The Newloud

Tai Chi Tournament - The New Loud Represents Milwaukee!

2011-02-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Shane from The New Loud here. I've been doing the martial art called 'Tai Chi' for a couple years now. Tai chi is an internal martial art which focuses on balance, center, and relaxation as opposed to brute force to conquer opponents. In January my teacher, Casey Payne and I traveled down to San Diego to compete in a martial arts tournament put together by ICMAC - New Loud Jessi went along for the ride.

Despite never having been to a martial arts tournament before, I managed to place in the top of my weight class and come home with 2 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal.

Our school is called Black Horse Tai Chi and its located in Milwaukee, WI. We mostly focus on the 2 person tai chi exercise called 'Push Hands'.

Results of the competition can be found HERE.

Here's a minute or so of BONUS footage from the trip!

HEY Where'd Yr Amps GO?! The Amp-less Live Setup

2011-01-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

So over the past 6 months I've been experimenting with using no amplifiers for guitar and keyboard at The New Loud Live shows. We've done 2 Milwaukee shows and 1 Chicago show so far.

Video explaining the pros and almost no cons of an amp-less live setup:

The hardware:

MacBook Pro i7 2.66 Ghz w/4 Gigs of RAM

Avid 003 Interface running Pro Tools 9

RME Fireface to handle extra outs/ins

Rane 6 Ch Headphone Amp

Etymotic wired in ear monitors - cheapest ones they make @$60/ea

I'm using almost all Pro Tools stock plugins except for Eleven LE which I use on the guitar. Though with PT 9, I'm running into some resource problems.

With this setup we can not only not bring any guitar/keys amps to clubs, we also get the added benefits of

-having what ever effect I want on anything at any time

-4 individual in ear mixes for the band that are consistent show to show venue to venue

-ability to multi-track record every show

-MIDI stage lighting sync

-'Guide vocals' for harmony parts pumped into specific performers in-ear mix

Future plans for the setup include using an iPad to remote mix the band from the audience.

At our 2nd Milwaukee show with the setup we ran into some funny technical difficulties with the setup. Here's a video explaining the situation:

Here's a flip cam version of 'Better This Way' filmed at The Cactus Club during the same show:

You can come and check it out again if you're in Milwaukee on Saturday January 15th, we're playing Mad Planet.

1 Million Dollars For Milwaukee Schools

2010-08-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

GO HERE TO HELP!
http://mydeadxbox.com/

Kohl's is running a contest to give away 10 Million dollars to 20 schools($500k each) throughout the US. Milwaukee has 2 schools in the top 100.

My roommate has setup a contest to give away 5 brand new XBOX 360 Slims to 5 random people who vote for the Milwaukee, WI school St Marcus Lutheran.

Super Secret Weapon For Staying Focused

2010-08-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

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Here are my 11 goals from Summer 2009:
1. Put More Money Into The Band
2. Be a Better Leader
3. Learn to Let Go of Duties/Delegate More
4. Learn How to Edit Videos
5. Make a Video Blog Once a Month
6. Figure Out How To Use Laptop for Sequencing/Lighting
7. Be In Good Shape for Shows Always
8. Have 10 New Songs By Next Summer
9. Work With Radish and Jessi on Vocals More Often
10. Work to Make My Voice Less Nasally
11. Pursue Harmony In Vocal More

Not the interview I was talking about, but a good history of the term Straight Edge.

Music Video for The New Loud's Remix of Shunda K's New Single

2010-08-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

The New Loud recently remixed a track for female rapper, Shunda K. The New Loud remix was one of 3 that were featured on her CD single 'Here I Am To Save The World' (featuring Cindy Wonderful). The remix video was directed by Jack Packard who also shot the music videos for The New Loud singles: 'Don't Dance', 'Heaven' and 'Secrets'.

The video depicts a man suiting up in everyday superhero garb, ala the new comic book turned movie, 'Kick-Ass'. He begins taking on various street criminals, before becoming drunk with his own power, eventually causing him to do more harm than good. The video features a DIY reverse-snoori cam harness to create the look of a 3rd person shooter video game - similar to Xbox's 'Gears of War'. The reverse-snoori cam is the first of its kind, imagined and realized by Packard himself. The video was shot in one take on-location on the bustling KK Avenue in Bay View Milwaukee, WI.

Jessi's Blog - The Movie 'The Road' Stole a Little Piece of My Soul In A Good Way

2010-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

As we work on new material for the band I've had some down time and have been catching up on my movie queue! The other night I watched The Road. The Road is about a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son trekking their way through a post apocalyptic United States. I really enjoyed the cinematography of this film. There were these long shots of father and son walking through these once populous cities, now abandoned. There were these intense overhead shots of what was once a wooded area that now housed only dead trees or ships that were settled in what was once a great body of water. While some may not agree with me, the colors in this movie are brilliant. The dark yellows and greens used to symbolize death was absolutely breathtaking.

What I also found interesting is that the son was born into this world. He never knew any other way of life. All he knew was this world in which everything was dying, where food is scarce and you learn at an early age that there are good guys and bad guys. One scene that I found touching was when the father and son come across an abandoned building. Inside there's a soda machine and the father is able to get a soda out for his son. He opens it up and the son asks what it is. The father tells him that it's a treat just for him. The son tries soda for the first time and wants nothing more than to share this special moment with his father.

They have this amazing bond that you see throughout the film. When they're helping each other bathe or reading together by candlelight it's so apparent that they only have each other and they're fine with that. Now there are flashbacks to when the mother was still present, but she left because it was too difficult for her to deal with the reality of what had become of the world. So one night she left while her son slept and just walked into the night. While the father had a difficult time letting go at first he began to realize that she was never coming back and that he had to let that part of him go. There's this fairly emotional scene where he wakes up after having a dream about her and walks over to this bridge, takes one final look at his only photo of her and tosses it over the bridge. Then he takes his wedding ring off and can't bring himself to throw that over so he slides it to the edge and leaves it there.

