Simon Apple

[sternzbt]

Roger --

Well honestly, until a few years ago I would have probably been turned off by an overtly Christian lyric, having been born a Jew, but now a converted Catholic! These days I actually really enjoy Christian Contemporary music now (and listen to it more than anything else) thanks to a great station that I found in New Jersey (was WAWZ-FM 99.1, but now known as Star 99.1) right at the time I was contemplating my conversion. So when I heard the Christian references in Simon Apple, it really took me by surprise, but in a very good way. They are a progressive band that happens to be Christian, not vice versa. Christ's name is not in the lyrics, but in a few tracks his message rings through....not in a hokey or corny way, but in a thought provoking, optimistic way that modern music seems to lack these days. The other thing I really enjoy about the band is their sense of humor about themselves... there are definitely a number Monty Python fans in the group!

STERN