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NEWS

Summer 2023
GIGS!
It's been a crazy few weeks with lots of gigs! We'd like to thank Ed Barnett for sitting in for the vacationing Skippy and playing drums for us. We had a blast!

We are excited to announce that we will be playing the A&M Car Show and Reunion on October1. I'm sure that plenty of our fans ran the quarter mile on the A&M with their ride back in the day! If you have a car to show, come on down, or just come as a spectator!

Summer 2022
CREEM MAGAZINE

We grew up reading CREEM magazine. The articles, STARS CARS, and CREEM PROFILES with their tongue-in-cheek humor were a lot of fun. CREEM announced a contest to create CREEM PROFILES and we won!

Click here to see The Allens CREEM PROFILE.

July 12, 2020
COVID UPDATES
All of the benefit shows are on hold pending rescheduling dates. The annual bike run in memory of Ray-Ray is now postponed until spring 2021. We're waiting on venues reopening before we can announce a new date for the Benefit for Dickie Guild.

February 1, 2020
2020 NEWS!

Bolton Street Tavern was a great show on January 17. Thanks to everyone who braved the 13° weather! Apparently the drink coasters with The Allens logo were a big hit! There weren't any left by the end of the night! We'll have more at the next gig, which is March 6 back at BST.

In addition to our gigs on March 6 and April 26 at Bolton Street Tavern, we have two benefit shows coming up in April and May. On Saturday, April 18, we will be joining JAB and Rumor Hazit at the Hudson Portuguese Club to raise money for our friend, Dickie Guild. Then on Sunday, May 17, we will be playing at the Fish and Game in Marlborough for Ray-Ray's Memorial Bike Run. Please join us!

Allens 30th Anniversary T-Shirt
Our new 30th anniversary design t-shirt is almost sold out (two Large and one Double XL) - we will have them at the gigs and also available online - see our Merch page - click here.

November 1, 2019
30TH ANNIVERSARY NEWS
Lots of great shows this year! Thank you all for coming out, especially to Union Common, Firefly's,the Moose, and Bolton Street Tavern. Frank's recovered and in great form, and we've been adding lots of new songs to our setlist. T-shirts for our 30th are running out and as our 31st anniversary looms, we will be selling off the remainders and looking at new design for next year.

January 1, 2019
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks for all the well wishes for Frank as he recovers from his injury! We're hoping for a speedy recovery!

Thanks to Angry Tony and the Homewreckers for opening our last date at Dante's at Firefly's, and thanks to everyone who came out. It was good to have a big turn-out and see everyone having a good time. We will be back at Firefly's in the future but no dates confirmed just yet.

September 6, 2018
Help our friend, Ralph!
Many of you know our friend, Ralph Lanigan, formerly with Sunny Down Snuff, Talking Book, and other local bands. Ralph was hit by a rogue wave while vacationing in Maui, and is now in a hospital recovering from spinal injuries. There is a GoFundMe page set up to assist, and plans are underway for a benefit show on November 4, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. We will be doing a set there and hope you can join us. More information: click here

In the meantime, click here for the GoFundMe page.

30th Anniversary!
UNION COMMON
Wow... thanks to everyone who came out for the first of our 30th Anniversary shows! Union Common was awesome - we had a blast and it looked like you did, too! Sold out of XL's and 2XL's - we'll be ordering more soon!

August 29, 2018
New venues
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Central Tavern show - it was a great night, and what a great venue! We'll be back there in November so please plan to be there!

30th Anniversary!
UNION COMMON
Our free fan appreciation show is Sunday September 2 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Union Common on the corner of Main Street and Bolton Street in Downtown Marlborough. This is a free, all-ages show!

Our new 30th anniversary design t-shirt is now available - we will have them at the gigs and also available online - see our Merch page - click here.

Hope to see you at Union Common!

July 2, 2018
SUMMER GIGS
New venues, old venues!

We'll be playing Dante's at Firefly's on August 17 - no cover!, Central Tavern in Milford on August 24, and our annual free concert on Union Common in Marlborough on the night before Labor Day!

