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Hot Apple Pie's newly released self titled album was introduced to the music scene by the debut the quirky, feel good summer hit "Hilbillies." The fresh new group, led by Little Texas frontman Brady Seals, puts a new spin on traditional country mixing a Texas boy with a degree in jazz, a Cajun drummer who throws in some accordion now and then, and a flat-picking guitar champ from Virginia.
No matter ones style preference the Hot Apple Pie album has something to offer, whether it is the heartfelt ballad of "Why Cant I Get to You", the classic "Slowing down the Fall" featuring Willie Nelson (my personal favorite on the album), or the funky anthem style "Redneck Revolution." With a great contrast of songs tied together by the excellent musicianship the group named for their "100% natural, no artificial ingredient style," puts out an heartfelt and fun debut album, perfect for a summer release. Hopefully their creativity and insight into the business will keep them making more. - John P. Arterburn http://www.AgRoots.com
As the TPAC stage darkened, lights began to flash and a pre-recorded voice announced the arrival of Hot Apple Pie. Opening the show with the new single "We're Makin' Up," the Hot Apple Pie boys made sure that you realized very quickly that this was a high energy show.
Each member seems to compliment the other and each is given spotlight time. Majetka borrowed from his former "bandmate" Charlie Daniels to take lead on "Long-Haired Country Boy." Majetka was then called on to fill-in for Willie Nelson who recorded the duet "Slowin' Down The Fall" on the Hot Apple Pie project.
It was Horne who first got the crowd dancing in the aisles though with his rendition of the hit "Shaky Ground" which has been recorded by performers from the Temptations to T. Graham Brown. Seals was able to do the same when they performed their own version of the classic "What I Like About You" interjected with a little bit of "My Sherona" during an instrumental break.
Teasing several times through the night with the line "Hey Hillbillies!, " the teasing was finally over and the boys performed the single that helped propel their CD to the number six slot on the Billboard charts. As they left the stage, the audience was still calling for more. It probably seemed longer than it really was before the band returned to the stage for an encore performance trading lead vocals on "The Weight."
Check out the bands website and watch for them to come to a city near you. It will be well worth your trip. Even when the band is on the other side of the US, you can still follow what's going on through Seals' self-written journals also available on the site. Downloads of special editions of the bands music is available now! - Michelle Durham
After a local band competition had ended and the winner had been announced, Hot Apple Pie took the stage at 8:30 PM. They began the show with a few cuts off their self-titled CD, "Should've Seen Her Leavin' Comin'," "Everybody Wants To Dance With My Baby," and "We're Makin' Up." The crowd was already becoming not so relaxed and when they performed, "Slowin' Down the Fall" from this moment on it was apparent we were in for one heck of a show. Brady apologized for his duet partner, the legendary Willie Nelson not being able to accompany him on it like he did on the CD. He also introduced this song as one that if you liked the hard core traditional sounding country, you were gonna love it. And love it we did rewarding the guys with a standing ovation at the end. That was last time I saw anyone sitting. After ripping our hearts out with this tear-jerker, they jumped right into a little country funk by performing Jerry Reed's, "Amos Moses." The Pie was beginning to bake!
Continuing on with another ballad, "Why Can't I Get To You," and then giving us, "Redneck Revolution," which included a little taste of Hank Jr.'s, "Country Boy Can Survive," Brady turned the microphone over to a smokin hot guitar player by the name of Bryan Nutter. We heard Bad Company's classic, "Movin' On." Just to tweak the ingredients of the show, we were treated to Bob Marley's, "Stir It Up" and a Funk filled song called, "Shakey Ground." They slowed it down one final time to play one of my favorites from their CD, "Easy Does It." This song is musically and lyrically seductive as it tells the tale of a man who is just on the verge of being tempted by a beautiful girl, to move on from a heartache he doesn't really want to let go of.
Jumping back and forth from vocals, guitar and keyboards, Brady Seals also delivers one heck of harmonica solo during the bluegrassey song, "The Shape I'm In." This song also really showcases the bands tight harmonies.
