Underneath The Mask

My Bali Steel Pan Will Be Here Soon!

2012-01-27T22:21:00.000+08:00

It's been around 9-10 months so far since I first emailed Bali Steel Pan expressing my interest in purchasing one of their hand pans. I remember blogging about it on the day Chris from Bali Steel Pan replied back to my email.

Yesterday, Chris emails me the following.

Aldous

Would you like to order a hand pan now?
What scale are you interested in?

Thank you

Chris

Yes! The wait is almost over. I was sick yesterday. So I wasn't able to check my personal email then. I just replied back to him clarifying some payment and shipping details.

A few months ago, I emailed Chris asking about the status of my order and if it was possible to change the scale that I initially asked for to another scale that's listed on his website. He responded saying I can pick any scale I want when it's my turn on the order queue. So in my email response back to him just a few minutes ago, I asked for this scale instead.

Minor Pentatonic
F Bb C# Eb F G# Bb C# Eb

I am absolutely stoked to get my hands on a hand pan from Bali Steel Pan! (Pardon if you fumbled through reading that last sentence there. LOL)

END OF LINE...

New Band: The JR Oca Experience (JOE)

2012-01-24T20:23:00.000+08:00

I haven't really blogged about a lot of the gigs that have been happening the month or so. I seem to have fizzled out detailing each and every gig given the sheer frequency of it these days. So this is my attempt to rekindle that. Or at least document it here, before they further just all get to be a blur.

One of my bandmates from "Jack Versus the Crab", JR, invited me to join his new band called JR Oca Experience (JOE for short). Now JR Oca is a veteran in the music scene. Some of the bands of note that he's been in are "Third World Project" on guitars and even fronted his own band "Alak Pa". My other bandmates are music scene veterans as well. Berns, the bassist, is from "All For Patricia" amongst a whole slew of other bands currently. Paulo, our drummer, is from a number of bands in the past like "Hale" and "Kjwan". Enzo, our trumpet player is the only veteran exception, like myself. He's my bandmate from "Jack Versus the Crab".

I've had a few gigs with JOE under my belt. JOE is currently recording an EP which I am fortunately a part of. I've recorded percs tracks for 2 of the songs for the EP so far.

It's a little difficult to describe what kind of music JOE plays. So I'll give video examples instead. Below is a video of the first time I jammed with the band. Totally unrehearsed, but somehow the skill of my bandmates just provided for relative ease to follow. This is a Yano cover.

Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo (Cover)

The next few videos is a whole set we had in Malate District bar during the first week of January 2012. It was the first gig I had for the year.

The Chicken (Cover)

Rapsadoodle

Englishman in New York (Cover)

I could've played better especially on my solo on the last song. I haven't quite synched up with Paolo our drummer. But it's getting there especially coming off our Freedom bar gig last Saturday.

I'm fortunate that I am still continually invited to play in other bands despite my lack of skill. I think my selling point is more because I have decent percs gear. Something a little above and beyond your run of the mill djembe drum totting percs guy. But hey, I'll take anything I can get just to have the privilege to play with very talented veteran musicians.

END OF LINE...

Razer's Project Fiona

2012-01-14T15:47:00.002+08:00

Razer debuted its gaming tablet concept design called Project Fiona at the CES 2012. Out of everything I've read of what was showcased at the convention, this particular product was what blew me away.

Check out this hands-on video at the Razer booth at CES 2012 too.

It's a concept design. So just like the Switchblade, it might turn into something else by the time they release it. But if they do release a polished version of this gaming tablet, it'll definitely make me think twice about buying an iPad 2. Sorry Apple, I love your products, but a PC gaming tablet is just way over the top.

/wipe geeky drool

END OF LINE...

Laughing About the Difference Between Men and Women

2011-12-22T14:01:00.000+08:00

I blogged about a pastor/comedian, Mark Gungor, amusingly touching on this subject some time ago. The link to the post is below.

http://sundowndos.blogspot.com/2009/11/nothing-box.html

Mark, in a very positive and funny way, essentially explained how men and women think differently. The hope is in the midst of that explanation, couples would gain insight as to what drives the other. I'll post the video again below. So that you can watch it.

But the reason for this post is how full-on comedians take to the same subject. Below are video performances of Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle on the very same topic.

Too funny. I ended up looking for and downloading Dave Chapelle and Chris Rock's shows. And I'm still laughing until now.