We're counting down to our 30th anniversary shows in November! Stay tuned for more information including 30th anniversary t-shirts!

Until then
Billy

January 6, 2018
AND A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS
• Thanks to everyone who braved the cold to come to our first show of the new year at Dante's at Firefly's. Thanks to Tom on sound, Tim Leavitt, Sean Spicer, Matt Bolieau and everyone who took pictures. It was a fun time.

We're booking gigs now so check back for more information. Until then, stay warm!

Billy

December 12, 2017
MUSINGS ON THE CLOSING OF A FAVORITE VENUE
• Our Night Before Thanksgiving show at Speakers Nightclub was their last-ever opening. For a variety of reasons, Speakers closed their doors that night. It was great to play to a full house, and we'd like to thank Angry Tony, Erik Ristuben, Kevin Marshall, and Steve Carter for jamming with us one last time on the Speakers' stage. It was a little surreal looking around the room as we were playing and seeing price tags on the TVs, bar mirrors, everything!

It's always sad when a live music venue closes. I think back to the days of playing at The Rat, The Channel , Bunratty's, Sir Morgan's Cove, the Hitchin' Post, American Lobster, Chefia's, Options, Manny's, and more that I'd need to see the back of a vintage Allens' tee to know! Even the Prospector - used to have live music but never upgraded their sprinklers so they can't anymore.

But who is going to take up the slack? Yes, there are some other venues around but Speakers was a music club - no sports, just live music. And with a capacity of 250 to boot. No other venue around here holds that many people. We are going to explore our options but at the end of the day, we want to play primarily in Marlborough. We will have to see what the future holds and we will certainly let you know where we'll be next. Maybe we need to open our own bar...

Until the next time....

Billy

August 23, 2017
• We're playing the Common!

Sunday, September 3 will find us playing Union Common for a free fan appreciation show from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. We're putting together a killer set (one long set - no breaks!) and we're excited to play for you!

This is all ages, kid-friendly, and did we mention, FREE! See you there!

July 13, 2017
• The June show was a blast! We had a great time and hope all of you who came out did too!

We'll be playing the Andrew's Helpful Hands Benefit on July 29 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center. The event is from 4:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. Multi-band event and our friends in Usual Suspects will be playing as well as Itchy Onion, Young Other, and headlining from Las Vegas, Elvis Monroe. We'll be on at 7:30 p.m. with Usual Suspects on right after us.

The event benefits Andrew's Helpful Hands which provides support to families with young children fighting cancer. To read all about it and order tickets, click here.

May 3, 2017
• Great April gig! Lots of new faces at Speakers and we got to wish Russ Rebakas a happy birthday at midnight! Haven't heard the recordings from the night (thanks Bear!) but we hope to have some clips available soon.

The next gig is June 24 at Speakers again and we hope to see you there!

Check back here since we should be adding a surprise summer gig or two.

February 30, 2017
• Remind me not to book a gig on the night before the Super Bowl ever again. Thanks to everyone who came out - we appreciate it!

We're rehearsing and learning some new toons for the April gig - as Butch Walker says, "Stay Gold Pony Boy."

Lots of great shows coming up - we're going to see Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears at Middle East on February 24th - ought to be a great show. Lots of good concerts coming up - we'd love to see them all but $$$. You know how it is.

Anyway, the April show should be a lot of fun and we'd love to see you at Speakers!

December 2, 2016
• Fun times at our Night Before Thanksgiving show - it was great to see so many people there! We had a blast (must have - we played til 1:30) and we hope you had a great holiday.

That was our last official gig for 2016 - our next gig is February 4 at Speakers. Should be some other venues coming up for 2017 - stay tuned.

Stay safe out there and we look forward to seeing you in 2017!

September 5, 2016
• Wow.

