Aloud
Encyclopedia
Aloud is an American, Boston
-based indie rock
band known for its songwriting and vocal prowess as well as using a two lead singer approach.
Founded in 2002 by Jen de la Osa (lead vocals, guitar, keys) and Henry Beguiristain (lead vocals, guitar, keys), the group is rounded out by bassist/backing vocalist Charles Murphy and drummer Mike Tucker. In 2006, Aloud created the Lemon Merchant Records label to release their own music and have been played on over 100 college radio stations around the United States.
Aloud is currently touring the United States in support of their third studio album Exile
.
Aloud spent 2002 and most of 2003 performing solely in the Boston area. In early 2003 Aloud stepped into the studio to record another four song demo titled Pretty Little Picture. At some point in 2003 Rob Acevedo was replaced by another stand-in, Eric Anderson, on drums, before Ross Lohr was taken on near the end of the year as a permanent member.
With the addition of Lohr, Aloud recorded The Sooner It Comes
, a six-song EP
, with producer Ian Hughes in early 2004. Aloud also began performing well outside of the Boston area, expanding their touring area as far as Portland, Maine, and New York City
. As of January 31, 2008, the most Aloud performances in any given year was in 2004 (74 performances).
That same year Aloud met with future collaborator Hugh Wyman (former guitarist for Baby Strange and The Luxury
). Wyman would initially offer suggestions on improving the band's guitar gear before approaching them to produce their first album. They spent the first few months of 2005 organizing, refining, and rehearsing material before spending the Summer and some of the Fall recording.
Even though Aloud had been around since 2002, the band made its first real mark after releasing the debut album
Leave Your Light On
on May 2, 2006, to positive press and national airplay on college radio. Leave Your Light On was self-released through Lemon Merchant Records, a record label founded by Aloud with Wyman. Aloud toured the record through the Northeast United States till the end of the year.
In April 2007, Aloud made it to the semi-final round of the 29th annual WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
, beating out 15 other groups for the wildcard slot. In the same month Jen de la Osa was nominated for Best Female Vocalist by the Boston Phoenix.
Aloud spent the rest of 2007 writing material for a second album, eventually choosing to record it that Fall in New York City
with Sony mix engineer Chuck Brody. In between recording sessions, Aloud also performed at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon that October.
Fan the Fury
, was released on March 25, 2008. A national tour to support the album followed. A film titled Hard Up In The 2000s
, a documentary of the Spring leg of the tour, was released on September 12, 2008.
In October 2008, it was revealed Aloud had been developing a multimedia live performance of Fan The Fury titled I Just Want To Witness..., taken after a lyric in the songs Witness and Justice & Forgiveness. The show integrated Aloud's live performance of Fan The Fury in its entirety with corresponding films, and was developed with filmmaker Johnathan Carr. Films were contributed by Johnathan Carr himself as well as directors Erin Bowser, Mike Pecci, Chris March, and animators Kristin Osiecki and Timothy Scholl. I Just Want To Witness... debuted in Boston on November 18, 2008. While this has been the only full performance of I Just Want To Witness..., Aloud later performed most of the show in New York in 2009.
In December 2008, music from Fan The Fury was heavily featured in Bad Habit Productions' presentation of The Laramie Project
.
The latter half 2008 also saw significant changes to Aloud's core lineup. Bassist Roy Fontaine parted ways with the group in September 2008. He is currently pursuing a career as a producer and audio engineer. Subsequently, Aloud toured as a three-piece during the Fall 2008 leg of the Fan The Fury tour. After the tour, former Baby Strange bassist Tim Hare began filling in on bass for live shows. Drummer Ross Lohr last performed with the group on January 29, 2009 in Allston, MA (although, in 2011, Lohr tracked drums on the Aloud single "The Cash and the Pearls"). He still appears in the music video for the song "Julie". Elaborating in an interview a year later, Henry and Jen stated Lohr left the band "the day after we filmed the Julie video" because he no longer enjoyed performing with the band and amicably parted ways. Currently, Lohr is the director of Newton-Tanzania Collaborative, a Boston-area non-profit.