END OF LINE...

K-Pop Rocks Out

2011-12-20T04:03:00.001+08:00

I'm drunk as hell. But I just wanted to share Taeyon from SNSD's performance of Devil's Cry. It's the rock intro to their song Run Devil Run.

I'm so in love...

\m/

END OF LINE...

Jack Versus the Crab at JD Set Long Sets in Casa Nami

2011-12-18T18:47:00.004+08:00

I really have to hurry up and get current on my gig blog posts. The longer it takes for me to blog about any one gig, the more chances there is for me to forget what actually happened during that gig. This post is about what essentially was my last experience with the Jack Daniels' JD Set Philippines tour for the year. This one was set in November 11, 2011 (yes, 11-11-11) in Casa Nami.

(All pictures in this post belong to Jack Daniel's Philippines.)

I dragged my good friend Joseph along with me to this gig. He's gotten to be a really good friend this past year. And I can safely say he's my only friend that I look to hang with on any given weekend. We got there relatively early than the rest of my band. My favorite band out of the JD Set 7 bands, Paramita was playing when we arrived. The Jack Daniel's organizers greeted me as I stepped in Casa Nami, and offered to bring in the band's complimentary bottle. I politely refused and said I'd rather wait for the rest of the band to arrive before hitting that bottle. Otherwise, it might very well be half empty by the time my bandmates got there.

So I headed over to the bar and kept ordering Jack Cokes for myself and Joseph. Since we weren't allowed to vote for ourselves for the entire span of the JD Set competitions, I just poured my votes into Paramita instead. That band with its rather large following ironically doesn't do well in terms of event votes. That's probably because the demographic of their fan base really can't afford to spend a lot of money on expensive Jack Daniel's drinks. Knowing this, I wanted to support my friends (since I know these guys from my other band SunDownMuse playing Blaster production events).

My bandmates arrived about an hour or so later. I found out from Waxie that a good number of our horn players couldn't make it to the gig. So we essentially only had 1 trumpet player and 1 sax player. The two horn players just had to adjust.

I do remember seeing a group of guys that were from my batch back in college. They used to be basketball heads and looked down on me for being such a geek. It's just funny because now they're just in Casa Nami to get drunk and I'm actually playing at this event. What sweet revenge without even doing anything. LOL!

Whatever else happened from when I got to Casa Nami and when it was our turn to play was largely a blur. I know I just kept hanging out at the smoking area and kept drinking with Joseph. We were waiting for Fritz, our drummer, to come in from his gig with Snafu at a different venue. And while I was sharing with Waxie in our frustration that Fritz was taking so long to get to Casa Nami, at a certain point I just shrugged it off and just enjoyed drinking.

Fritz finally arrived on a full sprint from downstairs. Below are some videos that Joseph took of our set that night.

"I'm In Love Again"

"The Song I Never Finished"

I was particularly proud of my solo during our last song of the set. I still get uber nervous when it's my turn to solo given the cumulative skill of the band. But I think I did pretty well that night. /gives himself a pat of the back

I also like our guitarist's, JR's, solo. He picked up his wine glass of Jack Daniel's and used it as a slide while playing his guitar. The horn players, particularly Enzo stepped it up a notch that night. It was the first time I saw Enzo really pull out how good he really was. Our drummer Fritz and our sax player Fred were awesome as usual. Derek, our bassist, was a barrel of laughs during his solo because he was amusingly copying JR's George Benson-esque/stecato solo-ing. That was hilarious and the crowd loved it too.

Park that gig in the history books of what's been a rollercoaster ride of music for me so far.

END OF LINE...

Awesome Weekend Part 4: Jason Mraz Live in Manila

2011-12-16T21:10:00.002+08:00

Continuing to slowly chip away at the ever increasing heap of events to blog about, I finally get to the ender of the weekend. This post is about Jason Mraz and Toca Rivera doing an acoustic show at the Araneta Coliseum last October 30, 2011.

Briggs, Carol, and I bought tickets for this show about a month prior. And even buying tickets that early didn't provide as with front row seats. But regardless, we wanted to see Jason Mraz play so we settled for lower box seats. Compared to when Korn played in the same venue, the Mraz/Toca show was packed to the brim.

