Album Notes

Two topics always seem to come up as friends sit in the back corner and argue about the quality of the jukebox in their fav local bar...or at least they do when we all get together...

First, there's the best debut album of all time. Granted, this discussion is basically won by the most passionate or most/least drunk person. In the circle that surrounds JJ Appleton, fervent arguments are fought over debuts ranging from My Aim is True to Are You are Experienced over to High Voltage and back to unforgettable initial efforts from Tom Petty and The Cars.

Second is a more esoteric question that's most interesting to musicians and true music fans...putting together your favorite band/producer combination. For JJ Appleton the choice was simple, Elvis Costello backed by the Heartbreakers with Ric Ocasek producing and Tony Platt on the knobs.

It's this very unique combination of influences that lays the foundation for 500 Moments, the debut album from JJ Appleton. From the opening anthem of the first track, "Always in My Dreams", JJ's passion for songwriting captures fans of all the aforementioned artists and those who are yet to understand the groundwork upon which their current musical tastes lie.

JJ is a New York City based artist who's been in the game for quite a few years, but has recently gained the most attention for his first solo outing 500 Moments. First listens to the record have earned him a spot on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, a feature on E!'s Wild On, and a national affiliation with Budweiser's True Music Live program and Gibson Guitars.

It's in the spirit of great music and friends defending their favorite artists over a few drinks that we invite you to check out JJ Appleton's debut into the rock world, 500 Moments. In a world of manufactured pop, it's a refreshing experience to listen to a record by an artist that still keeps the vinyl close by...


"Record companies take notice!"
--Jonathan Clarke, Q104 Radio in New York

"JJ Appleton, clings to a pop-rock sound but with considerably more edgy energy...adding figurative lightning to the stormy night."
--Washington Post


Walking around with a half written song in your head can be the torture that paves the road to heaven when it's finally finished. Welcome to my everyday life, where a few more than "500 moments" have led me to this point...

I was born in Detroit and raised in Norwich, Vermont, and since then I've been living in New York City. Vermont was a great place to be a kid, especially for freezing your ass off. So, in order to keep warm, I'd agree to stay inside to practice piano and later guitar for hours on end. These hours gave me plenty of time to dream, and I knew early on that all I wanted to do was to write and play music.

I grew up with uber-creative parents. My father, a pioneer composer of early electronic music, had some interesting house guests when I was growing up. We often welcomed musical giants from Don Cherry to Wang Chung as regular visitors. We also moved around a bit from Sweden, to Tonga, then Oregon and made travels through Turkey and Israel. These early experiences with musical characters and global adventures showed me a world I so wanted to be a part of.

This fall I packed up my '64 SG, and brought along my band to Los Angeles to make "500 Moments" a reality. I'm told it's a series of musical snapshots of my perspective on
life...all I can tell you is this is what my reality is for a moment.

JJ, March 2003