Shenanigans

We be moving on up (to the new site)!

The bad news:

As much as I love staring at myself passed out in a sand-dune every time I post a new blog (sorry, mom), we will be moving over to our new home with a slightly more, how do you say, flattering layout? Wherein this page will eventually be a dead link/fall off the face of the earth.

The good news:

This is all because my new website has FINALLY GONE LIVE! All of the blog posts have already been transfered over, and I will continually post updates there. You are welcome to subscribe, shop around and take a look. Pack your bags, and join the party! It all goes down at:

http://www.alytadros.com

Happy Tofurkey Day!

As I write this, Chloe and I are driving through the first snow of the winter - from Terre Haute, Indiana to Louisville, Kentucky. Connie Wrin (of The Verve) adopted us into her extended family, inviting us Turkey Day Orphans to her sister's house for a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner. Half a dozen blonde six year olds scurrying around the house, mystery pink Vodka punch, and Apples to Apples. So now, here we sit, in my cozy little car, bellies full of mashed potatoes and pumpkin. Charlie Brown Christmas Station playing on the radio. I love that movie.

I have a wonderful 24 years (and three days!) to be thankful for. Buckets and barrels full of beautiful memories driving across the country, around the world. I'm grateful I've had reasons to write as many thank you notes as I've left under people's pillows, drivers seats, and kitchen counters. I am grateful for Alyse, Laura, Douglas, and Chloe. Each tour partner has taught me something new about music, about the world and about myself. I am grateful for an amazing, albeit sometimes crazy family that supports me and only hopes to lift me up.

I am grateful my car runs.
I am grateful I have a home.
I am grateful I've known great love.
I am grateful my heart is still full of that love.
I am grateful the universe gives me reasons to share that love every single day.

Happy & Healthy (on the road)

Yep. Might as well be an oxymoron. 

Just kidding. That would be a pretty depressing post, huh? 

I'm no expert, but I have easily spent 75% of the last two years on tour - never mind the time I spent traveling before I started music. Based on my track record, I would gather to say it's likely i'll spend the majority of my life on the road in some capacity.

My first couple of runs were hard on my body. I gained weight, picked up ailments I'd never heard of, and self-medicated a severe tooth infection for months. Sexy, I know. The fact is: this is my life, not a free-for-all Vegas Vacation. Once I accepted that fact, my approach to touring changed dramatically.It's not always a linear process, but over all I've picked up quite a few tips for keeping myself happy & healthy on the road. These are a few of them.

PART I of II: Happy & Healthy Body 

A) Exercise. It's cheaper than therapy. At home, I try to exercise five days a week. On the road - it's usually no different. I never know when something unexpected will come up, so I don't really plan my off-days. They just happen. 

•  Gym Membership: I use 24-Hour Fitness, but Anytime Fitness is another great option with a lot of locations all over the country. Bonus: after you exercise, you can use the showers & dressing rooms to get ready for your day (or in my case, gig). 
• Local track/parks:  This gets to be a lot of fun when you start to hit the same cities. I always look forward to jogging along the Mississippi when I'm in Memphis. Vitamin-D is also a natural anti-depressant (yay!) 
• Gym Trial Membership: If there's no 24-Hour Fitness in the city I'm in, I usually scan gyms in the area till I find one that offers a free 1-week trial, or something like it. Sometimes you need a local address, so come prepared. Or just be honest; on several occasions I've bartered my CD for a trial membership. Try it. People are friendly. 
• Just Bring it: Tennis shoes, yoga matt, light weights. None of these are even required, just get outside ya dork! 