Jason Mraz's musical skill goes without question. But I was particularly interested in seeing Toca play given he was a percussionist. Toca's percs playing was simple and straightforward. His skill came in with his vocal blending with Jason's vocals. This in itself was the other half of the duo formula that just works perfectly.

Below are two videos I took from that night.

"The Remedy"

"I'm Yours"

I know I made a mistake in the title screen of the "I'm Yours" video. I'm just too lazy to correct it and re-upload.

Apparently Jason is seen as extremely attractive to females. You could tell from the primarily female crowd singing along with him. This obviously signified hundreds of pairs of panties dropping for the duration of the concert. I wish I could have that effect on hundreds of females too. But alas, I'm no Jason Mraz. LOL!

It was such a pleasant way to end the weekend coming off a string of nights worth of gigs. And to think it was a holiday the following day. So Monday gave me the opportunity to sit down, relax, and ponder on how fun much the weekend was with a big smile on my face.

END OF LINE...

Pinoy Couple Jams "Blackened" with Metallica

2011-12-15T16:57:00.002+08:00

Deej, percussionist of Julianne, Kalayo, and a whole slew of other bands posted this video on Facebook. Least to say, I was floored to see a Filipino married couple asked by Metallica to jam with them onstage at their 30th Anniversary concert at the Filmore. You just gotta watch this video.

I am so dying with envy. You guys rock! \m/

Oh and their baby, Lightning, is soooooo cute!

END OF LINE...

Awesome Weekend Part 3: SunDownMuse at Capone's

2011-12-13T23:50:00.006+08:00

On to the third part of the musical weekend. I had a gig with SunDownMuse at the Sari-Sari Sounds event at Capone's Bistro last October 29, 2011.

Drinking and gigging for two nights in a row prior left me in a haze and exhausted. But I still didn't want to pass up a gig. I was surprised that there wasn't a whole lot of people on a Saturday at Capone's. I guess the event wasn't marketed all that well. The number of people there came very close to just the organizers, the bands, and friends. That amounted to a decently sized crowd but nowhere near packed, of course.

Bands of note from that night were Cheeba and Severo. Severo has been lurking around the scene for as long as we have. They also went on haitus for a while and just resurfaced recently like us. It was funny that the vocalist mentioned that he remembers us from the Club SEx days. Club SEx being short for Club Sound Experience, ehem. Those were the days when I first joined SunDownMuse. So the Severo vocalist's memory of us was obviously from eons ago.

Below are a few videos from our set that night. Ela was nice enough to wield my Zoom Q3HD to record our set. Carol surprisingly was taking video of us playing too. The audio gain on my Zoom Q3HD was set to high. So the audio didn't come out so good. So I ended up splicing the audio from Carol's Flip video recording to the video from my Zoom Q3HD.

"Khattamshud"

"The Writer"

I suppose my snowball hangover and exhaustion from two nights of boozing and gigging got to me when we didn't play our last song "Unfuck" so well. I got instantly annoyed and acted a little crabby to my bandmates. Of course, that was uncalled for really even though I did have valid points to make about how badly we played our last song. Our drummer had problems with his kick pedal kept getting dislodged from the kick drum. Our bassist kept negotiating with us on stage on which song to play next. That and a few more other trivial things nabbed at me. Regardless, I apologized to the band. Carol talked to me about what was wrong with me. I guess it came down to exhaustion plus anxiety about my situation at work. It's nice to have bandmates who are your good friends to boot. It allows for some slack to be given to you when you have moments of weakness like that and act immaturely.

I was able to shrug off whatever abstract issue(s) I was having and enjoyed the company of my bandmates and some of their +1s for that night. Gigo and I stuck around to watch the jam of the Sari-Sari Sounds organizers. It was not bad at all to be honest. The vocalist was from a band called Out of Body Special that I remember watching back in the day. His melodic rapping/singing rang nicely in my ears. But alas, after a while Gigo and I felt it prudent to head on home as well. I did take video of them jamming. But I just haven't gotten around reviewing it and possibly editing and uploading it on YouTube. Perhaps some day I'll get around to it when I have time to kill.

Third night in a row of gigging and my chick-like tampo-spree at the end of our set left a slightly bad taste in my mouth so to speak. So I knew I had to make it up to my bandmates some time. I was having too much fun I suppose, yet my musical weekend had one more day to go. I got it in my head to at least try to snap out of it and enjoy the rest of that weekend.