That was a great show. Union Common rocked this Labor Day Weekend and thanks to everyone who turned out. Everyone was watching the weather thinking it would be hurricane Hermine blasting through, and instead we had perfect weather! Thanks to Mayor Vigeant and his office for making it possible, thanks to Bear at High Voltage Sound for making us sound good, and thanks to all of our wonderful fans for supporting us!

Next up is our Halloween Show at Speakers - costume contest and a whole lot of fun! We are still trying to decide what we'll be - and we're looking forward to what YOU'LL be dressed in!

August 8, 2016
• Breaking News: We got the approval to play a free Fan Appreciation Show downtown on Union Common for Sunday September 4 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

All ages, no cover, and we plan on putting on a massive show. Guest musicians, too! C'mon down for this end of the summer party!

January 1, 2016
• Happy New Year!

Looking back, 2015 was an incredible year for the band! Lots of terrific gigs and great performances if I do say so myself. The Labor Day gig at Union Common was amazing, Halloween and Thanksgiving were terrific, and Billy's birthday gig was fabulous with incredible performances from Charlie Farren and many of our special guests, including Steve Spector, Timmy Leavitt, Richard Crabtree, John Donovan, Randy Claire, Gary Stucchi, and especially Harvey Post, aka, Scott Johnson!

November 2, 2015
• Wow! The Halloween gig was just awesome! We had two hundred people there and the eighty people who got up for the costume contest looked fabulous! Congrets to the Lady Cop who won!

Next up is our Night Before Thanksgiving gig, which is always a great gig! and then, shh! Billy's Surprise 60th Birthday Party with surprise guests on December 5. More on that later...

September 30, 2015
• Well, there weren't any drones at the Speakers show on September 19th, but it didn't stop us from having a good time! We broke from our usual tradition of playing three sets and did a 75 minute set follwoed by an 85 minute set! Crazy - a lot of rock n' roll going on!

Next up - our annual Halloween Party at Speakers. Costumes, prizes, and who knows what else. We haven't decided what we're going to be - four Donald Trumps? The Addams Family? (Frank as Lurch? just imagine it!) It's a great night and we're really looking forward to seeing your costumes...

April 19, 2015
• Wow. What a great show on April 18th at Speakers Nightclub! We went in early for soundcheck as always and ran through a song we never ended up playing: China Girl, by Iggy Pop. Somehow it never seems to fit right in the set at the moment we're playing. What to do...

But I digress. It was a stellar gig, filled with awesome fans, new and old. We ran the new lightshow through the paces and it just turned into an incredible experience! Thanks to all who came out. Our next show is at the end of next month, May 30. It's our last show before we break for the summer, although we hope to add additional summer shows. Hope to see you May 30!

Until then - see you around the 'borough!

Billy

BREAKING NEWS:
• Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will NOT be on a float in the Labor Day Parade. We hope to be back next year, but for now, we'll be spectators on the route.

• Thanks to everyone who came out for the Songs For Sue and Y-Ppig benefits - as well as our shows at Speakers - it 's been a great 25th year so far!

• We started 25 years ago at Billy and Rhonda Katsikas's wedding reception and haven't looked back! Hope to see you at Speakers on the Night Before Thanksgiving as we begin our 25th year celebration! We're going to have special guests and a few surprises along the way!

• Check out our display of vintage Allens's posters in our facebook gallery!

See you out there!
The Allens

NEWS

November 25, 2013
• It was a great time at our 25th anniversary show at Speakers on the night before Thanksgiving. Thanks to all of our friends who came out and our musician friends who got up and joined us! It was a crazy good night of music!

November 20, 2013
• The Allens have a new website!

October 30, 2013
• Thanks to everyone who came out to our Halloween gig - your costumes were spectacular and we had a great time playing for you!

January 14, 2013
• So 2012 is now one for the history books - the world didn't end even though the Mayans were pretty sure (although they didn't predict their own demise so there you have it!).

• 2013 is going to be a great year for The Allens as we head to our 25th anniversary in November! We're going to scope out some new venues as well and spread The Allens rawk! Our Night Before Thanksgiving gig will be epic but that's quite a ways away....

