Smart Apple’s alternative rock CD, "Grounded" comes almost exactly 10 years after Smart Apple (Teddie Tapawan) debuted three well received 6-song EP releases (between 2001 and 2003); “The Adventures of One…”, “Valley of the DogZ”, and “Conformity”. While radio airplay and glowing reviews for his EP’s were achieved, Teddie took a 10 year hiatus from recording to concentrate on writing songs and stories to tell the world in what would become his first, full-on, 16-track commercial release. “Grounded” showcases Teddie’s smoky vocal styling and his ability to instrumentally tell a story that really touches the listener.
As a solo artist, Teddie plays all instruments and sings all vocals on this CD. Providing an intense blend of alt/hard rock, acoustic jams, and a bit of funk, along with infectious vocal hooks; each song tells a story in a way only Teddie can tell it.
Some reviews of Smart Apple (Teddie Tapawan):
Rock and a Hard Place eZine (May 2001) --
"Smart Apple is the project of one man, or “dude” as he calls himself, Teddie Tapawan. He played every instrument, produced, wrote and most likely did the artwork, although I can't prove that part. Anyway, there's no doubt this is a very talented dude. He's still in the beginning stages of this project, so I think he's still finding a groove. He's got 7 songs released at this time, and each has a distinct uniqueness to it. There's everything from Blues, Rap, Rock, and Metal weaved creatively throughout these tracks. I'm really impressed with his work, especially considering, it's like, all HIM! His single "Valley Of The Dogz" is a Chili Peppers meets Ice T rockin' track that has a blistering guitar solo. His 6 Song EP "The Adventures of One..." has 6 songs with 6 different genres. "Which Way" is an Alternative/Bluesy type song with some cool vocal fx and nice guitar work... not my fav, but it's one of the more marketable songs. It reminds me a bit of Matchbox 20. "Thunder On The Mountain" is a more Classic Rock tune with deep-rooted emotion. Artistically, probably his best song. "The Dream" is a dark Alternative Metal track, again, nice guitar work here, very tasty hooks and guitar tone. "A Darker Shade of Blue" is exactly what the title says, a traditional dark and moody track... a bit too depressing for me, but Blues fans will appreciate the work. You do see a complete different dimension of this artist on this track. "Morning Light" is a modern rocker with some very catchy hooks, my personal favorite, although it's almost too short! I wanted to hear more of this kind of stuff from Teddie, but he just teased me with this 1:53 of sensible modern Pop Rock. Finally, Teddie shows again another dimension of his work with "All I Live Is You". His voice has a "Dylanesque" tone here in this short and sweet acoustic love song. All in all, I'm not sure where Teddie's going, there's a lot of different stuff in these tracks. He really does reflect the current state of music, there's so many different influences and formats out there, and most people do listen to a variety of styles of music. He keeps you guessing, and I guess that's good right? Anyway, to sum this up, Smart Apple is a smart project for smart listeners. So head over to smartapplerocks.com where Teddie shares his music with the world, and send him an email and say, 'Hey, THANKS Dude!'"
Chris "Big Daddy" Hunter (Operations Manager Radio.BeOnAir.com Internet Radio Cleveland/ Cincinnati/Chicago) --
"As Operations Manager for four Internet Radio Stations (Radio.BeOnAir.com Internet Radio - Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Chicago) I encourage new and/or unsigned artists to send me their stuff and and if it fits our formats, we'll play it! Smart Apple sent me his stuff and the response from our listeners was phenominal!!! People all over the world (yes ... the WORLD!) continually ask us to play his music. It's well put together ... it rocks ... and the artist is just one fine dude!!! I have his "Adventures of One" CD in heavy rotation with no plans to take it out!!! I also received cuts from Smart Apple's soon-to-be-released CD "Valley of the Dogz" which is also getting lots of play. It's hard to believe all this great music is coming from just one man!!! Smart Apple is a hit ... most people just don't know it ... YET!!!"
The Below Magazine (May 2001) --
"Smart Apple is amazing! It might sound like it's just a great band which plays music like Stone Temple Pilots or Faith No More. But Smart Apple is just one guy (which I refused to believe). The material is great musically and the lyrics just add to Teddie Tapawan's talented music. The description says that it's just one man jamming in a studio. Well if this is "just" jamming I would love to hear what this guy can really do. I suppose he is one of those guys who owns a studio and works as a mixer for other bands… You know they are always just amazing with instruments. This kind of music is very popular in the alternative genre; kind of "hard" rock, which is played by Live, Creed, etc. I think that Smart Apple almost exceeds to the same level adding the knowledge that it's just a one man band!"