  

B) Eat healthy. I've been a vegetarian for over year now, but wasn't when I started touring. It's great because I can't just swing into McDonald's and pick up a burger, but not for everyone. Either way, here are a few ways I eat healthy on the road: 

• Ice chest: I heard once of someone having two - one for dry food, and one for iced. I don't have that much room in my car, so I just stick to one. 
• Grocery Stores: Cheaper than eating out, and often deli's will have prepared vegetables & sides to go. Normal rules apply, stick to the outer aisles and only eat things with ingredients you can pronounce. If you are on a tight budget like me, look up your local food stamp program. They usually have out-of-state options. 
• Cook: I stay with friends most of the time, and bring extra tupperware for prepared meals. In exchange for use of their stuff, I'll sometimes cook extra for them or offer to make dinner one night. Falls right in line with my big fat liberal vegetarian agenda, too!
• IHOP/Subway: I just discovered IHOP can prepare healthier options of almost all of their plates. In fact, most restaurants will if you ask. Subway also has a killer $5 Footlong deal - I do the Veggie Delite, 8-Grain Wheat, pile on the veggies and avoid dressings. 
•  Livestrong/The Daily Plate: To gauge my calorie intake, I use the Livestrong App on my IPhone. You don't have to be a Nazi about it, but pairing up your daily exercise against bigger meals will give you a good picture of how much you should be eating. 
• Research: I know. Yay, more homework! There are amazing websites online that list calorie count for chain restaurants, grocery stores, and food brands. Like this one. 

 C) Just say No. D.A.R.E. was right. I might get some flack for this, cause I like a good time as much as the next gal, but it's a big one.

• No drugs: Luckily, I suck at doing drugs. I don't enjoy them and never have. There are probably websites that can advise careful drug use. This isn't one of them. Don't do them.
• No jailbait: Drinks, that is. Boones Farm, Strawberry Margaritas, etc. Unless you have a death wish or need to relive your high school days, avoid the sugary-pink crap. 
• No mixing: When I drink, I stick to whiskey. A trainer once told me to stick to clear liquors. You know the drill.
• Know your limits: You're not cooler when you drink, and you don't play better drunk. No one wants to make out with the dude who just threw up behind behind the stage. Think about it.  

D) Build-Your-Own First Aid Kit. Whether you prefer over-the-counter or holistic only, you're putting your body through a lot of stress, so come prepared.

• Emergen-C: I know I said I don't use drugs, but I love this stuff so much I would snort it if I could. Which is a nice segway to my next point...
• Netty-Pot: On average I use mine once every other day. Twice a day when I feel a cold coming on. 
• Multivitamins: I used to take pre-natal vitamins (for the extra vitamins. no baby on board). Now I take Greens, because I figure I won't always get in all the fruits & veggies I need. 
• Protein Supplement: This makes a lot of sense for me - since (1) I workout a lot and (2) am a vegetarian. Most gyms & vitamin shops will have a cool little portable shaker-cup contraption for mixing shakes. I like using Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk for mine: only 40 calories a cup! 
• PEANUT BUTTER: Worse case scenario. Not enough calories or protein? A spoon full of peanut butter. 
• Water, water, water, water: Bring a water bottle, refill at gas station and pit stops for free.
 

 E) *Rest. Take off your party pants, and slip on a pair of comfy boxers. Just not in public places, that would be illegal. 

• Plan ahead: Know where you're staying before you get there. Not always possible as my schedule changes constantly, but Couchsurfing is an excellent resource for this. If I'm not staying with friends, fans or family, I Couchsurf.  
• Hotel Points: My friend, Laura Meyer, has a credit card that adds points towards free hotel stays at Marriott Hotels. They come in handy when a surprise pops up, or she just plain needs a break from people. 
• Worst case scenario: All else fails, though I strongly advise against it, WalMart provides free overnight parking for truckers & travelers. I'll be honest, I've done it a few times between long drives, and it sucks. Pack a pillow, and throw blanket. Hide your valuables, and keep your cell phone close by just in case (a friend of mine keeps 911 on speed dial). 
• Eye mask: Ok it sounds silly, but you'll be surprised how many places you'll stay that have huge windows, lots of light, etc. For better, deeper sleep, use a mask. 

*I'll extend a lot more on this one in my next post, "Happy & Healthy Mind."

More than Melodies

I did an interview earlier this week with Kyle Cunningham - from A&M's Battalion magazine. Kyle and I met earlier this fall when I performed with Laura Meyer at Stafford on Main (Bryan, TX). The interview was a pleasure...he asked great questions, and, and expected - did a spectacular job summing up the inspiration and ideas behind this tour with Chloe.

