As hard as their name, Olean's AppleJack brings new music to the local music scene

The term AppleJack refers to a strong alcoholic beverage made from, of course, apples in the colonial period of American History. It was used as currency to pay road construction crews.

The process of freeze distilling hard cider makes AppleJack 30 to 40 percent alcohol; hard by some standards.

Eleven years ago, Matt Smith and Sean Chamberlain decided that they were going to make a band just as hard as the alcohol. Each of them leaving other bands to create what has become one of Olean's premiere new music bands. Over that time, Matt says the bands has seen musicians come and go, changing the lineup somewhere between seven and 10 times.

That many lineup changes, and a motorcycle accident that nearly took Matt from much more than music, would have killed other bands. So, what keeps AppleJack alive and thriving?

“It's the music,” Matt said. “We don't do the music to be big shots. You see, people that want to play music do just that. We go out, onstage, and play because we love to play. We are not looking to be the big shot band.”

Another thing that has kept them alive and kicking has bee the band's ability to keep things fresh.

“I don't like to play the same songs I have been doing for 20 years,” Matt said. “Some of the people out there like to hear that stuff so we do keep some of it, but we try to grab something new all the time.”

“It's nice to play different things and try new stuff,” Sean said. “It's when a band sits stale that they start to fall apart and break up.”

AppleJack's singer, Judd, echoed the thoughts.

“It's a challenge, too, when you hear something new that you haven't heard and it's not pounding in your head for 10 years,” he said. “It's new to all of us and new to everybody. It's also new for those listening.”

The decision to bring a new song into the set list is a quick one, everyone in the band agreed. With their experience and musical knowledge, it can take only a week for the band to decide on a song's inclusion or rejection.

“As seasoned as we are, usually about a night,” Sean said. “That gives us the idea of whether it will work or not.”

Having differnet music inspiring each of the four members makes the sound and ability of the band that much larger as well, Sean said.

It all comes down to one thing when it comes to musical inspiration, Judd said.

“Liking certain bands and the music itself inspired me,” he said. “For me it's just the music itself.”

While some individual musicians and bands where on the band's list of influences, they all really pointed at the love of music and just wanting to play.

“When I was young, my mom had Zeppelin albums, (and) Randy Rhoads was out and...now, some of the stuff I listen to is like Stevie Ray Vaughn,” Matt said. “That's not what I do, but I listen to a lot of stuff that is music that really gets it in me. I really like bands like Godsmack. They are not done digital. It is really people playing the music.”

“That's the thing, too, is that what we play is different,” Sean said. “We are musicians and we are all different, but we all come together.”

Ultimately, the question is what can the uninitiated member of the AppleJack audience expect?

“We are impulsive and definitely uptempo,” Judd said. “We are pedal to the Metal.

I want people to feel (the music). We want to see hands in the air and heads going. I want people to feel it. We want people to stay until the end.”

The new music addition is one of the things that Judd says continues to impress at the shows.

“I had one guy come up and tell me he was shocked that we would go after songs that are so new,” he said. “'You went after two songs that have been out for less than a month. There aren't too many bands out there that would go after that.You did a good job with it.' he said. I think people are shocked with how new the songs are that we do.”

AppleJack is Judd Carney on vocals, Sean Chamberlain on drums, Matt Smith on guitar and Rico on bass.