END OF LINE...

Mario 30th Anniversary Fan Made Music Video

2011-12-08T21:24:00.002+08:00

My friend Chris from Japan showed me this video today. For anybody who has been playing every iteration of Mario through the years, this is a must-see.

30 years, damn. I literally grew up with Mario given that I'm just slightly older than him. LOL!

It's a long video, 18+ minutes. But I loved watching every minute of it. Kudos to the 40-some people from Japan who put this together. It warmed my geeky heart.

END OF LINE...

Awesome Weekend Part 2: Jack Versus the Crab at JD Set Fright Night

2011-12-06T23:38:00.007+08:00

On to part deux of this weekend. This night was my gig with Jack Versus the Crab at the Jack Daniel's Fright Night event at Eastwood Central Plaza last October 28, 2011. I was so stoked to do this gig coming off a hectic work week.

My crafty suki cab driver, Bert, actually got me to Eastwood earlier than my band's meet up time. So I actually over-estimated the amount of time I needed to get there because I was afraid traffic would delay me significantly. So by the time I showed up near Blue Onion at Eastwood, none of my bandmates were there yet. Luckily our band PA was already there. So Waxie instructed him to come over to where I was to help me carry my gear. Phew!

(All pictures were taken by Maritoni unless otherwise noted.)

The backstage area was just as awesome as the last time we had a Jack Daniel's gig at Eastwood. Each band had their usual designated tables. It was cool that our table was actually right beside Urbandub's table. So I was quietly fanboying over Urbandub the entire night.

One by one my bandmates started trickling in and of course the boozing started soon after that. As always with these Jack Daniel's gigs, there was an inordinate amount of alcohol on our table. There are a lot of us in the band. So the amount of Jack Daniel's required for the night had to be multiplied equal to the number of people wanting to drink. That's not even counting the +1s, like Maritoni, Windi, etc.

Instead of the usual host Roanna, I was amusingly surprised that Hank was hosting the event. Hank was donning his full-on Jack Sparrow costume coupled with his Jack Sparrow antics. It was a Halloween party after all. And Hank was definitely a good choice to host that particular event.

My good friend Joseph soon followed after his shift at work. I was able to get him in backstage so he can join in on the band's fun. The excuse "he's my PA" usually works. Well, that's not a total lie. He does help me with my gear and all.

When it was finally our turn to play. I noticed that the organizers finally made better use of the real estate on the stage. The monitors were spread out so the bands don't have to be boxed in so much. They also had two full band set-ups complete with amps and separate drum kits. This made transitions from one band to the next a lot smoother since the next band can already start setting up on one side of the stage while the previous band was still packing up their gear.

(The next 3 pictures were taken by Joy Picar. Thanks Joy! They came out great!)

We played exceptionally long that night for a 4 song set. We were having so much fun and it was one of Ramon's last gigs with us. So we took advantage of the opportunity. That and the fact that Waxie brought up a bottle of Jack Daniel's onstage. So we can continue drinking while playing. The boozing onstage helped a bit for me personally because playing on a big stage and looking down on the crowd was just as daunting for me that night as it was the last time we played a Jack Daniel's event at Eastwood.

Below are videos taken by Joseph during our set that night.

"Detox"

"The Song I Never Finished"

Soon after we finished our set. One of the organizers asked us to come over to the concert entrance for a video interview with Jack TV. I haven't actually seen them air that interview we had. Well, that's more because I don't have cable TV. We were goofing around while the Jack TV crew was setting up for our interview. That was hilarious. I hope they didn't tape our antics while waiting. LOL

After watching the rest of the JD Set 7 bands and a few more from Sonic Boom, it was Urbandub's turn to play. Below are videos I took from their set that night. \m/

"First of Summer"

"A New Tattoo"

Urbandub was tight as always and the crowd was thoroughly entertained. It was actually a little challenging trying to take videos of the band playing because of how the crowd just bunched up as much as they could in front of the stage.

The rest of that night was a blur. Just like the previous Jack Daniel's Eastwood gig, we were still drinking when people were packing up the stage and all the gear. My suki cab driver picked me and Joseph up, and we proceeded back to my place.

2nd night in a row of music, booze, and good friends. I was loving it already. And to think the weekend just started.

END OF LINE...

