Ehron VonAllen

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ehron VonAllen


Img_capt = Ehron VonAllen in concert, October 22, 2003
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genre = New Wave
Synthpop
Post-punk
Alternative rock
Years_active = 2000–present
Label = Hydrology Records
URL = http://www.ehronvonallen.com
Current_members = Ehron VonAllen
Irene VonAllen

Ehron VonAllen (pronounced Aaron Von Allen) is a dark style synth-pop act based in Phoenix, Arizona. Born Aaron Christopher Allen in 1980, VonAllen began music in a small town of 4,000 in Arkansas during the mid 1990s. Delving deep into the gothic scene, VonAllen tried to emulate his favorite music such as Depeche Mode , Nitzer Ebb and Tori Amos. It was then he and his brother stumbled upon their own style of "dark synth pop". After being intimately involved during the creation of his brother Jason’s musical endeavor Catatonic, VonAllen discovered that this style of music is what he really wanted to pursue. His inspiration was a reflection of the Wiccan religion that he adopted at the age of 12, which he traded the conservative Christian faith he was brought up with and ended up reverting back to in his early twenties. Within a week of graduating high school in 1998, he moved to Dallas, Texas, and played shows in the popular music district of Deep Ellum in downtown Dallas. In 2000, VonAllen moved to Phoenix to form the very colorful but strange industrial trio Nuclear Winter. During this time the band enjoyed a year of shows played throughout the Phoenix area, released a full length album and hired a band manager. However, the band soon after permanently disbanded. Ehron VonAllen's music has always either been embraced openly or completely shut out. While he seems to be able to gain the "casual" fan, most are either die hard collector type fans or people who are completely turned off by it. His instruments of choice are the synthesizer and piano. Although not claiming to be a guitarist, he has appeared on stage with a guitar a few times and is credited on albums for guitar work. During Depeche Mode’s Exciter Tour in 2001, VonAllen got to sing the chorus of the song "I Feel Loved" with Martin Gore, using Dave Gahan’s microphone. On July 1, 2008, VonAllen reached the 10,000 download mark for separate songs being purchased from all music sources on the internet since 2004, when the downloads began being tracked. This number does not include full albums downloaded or physical CD sales.

Album history

"Incarnation", 2002–2004

In 2002, VonAllen took a vacation back to his hometown. While relaxing in the calm countryside, he decided it was time to release his first ever solo project. Failure after failure of being in bands, he decided this was the only way he could achieve what he really wanted out of music. Upon his return to Phoenix, he booked time at a major recording studio. This was to be the recording of his debut album, "Incarnation". It was during this time that he legally changed his name to Ehron VonAllen, a suitably theatrical choice for his project. The producer for the album, Jamison Weddle, just happened to be VonAllen’s studio recording teacher at the music school he attended in Phoenix. During the year it took to complete the album, quite a bit happened. He had the honor of getting a sound in the Minimoog Voyager synthesizer, named after him called "Bass For E. VonAllen", thanks to the new age artist Zon Vern Pyles. Coincidentally, he had dinner with Bob Moog not long before he passed away, fulfilling a long time wish.

Pop star CeCe Peniston was originally going to be the guest female vocalist on the album and had even gone to the studio to go over the material. Due to record company contractual conflicts, she was replaced by R&B vocalist Morgan Hinton, who appeared on the songs "Insecure Armies" and "Countless Contradictions".

His debut album release was immaculate to say the least. Released on Hydrology Records, he had the freedom to manufacture a two disc version of the album containing re-inventions of the original songs and a beautiful art layout by the photographer John Hall. His wife Irene VonAllen is the female model on the cover. Hall altered the image giving it a stained glass window feel. She also appears inside the artwork posing with trees and is also on of the girls posing with VonAllen.

"Incarnation" received spectacular reviews, a great accomplishment for a debut album. The album appeared in Keyboard Magazine getting a great review, again fulfilling a lifelong dream of his to be in the magazine he and his brother had read since they were kids. To celebrate the release, VonAllen had a CD release party with 150 guests including notable musicians, entertainers, artists and radio personalities. The band played 5 songs and spent the rest of the time playing the album over and over through the P.A.

A standard version of "Incarnation" was also released, which was printed in a jewel case without the extra remix CD. However, this version included a hidden track 13 entitled "Discovering Neptune", and until 2006 even his closest friends and relatives had no idea of the songs existence. Naturally most of them listened to the Special Edition version only.

