Jane, after battling the Snowpocalypse in devil Connecticut, on our way home from the Exile tour.

This past week at Camp Aloud marked the end of an era. Our search for a new van ended Saturday when we plonked down a bit of cash for larger environs and we sold off Jane, the Aloudmobile. To varying degrees, that van was our home for the last seven years. She took a real beating on this last tour (a little over 15,000 miles) and, miraculously, still ran when we got back.

It’s hard to imagine life before Jane. We used to rely on a combination of generous friend with a minivans, taxis, Roy’s dad’s station wagon, and Ross’ parents’ Dodge Caravan for a good two year stretch.

To honor the vehicle that we so loved, the same vehicle that took our abuse with gentle good humor—and by squeezing the circulation out of our legs for hours at a time—here are a few notable van-related stories. Whether it was negotiating our way through the lake behind Ralph’s Diner, backing into a bright red dumpster at the back lot of the old Geno’s, or Ross losing his shit in the Bronx trying to find the highway (“FUCK… EVERYTHING!“), there was a lot of material to draw from.

So… crank up Joe Cocker’s version of With a Little Help From My Friends while you read. Without further ado, here the Top 5 Aloudmobile moments in arbitrary order.

Grrr.. ARRG..

Hello, friends.

Just wanted to drop a line to say thanks for coming out to Saturday’s show. It’s a testament to the awesomeness of this town when there are a zillion—or 2.5 metric shittons—of other shows going on at the same time and we still managed to sell the place out. The messages and comments we’ve gotten have been incredibly heartening, especially having been away this long. It’s been fantastic seeing our friends again, and seeing some acts like Oranjuly and One Happy Island I’d never seen before (mega kudos to Oranjuly for nailing “Holiday Road”).

Thank you thank you thank you. I love this town so much.

(Could do without the snow, though. Seriously: fuck the snow. If I hadn’t spent 20 minutes playing working out on the Wii Fit this morning, I might’ve been injured when I slipped on some ice.)

For those who are concerned, Charles’ gear is undergoing repairs and should be ready before the tour. However, his bass may need some therapy to work this all out.

Anyway, before I leave you, you should check out This Blue Heaven‘s music video for “Slow Dance Slow”, which they debuted at this past Saturday’s show. (Watch it below the jump.)

We’ll be hanging around town for a few more weeks before life finds us shacked up in a van for another couple of months, so if you see us around town, please: not in the face.

Henry

(PS: I’m also playing at this shindig on the 12th.. aka “The Other Night of a Million Shows”.)

Photo: Anna Mazurek

Henry and Jen speak with Time Out Boston

Henry and Jen spoke with Jessie Rogers at Time Out Boston. During the phone interview they covered the nuances of living in a minivan for a few months, working on Exile, a few road stories, and on a new-found sense of community with other touring acts:

Jen: There actually are some really awesome people out there, and a lot of them are in bands making good music and they’re trying to hit the road just like we are and make a living out of it. Why not support them? That’s kind of how it’s going to have to be. It’s not about the traditional record contract anymore….

You can read it in its entirety at the Time Out Boston site by clicking here: timeoutboston.com/music-nightlife/music/49113/interview-aloud

The homecoming show – don’t take our word for it

Poster by Erin Genett

For those of you still firmly entrenched in the “maybe” pile, we understand. Solely going on our word that this is going to be an amazing show would be totally irresponsible and negligent. It’s not enough that this is Aloud’s first show back from tour, nor that This Blue Heaven is releasing their long awaited video for “Slow Dance Slow”, nor that One Happy Island is releasing an EP.

You’re serious folks and there are a lot of good shows going on this Saturday (which will not be listed here because we’re a right bunch of jerks). In lieu of cloning technology destined to be mired in ethical and judicial conflicts for decades, you require due diligence on this matter. You want more sources, verification. We get it.

Below the jump are a bunch of other intelligent people—such as yourselves—telling you why you just need to come to this show. Aloud resumes the Exile tour shortly after this gig, and you may not see them around these parts till later this year (and to make it crazier, this show may sell out… grab tickets, you fools).

Exile makes moves in the New Year.

