Aloud: I Just Want To Witness... November 18, 2008

Berklee College of Music presents:
ALOUD: I Just Want To Witness…
A visual exploration of Fan The Fury, featuring a live musical performance by Aloud, in collaboration with filmmaker Johnathan Carr.
World Premiere: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 8:00pm
Café 939
939 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115
Support: pop-rockers Media Made
Venue Phone: (617) 931-2000
All Ages.
Tickets: $12 general admission/$7 students.
Advance tickets available at Berklee’s box office and Ticketmaster.com.

Boston, MA – Rock n’ rollers Aloud are proud to announce their multimedia stage show debut: I Just Want To Witness… premiering at Berklee College of Music’s Café 939 on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 8:00pm. Focusing on themes of voyeurism, social rebellion, and modes of modern (mis) communication, I Just Want To Witness… is a live concert production that re-imagines Aloud’s CD Fan The Fury. The show is currently being developed by Aloud and young filmmaker Johnathan Carr, and will be performed by Henry Beguiristain, Jen de la Osa, and Ross Lohr (of Aloud) with special guest bassist Tim Hare (of Berklee).

I Just Want To Witness… is Aloud’s first exploration in the world of live video as performance art. Aloud vocalist/guitarist Henry Beguiristain explains the bands’ inspiration, “Some of our favorite music has come from the synthesis of different mediums and ideas from left field, things like U2's Zoo TV tour or the approach the Beatles took with Sgt. Pepper. This is a way to exercise another part of our rock n' roll brains.”

The show’s title I Just Want To Witness… is taken from the lyrics “I just want to witness,” and “I just want to witness justice and forgiveness.” These words bookend the recorded album and the live performance. The creators of I Just Want To Witness… are designing the stage show to embellish on the CD’s songs of struggle, perseverance, injustice and love, by pairing live performance of the music with video projections and theatrical lighting.

I Just Want To Witness… starts with voyeuristic desire, introduces paranoid surveillance, and energy-filled rock rebellion, ultimately ending in contemplative acceptance. Jen de la Osa, vocalist/guitarist for Aloud, explains the concert’s setting, “The world has become a very voyeuristic place. If you need convincing evidence you need just turn on your television. Reality shows are the order of the day. We have round the clock news detailing and retelling the same stories every hour on the hour... YouTube, camera phones, etc. It's all in how you use it. Are you spying, are you a bit sick, or are you maybe taping something that could help bring some justice to light.”

Johnathan Carr, a recent Emerson graduate, is designing and overseeing the creation of projected video for the piece, and is excited to have Boston animator Timothy Scholl, Boston filmmaker Mike Pecci, and NYC filmmaker Erin Bowser on his team. Johnathan is exploiting the dynamic nature of this seemingly simple rock album with his teams’ dramatic visualizations. He explains how the collaboration is working: “I've always wanted to do this kind of performance-media for a concert, and I just happen to love Aloud’s music, which makes this really fun… I went with my gut on most of the imagery, whatever the music brought to mind. The other artists involved started with some of my ideas, but were allowed to embellish and go where they wanted. It's very exciting building a conceptual image system together.”

I Just Want To Witness… is Aloud’s first-ever live show collaboration, and the up-and-coming rock outfit hopes to tour the work to black-box theatres, and performance art venues around the US in 2009.

Official Website: http://www.allthingsaloud.com/witness