For more than 15 years—since he was a teenage bass phenom with
hip-hop/funk-rock act Epileptic Disco—Tom Appleman has been a tireless
journeyman musician, playing onstage with everyone from the Drifters to
Robbie Krieger of the Doors to the Aerosmith tribute band Draw the Line.
He has toured Japan, celebrated Superbowl victories with Kid Rock and
been fired by teeny-bopper star JoJo. His latest single "Pour It All Over" combines classic rock and a swirl of funk to create an idealistic
sensual mood to get you grooving with that special someone.
But Appleman generally played songs written by others, and he rarely
sang except for back-up. Then Appleman went through a bitter divorce.
“When you’re with a woman for 13 years, then you’re by yourself, you
pull out the keyboard, you pull out the guitar, and you write some
songs,” he says. “That gets it off your chest.”
Appleman hadn’t written lyrics since high school. But once he started
writing complete songs again, music and lyrics, he didn’t stop. Now he
has hundreds of songs. “Most have to do with breaking up somebody and
then meeting someone else—feeling a new love and also feeling the pain
of an old one. And then just songs about life.” All were recorded in his
apartment with Appleman singing and playing all parts—vocals, piano,
electric piano, guitar, drums, and, of course, bass.
Best described as a mix of mellow pop and heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll,
Appleman’s sound often evokes the best elements of well-written 1970s
soft rock and R&B. His flawless, seemingly effortless musicianship
blends charmingly with honest lyrics and raw, naked vocals.
“I’m doing this out of a need,” Appleman says. “After all the heartache
and bullshit, this is the most natural thing to do. This is what I did
when I was 16. Now I’m free again, what do I do? Well, I’m not gonna
play with my wrestling figures! I’m gonna write songs like I did back
then—but now I’m a lot better and I’ve been playing music for the last
15 years, and I know a little more about it. So you approach it at this
stage and the product is pretty damn good!"
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