Probably the most poignant description of the tour concept so far...my sincere thanks to Kyle, Stevo Schlemmer and everyone in the Bryan/College Station area!

You can read the full article here, or check out the text below:

Being on the road is tough. There's the loneliness factor of leaving everything you own and love behind to play show after show; but when everything is finished, you can still return to those things and people.

Some people aren't so lucky, which is why musician Aly Tadros is hitting the road on a tour of the Midwest and southeast, stopping in Bryan for a 9 p.m. show today at The Village.

For the last few years, Tadros has dedicated herself to two projects: music and non-profit work. In Austin, Tadros worked with a group called Care Communities.

Care Communities is a non-profit organization formed in 1991 to provide daily care and help for those with serious illnesses like cancer, HIV and AIDS. Tadros worked with a patient named Anna, and what started as a volunteer assignment grew into more.

"Anna needed rides to acupuncture and just wanted someone to hang out with her," Tadros said. "I ended up spending a lot of time playing music for her. We just became really, really good friends and I loved it so much. She was such a huge inspiration for me."

After Anna passed, Aly released her album Things Worth Keeping and started touring, but something kept tugging at Tadros while she was on the road.

"I felt restless, I wanted to be doing more and there was a part of me that felt that I should be volunteering or contributing my time somehow because I get so much from it in an altruistic way," Tadros said. "I didn't want to do music if it was all me all the time. I mean, you say it's for the fans and you want to share your music and music helps people, but a lot of time it feels like you're spending three hours a day on Facebook promoting shows because it's all about you."

Tadros' research on what she could do with her music to benefit more people than just regular fans, led her to discover Musicians on Call, a group that plays for hospitalized people.

The Musicians on Call model pushed Tadros towards the style of tour she is doing now – performing for those in retirement centers, assisted living homes and at The Arc, a foundation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Her tour-mate, Chloe Charles, wasn't told about this until the middle of their first tour together, back in the summer.

"We were in Europe and the same feeling kicked up and I was thinking, ‘What am I doing this all for?'" Tadros said. "You know you're working towards something bigger, but it still felt like a selfish sort of thing – sell my merchandise and pay my bills. During the second week of the tour I was feeling really depressed."

This led to Tadros asking Charles to do this tour – just a plan back then – which Charles supported.

Six stops on the tour will be for those in assisted living, retirement communities or various Arc locations.

The entire tour will take place as Tadros takes an online class for lyric writing, which she said takes up multiple hours of her day.

"You're learning all of the clinical, intellectual sides of analyzing and putting together songs," Tadros said.

As the learning process continues for Tadros, she only hopes that she can give as much to the world with her music as she can take in.

 

A tour'saaa comin...

Picked up Chloe and Sam from the airport today, in all their jet-lagged, tour-haggin' glory. Sam slept. Chloe showered. Pretty productive day, if you ask me.

Not too much to report on the homefront, except we just got two more FREE!FREE!FREE! ARC/Assisted Living Performances down on the calendar:

Nov. 29: Golden Living Center: Decatur, GA
Dec. 8:  ARC of San Antonio: San Antonio, TX

Which brings us to a total of SEVEN volunteer performances (possibly 8, stay tuned Dallas. Sarina's got her eye on you).

And another confirmed venue date:

Dec. 4: Hotel Fredonia: Nacogdoches, TX

East Texas piney woods in the winter time? Where everything smells like Christmas? And the hot chocolate flows like...PBR? Yeeeeeeeeeessss!

Aside from the volunteer performances at ARC Austin & Turtle Creek Dallas, we've got a whole bunch of radio and tv performances lined up to promote our live shows this week. And a busy-busy day tomorrow getting all caught up with harmonies and clothes-swapping and accesorizing and such. This is serious musc stuff, people.

Two days!!

The story behind the tour...

Continued from The Official Southeast & US Tour Announcement:

So, Chloe Charles is back from Toronto; touring around NYC with Sam, her bassist, and getting ready to head down to Austin for our big show at Momo's (Thursday, Nov 11 @ 8pm!) to celebrate the release of her latest EP, "Little Green Bud".

