This process started with tons of research into the sound qualities, materials, and design that would best accommodate Robert.” (See detailed pics after the jump.)

Click to see the Blindworm Elephant 6 Guitar Video Link

“I acquired a model of one of Robert’s favorite guitars, an original Danelectro DC-3 and took the favored qualities of this guitar (scale, weight, proportion, tone, etc.) and combined it with improved construction methods. Additionally, countless hours were spent watching how Robert plays a guitar, paying attention to strumming and picking style, how guitars sit with his arm and body, what sounds he uses.”

“The pickups were carefully selected to provide extensive range of new and familiar sounds for Robert. For his environmental conscience, only domestic woods were used. A hand rubbed oil finish was applied for the same reasons, as well as to give the instrument a softer smoother feel and improved tonality.”

“This guitar has its own life, and has been treated so since its conception. It listened to albums and albums of The Apples in stereo and other of Robert’s projects and videos during construction. When this guitar finally reached his hands, it already knew him.  It needed him to feel normal and be a part of him before it ever left my shop!”
Schneider is currently at work on The Apples in stereo’s new album, tentatively titled “Travellers in Space and Time” but will be performing as his alter-ego kids’ project Robbert Bobbert and The Bubble Machine on the following dates:

Saturday, June 13: Children’s Day / South Street Seaport / New York, NY
(also performing: Zambelli Fireworks and The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra)

Sunday, June 14: World Cafe Live / Peanut Butter And Jams

Monday, August 31:  Children’s Day / Jay Pritzker Pavilion / Millennium Park / Chicago, IL

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The Elephant 6 Guitar Technical Specifics:

- Solid wood, five piece neck through construction of Walnut with Poplar stripes
- Solid Poplar body
- Osage Orange fingerboard, nut, truss rod cover, pickguard, (same family as ebony, but domestic)
- Meteorite (collected in NW Africa) inlay for side fret markers, Elephant Six logo, and Blindworm Guitars logo.
- Lower elephant (upside down) is Indian, with pronounced trunk carved in the poplar body.
- Upper elephant is African, and carved into Walnut, with Osage Orange tusks
- Dinosoaur bone excavated in Colorado fills in the upper elephants’ eyes and the Blindworm snake’s eyes
- Custom made Walnut and Poplar knobs and switch
- 25″ scale, 24 jumbo frets
- Cream colored Duncan P-Rails, 2 Vol. 2 Tone. 3-way selector
- Sperzel locking tuners

# # #

Robert Schneider is the lead Composer, Arranger and Producer of The Apples in stereo, Robbert Bobbert, Marbles, and Ulysses, and was one of the founding members of The Elephant 6 Collective. He is also a well-known producer-engineer, having worked with such notables as Beulah, Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control.

# # #

The Apples in stereo’s “Energy” Featured on American Idol

On Wednesday night’s American Idol  the long-running weekly Ford commercial featuring AI contestants singing pop classics added another musical gem to its repertoire. The Apples’ song “Energy” from their 2007 album New Magnetic Wonder  was featured in the prominent in-show Ford spot by way of an enthusiastic re-recorded version featuring the remaining contestants. Recently the Ford-sponsored segment has included artists such as Britney Spears, Queen, Lykke Li and the J. Geils Band.

“Energy” will be included in the upcoming Apples best of collection “#1 Hits Explosion” due out later this year on Simian/Yep Roc/Elephant 6.

Watch the Ford commercial here.

Watch the original video for “Energy directed by Elijah Wood here.

Robbert Bobbert and The Bubble Machine On Sale Today!

Robert Schneider, the mind behind one of indie-rock’s seminal music groups, The Apples in stereo, will be releasing his debut children’s music album under the character name Robbert Bobbert for the Sony/RED Distributed Little Monster Records TODAY February 17, 2009.

The album, entitled Robbert Bobbert and The Bubble Machine will include a humorous comic book and coloring book both designed by artist Todd Webb, introducing kids and parents to his inventor/scientist character, Robert Bobbert.

“Recording music for children is an amazing and fun experience,”” Schneider explains. ““It forces me to be extra creative because you are writing for an extra creative audience. Kids’ ears are very tuned in to unusual sounds, so I threw many of my regular instruments out the window in order to come up with a whole new palette of colorful noises and wanted to make super-pop music that kids will like to sing along with.”” Schneider tests his tunes with his son Max.

In 2007, Schneider made his debut on the big screen in the Mike Myers’ vehicle “The Love Guru” where he enjoyed a cameo role and producing a song for the film. The Apples’ in stereo’s two most recent CDs for indie grownups – New Magnetic Wonder and Electronic Projects For Musicians, have been tremendous successes and are co-released through actor Elijah Wood’s Simian Records, Yep Roc Records and The Elephant 6 Recording Company.

Robbert Bobbert is being developed into a television series by Puny Entertainment and Carolyn Suzuki, the animation team behind Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba show and the Creative Producer who has developed and produced hits for the Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, respectively.

Upcoming Shows:
Friday, February 20 – KiDS Place LiVe – Sirius/XM Satellite Radio
Saturday, February 21 – Jammin Java, Vienna, VA (Wash, DC), 11 am
Sunday, February 22 – The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY *Park Slope* 2 pm
Sunday, February 22 – Good Morning America (ABC), Robert Schneider Feature

I was excited to find Wired’s blog about Robbert Bobbert and The Bubble Machine today:

With notable contributions to music-heavy kid’s fare like Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls, The Apples, and more specifically frontman Robert Schneider, have long had a functional grasp of that blessed intersection between what’s simultaneously fun for kids and entertaining to adults. This trend continues with the forthcoming release of Robert’s debut children’s music album.More Kids Music That Doesn’t Suck: Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine, Dec 2008

You should read the whole article.

Tractor Beam is pleased to announce the air schedule for the Beautiful Noise Concert Series on RAVE HD part of the VOOM HD Network.

December 15, 2008: Ted Leo / Pharmacists
December 16, 2008: Islands
December 17, 2008: The Black Angels
December 18, 2008: Dr. Dog
December 19, 2008: My Morning Jacket
December 20, 2008: The Donnas
December 21, 2008: British Sea Power
December 22, 2008: Stars
December 24, 2008: The Constantines
December 25, 2008: Yo La Tengo

Robert Schneider, the mind behind one of indie-rock’s seminal music groups, The Apples in stereo, will be releasing his debut children’s music album under the character name Robbert Bobbert for the Little Monster Records label on January 20th, 2009.

The album, entitled Robbert Bobbert & The Bubble Machine will  include