********SPOILER ALERT********

There were two scenes that nearly broke me. There was a flashback to when they had to destroy the family piano to use it for firewood. For me that was a major transition in the story as far as survival goes. It had finally gotten to the point where they needed to start doing whatever they could in order to survive. It was the beginning of what was to become their reality. And then there was the scene when the father dies. It takes two days for the son to leave his side. The death wasn't drawn out nor was it a huge production. They went to sleep one night and the father never woke up.

This movie made a huge impact on me and has now become one of my favorite movies of 2009.

Plan B Detracts from Plan A

2010-08-01T00:28:00.000-07:00

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Leave a comment on Facebook or YouTube about your Plan A and how(if?) you Plan B is detracting from it.

Links from the blog:

The Gazettiers: http://www.myspace.com/thegazettiers

The National: http://www.nationaleats.com

Tim Ferris Blog Post: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/07/27/the-superstar-effect/

Jessi's Blog - June 26th Show Recap Blogggggggg

2010-07-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

The New Loud doesn't play all ages shows that often so it's definitely a nice change of pace when we do. It's a different atmosphere all together. The New Loud played its first all ages show in a long time this past Saturday here in Milwaukee at the Borg Ward.

The show kicked off with our friends in King's Horses. They did a great job in setting the mood for the night. They're recording right now and I can't wait to hear it! Their last song I swear sounded like a mix between the bands Glassjaw and This Will Destroy You. Sounds weird, I know, but trust me on this!

Second up was a band that Shane recently recorded called Ten Paces, Fire. They reminded me a lot of late era Get Up Kids mix with the instrumentation of Minus the Bear. They were really tight and they're delivery was impressive.

Third up was our friends from Indiana We Are Hex who awesome as usual! Jilly called me that afternoon and told me that they had a tire blow out and so it was touch and go all day for these guys, but they still came through. They showed up had had to basically load on and play right away. With that they still delivered a stellar set! We are Hex remind me of a cross between Siouxsie and the Banshees with Joan Jett stylized vocal delivery. All very cool bands.

We closed the show out. Due to the humidity Shane decided to play without his shirt. This set the tone for our entire set. We used the being uncomfortable because of the humidity to our advantage. Our delivery felt real intense. After we were done playing Shane came up to me as I was drinking some water and said "Once I started doing windmills I just couldn't stop". Within an hour his finger tips were completely bruised.

I ended up hanging out with King's Horses after the show in the garage of the venue. That's another nice thing about playing an all ages show - it's done early enough that you can actually hang. The show wrapped up around 11:30P and there left plenty of time to post show relax. The show went smoother than ever and couldn't have been more fun!

Again, please take the time to check out King's Horses, Ten Paces, Fire and We Are Hex. I swear you won't be disappointed!

Jessi's Blog - Favorite Making of Moments of 'Get Lost' Music Video

2010-06-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

If someone were to ask me what my favorite part of making this video was I would have to say how physical it was. It was an all around different experience for us. We were taken out of our comfort zones and were told to not only run around this huge building's basement, but to act. Anyone that knows us knows that this was quite the feat! We also worked with a completely different crew than we have on any our 3 previous videos. That also took us out of our comfort zones since we had become accustomed to working with them. This also proved to be a positive for us though as we were almost able to step out of ourselves and become exactly what the director imagined for this video. That director being our good and very talented friend Jason Kraynek. We met Jason at one of our Chicago shows a few years back. He came to the show without knowing any of us and from that night on we were friends. He shot some photos of us that night and said to let him know the next time we were coming down to play a show and we could meet up and do an actual shoot. That's just what we did. Those turned out great, so when he asked to do a video with us there was no doubt in our minds that it was going to be awesome!

So check out the latest New Loud video 'Get Lost'! Special thanks to Jason K, Jeremy, Sebastien, Ted, John, Jelena, Colin and Marion!

'Get Lost' on The Evil Dead Fan Website!

2010-06-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.evildeadnews.com/2010/06/featured-video-new-loud-get-lost-evil.html

The New Loud - Get Lost - Music Video

2010-06-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

The New Loud performing Get Lost

'Get Lost' is the 3rd single from The New Loud LP 'Measures Melt' Produced by Shane Olivo, Mixed by Mark Trombino released June 2010. Music video directed, written and edited by jacenK.

http://www.newloud.com
http://thenewloud.bandcamp.com
http://www.itunes.com/thenewloud

Camera: Sebastien Audinelle, jacenK
Steadicam: Sebastien Audinelle
Gaffer: Ted Nimz
Grip: Colin Jones
Puppet Masters: Jelena Kreitmayer, John Rodriguez, Ted Nimz, jacenK
Crew: Marion Audinelle, Jelena Kreitmayer, John Rodriguez
Titles: Jeremy Pettis

Jessi's Blog - Pridefest Recap!

2010-06-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

Pridefest in Milwaukee is quite the experience. There's definitely something there for everyone. Whether you're there for the music, food, or just plain people watching - you're in a for a great time!

We arrive at the Summerfest grounds where the fest is held at 10:30am. We are supposed to head straight to the restricted parking lot (which is half way across the fest). We realize that there's no way we would be able to carry all of our gear across the fest to the Dance pavilion where we're supposed to be playing in an hour and a half, so Rad went to hunt down a golf cart or shuttle to help in loading our gear. While we're waiting for him to get back a guy pulls up in a golf cart and asks if we need any help getting to our stage. We of course take him up on this offer! We got to know our golf cart escort, Jason, real well on our 6 trips back and forth from the van to the stage. This was his first time at Pridefest also and he told me that he was super-impressed by how welcoming and genuinely nice all the people were. He's from Chicago and said that with this positive experience he'll definitely make the trip back next year!

So we're all loaded onto the stage and the soundcheck runs smoothly thanks to our sound guy Nick and Pridefest's sound guy Brian Miller. This being our first time playing the fest we wanted to make sure that we sounded the absolute best we could. I ended up heading back to the van with Jason's help to pick up the two extra speakers that we brought along just in case. The sound was incredible for playing such a large stage! Everything was crystal clear.

Due to our Sunday noon slot - the first of the day - there weren't too many people there, but once we started people began to filter through. We got a decent response especially for the early time slot. We ran straight through our 30 minute set with very little stopping. I remember thinking 'didn't we just finish our second song and now we're almost done?!'. We wrap up and our new buddy Jason was waiting to help us load everything back to the van. He was able to catch our set and said he really enjoyed our funky dance sound. So we take our 6 or 7 trips back and forth from the stage to the van watching the different bands as we pass by on our golf cart.

Nick and I made a plan to head back to watch Shunda K at 4:30pm on the same stage we just got done playing on. The New Loud just finished a remix for a Shunda K song called 'Here I am to save the world'. Not only was she super nice and wants to get together for some dual touring, but she tore it up on stage! It was great to finally get the opportunity to meet her as she's from Florida and we don't get there too often.

Nick and I walked around and checked out the different booths and stages before the rain came. Luckily the rain held off until we were ready to leave.

This was our first year playing Pridefest and I already can't wait until next year!

Measures Melt - Street Voice UK Review

2010-06-11T06:58:00.001-07:00

THE NEW LOUD - Measures Melt: The New Loud impressed me with their last EP
and now they've done it again with the release of their debut album. The
indie-electro-punk sound with dual male / female vocals is sure to be a hit
this summer as these are another band that can easily target both the
commercial and indie lovers of music. I'd be surprised if this didn't go
down well in clubs up and down the country too! New Loud leader Steve Olivo
has created something very cool by bringing all these great musicians and
having them gel so well. If you don't believe me when I say just how good
this band are then check out tracks such as 'Secrets', 'Wrapped In Plastic',
'Out Of Control' and 'Every Girl I See'. You couldn't wish to hear better
songs this summer and I don't say that lightly either!

9/10

FREE EP Download 1 WEEK!!!!

2010-03-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

The New Loud music video for 'Heaven' went up on March 10. 10 days after we reach 1000 plays. 10 days after that we reached 3000 plays - double the amount of plays in the first 10 day span!

We want to say thank you by offering our new EP 'Can't Stop Not Knowing' to everyone for FREE for 1 Week!

Go here and click 'Download Album'!
http://thenewloud.bandcamp.com/album/cant-stop-not-knowing

Chicago show on Thursday April 1st!
Denver and Omaha in May!

BIG, BIG THANKS, everybody!!!!

The New Loud - New Press - 2010.03.17

2010-03-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Press for The New Loud Live Performances:
"a mesmerizing live experience I would recommend to anyone willing to lend an ear to music that sounds not only groundbreaking, but decadently powerful."
-Chris DeSalvo for Consequence of Sound

"The New Loud isn't so much loud as it is frenetic and intense. (the
band) has melodies and harmonies shooting from every part of the stage.
It's a punkish, New Wave-y, dance-y sound reminiscent of Pavement,
Rancid and Franz Ferdinand."
-L. Bose for MKE Magazine

Press for The New Loud EP 'Can't Stop Not Knowing':
"the band’s mesmerizing sonic twists and turns defy musical trends and prove to be truly solid songs, well-written and well-executed."
-Jay Ziegler for Consequence of Sound

"'Can't Stop Not Knowing' deserves to make them big news and see them rise up from an underground phenomenon and break into the mainstream"
-Big Cheese - UK

"they remind me of Duran Duran in their heyday"
-Monochrom - Austria

"Frantic and powerful, the tracks are packed good hooks and harmonies
-Andrew Gable for ZapTown

"synth-punk sharp and nervous, which mingles Rapture, Shitdisco and Les Savy Fav"
-Francesco Giordani for Ondarock - Italy

"a sense of humor not unlike that of Imperial Teen or the B-52s, along with a wellspring of passion and contagious New Order beats"
-Mary Leary for The San Diego Reader

"they effortlessly switch from trance infused synths and atmospherics into straight up garage punk. The New Loud are one of the most original bands that you are likely to hear, so check them out."
-John Brookes for Planet-Loud.com

Press for The New Loud demo 'ME(secrets)YOU':
"let's just say ME(secrets)YOU can sit comfortably on the same shelf with (The Killers') Hot Fuss and The Bravery."
-Steve Hyden for The Onion AV Club

"Part weirdness of Sparks, part grit of Payola$, part killer dance of The Bravery and part insistent hook craftsmanship of XTC"
-Sean Leary for Amplifier Magazine

The New Loud - 'Heaven' Music Video

2010-03-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Check out our new video!

The New Loud performing 'Heaven'.

'Heaven' is the 2nd single from The New Loud EP 'Can't Stop Not Knowing' Produced by Shane Olivo, Mixed by Mark Trombino releasing February 2010.

It also appears on a limited edition clear vinyl 12" with 3 Mad Professor remixes available March 2010

http://thenewloud.bandcamp.com
http://www.itunes.com/thenewloud

Directed by: Jack Packard
First Unit Director: Mike Stoklasa
Big Unit Director: Brad Poglitsch

Live band footage shot at the Historic Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI.

Extra special thanks to Shaku Mays and Jeremy Pettis.

The New Loud - Practice 2010.02.18

2010-02-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

The New Loud - track 1 on Paris playlist!

2010-02-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

The New Loud version of '2 + 2 = 5' is the 1st track from this French playilst/radio show:
Radio Campus Paris

Also on the playlist Xiu Xiu, Leonard Cohen, Grizzly Bear!

If you missed our blog dedicated to the creation of our cover of '2 + 2= 5' by Radiohead you can find it here: The New Loud - 2 + 2 = 5 Blog

The New Loud - New Merch Store Up!!!

2010-01-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know we now have a brand new merch store up. You can now buy all our t-shirts/CDs/Pins/stickers online. It is through Big Cartel, so, it is super secure and we can now take orders with or without a Paypal account.

Check it out here:
http://thenewloud.bigcartel.com/

Also up for sale is our brand new EP, 'Can't Stop Not Knowing', which doesn't technically release until February 23rd, but you can buy one from our store right now!

Stream 4 Tracks from The New Loud's Upcoming EP

2010-01-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

You can now stream the 1st 4 tracks from The New Loud's upcoming EP, 'Can't Stop Not Knowing' here:

The New Loud - Myspace
The New Loud - iLike
The New Loud - Pure Volume
The New Loud - ReverbNation

Check them out!

The New Loud's 'Don't Dance' Video is HERE!!!!

2010-01-12T00:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

The New Loud's 1st official music video is finished. Check it out:

The New Loud
'Don't Dance'
Directed by: Jack Packard
First Assistant Director: Jay Bauman
First Assistant to the First Assistant Director: Brad Poglitsch
Rocketeer: Mike Stoklasa

Extra special thanks: Shaku Mays and Jeremy Pettis.
Special thanks to featured dancers: Kristen and Mark from Fred Astaire Dance Studio Mequon, The UW Milwaukee BBOY Scene, MiMi Chatlain, The Walworth County Cloggers, Rebecca Brodie and Adam Baus of Brew City Hops and everyone who showed up to The Cactus Club shoot.

The New Loud - New Press

2010-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

The New Loud just picked 8 of our favorite all time songs for 'My Secret Playlist' - Liz Phair, XTC, The Time and more! - Check out The New Loud's Playlist here!

Be sure to read the comments underneath the story as I posted some Youtube links to tracks that weren't readily available as internet audio files.

We've also been getting some pretty good press overseas check it out:
Cracked at Monchrom - Austria
'Can't Stop Not Knowing' EP - 4 out of 5 stars in Italy!
'Don't Dance' Song of the Week in Germany!

Coming up!
'Don't Dance' Video Coming Soon!
'Can't Stop Not Knowing' EP Releases in February 2010
Milwaukee/Madison Shows Coming Up!

Don't Dance Video Coming Soon

2009-12-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

The New Loud's video for 'Don't Dance' is in the final stages of editing and should be out in the next couple weeks. We have seen a preliminary cut and it looks pretty sweet. Director Jack Packard has done an excellent job at inter-cutting the Cactus Club live band footage with the footage of the group dancers. We can't wait until its done to show everyone.

Special thanks to featured dancers: Kristen and Mark from Fred Astaire Dance Studio Mequon, The UW Milwaukee BBOY Scene, MiMi Chatlain, The Walworth County Cloggers, Rebecca Brodie and Adam Baus of Brew City Hops

During the Cactus Club our good friend Kumays shot some documentary footage of the shoot. Here's a little preview for the video.

The New Loud Video Shoot - MON 11/23, TUES 11/24!

2009-11-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

The New Loud will be shooting a video for their brand new single 'Don't Dance'. The shoot will take place on 2 separate days in 2 very different locations. The first location is The Cactus Club in Bay View at 8PM Monday November 23rd. The Cactus Club shoot will feature a live club-type atmosphere where everyone is welcome to come down and participate as extras in the crowd. At the club, after the shoot there will be a hangout-and-listen party for The New Loud's upcoming EP - 'Can't Stop Not Knowing' scheduled for official release in February 2010. The new EP which includes the track 'Don't Dance' was produced/recorded by band member Shane Olivo and mixed by Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Rilo Kiley, Finch).

The 2nd location of the 'Don't Dance' video shoot is the regal Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center located in downtown Milwaukee. This shoot will take place between 10AM-1PM Tuesday November 24th and primarily focus on local dance troupes with several Milwaukee-area dance studios, such as The Delaware House, already signed up to participate. Anyone who is involved in professional or performance dancing is welcome to come down and be involved.

Jack Packard will be directing the video. Packard's concept for 'Don't Dance' is the juxtaposition of unscripted, energetic club dancing intercut with costumed, regimented dance-troup dancing. Packard works as a writer/producer/content supervisor for the Will Ferrell, Adam McKay website 'Funny or Die'. He gained notoriety with his series of 'High-Five!' videos posted to the site.

The New Loud is a new wave/electro/punk band from Milwaukee, WI. In addition to the upcoming EP, The New Loud will also have a full-length coming out in early 2010 also produced/recorded by Shane Olivo in his studio, Bobby Peru Recording, and mixed by Mark Trombino.

The single 'Don't Dance' by The New Loud can be purchased at Amazon, Lala and coming soon to iTunes.

The New Loud Video Shoot Dates/Times:
Mon 11/23 - The Cactus Club 8PM-???
2496 S. Wentworth Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207

Tues 11/24 - Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center 10AM-1PM
790 N Van Buren St
Milwaukee, WI 53202

'Don't Dance' Available Now!

2009-11-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

'Don't Dance' the first single off the upcoming New Loud EP 'Can't Stop Not Knowing' is now available to stream at our Myspace and Facebook pages. The new single and EP are produced/recorded by band member Shane Olivo and mixed by Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, Rilo Kiley).

We're really excited that we're finally able to give everyone a glimpse of what we've been working on over the past year. We've truly focused a ton of hope, heart, hard work and energy into both the new EP and upcoming full length - both to be released in the first half of 2010.

If you like 'Don't Dance' you can pick it up through Amazon, Lala and eMusic.

E-mail the track to all your friends, tell them to e-mail it to their friends, etc.

Please stop by our Myspace/Facebook/Twitter and post comments about 'Don't Dance'.

Cops and Robbers OR A Rainy Night In Noho.

2009-10-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend The New Loud headed down to play CMJ in New York City. After a harrowing drive with no speedometer through the mountains we made it to our hotel in Newark, NJ late Thursday night where we quickly crashed after a loooooong day of driving.

Our CMJ slot was at 9PM the next day - Friday at Wicked Willy's in Greenwich Village. The New Loud is getting close to releasing 2 records - an EP followed by a full-length in early 2010. Much of our day in NYC was spent in meetings with our publicist and lawyers - all of which went well. We were very happy that everyone could make the time in their busy schedules to meet with us.

We finished up the last meeting at about 6:30PM at Vol De Nuit - just a few blocks from Wicked Willy's and headed back to our van which rested parked and undisturbed about 1.25 blocks from the club. We then proceeded to load all our gear in 2 person trips from the van to the club just as a light rain began to fall.

Wicked Willy's was a sizable club, but it typically has just one band for the entire evening doing 3 a hour set, sometimes with an acoustic opener. The club was in no way, shape or form meant to handle a 5 band CMJ night as was evidenced by having no room AT ALL to store gear, save for the stage or middle of the floor. The club did have a backline(supplied drum set, 1 guitar amp, bass amp) which would've been fine for any typical rock band, though The New Loud's setup with sequences and half acoustic/half electronic drumset was not going to translate to the typical backline they had at the club. This created a lot of unfounded stress in the soundman who didn't quite understand why we would need to augment the house PA(which was mostly set up to handle vocals only) with additional power to handle our electronics.

We maintained we were quick at getting on and off stage with our own gear and as the club wasn't too big, we compromised by leaving half of our amplification in the van.

The first band finishes up and we load on to the stage. At this point, the fact that we brought along our friend Nick both to mix sound and for extra loading muscle was a priceless relief. After a rapid fire line check we're good to go and start. In the middle of our second song, security at the club is all a flutter - talking back and forth with each other through their cute little Bluetooth headsets. Apparently one of the neighboring clubs called the police because we were way too loud and it was disrupting their performers - so much for rock and roll in NYC! The cops showed up and we had to pause while security talked the cops out of giving anyone citations with the understanding we'd be quieter.
Fuck that.
I told the soundman, "Look we're going to play 2 more songs".
He was like "Cool, man you have time for more and you need to turn down as low as possible".
I said "No problem" and changed absolutely nothing. We burned through our last 2 songs, volume full out with a break in between to give a disparaging shout out to NYC's finest.

In whirlwind we broke down and loaded out. Outside we had to do 2 person trips to the van and back again - this time though it was pouring rain. After about 45 minutes of walking our equipment down the block and loading we were drenched, hungry and pretty disappointed in general about how the evening went. We were really looking forward to playing CMJ and having been cut down to about 1/2 our set because we were too loud just totally sucked.

I relaxed in the van for a moment while Jessi(keys) and Radish Beat(drums) went to gather some of our friends still hanging out at the club. They came back with our friend Sarah and we decided to indulge ourselves with a Sushi dinner to offset the night's disappointment. We hung out at the sushi restaurant for about an hour and finally were able to relax a bit before we headed back to our van.

We got back to our van and said good-byes to our friend Sarah. Then we got into the van, ready to head back to our hotel room when we noticed that ALL OUR BACKPACKS WERE GONE. In the hour we had eaten someone had stealthily broken into our van through the passenger side door, damaging the lock in a way we hadn't even noticed in the darkness outside. Nick's pack didn't have much in it, but mine had my brand new 13" Macbook Pro laptop/iPod/Photo camera/video camera extra shoes/earbuds/etc. Radish lost his pack and prescription sunglasses. For a moment everyone looked all over the cab, as if we had forgotten where we stashed our bags, but I just sat quietly as I knew they were gone. We rode back to our hotel in complete silence. Between getting shut down by the NYC cops and getting a couple thousand dollars of items stolen, we had reached bottom for the trip.

It was only in the days after that I realized how lucky we were that the thieves didn't break a window, giving us the impossible mission of finding someone to replace it on a Saturday or Sunday in NYC or New Jersey; or they could've stole the whole van with all our music gear inside and leaving us with no way home. So as I write this, I'm now at peace with the situation as it could've been so much worse. We are back in Milwaukee - our bodies and band intact - alive and well to play another day and that is what matters most.

Radiohead Tribute Comp Out Now!!!

2009-10-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

The New Loud version of 2+2=5

PLUS ::: Amanda Palmer, Frightened Rabbit and many more. 2 discs for $10!

A portion of the proceeds from all album sales will be donated to
Reading Is Fundamental - a program for promoting literacy to
underprivileged youths.

Check it out:
Every Machine Makes a Mistake - Radiohead Tribute Comp!

Dead In Space - CMJ 2009 Pt. 1

2009-10-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

At about 11:00 PM, just into Indiana, our van's speedometer, odometer, clock and rear view mirror control malfunctioned. We're left with solid green blank LCD readouts and a speedometer needle resting full out. And so we move onto to NYC as if we are dead in space with no frame of reference - no time, no speed, no distance and a difficult look back. All we know is that we're moving freely forward. This is completely opposite of the time leading up to the trip, which has been consumed both day and evening keeping up with deadlines associated with upcoming New Loud EP/LP releases. The details never relent and my mind only seems to find relief during sleep. The week or so leading up the trip has been the most intense yet. I had Mark Trombino make the final changes to the EP mixes and then prepare the tracks for mastering. At the same time we are arranging a new website re-build with our designer as well as working on the physical package design for the EP. Between all that there's the back and forth with legal handling all the contracts between mix engineers and publicists, all while I'm tackling the final tracking of our LP - trying desperately to finish before mid-November if not before.