Awesome Weekend Part 1: SunDownMuse at the Keg

2011-12-04T17:26:00.003+08:00

This is a long overdue series of blog posts. To be honest, the gigs keep coming week after week. And while each gig is uniquely fun, it's starting to become a blur. So I'll probably end up not blogging about a gig or two if it wasn't all that memorable.

This post is the start of the 4 night musical weekend I had starting from October 27 to October 30. This was one of those very tiring weekends where I pushed it once again because I know if I didn't, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

I played with SunDownMuse at the Keg, Fort Strip, for an H2Rock event. The first time I played at the Keg was when I jammed with my bandmate Gigo during his acoustic gig back in September 29, 2011. We were just a duo back then. So we were definitely in for a treat this time around since we are playing with a full band.

(All pictures and videos on this post belong to the management of the Keg)

Reklamo

Out of all the bands that played before us that night, I'm a fan of two of them. Although not part of the original band line-up for the event, Reklamo was invited to play. Like I've mentioned before, I've known these guys for quite some time now. I continue to be a fan of their music. Their gigil/loud/rock-out vibe has always been entertaining.

Turbogoth

Admittedly, I started paying attention to this duo because of Sarah Gaugler. Half of the reason why I'm a fan is because Sarah is really attractive. But of course, the other half leans towards my taste of industrial/electronica beats much like groups like Drip, etc. It was a shame though that the sound techs didn't really know what they were doing. So either the beats, guitar, or vocals would be drowned out. It took 2-3 full songs before they could figure it all out. But by then, Turbogoth was already down to their last song. I still enjoyed their set. But the regular listeners that night probably didn't appreciate it as much as they should've.

SunDownMuse

It finally came around to our turn to play. Now, the Keg has a weird floor area that doesn't really lend well to full band set-ups. It's really just a long curved corridor with a "cul de sac" of sorts at the end. Normally they would try to cram a full band set up right before that "cul de sac". But for that night, they actually moved the band set up back. This gave the bands more room. But also kind of cut off the vision of the crowd to be able to see the bands. This means only the people in front can really see the bands play. The people at the tables near the bar, couldn't.

Despite how the venue's area is structured, I was relieved that the band set up was further back, and that there was actually space. As always, finding myself a chair to sit on while I set up my stuff has proved to be difficult regardless of venue. So I decided to plant myself on the banister/bench on the side. Now that made me more hidden than the rest of the band. But I didn't really care at that point. I just wanted to play.

Below is a video that the owner of the Keg took of us playing. You'll notice there how tucked away I was that night. LOL!

The set was so short-lived given that the production had a lot of bands in it. But it was a lot of fun, nonetheless.

Briggs used to be neighbors with Sarah Gaugler and her boyfriend. So we hung out with them and even treated them to a few drinks. Yes, drinking on a Thursday night. This was really the start of a very boozy, yet musical weekend.

END OF LINE...

Chuck Norris World of Warcraft Commercial

2011-11-21T22:10:00.002+08:00

I just saw this video and I just had to repost it on my blog. As many WoW players have either experienced or revelled in, Chuck Norris jokes have been amusingly setting the ingame standard of strength and power for ages. This kinda tops all the past WoW commercials (Ozzy's WoW commercial comes in a close second in my opinion).

Hilarious! A melee hunter is a nice touch with his pet doing absolutely nothing. And the fact that the Chuck does mostly roundhouse kicks. LOL!

"There are 10 million people in the World of Warcraft... because Chuck Norris allows them to live!"

:))

END OF LINE...

STOMP! - SunDownMuse Gig - Blizzcon

2011-11-19T18:16:00.011+08:00

I just finished watching this movie called "Friends with Benefits" and now find myself with nothing to do. So I decided to cut into my blogging backlog again. This post is about the awesome triple header night I had back on October 21, 2011.

My company's Office Admin Manager, Joy, was so nice to score me two tickets to watch STOMP! that night. So I invited Charlene to come along with me. Charlene took the day off from her work and offered to pick me up and head to CCP to watch.

Now CCP is a little strict when it comes to taking pictures or video. I'm sure I would've been able to sneak in a few snaps with my Blackberry or take a few minutes of video. But to be honest, STOMP was just so breathtakingly awesome, that I was just so engrossed in their performance to think about taking pictures or video. So my apologies that I do not have anything visual to show you.