Photo: Jennifer Beguiristain

Exile has received some love in the New Year, beginning with WZLX’s Boston Emissions. Last week, Exile made the program’s top 10 Favorite Records of 2010. Last night on the show, the record and the band were at the receiving end of some really kind words from the show’s host Anngelle Wood, Weekly Dig‘s Arts and Entertainment Editor Hilary Hughes, and Ryan’s Smashing Life‘s own Ryan Spaulding during a pow-wow about the Beast of the Northeast CMJ showcase. Some excerpts:

Hilary: …They’ve also been pushing themselves with every single record that they’ve made. And Exile, recently, is a very kind of dark—it’s a great graduation for them in terms of the direction that they’re moving in with their songwriting.

Ryan: I think there’s a lesson to be learned there, they have a good time, but also are in this so that, in the [longrun] they can do this and be, y’know, happy, and they can do what they want to do. I think that’s a great lesson. That one band, in particular, they stand out for me for being pros.

To hear the whole thing (including a rundown of the 2010 Boston Music Awards) click here to head over to the streaming archive of last night’s show. You should listen to this town’s awesome music from the whole show, but if you’re in a rush, it’s the second part around the 12½ minute mark.

Both Exile and Fan The Fury were featured on one of CD Baby’s Featured Playlists (Franklin’s Funhouse). Check it out! Buy both! Twice!

Lizard Lounge tickets…

Saturday, Jan 29th

…are now available for Aloud’s homecoming show via Brown Paper Tickets. There have been murmurs that this show may sell out. Make sure you’re not left out in the cold for what promises to be an amazing show: not only is it Aloud’s only Boston area show for a while, not only is One Happy Island is releasing an EP, but This Blue Heaven is now debuting their long awaited music video for “Slow Dance Slow”. Oranjuly, presumably, has something up their sleeves as well.

Here’s the ticket link: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/144031

…and, hell, here’s the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149403048443406

Beware the Ides of March

Save the date, Dallas: Aloud will be returning to you on Tuesday, March 15. The band will be the featured performers at the Pass the Mic series at LaGrange. The night begins at 8pm and there is no cover! If you enjoyed watching Aloud at the Lakewood (and, since you’ve gotten this far in the text, we assume you did), bring along your friends!

Not in Dallas? Never fear: the next leg of the Exile US Tour starts at the end of February. Click here for details on all the shows.

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.

In true Aloud fashion we’re spending our last day before driving home watching The Big Lebowski and drinking white russians (though I’ve switched to vodka and soda). We’re at Thee Jamie Leigh’s house in Jersey hanging out with her family. We drove through the night from Virginia and early D.C. traffic and got here about 9am. We’ll leave early Friday morning for the last five hours to Boston and some kind of a semblance of normal life. I am very tired. I suppose it’s a good time to go home and let us sprained ankle heal.

A couple days ago we were in Greenville, NC for our show at Live Bar. We had a pretty good last leg of this tour. North Carolina was good to us. As folks walked into Live Bar they came up and said hello and that they’d checked out the band online. It’s real nice knowing people are this interested in new music in some places. I had to lay off the rock and roll dancing on stage due to the ankle. The crowd were real engaging and like I said folks were just friendly and kind. We ran through the bulk of CDs from the last of our tour supply that night. Thanks Jay for booking us and running sound as well as thanks to Tyler, Eric, Miranda, Tate, Clay and Daniel. Henry got his 34th Johnny Depp that night and a Jack White. Turns out we’re not the only Bostonians coming through Greenville either. Shoney Lamar and the Equal Rights are on their way soon.

Next day a little goodbye lunch with the parents and then off to Chesapeake, VA for the LAST show of this tour. What a heavy day. Its such a weird feeling of life as you have known it coming to an end (albeit temporarily) throw in being at your folks place with all the kids in the house again and the pain from a sprained ankle and it’s all very odd. You think about all the things you’ve got to take care of when you get back. Little things. I stepped on my glasses this week and have to get them fixed when I get back. New van, booking the next tour, interviews and promo for the homecoming show, taxes, auditions and finding a little work for the interim. There’s a host of smaller things to prepare before next tour as well. We put in for new t-shirts today, etc. All that’s in my head on the way to Winston’s. We’re on first which is good because when you reach last show and you know everything that awaits you in a few days all you want to do is get through it and feel better. And so we did. Wesley and Doug from Long Division came by. They helped us book this show and shared a CMJ showcase with us at the start of the tour. Some good bands that night and more awesome people (Isaac, Eliot, and more I’m forgetting). Isaac is part of a team shooting a documentary on sex trafficking in the US. Special thanks to Robert of Musicplayer and Yolinda for having us and for the kids who bought the last of the Exile copies we took on tour.

More coffee please.

About 2am we started out for the nearest Waffle House with Fugazi’s The Argument on the speakers. Many necessary cups of coffee later we got in for the six hour drive. Virginia seems endless when you’re driving through it and much worse when you start nearing D.C. traffic around 5am. Goddamn GPS always goes nuts when you hit the capital too. Managed to get back on the proper highway when we realize our Fast Lane transponder isn’t working. Eh. That’s kind of a nuisance. Add it to the list. I’m a bit of a 7 year old really. 9am, pull into Jamie’s driveway and immediately pass out till 5pm and now… time for the Dude. There’s a little snow coming. Seems like the right way for Boston to welcome us home. That and the 13 degree temperature.

I want to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful people we met on tour who fed us, housed us and made us feel so welcomed in all their towns. It is SO VERY MUCH appreciated. We’re coming back to your towns in Feb/March and the best way to know is to sign up on that mailing list if you haven’t already. Another big hug and kiss have to go to our manager Annie Burns for putting most of this thing together, holding the fort at home and keeping us sane. And of course we couldn’t have made it this far without all the Exile backers who put us on the road in the first place. Seriously, THANK YOU. It’s a good job. It’s the best job. We’ll be doing it again soon and in the meantime we’re planning a big homecoming bash at the Lizard Lounge on the 29th. Let’s have a drink together.

After our set at Winston’s Henry and I put together a little video message for you. Dig.

Cheers,

Jen

P.S. Charles has a special message: When making toast butter both sides and remember to wipe.

Henry wears the Cave's crazy tip hat.

It’s funny how some things just turn out completely different from what you expect. Sunday nights are not promising nights for rock n roll shows, but the folks at the Cave in Chapel Hill showed us otherwise. I was expecting a public rehearsal, but Austin and his friends and Anik and the others were a lot of fun to play for. Drinks and cds were bought for and from us and we were feeling so up for it, we decided to play another set. You basically had the lot that night. The heavy Exile set followed by the heavy Fan the Fury set with some Leave Your Light On for good measure. I thought we’d be home by midnight. We were home around 4:30am after a Dennys dinner/breakfast. So yeah, I have dug Chapel Hill and I dig it even more now. The Cave is a neat place too. Down the steps into what seems like a cellar. It’s a narrow room. If you didn’t pass the bar you’d never notice the whole back room with pool tables. There was also a dog hanging with us all night who did tricks for us and ended the night passed out on a booth.

So there went my attempt to get up early the next day. We did manage to hand wash my sleeping bag. I’d lent it to Charles while he had the chills from strep throat. We washed all the bed clothes, but the bag was too big for the machine. Henry and I were doing an acoustic show Monday night in Raleigh at the Pour House. We did a full band show there on the first Fan the Fury tour. I really like this venue. You load in through the stage. It lifts up and over on hinges. Parting of the seas if you will. The reason it was an acoustic show is we were playing with an acoustic act called Humble Tripe. Shawn and Katherine sounded lovely. He played acoustic and she played the saw as well as some backing vocals, harmonica and percussion. Shawn’s playing Boston at the end of the month on the 23rd at Precinct.

I won’t say it wasn’t a little odd not having the full band up there. It was our only acoustic gig of the tour. I couldn’t hear my keyboard very well on stage and I know I flubbed some notes. Everyone said they didn’t notice. They’re such dears. It is indeed funny how you can have an off night on stage and its something completely different for the crowd. Better than the alternative though. Eh, whatever right? Did seem like once the sun went down my luck changed. Leaving the house for the gig I missed the one step on my parents front porch and very much did sprain my ankle. This is the second time its happened on tour, but the first was a much better tequila filled story. The swelling has gone down some, but it does mess with some of my plans for when I get home not to mention with how I’ll be able to move around on stage. Henry’s out now getting me a brace. That’ll help some. I suppose the time was ok. I’ll be home soon and can lay off it some.

We’re at Live Bar in Greenville tonight for our last North Carolina show and our second to last show on this tour. It makes me a little sad. Again, at least its only a month or so till the next tour.