And so the day before the trip began by sending out e-mails to the few friends I have in NYC. Big hellos to King Lou, and Sarah Price as well as the swell dudes in The French Horn Rebellion who we met at Forward Fest in Madison this year. Then I began working on more vocals for the full-length: new, freshly written harmonies for Secrets and Get Lost as well as some editing on Heartattack, Every Girl I See and Rubberman. Afterward, I started making rough sketch mixes of the whole LP with everything that we have up to this point to really go over everything while we were on the road.

6:00 PM I have to pick up Jessi and Radish Beat and it was already 4. Time to shower, shave and pack. Sometime in between I also had to find time to eat, do dishes and clean any soon to be expired food from the refrigerator - how glamorous being in a band is! Our new sound guy, Nick, arrives at about 20 after 5. He's pretty nervous/excited and seems to have packed more things than Jessi and I combined. No problem. We have room. Nick helps me pack up and we're off - first to get gas. On the short trip to fill the tank. There is something wrong with the front steering in the van. It's very unpredictable. About a week ago I had the front tie rods replaced and there was supposed to be an alignment done, but something is not right. It is 6 PM now and we're already late to pick up Rad and Jessi. I don't want to chance an accident on the long highway trip, so we decide to try and go back to my mechanic, Greg, a super nice guy that works out of his house with his own lift in the back. Greg's is closed for the evening, so we decide to pull into a nearby gas station to check out the tires. All of which are down a bunch of air with the rears at about 1/2 of what they should be. After filling up the tires everything seems to fall into place and the steering gets much tighter which is a huge relief. We head down to pick up the rest of the band behindhand and are on the road by 7:30pm.

Big delays down in Chicago around 9:00 PM or so as an accident just before the loop has all the lanes blocked save for one. 5 miles out, traffic is stopped dead and Radish decides to navigate his own personal detour by way of the lake road down to Chicago's southside where we pick the freeway back up.

At about 11:00 PM, just into Indiana, our van's speedometer, odometer, clock and rear view mirror control malfunctioned. We're left with solid green blank LCD readouts and a speedometer needle resting full out. And so we move onto to NYC as if we are dead in space...

And The Mix/Remix Engineers Are....

2009-10-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Shane here from The New Loud here. We will be releasing 2 records next year - EP, LP. These records are different than anything else we've attempted to create before as we've brought in someone the band greatly admires to mix them as opposed to handling all the recording/mixing ourselves. It became very clear to me that while recording these records I needed another person's input especially when it came to the mixing process. Up until that point I had tried to mix a few of the songs myself and everything was a compromise. We've been playing some of these songs in one form or another for years and it was really hard to make accurate mix judgments after hearing them probably close to 1,000 times each. These upcoming recordings are very important to us and in some respects represent a lifetime of work in music for ourselves. So the band sat down and I suggested if I could pick one person to mix who that would be.

The person I chose was Mark Trombino. He was my first pick and we're all super excited that he was into our band enough to take on the job. Mark has done all the Jimmy Eat World records up to and including Bleed American, Dude Ranch by Blink 182 and What It Is to Burn by Finch to name a few. I really admired Mark's mixing style as the recording always have a super-tight low-end and they are very polished yet retain an aggressiveness that probably stems from his salad days as a drummer in the early 90's San Diego punk scene. We believe, especially after having heard some of the 1st mix drafts, that the choice was perfect.

After we got Mark on board we had the mind to add a remix of one of the songs to the EP. We followed the same instinct we used when debating the prospect of mix engineer: Pick the first person we would want and try and get in contact with them. No dub-style remix engineer resonates with me as much as Mad Professor. His work with Massive Attack is just mind-blowing - No Protection is an absolutely amazing record. So we contacted him and were blown away when he accepted to work with us on our track.

All 3 of us cannot wait for everyone to hear what we have been working on so hard over the past year (or 5 for that matter). More details soon.

New New Loud Release Details

2009-10-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

The New Loud is totally pumped to announce that in 2010 we will be releasing an EP followed shortly after by a LP. We've put a lot into these releases over the last year or so and we're stoked to finally announce. We'll have more definitive dates as time presses on but expect the EP to launch in January/February and the full-length to follow a few months later. There will only be 1 shared track between the 2 releases. Otherwise expect about 15 newly recorded New Loud tracks including some cool bonus mixes.

Over the past couple months you may have read tweets about a special mix engineer that is working on both the releases with us. We will be announcing who it is next week, but for those of you who are interested in trying to guess: the engineer's initials are M.T. and we are all SUPER STOKED to have him aboard with us on both releases.

In other news our CMJ slot is solidified. Check out our website or Myspace for details.

Tai Chi Camp 2009 Pt.3

2009-09-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

6 PM Wednesday. Seattle. We're in like Flynn. Rolling up right into rush hour. Rush hour is nuts compared to Milwaukee - more like Chicago's rush hour where you're stuck dead - moving feet/minute instead of MPH. We're staying in Seattle with Casey's friend Chris. We have Chris' address, but no map and neither Casey nor I have high tech iPhones. After 30 minutes in traffic, we're about 4 ramps past Mercer Island. We decide to exit and chill out until we get word from Chris afterwork. Hunger is getting the best of Casey. He hasn't eaten much today and we're both on our 34th hour in the car, 30 hours driving, 4 hours combined for sleep.

Casey pulls into the parking lot of a Pho restaurant. Casey goes in to grab something to eat as I stay in the car. I didn't bring very much money, so I'm trying to conserve. As Casey is inside eating, I decide to eat vegetable soup out of the can. Frugal! After I'm done I made this video:

Its ends a bit abruptly. Cut short due to a 'NOOOOOOO!' moment as my mostly-empty can of tomato.based.vegetable soup dumps on the passenger seat of the Fiesta. Quickly I scramble to dump some water on it. Then, realizing I don't have anything to wipe up the pool of tomato-vegetable-water collecting in the back of the passenger seat, I have another 'NOOOOOOOOO' moment.
Briefly I debate in my mind:
'What do I use?'
I look around:
Pillow case? No. That's stupid.
Blanket? No. That's stupid.
The shirt I'm wearing? No. That's REALLY stupid!