• Our next gig is FRIDAY February 22nd at Speakers - yes, that's Friday! We're working on new songs and have some surprises in store!

• Later in the year, we'll have a special surprise birthday gig celebrating Frank's big birthday! More later on that one...

August 23, 2012
• Lots of news! First off, we're playing a benefit for our friends, Donna and Bobby Peltak, on Sunday September 30th in the afternoon. Set times have as yet to be determined. Also appearing will be The Usual Suspects and Jab n the Groove. DJ'ing during the day will be Bobby Beggs for the first half and Pat Hogan for the second. More information is here on a special website for the event.

We'll be playing a new venue in Worcester on October 5th - Krazy Horse Bar & Grille at 287 Main Street in Wormtown. It's a cool room and we hope to see you all there!

Finally, we'll be at Speakers for our annual Halloween Party on October 27th - more info coming as soon as we hear about costume contest and prizes. And of course, we'll be dressed for the occasion - since we got snowed out last year, we could always go with our costume ideasfrom then... or we could do something different. Stay tuned - and get those outfits together!

Then we swing back into Speakers for the biggest gig of the year -
The Night Before Thanksgiving. Nuff said...

February 26, 2012
• FEBRUARY NEWS!
Played The Raven in Worcester with our friends Demons Alley and The Erotics and had a blast!

We just finished our Speakers gig yesterday and updated facebook and the website with pictures from the gig! Next gig will be April 21st at Speakers - and stay tuned for more info about a Bike Run Cancer Benefit we'll be playing at the Marlboro Fish & Game on May 12. More info coming soon. And for the record, unlike other area bands, The Allens NEVER take pay for playing a charity event!

We're also looking at other venues for potential gigs- any suggestions? - drop us an email!

See you out there!
BC

October 29, 2011
• SNOW? GIG CANCELLED!
You gotta be kidding us! Freak snowstorm and power outage wiped out our Halloween gig - and our evil clowns costumes will have to wait for another year! See you on the Night Before Thanksgiving!

July 9, 2011
• ALLENS & FRIENDS!
Our August gig on the 13th will be Allens & Friends - acoustic, electric, guests, rock, and a lot of surprises! Make sure you hit up Speakers this night! Got an acoustic song you want us to play? Hit us up with an email - you never know!

October 14, 2010
• HALLOWEEN!
Get your costumes together! The Allens are doing their annual Halloween gig at Speakers Saturday October 30th - we'll be dressing up the second set - and there will be a costume contest, $500 cash prize - and we'll have a special surprise as well! Hope to see you then!

September 16, 2010
• MAKING A LIST...
...of all the songs we USED to do! So far, we've got 107 songs! At some point, we'll publish it and vote on any that should come back! Hopefully, no one will want to hear Marilyn Manson's "Dope Show" or En Vogue's "Free Your Mind!" ha ha ha!

August 21, 2010
• WHY THERE IS NO LABOR DAY WEEKEND GIG THIS YEAR
Read the full note here on our facebook page...

March 14, 2010
• ROCKIN' 80'S FOR HAITI
BENEFIT AT SPEAKERS
There will be a special Haiti Relief benefit at Speakers on Friday April 2nd.
There are seven bands scheduled to appear:
TAMA GIRARD
FLESH AND BLOOD
THE ALLENS
IDIOT CIRCUS
FIRST CLASS FOOL
USUAL SUSPECTS
CRAZY TRAIN

We are supposed to go on at 8:30 and the whole thing kicks off at 6:30. Tickets are $25 and are available at Speakers Nightclub.

See you April 2nd at Speakers!
The Allens

January 9, 2009
• We'd like to thank Chris Caron and Eric Johnson for joining us on acoustic at our last Allens' Holiday Gig at Speakers on December 19th. We had a blast trying some new songs and really stepping out of the usual Allens' repetoire, doing songs like Handbags and Gladrags, Life On A Chain, and Working Class Hero to name a few! It was a lot of fun and who knows? It might happen again soon at another gig!