STOMP was fantastic to say the least. They're a group that focuses on alternative percussion rhythms first and then dance intertwined second. I was mesmerized with all the different things they used while performing. They used broomsticks, newspaper, garbage cans, fire extinguishers, etc.

For a few moments during STOMP's performance, I was even thinking perhaps I should try out for that group and see if I could get in. I'm sure I'll get all the rhythms down no problem. But I'm no theater performer. There was a lot more going into their performance than just the rhythms.

After the performance, Charlene and I shared ear-to-ear smiles on our faces after being so entertained. I do hope I get to watch STOMP again some time. They're just too good.

Charlene was so nice that she even volunteered to drive and come with me to my gig with SunDownMuse at Last Home. When we got to Last Home, the rest of my bandmates were already there except for Islaw. Islaw also watched STOMP that night. So he had to follow to Last Home after. This band called Mistress was gracious enough to invite us to join their event in Last Home. This was also the first time that the vocalist has seen SunDownMuse play because the last time we played a gig with Mistress, she left early.

Briggs' partner, Carol, was kind enough to use my Zoom Q3HD to take video of our set that night. Below are the resulting videos she took. Thanks Carol!

"Khattamshud"

"Flesh 'n Bone"

"Drive to Tears" [Cover]

Despite our drummer Andrew asking me if the speed he was going at was okay with me, I still thought our cover was too fast for my liking. It's all because when we played this song with a past drummer, I purposely had my part go double time. But now that with Andrew it was faster, my arms can't handle the double time part I came up for myself. I still I did okay that night. But I think I need to rethink my percs part for this cover song. LOL!

"Loaded"

We actually had one more song after "Loaded". But we struggled with the intro of the last song that night. So I decided to take that video down off of YouTube.

My officemate Mikko came over with his girlfriend to watch us. It was cool to have friends over who actually take me up on my invites. That rarely happens. Charlene was such pleasant company and a surprise at the same time. She was so gung-ho about being treated like everybody else that she would carry one of my congas over her shoulder. Which I knew left some kind of mark on her shoulder. But she insisted so. When Charlene dropped me off at my place, I started the 3rd part of my night, Blizzcon 2011!

I bought the virtual ticket so I can watch Blizzcon live streaming like last year. Joseph wanted me to text him when I was already at home and watching Blizzcon. So he came over after a while and joined my geeky festivities.

STOMP, pleasant company, booze, good friends, SunDownMuse gig, and Blizzcon! Blizzcon was a 2 day affair. So I had a huge smile on my face that entire weekend. Joseph stayed until late Saturday night, and my friend Mari joined in on the fun too that Saturday. I got my fill of updates about the next World of Warcraft expansion, what's new in Diablo 3 development, unit changes in Starcraft 2 when Heart of the Swarm gets released, right down to the intense Starcraft 2 tournament. All of which culminated to an awesome performance by the Foo Fighters!

\m/

END OF LINE...

Jack Versus the Crab at the JD Set 7 Long Sets Event at No. 38

2011-11-05T14:25:00.006+08:00

I was holding out blogging about this particular night because I was waiting for Jack Daniel's to release all the pictures they took from night on Facebook. But it's been weeks and they haven't posted them still. So I'll take the time to blog about this now.

This post is of my gig with Jack Versus the Crab at the JD Set 7 Long Sets production at No. 38 last October 14, 2011. We skipped Jack Daniel's Birthday event. So this was the first time since the JD Set 7 Tour Launch, that we've played for Jack Daniel's.

The gig venue was a little bit of a concern for the band days prior to the gig. Some have been to No. 38 and noticed how tiny the space is for the band. Most bands that play there usually just play acoustic, or would bring a junior drum kit because of the limited space. We were a large band, minimum of 10 people at any given gig. So space was always a concern at any gig. Fortunately, Jack Daniel's knew this and actually segmented out more of the floor of the band. Phew!

My good friend Joseph and I got there early to catch "Stories of Now" play. That band really minds a very "Smallville soundtrack"-esque style to them given their pop sensibilities. One of the Jack Daniel's promo girls was trying to sell me into buying a bottle of Jack Daniel's. I found this amusing because JD Set 7 bands are provided bottles and are discouraged from buying and voting for themselves during the entire span of their competition. After she made her very compelling pitch, I identified myself as being part of Jack Versus the Crab. She immediately sprang with a dozen apologies in a row, and I just politely laughed and told her it was okay.

