Apple Orchard

Indie

Richmond, CA

Billboard

Apple Orchard started out as a solo project by Ryan Marquez. Nothing serious, really. Can't really consider it a "project" during that time. While listening to a lot of The Sugargliders, Field Mice, Brighter, Sweet William, a few Sarah Records compilations and playing acoustic guitar along monotonous drum beats off a casiotone became a habit, a few songs were written, mostly schoolboy lyrics and near-whispered melodies. The first home recordings were recorded in an old cassette recorder and included the songs "Wide Awake" and "Scenes From The Sky", a very hissy tape labeled as "Apple Orchard". This wasn't really considered a "demo". The name was taken from a song Ryan heard by a band from Nottingham called Bouquet during a summer spent in California in 1999. The songs weren't intended to be heard by anybody other than close friends.

Back in the Philippines in 2000, Ryan and his brother Dale, received a phone call from Allan Montero of Soft Pillow Kisses to inform them that Toti Dalmacion of Groove Nation fame (now of Terno Recordings) was assembling a compilation that will feature Indie acts from Manila. Ryan did compile songs from his other bands and added Apple Orchard's "Wide Awake" at the very end of the tape as well as a so-so version of a song called "Summer's Near"(which they later re-recorded and ended up in Secret Crush Records' "Stamp Collecting" compilation). That tape did land in the hands of Toti Dalmacion and "Wide Awake" was chosen to be one of the songs to be included on the compilation. The compilation cd was called "Mutual Admiration Society" assembled by Toti D with help from Mario Serrano of then Pinoycentral Music backed by Definition Records in the Philippines. Overwhelmed and not knowing what to do in a big studio, during the "Mutual Admiration Society" session, Ryan asked his brother Dale to play bass just moments before recording "Wide Awake" and the result was more than satisfying. Dale who has broad musical knowledge knew exactly where Apple Orchard was heading in terms of the sound.

They decided to continue the project as a duo. The Marquez brothers have been playing together in Dorian of Juniper Bells (which incidentally, was also included in the compilation album) aside from their other bands: Ryan with Sodajerk and also Carnival Park while Dale for Sonnet LVIII and Soft Pillow Kisses. The duo played very few gigs in Manila when "Mutual Admiration Society" came out and they've never really gotten into writing and recording more songs not until 2002 when the brothers moved to California for good. After a few more listens of tape hiss, another compilation appearance in the aforementioned, Secret Crush Records in New York surfaced in 2003, as well as cassette EPs for both L.A.'s Popgun Recordings and Italy's Best Kept Secret the same year. The band released a 7" single, "A Hiding Smile" on Humblebee Recordings in Canada the February of 2006. Most recently, Cloudberry Records issued Apple Orchard's That Happy Glow 3" cd-r single.

More motivated than ever, the boys continue to record songs in the bedroom and hope to release a full-length very soon.

Long live bedroom pop!

*for more tunes, visit the band's official website and myspace page.