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 »

When NU 107 signed off last February 2011, I was asking myself (and most definitely other avid listeners), “what will be my alternative radio station now that NU 107 has signed off”? Well, thanks to the internet, listeners like me resorted to listening to NU107 Cebu’s webcast. 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 »

Pupil just launched the official video for “20/20″, one of the catchiest tunes from their album “Limiters of the Infinity Pool” last week. Great to see the band again after their album launch. I decided to shoot in black and white (and in film grain using Lumix FZ35) because I love this setting whenever I shoot live gigs. Grainy black and white photos just give concert photos a more “rocker” and “film noir” feel on it. Read the rest of this entry »

For the very last time, I watched Sugarfree perform live. Everybody shared their sentiments about the band’s break-up both online and offline. The band played their very last performance at the Eastwood Central Plaza on March 1, 2011. One month was given to the fans to opportunity to watch their last performances in different rock joints in Manila such as Route 196, Sazi’s, 70′s Bistro, Checkpoint, Saguijo and 19 East. I was able to see them in Saguijo last Feb 10th however only got the chance to view them from the window while hugging the post outside. It was jam-packed and hugging the post was my only opportunity to see them. 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 »

Bamboo during the MTV Exit gig in 2009

Ok, ok. Now here it goes again. It’s the season of popular and influential vocalists leaving bands. Although it is heartbreaking for us fans to hear this, WE MUST MOVE ON. Band vocalists have their personal reasons why they have to leave their respective bands. If it’s heartbreaking for us, it is definitely heartbreaking for them. Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you that Bamboo (the band), allegedly has called it quits as of today, Jan 10, 2011 (according to KC Montero’s tweet). On the other hand, Sugarfree hasn’t called quits yet, many say that they are not disbanding yet and that Ebe will be the only one who’ll be leaving the band. No official statement from Bamboo yet. Let’s wait and see. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been quite a while when I first watched Doki perform and I’ve been dying to hear the whole album well guess what, I got to hear the entire album during the listening party at Votre Bar in Quezon City. Fellow Scholasticans were also there to support Doki – Mabie, Jihan and Nikki.

So about the album, it contains 12 songs. They usually perform these during their gigs so I am a bit familiar with those. One that I am not familiar with is “Kartada Diyes”. I guess older generations and music enthusiasts will know that this is a song of Rico J. Puno. Yes, Doki ( I mean Dorica) will sing the revival of her father’s hit song back in the 70′s. Of course the band gave a modern and yet soothing approach of the song. Read the rest of this entry »