Smart Apple is the pseudonym that Teddie Tapawan uses to make his music more marketable. The name's origin comes from the fact that he has kids and doesn't like to curse around them, so if the kids are around and he wants to call his sister-in-law a smart ass, he just calls her a smart apple. Teddie Tapawan lived in the Washington, D.C., metro area most of his life. In the '80s, Teddie Tapawan was lead guitarist and sang backup vocals for two Maryland heavy metal bands, NITRIX and STRYKES. Since the conception of Smart Apple, he has been living in Springfield, VA, with his wife and two children. He states his style or genre of music is alternative pop/rock, although there is an intense blend of funk, blues-rock, grunge, heavy metal, techno, and rap-rock mixed within. He feels that he is not necessarily trying to make something for everyone, his music comes out as it does because he just really enjoys all types of music. He proclaims that he has always enjoyed anything that got his groove on. An open mind has made his taste in music as broad as the eye can see. Smart Apple had a song, "Morning Light," considered for the soundtrack for Adam Sandler's New Line Cinema movie, Little Nicky. Out of 600 entries in the contest sponsored by www.garageband.com, Smart Apple was one of the ten finalists. In June of 2000, Smart Apple released The Adventures of One..., which received consistently solid reviews in the music industry. In May of 2001, Smart Apple released Valley of the DogZ, which was favored with fabulous reviews and strong airplay. All of the artwork on the Smart Apple CDs and promotional material was created by Teddie Tapawan, displaying that his interest in the arts does not end with music but covers a complete spectrum. ~ Larry Belanger