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.

Gloc 9 and Vinci of Parokya ni Edgar

It is so hard to impose something but instead of us dwelling from the past, my proposal is to look forward and determine how we can keep Pinoy music alive. One suggestion is don’t just rely on what radio stations play. There are tons of artists who are already on the internet. Go to small gig joints around the metro and you’ll surely hear some fresh sound that you can dig into.

Marben Romero of Badburn

Anyway, nuff said. I only caught a few bands during the Yahoo Rocks gig. The audience had their umbrellas up so it was quite difficult to take photos from where I was (Purple VIP). Eventually the heavy rains stopped so I had the opportunity to get some snapshots. Feel free to browse through my Yahoo Rocks photo set in Flickr and the videos I took from my You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/rockerfemme.

Franco

Glad to see 90′s bands such as Wolfgang, Razorback, Badburn and Parokya ni Edgar. Only a few people I guess appreciated the heavy rock sounds of Wolfgang, Razorback and Badburn. I still had the urge to sing along with Basti in “Halik ni Hudas” and became my LSS until the next morning.

Kevin Roy of Razorback

“Norma Love” a.k.a Harlon Agsaoay of Tanya Markova

Sarah Marco of Taken by Cars

Raimund Marasigan of Sandwich

Chikoy Pura of The Jerks

Yahoo Philippines wants Yahoo Rocks to be a yearly event and I do hope that for the regional concerts, they let the local bands play and not only the popular ones. I know Cagayan de Oro and Cebu rock scene is alive and it would be great to showcase them as well. Not sure on the other genres but I am sure that there are existing ones!

So we left the concert grounds at around 12:30 am with a ringing sound in my ear. The next day, still feeling deaf, I went to work and returned to my boring job as if nothing happened last night.

* Special thanks to Joey Alarilla for the invitation!

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.

“Bungo sa Bangin” – Ely Buendia featuring Pepe Smith and Turbogoth

Anyway going back to Rock Rizal, last night I was able to hear some of the songs from the Rock Rizal album performed live at the SM Mall of Asia, San Miguel By The Bay. Karla and I were late because I had to come all the way from Makati after work. I only got the chance to catch the bands such as Gab and Josh, Reese and Vica, Peryodiko, Ebe Dancel, Radioactive Sago Project and Ely Buendia with Pepe Smith. Super thanks to friends from Rock Ed for giving us a chance to stay at the backstage and stay in front of the stage. I was sitting on a speaker (good thing it was heavier than me) because other photographers were squeezing me against the speaker so I might as well just sit on it. I could really feel the groove through my butt! What the hell, it was an awesome and unforgettable gig.

You know why this gig was made awesome? Let me show you why.

1) Ely Buendia performed with Joey “Pepe” Smith.

Two Pinoy rock legends from different eras performed live! Actually, they should only perform 1 song which is “Bungo sa Bangin” (song from the Rock Rizal album and my favorite) but I guess both of them were in the mood to do some more. After “Bungo sa Bangin”, they performed “Teacher’s Enemy No. 1″, a Juan Dela Cruz classic. It seemed that Pepe forgot a stanza but what the heck, it was still a fun impromptu jam! Mar Dizon (former Side A drummer / founder and played with other artists such as Kevin Lettau, Jim Brickman, David Pomeranz etc.) also played the drums with them!

Another impromptu song from Ely is “Ang Huling El Bimbo”.

2) Gloc – 9 made the the crowd jump for joy.

I’ve never seen Gloc 9 perform live before so I was surprised on the crowd’s response. He engages with the crowd and I believe this is the reason why the crowd loves him. He’s not just another Francis M. but he lives by his own name and style. He also seemed humble (sorry, didn’t get to meet him in person). Here’s a video of him performing “Kung Tama Siya” with Jaq Dionisio of Kissjane.

3) Vin Dancel made the audience wave to the viewers of Digradio.ph.

The entire concert was webcasted via Digradio.ph so Vin made the audience raise their hands to the air. People who were not able to watch it live had the chance to see the entire concert on the internet! How amazing technology is now.

4) Radioactive Sago Project’s music almost made me dance to my feet but instead with my butt.

Sorry for the TMI (too much information) but they did! Like I said earlier, I was sitting on a speaker in front of the stage so when Radioactive Sago Project was next, I said to myself “uh-oh, my butt muscles will definitely be sore after this”. Well I was exaggerating then but I felt the soreness today. I was excited to hear “Sino Si Pepe” live and one of my favorite tracks.

And so if you were not able to go to the concert, all you can do now is watch the videos I uploaded (and other uploaded as well ;D ) and download the Rock Rizal tracks from the links below.

1) Ely Buendia – “Bungo sa Bangin”

2) Gloc 9 featuring Jaq Dionisio of Kissjane – “Kung Tama Siya”

3) Sandwich – “Mi Ultimo Amor”

4) Ebe Dancel – “Ikaw ang Aking Tahanan”

5) Aiza Seguerra featuring Radha- “Lupang Pinangako”

6) Radioactive Sago Project – “Sino Si Pepe?”

7) Jett Pangan – “Shine A Light”

8) Peryodiko – “Kumagat Man Ang Dilim”

9) Hijo – “Tamalee”

10) Gab ‘n Josh and Reese & Vica – “Pagbabalik”

You can also view other photos from my Flickr.

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.

Enrique de Dios

It was my first time to see Enrique de Dios to hear him play the guitar and actually sing. I usually see him with Brigada. I saw a different kind of Inky de Dios without percussion instruments.

Tao Aves

Another artist that mesmerized me was Tao Aves. I’ve already seen her perform before in Obsidian and this time, there is something new about her music. She already has a keyboard accompaniment which gave a different “folk” flavor in her music. By the way, she is the daughter of Grace Nono. Her voice is somewhat like her mom’s but she’s unique in her own way.

Mikey Amistoso a.k.a Hannah and Gabi

I’ve always known Mikey to be the vocalist of Ciudad but this time he performed as Hannah and Gabi. I expected it to be a duo but Mikey is Hannah and Gabi. He also played the ukelele which I think was very cute!

Aldus Santos

Aldus Santos, vocalist of the Purplechickens and music writer extraordinaire, was passionate in his performance as always. This was where I saw the rawness of his music. Here’s a video I took while he’s performing a song by the Purplechickens.

Pauline Diaz of Toi

The very first time I saw Toi was during Archipelago’s Travel Advisory album launch back in 2009. Pauline is a wonder; her voice reminds me of Sarah Mclachlan and Norah Jones – very soothing to the ears.

Fando and Lis

Jesse Grinter and Raimund Marasigan of Gaijin

Ely Buendia

The line up became more and more interesting towards the end of the show. Other performers were Ace Cada of Bagetsafonik, Jesse Grinter and Raimund Marasigan of Gaijin and Fando and Lis. My favorite performance would be Vin Dancel and Kakoy Legaspi, who are both from Peryodiko. Kakoy played the intro of “Agawan Base” using a thumb piano (thanks to Vin for the name of the thingimajig!). I wasn’t able to complete the video because my camera’s battery was low but I was able to capture the intro, click here.

The highlight of the evening was Ely Buendia’s performance. He played one song from each of his previous and current bands: Animal Lover (Pupil), Wigout (The Mongols) and Lightyears (Eraserheads). As an ultimate Eraserheads fan, it means so much to me that he played Lightyears again.

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.

It took a while before the band was able to play, most likely due to technical difficulties. Anyway, they performed “Tadhana”. I expected it to be their newest song “Layag”. Congratulations to Up Dharma Down!

Giniling Festival Opened the Globe Tatt Awards while other performers are Arjohn Gilbert, Maria Aragon, Paramita and Johnoy Danao. You can view the videos I took below.

Paramita

Arjohn Gilbert

Giniling Festival

Maria Aragon

Up Dharma Down

Other winners for the different categories are:

Wordslayer – Loi Reyes Landicho of professionalheckler.com
Video Slinger – Mike Bustos of youtube.com/MikeyBustosVideos
Thought-Mover – Bianca Gonzales of twitter.com/iamsuperbianca
The Artiste – Jin Joson of jinjoson.com
The Advocate Award – Elizabeth Angsioco of dswp.org.ph
Indie Rocker – Up Dharma Down of updharmadown.com
Stylismo – Laureen Uy of breakmystyle.com
Ball Breaker – Lea Salonga
Tech Junkie – Mark Macanas of techpinas.com
THE ONE Award – Filipino Freethinkers of filipinofreethinkers.org

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.

There will be three special events which will cover the film, music and literature genres. These are:

• Launch of the DVD of “Short Films for Long People” : a compilation of short films from previous SILVERSHORTS winners
• Launch of the book “Under the Storm”, an anthology of poetry from 150 poets in the country both critically-acclaimed and newbies
• Launch of the album “Songs from the End of the World”, a compilation of today’s best singer-songwriters in the local scene.

Artists, musicians and poets such as Bienvenido Lumbera, Pete Lacaba, Lourd De Veyra, Joey Ayala, Ely Buendia, Vin Dancel, Kate Torralba, and more will be gracing these launches.  Please do check MOV Fest’s website and Facebook page for updates and pre-event activities.

Schedule of events are:

September 1 – Opening Night, The Podium Activity Center
6:00PM

• DVD Launch: Short Films For Long People Cinema is Love: The Best of .MOV”

September 2 – Literature Night, Ayala Museum
6:00PM

• Book Launch: Under The Storm
• Poetry Reading: 24 poems, to be read by 12 poets and 12 celebrities

September 3 – Music Night, The Podium Activity Center
6:00PM

• Album Launch: Songs From The End Of The World
• Singer-Songwriter Shindig: Musical performances by 12 singer-songwriters

September 4 – Film Workshops, Mogwai Cinematheque, Cubao Expo
1:00-9:00PM

• Free Workshops by Vanja Kaludjercic and Joel Shepard

September 2 – 6 – Film Screenings, UP Film Center
1:00PM – 8:00PM

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.

I actually always thought how it feels like to be in an FHM party, now I know. Anyway, I didn’t finish the whole show because I had to leave early. I only got the chance to take a photo of one celebrity, Eula Valdez – who I think is still hot at her age. By the way, she is number 46 out of 100.

So we’ve got the booze, the condoms, the magazine. A man’s world as they say but FHM cannot just be only for HIM but can also be for HER.

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! The listeners party was actually a press conference and a chance for fans to ask them directly about the album. The boys were dressed to kill with their handsome rocker looks. They didn’t perform, they’re ready to answer questions from the media and the fans. Karla and I only stayed for a while and then had our albums signed by the band members. Although the interiors of the bar were cool – lots of mirrors and glasses – didn’t really bothered to stay long. Went to Old Swiss Inn and enjoyed our Schublig dinner.

Will make this a soundtrack – quoting from Wendell Garcia. Will make an album review soon. Here are some photos from the party.

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

Kevin Roy Singing the Philippine National Anthem

After the office Halloween party, I went straight to the Fort with Karla. I was expecting that there will a lot of people but apparently, there are more VIPs compared to the complimentary ticket holders who got their tickets from either the sponsor contests or “connections”. Well, I didn’t go there to rub elbows with the VIPs and the VIP wannabes so I’m contented with where I was. 8:30 pm, the actual show hasn’t started yet although I already saw the shadows of Buddy Zabala and Jet Pangan onstage. The actual awards ceremony began with Kevin Roy singing the Philippine National Anthem. It was one of the most awesome performances at that night, Kevin Roy was wearing a suit!

Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree

Performers that night were: Franco, Sugarfree, Up Dharma Down, Greyhoundz, The Youth, Itchyworms, Kamikazee, Slapshock, Pupil, Archipelago, The Dawn, Rivermaya, Wilabaliw and Urbandub. The Dawn opened the awards proper and performed “Iisang Bangka” and “Salamat” medley. The whole show was  about reminiscing the past NU Rock Awards, some bands even performed their old time hits. Greyhoundz performed Pigface with Ian Tayao of Queso, Urbandub performed “Soul Searching” and “First of Summer”, Kamikazee made a medley of their songs such as “Tsinelas”, “Martir Nyebera” and “Ambisyoso”. Kamikazee was with their typical crazy self that night and dressed up as senior citizens. Jay Contreras of Kamikazee kept on “smoking” the giant cigarette while Franco was performing. Wacky guy! I was interested to see The Youth performed “Multong Bakla”,one of the popular punk tunes during my adolescent years. (Hey, I was a 90′s kid!)

Kamikazee

Since I was infront of the gig stage, I wasn’t able to take much photos of the presenters and winners. One of the interesting presenters that night was Hayden Kho who presented the Best Music Video Award together with Kim of NU 107. Because he was popular with his “video”, there were expected reactions from the audiences *wink*. Other celebrities who presented the awards were Vicki Belo, KC Concepcion, Anne Curtis and Tuesday Vargas. KC and Anne presented the Artist of the Year Award together with Ely Buendia and Atom Henares.

By the way, here were the winners of the NU Rock Awards 2010 (got this list from Francis Brew’s Facebook) :

Artist of the Year

• Franco

Album of the Year

• Franco – Franco

Vocalist of the Year

• Gabby Alipe – Urbandub

Guitarist of the Year

• Peavy “Sideshow” Nicolas, Fran Lorenzo – Sleepwalk Circus

Bassist of the Year

• Lalay Lim – Urbandub

Drummer of the Year

• Otep Concepcion – Ozawa / In Love and War

Song of the Year

• This Gathering – Franco

Best New Artist

• Tanya Markova

In The Raw Award

• The Flying Ipis

Listeners Choice

• Franco

Video of the Year

• Disney – Tanya Markova

Best Album Packaging

• Sleepwalk Circus

URock College Band of the Year

• Reese & Vica of Ateneo

Producer of the Year

• Angee Rozul & Ely Buendia & Robert Javier – In Love and War (Ely Buendia was ready to perform with Pupil when he, Angee Rozul and Robert Javier were announced as the winners of this category. Robert Javier was with Ely on the performers stage and not the Awards stage.)

Best Live Act

• Tanya Markova

Hall of Fame

• Angee Rozul

Most of the bands/individuals  I voted won in the different categories. I expected that Franco, Urbandub, Sleepwalk Circus and Tanya Markova will be bagging more than 1 award. Congratulations to all the winners!

Ely Buendia

Rivermaya’s performance was memorable because all the NU 107 staff and former DJs were onstage and performed “Awit ng Kabataan”. This was the perfect song to describe this particular moment. Francis Brew suddenly appeared onstage with his awesome guitar and played the lead with Mike Elgar. Somewhat reminded me of Slash appearing on Michael Jackson’s performance of “Come Together”. It was that awesome!

Francis Brew Reyes

As the categories came close to the Artist of the Year, I was already getting sentimental because I know that this will be the last NU Rock Awards. When Franco was announced as the winner, all the NU staff went onstage led by Francis Brew Reyes for his final words. I can see him being teary-eyed from the big screen, as well as the other NU staff. He’s not directly saying what will happen next but what we confirmed is that this will be the last Rock Awards. NU 107 enjoyed 23 years in the airwaves while the NU Rock Awards was 17 years. Whew, didn’t realize that it was that long! As mentioned in my previous blog post, change is inevitable. What I am looking forward to is how Pinoy Rock will continue to live. I know it will not end. Whether mainstream or underground, Pinoy Rock will still live. I will truly miss NU 107.5 and the Rock Awards.

I can now proclaim that I am no longer a Rock Awards virgin.

Please check the videos I took here (apologies, it’s not that HD enough ) :
The Dawn
Greyhoundz with Ian Tayao
The Youth
Rivermaya with Francis Brew and NU 107 staff
Wilabaliw

Other photos are in my Flickr.

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)

The winners were very enthusiastic to receive the grants given to them by Colgate. It’s nice to see that at their young age, they are already thinking of ways to help the community. “Tayo ang gagawa ng magandang balita”, the song is right. Be a catalyst for change.

Fresh U Project is a project between Colgate and Rock Ed Philippines. I was glad to see Rock Ed people again after Tech Tanod (a project of the Philippine Blog Awards and Rock Ed) a few months ago.

Gang Badoy of Rock Ed

Bands that joined the awarding were Paramita and Itchyworms. Both of the bands also performed during the Fresh U concerts before in UST, Eastwood Central Plaza, UP Diliman…

Surprisingly, I saw Julie Pacanas, former roadie of Eraserheads and now with Itchyworms. I’m glad to have a quick chat with her while the band was performing. She still remembers me as the kid whom she always sees in Eraserheads gigs.

Of course, Billy Crawford and Nikki Gil were also there as endorsers of Colgate. They sang the Fresh U theme song “Sana Bukas” with Paramita.

]]> http://www.rockerfem.com/colgate-fresh-u-grant-winners/feed/ 0 http://www.rockerfem.com/taken-by-cars-at-the-globe-flagship-store-launch/ http://www.rockerfem.com/taken-by-cars-at-the-globe-flagship-store-launch/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:13:40 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://www.rockerfem.com/?p=1816

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.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Taken By Cars perform live. I’m glad I heard some new songs from them and even a cover of U2′s “With or Without You”. I guess Sarah’s vocals can’t be like Bono’s. I wonder why they performed that song? Found out from their Facebook that they’re already recording for their sophomore album. At least I got a dose of what I can expect from the new album. I hope it turns out well like “Endings of a New Kind”.