Aloud performed the third and fourth legs of the Fan The Fury tour with temporary members Jonathan Schmidt (from the band Morningwood
), Rob Lynch (ex-Harris), Travis Richter (from the bands The Motion Sick
and Naked On Roller Skates), Jesse James Salucci (The Lights Out) and Tommy Mazalewski alternating on drums; and Tim Hare, Ryan Majoris (from the band Keeping Riley), Matthew Girard (from the band The Motion Sick
and The Future Everybody) alternating on bass. Since October 2009, bassist Charles Murphy (ex-Pyotr, ex-Comma) has been performing with the group, eventually joining as a full-fledged member of the band.
The free EP Live 2009 contains performances from one of the final shows of the tour at Howler's Coyote Cafe in Pittsburgh, PA on November 18, 2009. The live show was recorded, engineered, and mixed by Bengt Alexander. The EP was released to the public as a free digital download
on December 31, 2009.
(SN: 76580505) is open to the public and can be viewed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
.
The main argument was in first use dates. Bodin and Louis listed September 23, 2003 as the date of first use. De la Osa and Beguiristain argued their first use in commerce of the name “Aloud” had been used prior (May, 2002). Bodin and Louis' application has remained in stasis January 21, 2005. However, Bodin and Louis broke the group up in 2005, making the point moot and clearing the way for the American 'Aloud' to use the name without any foreseeable hindrance.
Cyril Bodin (lead singer) is currently in a rock band named Amen Birdmen
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band known for its songwriting and vocal prowess as well as using a two lead singer approach.
Founded in 2002 by Jen de la Osa (lead vocals, guitar, keys) and Henry Beguiristain (lead vocals, guitar, keys), the group is rounded out by bassist/backing vocalist Charles Murphy and drummer Mike Tucker. In 2006, Aloud created the Lemon Merchant Records label to release their own music and have been played on over 100 college radio stations around the United States.
Aloud is currently touring the United States in support of their third studio album Exile
Exile (Aloud album)
-Personnel:Aloud* Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin, pianos, keys, percussion, additional production* Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitars, pianos, organ, keys, percussion, glockenspiel, additional production...
.
Formation and early years: 2002-2006
Aloud was formed in May 2002 by vocalists/guitarists Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain out of an earlier version of the group named Feedback, which included bassist Roy Fontaine. Rob Acevedo was recruited to play drums for the fledgling band on an indefinite, but temporary basis, and the four spent the summer working on a home-recorded four song demo titled Don't Trust the Radio, which was released on July 31, 2002 and sold at shows.Aloud spent 2002 and most of 2003 performing solely in the Boston area. In early 2003 Aloud stepped into the studio to record another four song demo titled Pretty Little Picture. At some point in 2003 Rob Acevedo was replaced by another stand-in, Eric Anderson, on drums, before Ross Lohr was taken on near the end of the year as a permanent member.
With the addition of Lohr, Aloud recorded The Sooner It Comes
The Sooner It Comes
The Sooner It Comes is the name of Aloud's six song EP released on June 12, 2004." What's It To You" b/w "Mind Relaxer" was a "double A-side" single released in February 2004 ahead of the EP's release. The two tracks were recorded at Emaginary Studios in Scituate, Massachusetts in late January...
, a six-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, with producer Ian Hughes in early 2004. Aloud also began performing well outside of the Boston area, expanding their touring area as far as Portland, Maine, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. As of January 31, 2008, the most Aloud performances in any given year was in 2004 (74 performances).
That same year Aloud met with future collaborator Hugh Wyman (former guitarist for Baby Strange and The Luxury
The Luxury
-History:Following the 2005 breakup of The Halogens, a Boston-based band fronted by guitarist/vocalist Jason Dunn, The Luxury began with a short-lived lineup brought together by local DJ David Virr...
). Wyman would initially offer suggestions on improving the band's guitar gear before approaching them to produce their first album. They spent the first few months of 2005 organizing, refining, and rehearsing material before spending the Summer and some of the Fall recording.
