Friday night, May 28 – Apple Jam, popular Seattle Beatles tribute group, performed a fantastic show at the Woodshed Studios Friday night. The venue at the Woodshed is small and created a wonderfully intimate atmosphere with great acoustics. While some chairs lined the room, by the time the show started at 9pm it was standing-room only.
Apple Jam’s performance featured early Beatles music, starting out with songs from the Please Please Me album: I Saw Her Standing There; Misery; Anna; Please Please Me; Love Me Do; P.S. I Love You; Do You Want To Know a Secret; A Taste of Honey; There’s a Place; Twist and Shout.
The middle set featured songs from their CD “Off the Beatle Track”: I’m in Love; Tip of My Tongue; You Know What To Do; One and One is Two.
Songs from With the Beatles filled the last set – It Won’t Be Long; All My Loving; Don’t Bother Me; Please Mr. Postman; I Wanna Be Your Man, and many more.
The band, in perfect form, had the room rocking with over two hundred happy Beatles fans. As usual, drummer Jon Bolton didn’t fail to amaze the audience with his astonishing and sometimes totally crazy drum work. Vocals by Lovrovich and Bolton were impeccable. Kurtis Dengler, the youngest addition to the group, plays a mean guitar and harmonica as well. Another great show by Apple Jam, showing their devotion to the music of the Beatles. (see slideshow of pictures below.)
Apple Jam is performing another show in Seattle at the Triple Door on July 24, all McCartney music.
Background on Apple Jam
Rick Lovrovich (bass,vocals) Jon Bolton (drums, guitar, vocals), Mike Mattingly (guitar), Kurtis Dengler (guitar, harmonica and vocals) and Johnny Jones (keyboards) form the current line-up of the band.
The band got together in 2005 as the John Lennon Jam, to pay tribute to John Lennon for the 25th anniversary of his death at the Crocodile Cafe. Made up of other Seattle bands including the Herding Cats, the Beatniks, the Paul Rogers Band, and Stella, this special formation was created in support of Steve Roseta’s play, “Just Like Starting Over,” a recreation of John Lennon’s last interview before he died in December of 1980.
The “John Lennon Jam” was so spot-on amazing that it was nearly scary -- (we reported on the show in Daytrippin' Magazine at that time) that they reconvened for new shows to feature other specific elements such as McCartney as well as George Harrison. Each one has been incredible.
The “mother group” of this band, the Beatniks, has been one of the most popular cover bands of ‘60s, '70s and ‘80s music in the northwest since the early 1990s. Herding Cats performs weekly at Wilde Rover in Kirkland as well.
CD - Off the Beatle Track
Their recent CD entitled “Off the Beatle Track” features early songs the Beatles gave away. This CD has achieved worldwide fame, and has been featured on Chris Carter’s Breakfast With the Beatles, the Bob Rivers Show on KZOK, and many other programs.
They also performed at the Cavern last summer in Liverpool for Beatles Week. (See you tube video below playing Crippled Inside with the original drummer on that song, Alan White.) Alan White of Yes, John Lennon’s Imagine drummer, has sat in as guest drummer several times, including in Liverpool.
This CD was recorded at the same venue, the Woodshed Studios as well, using period recording techniques, equipment and instruments, in order to recreate the authentic early ‘60s sound. The CD is reminiscent of the early Beatles sound, speculating what these songs would have sounded like if the Beatles had indeed recorded and released them.
Three music related Examiners in attendance:
In attendance Friday night were three Examiners who will do reviews on the show: Besides myself, Gillian Gaar, the Seattle Pop Culture Examiner, and Greg Roth, the Seattle Music Insider were there (see picture in slideshow).
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