See you January 16th!
The Allens

December 4, 2009
• It is with extreme sadness that we report the passing of Frank's brother, David. He was a wonderful man, a loving father and husband and a close friend of the band as well. We wish the Hinckley family our thoughts and prayers during this trying time.
The Allens

September 6, 2009
• Wow! What a great gig at Union Common this year over Labor Day weekend! Thanks to everyone who came out- we sure had a blast and we hope you did too! Special thanks to all the kids who joined us onstage for our final song, The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again!" They sure looked like they were having the time of their lives!

We're looking forward to our September 26th gig at Speakers. We're learning some new songs that we hope to debut that night. We love playing that room, too! When you're there, stop by and say hi to Norm!

Finally, check out Kats' new band, Road Dawgs! They're playing all over the place and we're glad he found a good band to play with. Here's a link to their myspace.

See you out there!
Billy

October 7, 2009
• It is with fond memories that we look back at the September 26 gig at Speakers- what a fun night! We couldn't believe it when we finished our second set and it was 12:40! with another set to go! We keep learning and adding new songs to the setlist- pretty soon we're going to be playing until 3:30AM!

Special thanks to our guest artists: Glenn Evans, drummer extraordinaire from Florida; Bobby O'Brien on drums and vocals; and Tommy Miller jumping up to help sing!
Tanx guys!

We're really looking forward to Halloween- one of our favorite gigs of the year- well, actually, they're ALL favorites- but we get to dress up and have some fun with the audience! We're not going to be dressing up like four Howard Sterns, err... The Ramones again but we have something wild planned. We hope you can all make it and get dressed up for the costume contest! It's always a great time!

See you out there!
Billy

July 8, 2009
• This Week!
Billy is doing a solo acoustic show at Piccadilly Pub this Thursday, July 9. Free admission, good food, c'mon down! Playing from 9- closing.

Frank will be playing at Sully's solo acoustic opening for Scott Riciutti this Saturday, July 11th. Sully's is always a good time so c'mon down to that show too!

in a bit
Billy

June 24, 2009
• UPDATES!
Yeah, so we have a new website! It was about time to update it (the myspace will be next) and we now have a Fan Page on facebook which you can join here. We have some gigs in the works for the end of the summer and the fall as well as a bunch of new songs. We recorded the last gig so we may have some song clips up there if we can sort out the EQ a bit.

Gary will be playing with our friends in JAB this Saturday at Speakers so join us at their gig as we support them! Frank and Billy will be heading to see the New York Dolls on Sunday at the Paradise Rock Club if anyone is interested- there are still some tickets available.

in a bit
Billy

June 23, 2009
• SPEAKERS' GIG JUNE 20TH
Thanks to everyone who came out to our June 20th gig at Speakers! We had a blast and we hope you did too! Pictures coming soon from our good friend, SpiritWolf, and we may have some sound clips up since we recorded the gig. Maybe you'll hear yourself in the background?

The Allens are taking most of the summer off- Billy's heading to Europe, Skippy's just back from Florida, Frank's heading to New Hampshire, and Gary's vacationing in sunny Natick! We'll be back at Speakers on August 15th and we're waiting to confirm our annual Labor Day gig outdoors on Union Common.

More later... get some sun this summer and stay healthy!

See you out there!
The Allens

November 2008
• TWENTY YEARS OF THE ALLENS!
The Allens- established 1998- celebrated their 20th anniversary last year. Our night before Thanksgiving gig was the celebration!

February 2006
• JAMIE PEASE
"Our friend Jamie Pease passed away peacefully last night after his 11 year battle with cancer. I am grateful that I was able to be with him during his final hours. Please tell anyone you know that was a friend of Jamie's."
Thanks, Frank

Pease, a Worcester bass player who played with such bands as Buck, The Joneses, Johanna Wild and Jon Butcher, August and The Raw, lost his long battle with cancer.

Click here for an Allens' tribute honoring our friend, Jamie...