Me? I'm celebrating wearing tights 5 days a week. Yay winter!

I'm making my third tour out to the Midwest and Southeast (holy crap!) in the last...year or so? No wonder everytime I turn around, ol' Black Betty is ready for another oil change. Sponsorships, anyone?

In all seriousness: this tour I was determined to find a way to give back on the road, and feel like I was contributing to some higher purpose other than "sell merch." I've always been passionate about nonprofit work (I am a full time musician, after all), don't have a bunch of funds at my disposal, and love working with people one-on-one. So, I thought integrating music and volunteer work on the road would be the best way to go about it.

I got in touch with the wonderful people at Musicians on Call last year to see if I could figure out a way to perform in hospitals around the country. Unfortunately, MoC is only based in a few specific cities, and it seems they won't let just anybody waltz into hospital rooms and break out into song. Liabilities and differing music tastes and such. So that was off the list (for now).

Then, my friend Katie in Evansville hooked me up with the people at Evansville ARC - and a free performance was scheduled for the Ragged Haggard Tour. And it was AWESOME. I didn't care what I sounded like, wasn't critiquing my lyrics or performance; all I cared about was being in the moment; interacting with the students and have a damn good time. We had a blast. And I thought, "Shit, shouldn't every show be like this!?"

And then, I got these in the mail:

click on images to enlarge:
  

Yep. Done.

Several people also recommended checking out Nursing Homes, as they're constantly looking for volunteers. I read online that something like 60% of people in homes never get a visitor - I mean, really?!

But I needed help. I put up ads online and found my fantastic intern, Sarina - and enlisted her to help me around the office, and coordinate free-performances around our regular show schedule.

And, voila, we have a full-fledged, 22-date tour.

This is an experiment of sorts, hopefully to grow into something bigger over time - but, let's just say I'm getting my feet wet.

Hipster-I-be-not

My romantic night nustled up with my MacBook Pro, surrounded by stacks of large, very intellectual looking books and a bottomless cup of black coffee was just rudely interrupted by a cockroach the size of my thumb. Scurrying across the table. straight into my coffee.

It's like every time I start to ponder the vast coolness that is me, God decides to drop in a little reminder that I'm really just a stone's throw away from a stark-raving lunatic.

HA-HA, God. Ha-Ha.

Announcing the 2010 Southeast & Midwest US Tour with Chloe Charles!

More on the concept later this week. In the meantime, read the official Press Release here, folks:

Stereotypes retain their popularity because people are lazy, and don't take the time to truly acquaint themselves with other people. You see examples of this throughout the many socio-political debates in our current culture wars, but for whatever reason, this isn't talked about as much in the decidedly "progressive" music community (who can be just prejudiced as the best of 'em). For example, when you see a woman with an acoust...ic guitar ready to sing, most music writers, and some music fans, immediate draw conclusions. Oh great, another Lilith Fair reject. While that's, admittedly, sometimes true, you can't always make such assumptions. This is a battle that genre-breaking Torontonian Chloe Charles and Austinite Aly Tadros waged, and won, throughout a rigorous and inventive transatlantic tour this year. In each club and bar the duo performed in, Chloe and Aly's music immediately turned heads and shattered expectations. Chloe Charles' EP, Little Green Bud, was released this September, and found many writers struggling to categorize her sound. A bit of chamber folk here, a bit of experimentalism there, and all under a jazzy pop umbrella that exists somewhere between Bjork and Erykah Badu. The unique sound enthralled Aly Tadros' equally adventurous sensibilities. "I saw Chloe perform at Folk Alliance last year and knew instantly I wanted to hit the road with her," said Tadros. "I've been really fortunate in that I'm a huge fan of her music; and singing with her has definitely made me a stronger musician." "Our strange writing styles, our touring sensibilities and our super intense focus makes us a wicked team," Charles added. More than that, this unique duo was, fittingly, not going to subscribe to the traditional get-on-the-road, spread gospel, sell merch for gas formula. Instead of just playing clubs and bars in each city they traveled, Aly and Chloe opted to volunteer in every community. "I read that something like 60% of residents in nursing homes never receive a single visitor," Aly explains. "I've always done a lot of volunteer work at home, so as opposed to raising money I thought this would be the best way to give - take live music to those who normally don't have access." More than just tour mates, Chloe and Aly developed a friendship and significant artistic relationship built on two people from different countries, with similar background and a congruent sense of stewardship. "While we're still building our fan base, nights on the road can be tough. I wanted to create a tour where I felt like I was contributing somehow with my music; and really connecting with audiences. That doesn't necessarily have to be a in club," Aly said. Making concert goers think twice, while giving back to people all across the world, has made their tour a personal and profound affair that deserves notice in a music scene that, all over the world and online, has become a bit too cynical. Chloe Charles and Aly Trados shall continue to tour for the rest of 2010. Chloe's Little Green Bud EP and Aly's Things Worth Keeping are both available now. CHLOE CHARLES AND ALY TADROS TOUR DATES: Nov 10 Carmen's de la Calle, San Antonio, TX Nov 11 ARC Center - Austin TX (RC) Nov 11 Momo's - Austin TX Nov 12 KEOS Public Performance - Bryan, TX Nov 12 The Village - Bryan TX Nov 13 Silverado Senior Living at Turtle Creek - Dallas TX (RC) Nov 17 The Square Room - Knoxville TN Nov 19 The ARC of Evansville - Evansville, IN (RC) Nov 19 Cafe Arazu - Newburgh, IN Nov 22 Lamasco - Evansville, IN Nov 23 Reggies Music Joint - Chicago, IL Nov 25 The Verve - Terre Haute, IN Nov 26 Natasha's - Lexington, KY Nov 27 Kavarna - Decatur, GA Nov 29 Eddies Attic - Atlanta, GA Dec 2 Circle Bar - New Orleans, LA Dec 3 The Usual - Houston, TX Dec 8 ARC Center - San Antonio, TX (RC) Dec 8 Carmens de la Calle - San Antonio, TX Dec 9 ARC Center - Austin, TX (RC) Dec 9 One 2 One - Austin, TX (RC) ARC Center/Retirement Community Performances

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Interview with Cream City Magazine

One of my favorite spots to play in Texas is Gallery 201 - a fantastic little Art Gallery/Listening Room in my hometown, Laredo, TX. So, I was pretty stoked when the folks over at Cream City Magazine asked me to do an interview for their profiles section, and do a photoshoot at- where else, but Gallery 201.


Click on images to enlarge:
 






To checkout the magazine, go to http://www.creamcitymagazine.com!

Leçons

At the halfway marker of the tour, I have learned a couple new lessons:

• Cowboy boots are highly functional for every occasion, as they are fashionable, and utterly indestructible

• Exception to previous statement: Parisians do not curb their dogs.

• Never buy bus tickets at the station.  They are almost always hugely discounted online.

• Never, ever throw away your student ID. It is a cheap travel goldmine.

• If you are at an Irish Pub and in need an icebreaker, order a Guinness.

• If  you are at an Irish Pub with anyone over the age of 50, you best  learn some Irish Folk Songs, and fast.  If not, order more Guinness. They will come.

• Always travel with blank Thank You notes. They don’t take much time to fill out,  and the small but thoughtful gesture always fills me with gratitude.

• For musicians: one of the best ways to network in a new town is to go to an open mic. Make friends with local musicians, and get the lowdown on other spots around town. It’s also another opportunity to sell CD’s and get spots on your mailing list.

• When in doubt, there’s an app for that.

Not a Drop

Back in April I moved to Barra de Navidad, Mexico for two months to recover from the road and work on new material.

I started secretly planning the trip back in November. Found a bungalow, cleared my calendar, and spent six months sketching out long dreamy days of songwriting.

...and of course, when I finally got to Mexico, I sat down to write and couldn't think of a thing. No inspiration. Nada.

So, I wrote about it. Here it goes, live from London: