Basti Artadi of Wolfgang

It was a rainy night on December 8th. Although I didn’t get to attend the press conference of Yahoo for the Y! Rocks because of work, I still managed to go to the concert at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds. I needed a break from work and going to gigs is one of my stress relievers.

This is the first time that Yahoo held simultaneous concerts in Cebu and Davao for Yahoo Rocks. As an avid supporter of local artists, I appreciate this kind of support that is being given by Yahoo. Let’s admit it, gone are the hey days of bands during the 90′s. Sorry, I am being biased here but at that time, Pinoy bands were the mainstream and major recording labels were signing them, creating hits one after the other. But now, times have changed. Pinoy bands still exist, only a few of them in the mainstream and more are going independent. In this digital age, independent bands market themselves through online media – I guess one of the easiest and the cheapest form of marketing. The good thing is that Yahoo, one of the biggest online organizations, help promote Filipino music. It also helped that we have Yahoo Philippines which focuses everything about our country. Read the rest of this entry »

Joey “Pepe” Smith and Ely Buendia

Jose Rizal’s 150th birthday became more meaningful as Pinoy musicians made songs about him and his works through a downloadable album called  Rock Rizal. You can download the songs for free and share it to everyone who know and wants to know Jose Rizal.

Listening to the tracks made me remember my PI 100 (Philippine Institutions 100) in UP. It is mandated by law that educational institutions has to add Rizal’s life and works in the curricula of public and private schools  (please see Republic Act 1425 or Rizal Law). My PI100 class was unforgettable (under Prof. Nilo Ocampo) because I had the chance to visit the Rizalistas in Mt. Banahaw. I found an old blog post about it but didn’t exactly elaborate on what I did there but all the things that I experienced are kept in my mind. At that time, I realized that Jose Rizal’s life and works are timeless and it crosses all social classes (although many say that his philosophies reflects elitism and conservatism). Could this mean that nothing has really changed since the 1800′s? Hmm. Read the rest of this entry »

Vin Dancel and Kakoy Legaspi of Peryodiko

I believe that the true soul of any musician is revealed when his/her performance is simplified. It is when the musicality is easily digested by the audience. In this kind of performance, the audience is captivated by the simplicity and truthfulness of the performer. All that you could do, when you’re actually there watching the artists perform, is to absorb every single musical note and word down to its core.

Last Saturday, I was at the Folk U Alexis and Nika 2 in Piazza Musica at the Podium, the music part of the .MOV International Film, Music and Literature Festival. This is one of the rare moments when I feel musical nirvana. Read the rest of this entry »

I was able to attend the Tatt Awards last Friday and was actually very curious to know who will win the Indie Rocker category (which is I am more interested in). I waited long for this and then Up Dharma Down was already onstage while they were announcing the finalists for this category then finally, they mentioned the winner, Up Dharma Down. Read the rest of this entry »

Logo from www.movfest.org

Just got news the news (and PR) about the upcoming 4th .MOV Fest from a friend and for this year, it will not only cover digital films but it will also include music and literature. MOVfest will happen on September 1 – 6, 2011 in 3 separate venues such as Podium, Ayala Museum and UP Film Center. The event will kick off on September 1st, just in time with the death anniversaries of slain film critic and journalist Alex Tioseco and Nikha Bohinc. Read the rest of this entry »

I got the chance to go to the FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women Victory Party at the World Trade Center last night. Thanks to San Miguel Light people. I didn’t really bother to sneak myself to the front of the stage filled with men (and a few women) hungry for flesh because of my current condition. Being there already satisfied me. My 35x zoom point and shoot cameraallowed me to become a “mini voyeur” to what is happening at the ramp. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh from the Listener’s Party at Robot Bar, I am now listening the third album of Pupil entitled Limiters of the Infinity Pool at home. The album isn’t released yet and not sure when it will be released at the record bars. Glad to be one of the first to grab a copy. Just hate it that someone stole the album Karla bought for me. Thanks to Ryan for giving me her free copy. I owe you! Read the rest of this entry »

Franco

This is it. The last NU Rock Awards happened last October 29, 2010 at the NBC Tent, Taguig. NU preferred to give away tickets by invitation only and the event became a private affair with no jumping Orcs , just like how the NU Rock Awards started back in 1994. I’m no VIP however I was able to score tickets courtesy of my colleague, Pax (you’re the best!) on the day of the Rock Awards itself. I wasn’t prepared to go but who could not resist those tickets??!!! Two of my motivations to go to the Rock Awards this year: 1) because this will be the last and I wanna be there and 2) I want to see my band photos on the AVPs for some categories (particularly Urbandub). This is the first time that my photos will be used in a big event like this Read the rest of this entry »

Colgate and Rock Ed just recently awarded Php 50,000 each to youth groups who had creative ideas that will help their respective communities.  The winners were awarded at the Encore Superclub last July 6th and these fresh projects are:

• Rover Palengke Programe (University of the Philippines Diliman)
• Bantay – A – Bata (San Beda College)
• Pag-asa sa Pagbasa  (University of Southern Philippines)
• Magic School Bus  (University of the Philippines Diliman)
• Art Camp (Karatula) Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago, I was at the Globe Flagship Store Launch at the Ayala Museum. This was the official launch of Globe’s renovated store in Greenbelt 4, with a more customer-friendly atmosphere. Glad to see fellow bloggers there but I got more excited to see Taken By Cars, which to my surprise, was the band who will be performing during the event.  Only Karla and I were glued to this band while everybody was busy with their own thing. Well, I just said to myself, this isn’t Saguijo. Read the rest of this entry »