Simeon Coxe (Silver Apples) R.I.P.

I’m saddened to hear about the passing of Simeon Coxe, best known as the main man behind Silver Apples.

I did get to hang out with him a bit when I was part of the band Loto Ball Show, who toured with him. It was only 3 days for me, but we hung out in Detroit at an abandoned toy factory, and Simeon preferred this kind of environment for a party rather than a show at a proper venue. We also went to the Motown Museum and did the tour there. I cannot find the photo of us from there right now, and it irritates me.

Somewhere I have an autographed Silver Apples Lp. I remember it was really exciting to hear the original pressing of the first Silver Apples LP, with a metallic silver cover, for the first time at WZRD. I also have seen Silver Apples more than a few times, naturally, and I remember coming up to him after he performed at a cemetery, and I was wearing a tuxedo with black on my teeth. By then, the black had worn off some, and it looked like I only had one front tooth. It disturbed Simeon a bit, and it was funny when I explained to him that I had all of my teeth. At that time, we discussed the nature of being southern, as it seemed to me that he had gleaned all of the pleasantries of southern hospitality, without the narrow-mindedness that often comes with it.

Simeon had a back injury that was pretty severe, yet he toured by himself. He had some sort of system to load and unload his copious amounts of gear in and out of his car every day. I was really impressed by that. I was also impressed that after the death of Danny Taylor, the drummer of Silver Apples, in 2005, Simeon sampled recordings of Taylor’s drums and used them in programming for his sets with solo performance. Both in conversation with me and with others, he always lit up when talking about the old days, and especially about working with Jimi Hendrix on his version of the Star-Spangled Banner.

He was a unique and spirited soul, and he will be missed.