Another panicky moment goes by before I settle on grabbing a clean sock out of my suitcase. I get the sock wet and wipe up the soup-water puddle slowly permeating the seat. The Fiesta's seats must by Scotchguarded to hell as the soup and extra water comes right up.

Chris moved from Milwaukee with his wife, Judith. Judith is out of town, so I don't get to meet her. Chris is cool. He's a physical therapist. Like a good Daoist, he's using his Tai Chi in his daily life, sometimes using it on patients. Chris has a dog, Pepe. Pepe is a small, white puff ball who is suppose to be non-allergenic. I am suspect and remain cautious around the animal. Pepe is a super chill and spends most of the time lounging around. He wanders out to Chris' side yard to lay down in the sun if opportunity arises. He seems to respect me. I respect him. I will call him a 'friend'... for now.

Tai Chi Camp 2009 Pt.2

2009-09-02T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Shane from The New Loud here. In July 2009, I went with my Tai Chi teacher to a Tai Chi camp on Vancouver Island for 7 days. Throughout the trip I kept a blog going that I'll post here. Check it out if you're interested. We have some cool exciting band news coming up soon, but we won't be able to make any official announcements for at least a few weeks. Until then, enjoy these Tai Chi trip blogs.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So we drove through the night. The Fiesta is picking up everything that's being laid down, including nearly 30 hours of straight driving. I don't have any experience driving a manual transmission. All I have to worry about is how to spend my time - which is proving to be harder than one may think despite a new laptop and a few books. Its really the spotty sleep from the go day that is setting the glacial pace of the trip. I find myself trapped between being too tired to concentrate on reading or doing video edits and not being tired enough to sleep while in motion.

Master Payne is doing well despite minimal rest. We stopped 2wice to sleep in the dead of night when darkness really bears down. The first stop was about an hour and the second time worked out to about 2-3 hours.

Even if I could drive, I think Casey wouldn't have it. He's on a personal mission. He wants to drive this solo. Straight. I understand. I try my best not to get in the way. Other creatures aren't so accommodating, like the skunk that, in the dead of night was running with the flow of traffic or the 2 deer that were just dead still, brimming with potential energy in the passing lane at 3 AM. With a quick turn of the wheel the skunk was avoided. The deer were a bit more of a nailbiter as we could only watch and hope they didn't bolt in front of our beloved Fiesta traveling forward at around 80 MPH. Luckily incident was avoided both times. The animals simply gave us a heart rate boost - cheering us on in their own way - which is a bit better than becoming casualties of our trip or humankind as it were on a more universal level.

As the sun rises, we descend a seemingly endless path which is the back half of the Rocky's coming out of Montana into Idaho. It truly does seem endless - especially after 24+ hours of straight driving.There are depressing scenes of clear cut mountain tops. The brown, barren caps are lifeless now.

I-90/I-94 goes through the northern tip of Idaho. The state seems to be over before I can formulate any thoughts about it other than - Why did they make the state line creep north into a point like that?

Soon we're stopped at Priest Rapids in Washington State. The Priest Rapids area is expansive. It is a calm, scenic pit stop on the tail end of this epic drive. Casey works on a video blog while I investigate the area. I find this cool little desert lizard which unfortunately scurries into a nearby bush, thwarting my attempt to capture the creature on with either photo or video.

Tai Chi Camp 2009 Pt.1

2009-08-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Shane from The New Loud here. In July 2009, I went with my Tai Chi teacher to a Tai Chi camp on Vancouver Island for 7 days. Throughout the trip I kept a blog going that I'll post here. Check it out if you're interested. We have some cool exciting band news coming up soon, but we won't be able to make any official announcements for at least a few weeks. Until then, enjoy these Tai Chi trip blogs.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was a rough night, but we're finally on our way. I had everything packed and together by about 11:30 PM. I decided to take a shower and out of nowhere my allergies struck. Sneezing - probably 50-60 times - in the shower, so I know its not contact allergies - must've been something I took in. A low grade asthma attack starts and my eyes are like blood: solid red. Jessi convinces me to lay down to try to calm down. Try to curb the attack. With my chest too tight to take breaths from, I slowly start breathing, low below my intestines up through my stomach expanding my diaphragm. Tai Chi type breathing. Singing breathing. Soon some of the symptoms are beginning to subside enough to fall asleep.

Casey/Miltownkid/Master Payne got to my house at about 8 AM. We hung out for a minute before loading up the 2011 Ford Fiesta. Casey is my Tai Chi teacher. He's also a social networking master. Casey won this contest Ford was running: He and 99 other YouTubers have a prototype Fiesta, due to hit American streets next year.
6 Months.
Free Gas.
Free Insurance. Go anywhere you want. Just stay in the lower 48 and complete a goofy blogging 'mission' once a month. Like this:

As Jessi and I are taking the last of my luggage out to the car. By habit, I lock the front door and bring it closed. Neither Jessi nor I have keys. My Grandfather, who lives in the other flat, is out.

"FUCK!"

After we assess the situation, we decide to hang out and wait until Gramps comes back. Turns out he was just at the store. He's 83 and still walks to the grocery store 8 blocks away. The wait isn't very long at all.

He opens up the door to the house. Jessi is relieved. She didn't have to work today, but didn't necessarily want to spend the whole day in her pajamas in the side yard.

We told my Grandfather we were heading toward Canada by way of Seattle, WA. Before we left he told us this story:

2+2=5 is D.O.N.E.

