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BAND SPEAK
bv MATT & BALLARD
ANGIE APARO
Angie Aparo—vocals, guitar
Adam Nitti—bass, vocals
Derek Murphy—drums
C.R. Groover—keyboards, vocals
Dan Dixon—guitar
After over a decade of sweating it out as a
solo performer on the singer-songwriter circuits
along the East Coast, Atlanta-based songsmith
Angie Aparo has recently undergone something
of a transformatif'n from his unassuming
"folkie" role to something of a full-on modem
rock star. Aparo stepped away from the satu
rated band scene around ly94 and concentrated
on writing and performing as a soloist. In 1997,
he hooked up with record producer Matt Serletic
(Matchbox Twenty, Edwin McCain, Santana),
signed on with Arista Records, assembled a corps
of top-norch players and produced his first
album proper—a lush, 12-song collection titled
The American. Radio listeners may have recently
caught a bit of the album's slick-sounding single.
"Spaceship."
Aparo and his current band toured through
the late-spring with Matchbox Twenty and are
preparing for more extensive traveling through
the summer and fall. Aparo speaks:
How do the songs sound live on stage mth
your new band compared to the album?
"It's totally more aggressive. I kind of went
nuts in the studio with Matt putting harmonies
and overdubs on the album, but C.R. and Adam
are both very good singers, so the vocals sound
strong."
Being on a major label and playing large
music halls, what's your latest take on the
music biz?
"Radio and record companies still love to find
formulas and run them into the ground for the
most part. I think we've ended up with a listener
who has learned from radio and has become
more narrow."
Is "Spaceship" going to make you famcis?
"I have no idea. We've had a lot of success
with that song on a listener level, but it's weird,
you know, because it's a guitar rock song and
people aren't quite sure how to categorize it."
What made you want to become a songwriter,
and how have you developed it?
"Writing to me has always been like a form ot
therapy. I do it almost every day. Content-wise,
I've always been drawn to the larger aspects of
life, and I get a serious amount of unity and
power from the fact that people can relate with
something personal I've written. It makes me
feel connected, which is cool because I'm a bit of
a loner."
Angie Aparo plays at Tasty World on Saturday,
July 8 with Rusty Water and Bastard.
CODE BLUE
Clark Vreeland—guitar
Wayne Wahl—vocals, harp
Dave Minor—bass
Eric Reed—drums
Denton Perry—guitar, electric sitar
Well before he relocated to Athens in 1984,
guitarist Clark Vreeland had already built himself
up a pretty impressive blues resume. A native of
New Orleans, Vreeland spent time supporting
some of the Crescent City's full-bore legends,
including svengali Allen Toussaint, piano god
Professor Longhair and bluesman Earl King. He
also spent time as a member of legendary Sin
City outfits like The Meters and The Radiators,
and produced records by the Subdudes and
Stereo Popsicle.
Mixing what he calls a New Orleans blues
influence with more of an Atlanta-style driving
rhythmic push, as well as a smattering of
Chicago-style blues and Piedmont touches, Code
Blue formed in 1992 when Vreeland hooked up
with singer-harpman Wayne Wahl and bassist
Dave Minor. The trio went through a number of
drummers before Vreeland's nephew Eric Reed
came aboard in 1997. Last fall, Denton Perry, of
the Jennifer Perry Combo, joined on second
guitar and electric sitar, and the band released
its debut album Pre-Existing Conditions. Vreeland
speaks:
Throughout its history, the blues has experi
enced several resurgences in popularity.
Where do you see the blues today?
"There's part of it that's progressive and
going into an area that's new while still encom
passing the spirit of what has happened before.
Then there's a part of it that's getting homoge
nized like modem country music is, so that the
public can accept it. Now, I like a lot of these
albums and will buy them, but some it's a little
slick. While what we do sounds somewhat tradi
tional, we do it our own way. What we do is take
a music we're separate from racially and put our
own hearts into it. Maybe rap and hip hop are
the new living blues nowadays."
So what u> the blues to you?
"What it should be and what it is for me
when it works, it's just getting to the truth
through music and sharing with the people
you're playing with and the people who're lis
tening. It's sort of healing, sharing a feeling
whether it's a joyous feeling or a sad one or
whatever it is. When it's done from the heart,
blues isn't always that easy tc swallow. That's
what the living clues is."
Code Blue plays the Athens Music Factory
Monday. July 10.
c*
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JULY 5, 2000 FLAGPOLE EB