By: Lindsay Cranford
It’s no question that you’re going to notice Angie Aparo when he walks into a room. He’s bald yet full-bearded, accessorized to the max with hats, scarves, glasses and man bags. His sometimes manic genius emanates off him in the form of intense late night conversations about the deepest meanings of life, punctuated by loud outbursts of belly laughter, most likely at one of his own ridiculous and sexual innuendo-laced jokes. It’s definitely no question that you’re going to notice Angie Aparo when he walks onto a stage and opens his mouth. His voice can hypnotize a room into silence, and his on-stage banter can immediately fill it back up with whooping laughs and the odd knee slap.
Sometimes we’re lucky enough to be in that room when Angie’s on stage. He doesn’t frequently play in the Lowcountry, so we take note when he announces a local concert. Angie, accompanied by local guitar powerhouse Yannie Reynecke, played his first Coligny Theatre show in December 2018 to a packed house, and the two are returning for round two on June 15th. I was lucky enough to grab a few minutes of Angie’s time to talk about his show, the local music scene, and which local musician(s) he’d like to marry.
Lindsay Cranford, Southender Staff: What brought you to the Island?
Angie Aparo: A friend of mine had a Tiki Hut gig booked on a spring break weekend in ‘95. He wasn’t able to do it, so I subbed for him. Patsy was managing the Tiki Hut at that time and offered me the whole summer. As I was living in Atlanta, they put me up in the Holiday Inn. I ended up writing my first record, Out of The Everywhere, in that hotel.
LC: So what’s kept you here?
AA: I was still living in Atlanta and touring the East Coast but I kept returning to Hilton Head to work on new material. I’m a believer in the shamanism of art. The shaman/artist has to leave his culture, tribe, etc. to find new ideas outside of his echo chamber. I guess Hilton Head was my escape from my Atlanta tribe.
LC: When talking with long-time locals about the Island’s late night music scene, your name usually comes up. You’ve played a big role in its story. What are your thoughts on the evolution of our scene over the years?
AA: It’s been an interesting evolution. I remember playing (the former) Moneypenny’s in ‘96. Me and Tristan (O’Grady, Moneypenny’s owner) were talking about charging three dollars at the door. I think Tristan said something like, “I don’t know if the island is ready for a cover charge?” I was like, “Three dollars..what the f&*%? There’s enough residual blow on my fans’ mustaches to pay for my whole tour?!?”
LC: You wrote a Grammy winning song, ‘Cry’. Although that award is considered one of the greatest achievements in the music business, what other accomplishments in your career rank as high for you?
AA: It’s funny, one of my favorite artistic moments has to do with that song, ‘Cry’. When Faith Hill was recording her version of it, she invited me to come hear the final mix in Nashville. After listening, I said, “OK..when are we doing a duet together!?” We laughed. About a year later, her manager called me and said, “Faith wants to do ‘Cry’ as a duet with you on her NBC Thanksgiving special”. And I was like, “Yes please”.
LC: You’re always up to something unique. What should we expect to see or hear next?
AA: There’s a documentary being shot right now about my stroke and my return to music. I’m also working on a new album that will accompany the film, hopefully for late 2019 release.
LC: You don’t play around town often so we are extra thrilled you’re returning to the Coligny Theatre stage in June! What’s going to be special about this show?
AA: I’ll be playing the show with Yannie Reynecke on guitar. He’s fantastic! He also cuddles without judgement. I also might have a special guest or two! And of course, I’ll be doing my interpretive dance number called, ‘Hello Mr. Sad Pants’.
LC: Ok, now for a couple random questions. Favorite HH music venue, past or present?
AA: Mardi Gras, past. Jazz Corner, present.
LC: One thing you can’t tour without?
AA: My dog, Gus.
LC: What would you have for your last meal?
AA: Probably a fried Spam and pepper jelly sandwich.
LC: Kill/f*$^/marry: Jevon Daly, Martin Lesch, Yannie Reynecke.
AA: This is a tough one… I think I’d rather marry all of them in a beautiful joint wedding on Daufuskie. Then we’d all f$&% on the beach under the raging moon. After that, I would take them for a nice boat ride and cut them each a big slice of cyanide-laced red velvet cake. After dumping their bodies in the sound, I would grieve for several months before writing my #1 pop album, ‘Marry F*%$ Kill Joy’
LC: Favorite thing to listen to when you drive?
AA: I don’t listen to a lot of music while driving as I’m usually working on melodies in my head. If I listen to anything, I usually do Audible books. Recently I’ve been spinning Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.