Having teased the audience all night long with little rifts from the band's first hit, "Hillbillies," the tease was over as we finally get to hear it. Brady was golden brown on top as he worked the entire audience and Keith Horne, the bass player gave us some funky bass grooves. I can't forget to mention Trey Landry the bands drummer who was also smokin' hot that night. If the boats at the marina weren't tied down, they were gonna be making some waves. This song brought the house down. The band left the stage afterwards and when the audience begged for their return, they came back for two more songs, "The Weight," and "You Got Me Rockin'."
Hot Apple Pie was on fire that night and I was so pleased for them to have such a receptive audience. I think we all forgot how hot the weather was for the entire two hours the band played. I had a chance to ask Brady afterwards about a new album and he told me next year sometime, with a new single possibly in November.
Catch this band if you can! It's a big heaping helping of desert that you won't soon forget. - Sue Bauman
I would buy this album just to get "Slowin' Down the Fall" but not only because Willie Nelson is a guest vocalist on this cut; nope, I really liked this song and, yes, that is Brady Seals singing with Willie. Hot Apple Pie is the third incarnation in Nashville for Seals. This young artist has more lives than a cat but I think he has found his niche' this time out. Seals contributes lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and accordion; rounding out the group are Mark "Sparky" Matejka – vocals, guitar, banjo, Keith Horne – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, steel guitar and Trey Landry – drums, percussion and accordion.
It appears that Seals, who wrote on nine of the thirteen songs on this album, may be the main ingredient in this musical pie but it is the artful blending of all the ingredients that sets it apart and qualifies it for a blue ribbon. Their bio states, "The recipe for Hot Apple Pie includes a Virginia-bred flat-picking guitar champion/bass player, a Cajun drummer/accordionist, a Texan guitarist with a degree in jazz, a proven hit singer-songwriter and a dash of that indefinable something called musical charisma." The recipe works; the diverse ingredients are flawlessly mixed and make for a most palatable treat and who would have thought that all that Cajun spice would make for such a sweet treat.
The band is quite proud of the fact that, as Matejka puts it, "This [band] is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients" and Horne quickly adds that "Yes, that's really us playing on the record." They may be a tad old to be called a "boy band" and perhaps a member or two shy of being a full "group" but no matter what else you call them, I'm sure you'll be calling them "first-rate" and their vocal harmonies are on par with the best.
"I wanted my next musical project to have integrity," says Seals. "I wanted something that’s fresh and new, a little edgy and yet mainstream. Hot Apple Pie is that something." He also says that, in the past, he has had a "hard time trying to move on (from previous ventures) and have people embrace my new music." I seriously doubt if that will be a problem this time. When you listen to this high energy foursome with their flawless instrumentals and seamless vocal harmony; well, with all due respect to Seals, but his voice didn't reach its full flavor potential until he merged his talents with those of his multi-talented partners to create this scrumptious, unique slice of Americana, awash in weepy fiddles and languid peddle steel, called Hot Apple Pie. And when it comes to the musical integrity he was seeking; well, mission accomplished.
- Cheryl Harvey Hill (CountryStarsOnline.com)
Discography
Hot Apple Pie - Dreamworks Records
(Highest debuting county group in Nielson SoundScan history, 17,000 CDs the first week)
Singles include:
- "Hillbillies"- Hillbillies Love it in the Hay, #1 VH1 Video
& CMT's top 20 Sexiest Videos
- We're Makin' Up
- Easy Does It
Photos
Bio
The recipe for Hot Apple Pie includes a Virginia-bred flat-picking guitar champion/bass player, a Cajun drummer/accordionist, a proven hit singer-songwriter and a dash of that indefinable something called musical charisma.
"Hot Apple Pie is the perfect name for a band, isn't it?" comments Trey Landry. "This is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients," he continues. "From the very first day we played together, we knew this was a great mix," recalls Brady Seals. "And, yes, that's really us playing on the record," adds Keith Horne.