"Your Only Friend", 2005-2006

In 2005 he released his second album, "Your Only Friend", which was produced, recorded and mixed by VonAllen himself at his very own Nebula Sound Studio. With "Your Only Friend" being widely popular across several electronic music sub genres, it sold very well considering the new download era of music. The CD sold out the very first week of it’s release requiring a reorder. A lot of fans consider this to be one of his best if not the best of all his albums so far. This album is to be reissued in 2009. The songs are being reworked, remixed and remastered while the artwork is staying intact. The reissue will also include never released remixes and demos from those recording sessions.

2006 saw the release of the single "Don’t Worry Anymore" which was a preview of his upcoming third album. The lyrics were written with his wife in mind. The single contained several remixes of the song and including a new instrumental track, "Alpha Centauri".

"God's Grandchild", summer 2007

His third album, "God’s Grandchild", was set for a winter 2006 release date, but was delayed due to manufacturing conflicts. On July 7, 2007, the album was finally released. VonAllen claims the album is the most "commercial" he's done so far while still maintaining his unique style. The lyrical content consisted of mainly personal conflicts with past relationships with women, family and friends, although two songs were directly written about his marriage. The album included two cover songs, one by The Cure and one by David Bowie, along with a very strange interlude at the ending of track 10. The album received mixed reviews due to it's departure from most of his material. There were reviews praising his wanting to reach out to the mainstream while others coined the album as pretentious and boring.

"The Sin of Nature", fall 2007

Because of "God’s Grandchild" delayed release, his fourth album "The Sin Of Nature" was released almost immediately after on September 4, 2007. This album proved to be his most unique and ambitious album yet. A quote from VonAllen concerning the album: "I made this album for me. I did not consider time constraints or worrying whether or not the songs had a hook in them. I designed the album to unfold like a movie. It should be listened to in it’s entirety without interruption." The CD has extremely heavy dark and religious overtones. Clearly not shying away from his feelings about the Bible, VonAllen even writes some very personal things in the linear notes of the album.

A Perfect Lie, 2008–present

As of August 6, 2008, Ehron VonAllen will release a new full length album titled "A Perfect Lie". According to the official Myspace page, the release date is TBA. The album will have 2 guest vocalist, Morgan Hinton (who has worked on 2 previous albums of his) and Daniel Myer. There will also be remixes available by Daniel Myer of Haujobb , Roman Marisak of Professional Murder Music , Rudy Ratzinger of Wumpscut and New Age music artist Brian Vassallo.

The cover art will have the female body present in some form to continue the tradition with all of his previous album covers.

Live supporting musicians

* Irene VonAllen - synths (2006-Present)
* Michael Jason Allen - synths, backing vocals (2000–2006)
* Morgan Hinton - lead and backing vocals (2003–2004)
* Jamison Weddle - guitar, backing synths (2003)
* Louis Lopez - lead guitar (2003)
* Zon Vern Pyles - synths (2003)

Discography

Albums

Guest Vocalists and Contributors

* Morgan Hinton - Guest vocalist on "Countless Contradictions" and "Insecure Armies'. Lead vocalist on "My Desire". Backing vocals on "Hang On"
* Irene VonAllen - Narrated the song "Prophecy"
* Michael Jason Allen - performed vocals on chorus of the song "Incarnation" and wrote the song "Smile". Remixed "Don't Worry Anymore (Official Version Mix)
* Nancy Allen Mitchell - Lead vocals on "Estella" , "Estella" remix and "A Heavy Burden"
* Jamison Weddle - Produced and mixed "Incarnation". Performed guitar work on "Faded Memory" and "Smile"
* Alison Lewis - Guest vocalist on "Jezebel"

See also

*List of electronic and industrial music artists
*Minimoog Voyager
*List of Moog synthesizer players
*Korg KARMA (notable users)
*Clavia (notable users)

References

* [http://www.keyboardmag.com Keyboard Magazine] , December 2003, Mark Vail
* [http://emusician.com/elecinstruments/emusic_moog_musicminimoog_voyager Electronic Musician] , February 2004, Geary Yelton
* [http://www.cdreviews.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1509&Itemid=27 CDReviews.com] , Michael Sutton, September 2006
* [http://www.shotgunreviews.com/2007/05/15/ehron-vonallen-on-the-dark-side Shotgun Reviews] Interview, January 2007
* [http://www.ink19.com/issues/september2006/musicReviews/musicV/ehronVonallen.html Ink 19] Kyrby Raine, 2006
* [http://www.in-your-ear.net/az/interviews/ehronvonallen In Your Ear Magazine] , August 2004, Kevin Wierzbicki
* [http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=4112 Whispering and Hollerin] , Adam Harrington
* [http://ehronvonallen.com/calendar.asp Ehron VonAllen official website]

External links

* [http://www.ehronvonallen.com Official Website]
* [http://www.evawebring.com EVA Webring directory for all of his websites]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ehronvonallen Official Myspace Page]