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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Dear Ebe,

I saw your tweet yesterday and you said that you will be leaving Sugarfree. Why oh why Ebe? I won’t be selfish, if you decide to part ways with the band. Does this mean that Sugarfree will already disband? Before it was the Eraserheads that I really mourned for when they disbanded and now Sugarfree? Huhu.Good luck and in case you form another band, I will definitely support it. Don’t worry, I am not a purist.

Thank you for the music and hope to hear more from you in the future.

Your fan,

Sha

(photo from NU 107 website)

Rumor has it that NU 107.5 will now be reformatting to become more appealing to the “masa” and bigger crowd. Will this be the start of its new tagline, “Home of Nu Pop”? Got this news from a Facebook note of a former NU 107 jock, Jaedee (which she also posted in her blog here). Hmm, was this the reason that Quark Henares was being reminiscent of previous NU Rock Awards in Facebook? Read the rest of this entry »

(Cory doll)

Last August 1, former President Cory Aquino died due to cardiac respiratory arrest at the Makati Medical Center. It was already expected because she was already suffering colon cancer but I didn’t realize that it would be this early.

I watched Kris Aquino’s show, “The Buzz” (i.e. the Kris Aquino show – I rarely heard Boy Abunda’s voice all throughout the duration of the show) and listened to Kris’ narration of the memoir she wrote during the last month of her mom’s life. It made me teary-eyed and because Kris narrated it in such a way that you will feel like you were really there. I must say that she is a good memoirist. Read the rest of this entry »