Beloved (band) - Band History

Band History

Beloved formed in the fall of 1999. The original members all attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, NC from 1996-2000. They played local shows in the surrounding areas of Kernersville where they grew in popularity almost immediately. In 2000, they independently released their first album, ...And So It Goes. The band toured the country with bands such as Underoath, Luti-Kriss/Norma Jean and Cool Hand Luke, including a performance at the Cornerstone Festival.

In the spring of 2001, they gained the attention of upstart label Vindicated Records, who released their next release, The Running, later that year. During this time, the band also released a limited online pre-release for The Running which included rough studio versions of the tracks "The Blue Period" and "Into Your Arms." The second track was not included on the Vindicated Records release was not commercially released until the second re-release by Solid State Records.

In 2002, the band was in the process of signing with Takehold Records. However, the owner of Takehold Records, Chad Johnson, was also negotiating the sale of the label to Tooth & Nail Records at the time.

Ultimately, Takehold was sold to Tooth & Nail and Beloved signed with Tooth & Nail's Solid State Records division. Solid State re-released their EP, The Running, for their performance at Cornerstone in the summer of 2002.

In late 2002, while on tour with Luti-Kriss/Norma Jean, both bands spontaneously recorded a split EP consisting of two songs from each band. This "release" was nicknamed the One Night Split and was incredibly limited. Only a handful of copies in CD-R format were produced, and these were handed out to lucky fans at subsequent tour stops after their recording. The two tracks from Luti-Kriss were later renamed and found their way onto the group's first release as Norma Jean, Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child; while Beloved's half included the anthem "Death to Traitors" which was released on their full-length album Failure On, and one track titled "Westward Shining" which remains unreleased.

The following year, the band entered the studio with producer GGGarth to record their follow-up full-length album, Failure On. The band supported the album with extensive touring and another re-release of The Running with the previously recorded bonus track "Into Your Arms" in 2004.

In the fall of 2004, drummer/vocalist Joe Musten got married and subsequently decided that his commitment to his family superseded his responsibilities with the band and would be unable to continue. Because he was such an integral part of the band, the rest of the members decided to end Beloved rather than replace him.

Their farewell show took place in Winston Salem, North Carolina on January 14, 2005. The show also featured Underoath, Classic Case, Glass Casket, and a special surprise appearance by Norma Jean. Footage of their farewell show was released as a DVD entitled Kiss it Goodbye. Ex-members of Beloved went on to play in bands such as Monday In London, Classic Case, Dead Poetic, and The Almost.

• Joe Musten was also the vocalist for the now defunct Solid State band Advent. More recently in 2009, he joined Dusty Redmon as the drummer for The Almost

• Johnny Smrdel also play in Advent.

• Matt Harrison was also in Advent for a period of time, but has since stepped down from playing guitar the band, and is now no longer in an active band

• Josh Moore currently resides in Chapel Hill, NC and is working on his solo project.

• Dusty Redmon moved to Philadelphia, PA for a little while before moving back to Kernersville, NC and now plays guitar in The Almost. The band was a musical guest on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show in August of '07; and has been featured on MTV and Fuse. Their album "Southern Weather" peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Top 200 in April 2007.

Ex-Members:

• John Brehm is a tattoo artist at The Yellow Rose Tattoo Club in Kernersville, NC. He owns a clothing label called OMBIE. ( www.OMBIE.bigcartel.com )

• Shawn Dallas owns a clothing label catered exclusively to the "drifting" scene called Driftstar Apparel. ( www.DriftstarApparel.com )