2009-08-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

The New Loud has finally finished up the Radiohead cover we've been hard at work on for the past few months. This will be the last blog dedicated to it EVER!

Before the final blog, Jessi has a quick message in reference to her last video:

There you have it! Back to 2+2=5!

This week the focus will be on the vocals. Because Thom Yorke has such a wide range to his vocals from his lower voice to his falsetto-ey upper register,
we decided to split the vocals up between Jessi and I with Jessi handling all the upper register parts and me taking care of the lower parts.

The Radiohead song is separated by 4 parts in 2 distinct halves. The first half is drone-y and quiet while the second half is loud and aggressive. In order to differentiate the 2 halves even more we decided to split the singing in half between Jessi and I.

For the end of the song we decided to do some crew vocals with all 3 of us shouting. Radish ends up getting a little TOO into it - LOL!!!

So without further ado. Here is The New Loud's complete version of 2+2=5 by Radiohead:

Special thanks to everyone who checked out all four blogs!!! If you haven't yet, you can still do so. They show you step by step how the song came together. Hope you enjoyed it! Please take a moment and check out the links at the bottom.

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

***OUTTAKES***
Radish Beat gives some additional insight into how he perceives the lyrics to the song and America in general:

If you're not familiar with the original Radiohead song, 2+2=5, check it out here:

Here's a link to the Radiohead comp page:
http://www.ftcrecords.com/

Here's a link to the good blokes that hooked us up:
Mr Russia - http://www.myspace.com/mrrussia

Last but definitely NOT LEAST - Subscribe to The New Loud's vlogging mentor:
Miltownkid - http://www.youtube.com/user/miltownkid

2+2=5 Keyboard Is DONE!

2009-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

The New Loud has finished up 2+2=5, the Radiohead cover we've been hard at work on for the past couple months. This week we're going to tell you all about the keyboard parts and give you a little insight into the parts.

In order to really put the focus on the keyboard, we decided to remove the guitar and vocals from the mix of the audio examples.

In our minds - as I explained in the blog about the bass and drums - 2+2=5 has 4 distinct parts that make up 2 halves of the song. I'll take you through each part and explain the keyboard ideas.

SECTION 1

Verse 1 starts out with a very spazzy arpegiated keyboard part. We have it mixed lower mainly to create tension.

After verse 1 we have a little melodic line to fill in the space. Toward the end of verse 2 a sustained organ comes in to support the vocals harmonies.

SECTION 2
The vocals in this section are very light and effected so we decided to make a really edgey keys part to counter the floaty-ness. The part is basically made by changing the tuning on one of the synth layers with both course and fine pitch adjustments. We feel that jacking everything up at the end gives it an almost guitar-feedback-like blast before the aggressive part kicks in. The keyboard is a Nord Lead 3.

SECTION 3

This section is definitely weighted more toward aggression than melody. We decided to use a synthy pad with a stronger attack. Toward the back half, a 2nd keyboard doing sustained organ comes in to build on the aggressiveness more.

SECTION 4

We decided to add some melody key parts in place of the effected guitar from the original.

WHOLE TRACK - Drums, Bass, Keyboards

Next week: Vocals!!

If you're not familiar with the original Radiohead song, 2+2=5, check it out here:

Here's a link to the Radiohead comp page:
http://www.ftcrecords.com/

Here's a link to the good blokes that hooked us up:
Mr Russia - http://www.myspace.com/mrrussia

Last but definitely NOT LEAST - Subscribe to The New Loud's vlogging mentor:
Miltownkid - http://www.youtube.com/user/miltownkid

2+2=5 Drums, Bass and Guitar

2009-05-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, The New Loud has been hard at work on our cover version of 2+2=5 by Radiohead. This week we finished up the drums, bass and guitar.

As most of you know, all our bass is sequenced. We tried a bass player - couldn't really find one that stuck, so, like so many other aspects in our lives - we left it to the machines.

In our minds 2+2=5 has 4 distinct parts that make up 2 halves of the song. The first half is building and somewhat floaty. The second half is very aggressive. When we were working on the bass we kept in mind the 2 halves. We retained a heavy/sub-bey low end for the first half and then made an abrupt switch to a very abrasive/sawtooth sound for the second half.

Here's the complete drums and bass parts:

Next up was Guitar!!

Here's my first stab at the guitar parts - a lot of which I kept on the final::..

If you're not familiar with 2+2=5, check it out here:

Here's a link to the Radiohead comp page:
http://www.ftcrecords.com/

Here's a link to the good blokes that hooked us up:
Mr Russia - http://www.myspace.com/mrrussia

Last but definitely NOT LEAST - Subscribe to The New Loud's vlogging mentor:
Miltownkid - http://www.youtube.com/user/miltownkid

2+2=5 Radiohead - Introduction

2009-04-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a little audio clip of some initial beats Radish worked out for the drums. It was just recorded with 1 stereo mic at our practice space which also doubles as my recording studio - how convenient.

The song is separated into 4 distinct parts:

-The first part is in 7/4. We decided to make the rhythm a bit more aggressive than the original.

-The second part has kind of a floaty feel. The New Loud incorporates a lot of electronic drumming, so, we thought this 2nd part would be a good place to showcase that. The electronic drum roll definitely ramps up the tension just as much or more so than the original.

-The third part is the explosive part. We needed something quite aggressive here so we chose this beat with a lot of cymbal crashes.

-The last part is rhythmically aggressive, but not in a rock sense so we'll scale back the crashing and have the rhythm be tighter here.

If you're not familiar with 2+2=5, check it out here:

Here's a link to the Radiohead comp page:
http://www.ftcrecords.com/

Here's a link to the good blokes that hooked us up:
Mr Russia - http://www.myspace.com/mrrussia

Last but definitely NOT LEAST - Subscribe to The New Loud's vlogging mentor:
Miltownkid - http://www.youtube.com/user/miltownkid