What a concept. In an era when teen-heartthrob pop vocal quartets are called "boy bands" and when country "groups" hire session musicians to play on their records, the sound of Hot Apple Pie is indeed refreshing. You can hear it in every groove of its DreamWorks Records debut - this is an honest-to-goodness band.
These musicians have an astonishingly full and diverse sound. Tracks like "Easy Does It" and "Everybody Wants to Dance with My Baby" have sensuous, R&B flavored grooves. "The Good Life" is a stuttering-guitar rocker. Hot Apple Pie takes The Band's oldie "The Shape I'm In" for a bluegrass ride. "Slowin' Down the Fall" is a hardcore country barroom weeper with a guest appearance by the legendary Willie Nelson.
"Redneck Revolution" is a bluesy, swampy Southern rocker. Yet "Why Can't I Get to You" is a hushed ballad of desire. The group's triple harmonies leap out of the speakers on tracks like the upbeat "We're Makin' Up." The ballad "California King" is a marked contrast to the wild ride of the rocking "Should've Seen Her Leavin' Comin.'" "Annabelle" and "All Together Now" seethe with backwoods Southern atmosphere. But "Hillbillies" has a distinctly urban, hip-hop vibe.
The band's story begins with Brady. A member of a highly musical clan that also includes country stars Dan Seals ("Bop"), pop star Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts ("Summer Breeze") and celebrated country songwriters Troy Seals ("Seven Spanish Angels ") and Chuck Seals ("Crazy Arms"), Brady was on the road as a country musician by age 16. He sent his early songwriting efforts to Uncle Troy in Nashville to have them critiqued. Then he moved to Music City.
During his 1991-95 tenure in Little Texas, Brady Seals blossomed as a writer. He co-wrote the band¹s hits "My Love" and "What Might Have Been," as well as the Grammy Award nominated "Amy's Back in Austin" and "God Blessed Texas." But country stardom carried a heavy price.
"We did 322 days on the road the year before I left," he recalls. "To this day, I have not found a band that has toured that much in one year. It was just unbelievable."
After leaving Little Texas to pursue a solo career, Seals released CDs in 1997 and 1999. He had six charting singles as a solo artist. However, Seals says "in every interview people would ask me about Little Texas. I really had a hard time trying to move on and have people embrace my new music."
He spent a lot of time in Los Angeles writing and he made a critically acclaimed 2001 pop/rock album called Thompson Street. But the country boy never "fit in" with the West Coast crowd. He returned to Nashville to resume co-writing with greats such as Rodney Crowell ("Annabelle"), Mike Reid ("Why Can¹t I Get to You"), Dennis Robbins ("All Together Now"), Uncle Troy and his son T.J., Brady's cousin. T.J. had also attempted an L.A. pop career, billed as Kizzy Plush. He and Brady have documented their shared experiences in the Hot Apple Pie song "California King."
In 2002, Brady Seals had a brainstorm. He says, "I wanted to create music that's fresh and new, a little edgy yet mainstream, supported by musicianship with integrity. Hot Apple Pie is that something." He explains, "I had the name and the whole vision from the beginning. I started to call the band The Apples. Then it turned into Apple Pie. Then, thanks to my wife, it turned into Hot Apple Pie. The guys all liked it. We chose the name because it means so many different things. It means home. It means comfort. It means country. It means rock 'n' roll. And it's so American."
Trey Landry had been in my band when I was a solo artist. I loved how he played, and I always thought he should have more than a sideman role. So I called him up and said, 'Let’s put a band together.'"
"Actually, Brady was my first job when I moved to town," reports Trey Landry. "It’s kind of an interesting story. The last gig I did living in Louisiana was with Wayne Toups, a Southern Louisiana accordion great. We went on Delbert McClinton's Blues Cruise in the Caribbean, and I was literally moving to Nashville two weeks later. Rodney Crowell and his wife Claudia Church were vacationing on that cruise. He saw me play with Wayne. He came up and introduced himself. We exchanged numbers, and he told me to call him when I got to town. But Rodney wasn't up and running yet, so when I called him, he introduced me to Brady."
Brady’s wife, Lisa Stewart, introduced him to her former reco
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