Cheers,

Jen

Delilah and Jake in the way of everything

Stuff happened and it didn’t happen all of last week. We were off for the holidays and spent it here in Raleigh, NC, at my folks’ house. We left James back in Camden to spend it with his family. It was nice having a couple days off and both my brother and sister are here now, so we had a decent time bothering the hell out of each other. I also have these amazing dogs we refer to as the Moocows. There’s the spotted one Delilah, the large one Blondie and the papa dog Jake. These dogs sleep on beds and couches and awkward spots in the hall way where Charles trips over them in the middle of the night waking up the whole house. We spent the days working on the upcoming Spring tour; looking up bands and venues, etc. And at night we’d act like children drinking soda, eating chocolate and playing board games. Which board games? Apples to Apples, Uno (of course), The Game of Life (Simpsons edition) and Trivial Pursuit (only once, coz it blows).

On Xmas day, though, Charles came down with something. Now, Charles and I had both drank quite a number of wine bottles the previous night, so we thought this was a bit of hangover, but he was getting the chills and such. By next day it’d gotten worse and it was hard for him to swallow and talk. Throw in a snow storm that no one around here knows what to do with and the whole town is shut down. We took him to an urgent care the next day and the after hours and hours of waiting, the doctor pronounced him to have the “worst case of strep throat I’ve ever seen”. Charles has heard this twice in his life. Yay, for medicine and soup which made him feel better and even had him leaving his room at random points in the night to stare at us funny and say ridiculous things.

New Years Eve @ Slim's Downtown, Raleigh

I played catch up with the family and did some shopping. Henry and I got ourselves some badass peacoats. New Years was all right too. We all went down to Raleigh First Night and hit up Slim’s Downtown for some drinks. We played Slim’s a couple years back on the Fan the Fury tour. Mark, who booked us, was bartending and so we had a chat with him. Again, copious amounts of alcohol were consumed and as a result I learned what leachates are (thanks Emmy). We started the year off right by taking in a viewing of the Big Lebowski (yes, again) and slept in till about 2pm. We had a gig in Charlotte that day and had to leave by 4pm. Plenty of time to get ready. Loaded up the van, drove off and met James there. His friends Jonathan and Bethany came along. Great people they are. Might I say that the staff and the crowd at the Milestone were some of the loveliest people we met all tour. Andy, Christina, Hyatt, John, KP, Joe and yes, I know once again I’m leaving people out. Many thanks to KPSoloman 5000 (ack, can’t find a website) and Evelynn Rose for sharing the stage. It was a pleasure.

It was necessary to have some days to off to catch up on the mountain of things that get pushed behind when you’ve got to spend 6 or 7 hours in a van off to the next location. It’s crazy to think we’ll be in Boston on Friday. What? Crazy. It’s Sunday, but you’ll probably read this on Monday. We’ve got a show tonight in Chapel Hill at the Cave. I love Chapel Hill. I’m glad we could grab up something there. After that it’s Raleigh tomorrow, Greenville and then the final show in Chesapeake, VA. Part of me is happy to get back home and dig deep into the next tour. The other half wants someone else to do that, so I can just keep playing. I will be seeing you soon Boston and you will get big hugs.

Cheers,

Jen

This one's not to be missed! Saturday, Jan. 29th. (Poster: Erin Genett)

Home again.

It’s been a long journey and it feels like it’s been ages since the gang trekked out into the great wide open. They’ve logged close to 13,000 miles and 50 shows all over the US.

Next month, after being away from the stage for nearly five months, Aloud is finally coming home.

The Boston Phoenix is calling this one a stacked bill in their winter preview. Aloud’s friends This Blue Heaven, Oranjuly, and One Happy Island round out the evening with their respective sonic brands of awesome.

Aloud is hitting pavement again shortly after this show (more on this below), and their next Boston area show may not be for a good long while. Don’t miss this one!

Anything else you need to know about this show? How about…

Feed us your pictures.

Did you see Aloud on the 2010 Exile tour? Were you a little trigger happy with your camera? If so, we want to hear from you. The band is currently speaking to Performer Magazine about possibly publishing a tour diary piece early next year, and we need your photos!

The pictures could be anything, whether it’s Aloud performing, or of you hanging out with the band offstage.

Please send your full name and any high resolution photos you have to pics@allthingsaloud.com with the subject “Exile 2010 pics“.