Even though Aloud had been around since 2002, the band made its first real mark after releasing the debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Leave Your Light On
Leave Your Light On
-Personnel:*Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitar, organ*Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitar, piano*Roy Fontaine - bass guitar, vocals*Ross Lohr - drums, percussionwith*Hugh Wyman - producer*Tom Polce - mixing, mastering...
on May 2, 2006, to positive press and national airplay on college radio. Leave Your Light On was self-released through Lemon Merchant Records, a record label founded by Aloud with Wyman. Aloud toured the record through the Northeast United States till the end of the year.
Fan the Fury and a new lineup: 2007-2009
Beginning in 2007, the band has been managed by long-time associate Annie Burns, of annie*rock, a promotion/booking/production company based in New York.In April 2007, Aloud made it to the semi-final round of the 29th annual WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
The WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
, beating out 15 other groups for the wildcard slot. In the same month Jen de la Osa was nominated for Best Female Vocalist by the Boston Phoenix.
Aloud spent the rest of 2007 writing material for a second album, eventually choosing to record it that Fall in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with Sony mix engineer Chuck Brody. In between recording sessions, Aloud also performed at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon that October.
Fan the Fury
Fan The Fury
-Personnel:Aloud* Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitar, piano, synths* Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitar, piano, Rhodes* Roy Fontaine - bass, backing vocals* Ross Lohr - drums, percussionAdditional personnel* Wendy Mittelstadt - strings...
, was released on March 25, 2008. A national tour to support the album followed. A film titled Hard Up In The 2000s
Hard Up In The 2000s (film)
Hard Up In The 2000s is a rockumentary film of the Spring leg of the indie rock Boston band Aloud's Fan The Fury tour, which took place from March to April 2008...
, a documentary of the Spring leg of the tour, was released on September 12, 2008.
In October 2008, it was revealed Aloud had been developing a multimedia live performance of Fan The Fury titled I Just Want To Witness..., taken after a lyric in the songs Witness and Justice & Forgiveness. The show integrated Aloud's live performance of Fan The Fury in its entirety with corresponding films, and was developed with filmmaker Johnathan Carr. Films were contributed by Johnathan Carr himself as well as directors Erin Bowser, Mike Pecci, Chris March, and animators Kristin Osiecki and Timothy Scholl. I Just Want To Witness... debuted in Boston on November 18, 2008. While this has been the only full performance of I Just Want To Witness..., Aloud later performed most of the show in New York in 2009.
In December 2008, music from Fan The Fury was heavily featured in Bad Habit Productions' presentation of The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
.
The latter half 2008 also saw significant changes to Aloud's core lineup. Bassist Roy Fontaine parted ways with the group in September 2008. He is currently pursuing a career as a producer and audio engineer. Subsequently, Aloud toured as a three-piece during the Fall 2008 leg of the Fan The Fury tour. After the tour, former Baby Strange bassist Tim Hare began filling in on bass for live shows. Drummer Ross Lohr last performed with the group on January 29, 2009 in Allston, MA (although, in 2011, Lohr tracked drums on the Aloud single "The Cash and the Pearls"). He still appears in the music video for the song "Julie". Elaborating in an interview a year later, Henry and Jen stated Lohr left the band "the day after we filmed the Julie video" because he no longer enjoyed performing with the band and amicably parted ways. Currently, Lohr is the director of Newton-Tanzania Collaborative, a Boston-area non-profit.
Aloud performed the third and fourth legs of the Fan The Fury tour with temporary members Jonathan Schmidt (from the band Morningwood
Morningwood
Morningwood is an alternative rock band from New York City, USA, founded in 2001 by Pedro Yanowitz and Chantal Claret. Morningwood was signed to Capitol Records.-Career:...
