The Allupons

In 2004, Brian Kennedy created the Allupons as a small musical project. It started out as a collection of songs and demos that Brian had written and recorded mostly on an old tape machine, layering different instruments on separate takes as well organizing groups of friends to play on some songs. The overall sound of the music was heavily influenced by rock, folk and classical music, giving way to a unique hybrid sound that grew and developed as Brian expiremented more and more with material. The band's name showed up some time around then, stemming from a friend of Brian's who constantly used the slang term "all up ons" – meaning to be overly flirtatious in a somewhat silly manner. Though the music had absolutely nothing to do with the meaning of the term, Brian's friend jokingly called his musical project "The Allupons." The name was so contagious among friends that eventually it just stuck and "The Allupons" and Brian Kennedy's musical project were one in the same.

In late 2006, a close friend of Brian's, Bill Boguski, asked Brian if he was interested in playing live for an upcoming music festival, and if that was even a possibility. With that very idea in mind, Brian recruited several friends: Matthew Alpaugh (who by now had actively worked with Brian on The Allupons as well as his own project), Angel Santana (Brian's long-time friend), Andrew Spain, and their friend Pete who played drums. The Allupons practiced for a few months and, in April 2007, they played their first show, opening the second annual St. Bonnaventure Art & Music Festival (or BAM Fest) in Olean, New York. The local crowd responded so well to the Allupons that they were asked to return the following year, which of course prompted the Allupons to make the transition from a personal "musical project" into a real band.

Since the band's only real member up to this point was Brian, an official lineup needed to be formed. Andrew Spain and Angel Santana stuck with the band. Joseph Pollaro eventually joined as the band's first official drummer, and Annamaria Chilimintris shortly followed as the band's violinist. This newly formed band spent the better part of a year learning material as well as working on new songs and concepts before taking their music to the road performing live in the North East. Steadily the Allupons started picking up steam and played to increasingly larger groups of people. Eventually the band headlined their first show in late 2008 to a sold-out crowd in their hometown, Clifton, NJ. By now the band had already defined its musical sound as a creative mix of folk and rock with expansive and massive soundscapes, and as that year came to a close, they decided to buckle down and hit the studio to record their debut. In order to focus on recording, the band spent the majority of 2009 locked up in the studio only occasionally playing a handful of shows in the area, all of which were either free or for charity (raising over $5000). Kenneth Perez joined the group earlier in the year providing trombone arrangements for the bands already explosive sound adding yet another dynamic layer to the bands unique flavor of music.

Currently the band is wrapping things up on their debut album, and plans to release it in March of 2010, as well as play as many shows as possible. Their first single "Over Again" is set to be released February 2nd.