Road again.

After a short holiday sabbatical, Aloud resumes the tail end of the Exile tour’s first leg with dates in North Carolina and Virginia. The Exile tour’s second leg begins at the end of February, and dates are already being posted! Aloud is returning to many cities they hit on the latest tour, a few new cities, and places they haven’t seen since the Fan The Fury tour.

Aloud will also be in Austin during everyone’s favorite March pastime (the one that doesn’t directly involve gambling on college basketball, anyway).

Below is a list of the latest to date:

As always, more details and the latest up-to-date info is available on the Performances page. Tweet buttons and links to the event pages on Facebook (where available) are easily accessible from there as well. Tell everyone you know about it!

…anything else?

Yes: whatever you’re up to, everyone here hopes you have a fantastic and mostly safe New Year. Thank you all for being rad and supporting Aloud. See you in 2011, everyone!

It’s late now. I think my computer is still on Central time, so it’s at least an hour later than I think it is. Technically, it’s Xmas eve. I’m in Raleigh, NC with Henry and Charles, my sister, brother, mom and dad. It’s good to be here and if we needed a place and time to rest I suppose here and now is as good as any. Beds are nice. Food is nice. Warmth is nice. Fixing my pedal board is nice…

The day before (?) – Wednesday 2/22 – we woke in Camden at James’s house and his mom cooked breakfast while we interneted for the next tour and prepared for the night’s show. Like I said James being from the area makes this a sort of reunion/homecoming show type thing for him and they didn’t disappoint. The room filled up proper nice and Timshel were up first. Alderman, Katherine and the rest of the Timshel crew (I didn’t catch their names!!) were all wonderful people and played a fine set with some power drums and honking trombone. They even set up the show. Beautiful, lovely people. Everything was going all right and then my pedal board started acting up. No sound came through my amp. I had to go directly in to the amp and forgo any delay, boost, tremelo etc. Me no happy, but that never stopped me before, so on we went and I think I made it up for it with extra foot stomps and energy. I don’t mind challenges, but I sure do like it when my gear works. Having my tuner pedal would have helped, but hey thank goodness for ears.

Show really did go pretty fantastic and we met so many people who came up for CDs and Ts. Blanking on any names at the moment, but they were all super sweet. Major ups to the Square application. If you’re in a band and want to sell your merch by credit card, this is the way to go. There’s a little card reader you hook into your phone’s headphone jack. You swipe. You charge. Simple. Came in real handy that night. We closed out the night having drinks with our bartender Skylar and her manager.. BJ? Good folks all around.

And then… we hit the Waffle House… again. Better than the last time even. Here’s Henry just after the gig with a little video message. Gotta give it up for the man. He was sick as a dog and still did his job thoroughly well on that stage even pick up for my pedals being out of commission.

Cheers and happy holidays!

Jen

Oh the hours in between. How they drag slowly till the time we have to play.

Savannah's motor vehicles: In the holiday spirit

Left Gainesville about 4ish. Spent the day sleeping in, packing up and doing more booking for the Spring(ish) tour. Four short hours later we arrived at the Wormhole in Savannah. It was us and another touring act on this quiet Tuesday night. They are Plainclothes Tracy from Knoxville, TN. They were just ending their tour that night. The staff at Wormhole treated us well… I think I’m remembering Steve who was our bartender or soundguy. At this point everything’s blending in and I apologize if he’s reading this and I get that all wrong. We spent some time talking with the locals namely Mason and Dan about Savannah and music.  We were glad to meet Plainclothes Tracy who were a lot of fun to play with and who’s set we enjoyed much. Thanks to Amy for having us. Nothing much too out of the ordinary that night well except for this one car that passed us on the road all lit up in xmas lights.

Off we left for a short three hour drive to Camden, SC to James’s mom’s house. Gotta avoid those hotel rooms like the plague you know! Rolled in about 4am and crashed. Henry started getting sick as well. All this in the mix and I’m happy to have some time with my family in Raleigh tomorrow. But before that a gig in Columbia, SC tonight. This is sort of a homecoming gig for James. A lot of the old friendly faces to appear and the like. Funny enough this venue, The House at 5 Points, that we’re playing used to be a place called 5 Point Pub that we played at in 2008 on the first ever Fan the Fury tour. Far out.

Happy holidays my friends.

Jen