), Rob Lynch (ex-Harris), Travis Richter (from the bands The Motion Sick
The Motion Sick
The Motion Sick is an indie rock band formed in Boston around 2006 known for "infectious, upbeat pop" and melancholy lyrics. The band has released two full-length albums, Her Brilliant Fifteen and The truth will catch you, just wait.....
and Naked On Roller Skates), Jesse James Salucci (The Lights Out) and Tommy Mazalewski alternating on drums; and Tim Hare, Ryan Majoris (from the band Keeping Riley), Matthew Girard (from the band The Motion Sick
The Motion Sick
The Motion Sick is an indie rock band formed in Boston around 2006 known for "infectious, upbeat pop" and melancholy lyrics. The band has released two full-length albums, Her Brilliant Fifteen and The truth will catch you, just wait.....
and The Future Everybody) alternating on bass. Since October 2009, bassist Charles Murphy (ex-Pyotr, ex-Comma) has been performing with the group, eventually joining as a full-fledged member of the band.
The free EP Live 2009 contains performances from one of the final shows of the tour at Howler's Coyote Cafe in Pittsburgh, PA on November 18, 2009. The live show was recorded, engineered, and mixed by Bengt Alexander. The EP was released to the public as a free digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on December 31, 2009.
Exile: 2010-present
From April 2009 - July 2010, Henry and Jen worked with producer Daniel Nicholas Daskivich on completing the next Aloud release, Exile. In interviews, the band has indicated Exile would be sonically different from previous Aloud releases.Discography
Studio albums- ExileExile (Aloud album)-Personnel:Aloud* Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin, pianos, keys, percussion, additional production* Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitars, pianos, organ, keys, percussion, glockenspiel, additional production...
(2010) - Fan The FuryFan The Fury-Personnel:Aloud* Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitar, piano, synths* Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitar, piano, Rhodes* Roy Fontaine - bass, backing vocals* Ross Lohr - drums, percussionAdditional personnel* Wendy Mittelstadt - strings...
(2008) - Leave Your Light OnLeave Your Light On-Personnel:*Jen de la Osa - lead vocals, guitar, organ*Henry Beguiristain - lead vocals, guitar, piano*Roy Fontaine - bass guitar, vocals*Ross Lohr - drums, percussionwith*Hugh Wyman - producer*Tom Polce - mixing, mastering...
(2006)
Members
- Henry Beguiristain: vocals, guitar, piano/keys, mandolin (2002–present)
- Jen de la Osa: vocals, guitar, piano/keys (2002–present)
- Charles Murphy: bass, mouth sounds (2009–present)
- Mike Tucker: drums, percussion (2011-present)
Past members
- Roy Fontaine: bass, backing vocals (2002–2008)
- Ross Lohr: drums, percussion (2003–2009)
Live and temporary members
- Rob Acevedo: drums (2002–2003)
- Eric Anderson: drums (live, 2003)
- Matthew Girard: bass (2009)
- Tim Hare: bass (live, 2008–2009)
- Jesse James Salucci: drums (live, 2010)
- Rob Lynch: drums (live, 2009)
- Ryan Majoris: bass (live, 2009)
- Tommy Mazalewski: drums (live, 2009–2010)
- Travis Richter: drums (live, 2009–2010)
- Jonathan Schmidt: drums (2009)
- James Willetts: drums (live, 2010–2011)
Trademark issues
Issues surfaced in early 2005 with an electro-pop French duo going by the same moniker. The duo consisted of Cyril Bodin and Gregory Louis. Paperwork submitted by Bodin and Louis to the United States Patent and Trademark OfficeUnited States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
(SN: 76580505) is open to the public and can be viewed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
.
The main argument was in first use dates. Bodin and Louis listed September 23, 2003 as the date of first use. De la Osa and Beguiristain argued their first use in commerce of the name “Aloud” had been used prior (May, 2002). Bodin and Louis' application has remained in stasis January 21, 2005. However, Bodin and Louis broke the group up in 2005, making the point moot and clearing the way for the American 'Aloud' to use the name without any foreseeable hindrance.
Cyril Bodin (lead singer) is currently in a rock band named Amen Birdmen
External links
- allthingsALOUD.com - official site
- Aloud YouTube Channel