Photo taken by Patricia Pelayo

While the rest of my band was slowly trickling in. We feasted on crispy pata and drowned ourselves with Jack Cokes. We were practically complete after a while, except for our drummer Fritz, who was playing for Snafu at another venue in Makati. We tried to stall the organizers for a bit. Although the organizers were very accommodating, we couldn't just keep pushing back our set start time. So we started setting up and even started playing a song that could be pulled off acoustic. This kinda of made me nervous because my congas part had to carry the rhythm. Luckily, mid-way through the song, Fritz arrived and headed straight for the drum kit. We then started our set.

Below are videos that my friend Joseph took of our entire set that night. He used my Zoom Q3HD to take the video as usual.

"Your Smiles"

"What's Goin' On"

"So Nice To Be Loved"

"Detox"

The funny thing about "Detox" is that I've only heard this song twice before and I haven't figured my part for it. Hence why you will see I'm just jamming with the band with just a triangle. LOL!

"I'm In Love Again"

"The Song I Never Finished"

Waxie made me solo for longer than usual during our last song. I could feel the limitation of my skill to wow the crowd. But I just kept playing and putting in fills the best I could. I think I did okay. But I also don't think the crowd was super entertained.

Soon after us, "Paramita" played. I actually took videos of them playing. But I haven't gotten around cutting and uploading them to YouTube. I'll make a separate blog post when I get around cutting those videos I suppose.

Paramita has been around 2004-2005. But they got so much better with the injection of Marco and Alsy into the band. This is the only local band to date that sports a vocalist/drummer. And the style still fits very well. Out of the 7 JD Set bands, if we don't win, I actually want Paramita to win instead.

EDIT: I got around editing and uploading one of the videos I took of Paramita's set that night. Here it is below.

It was a fun night filled with good food, booze, friends, and music. Joseph and I split shortly after Paramita's set, so we can bring my gear back home and play a little "Castlevania: Harmony of Despair". Another fun night to rack up for this year.

END OF LINE...

Last Minute Gig at Capone's

2011-10-16T23:27:00.004+08:00

I'm getting a piling backlog again of what's been happening lately that I want to blog about. This only means things are looking up in the personal aspect of my life. This particular post is about our spontaneous SunDownMuse gig last October 7, 2011.

It was a Friday then. And I was making plans with my friend Mari. However, our drummer Andrew texted asking if we wanted to gig at Capone's Bistro, A Venue Mall in Makati. We just had band practice the previous night, and the thought of when our next gig will be was lingering in our heads that night. So all the band members agreed, and made arrangements with our respective jobs, so that we could make the gig possible. I had to bail on my friend Mari for that night. Sorry Mari!

(All photos in this post are from LC of Reklamo)

Two comedians around the scene performed that night. I personally found the first comedian not all that funny. I was pleasantly surprised with the second comedian, Mike Unson. I remember gigging at a nice bar called Sanctum Unmasct in Intramuros years ago. And at times, Mike would be there to perform stand-up. Back then, he'd be reading jokes from a notebook. He was funny back then. But it depended on the joke he was delivering. Mike seems to have improved his craft since then. And although you don't expect to be literally rolling on the floor laughing while watching someone like Robin Williams, Mike's very current and Filipino flavored humor got me laughing quite a few times.

Reklamo

A band called Reklamo played soon after Mike. Back when 6Underground was still running in Makati, we were booked to play every Saturday for a year. Most of those Saturdays, LC would be playing. That act was the makings of the recent GBOB winner, Reklamo.

While Reklamo was setting up, I grabbed my Zoom Q3HD from my gig bag that was sitting to the side of the stage. After a couple of high-fives with Reklamo, I reminded LC about the 6UG Makati days. Of course, reminiscent of those good times, I requested the band to play their rendition of the Transformers theme song. Now take note, they started covering that song way before the 1st Michael Bay movie came out. LC has been a hardcore fan of the Transformers eversince he was a kid. He even drives an old Volkswagen which alludes to the original version of Bumblebee (not the current Camaro version).

LC spoke to the crowd midway through his set saying "If it's too loud, you're old.". And really sums up what kind of music they played. Those guys know how to rock out. And they do it their way. To my surprise, the band played Transformers. LC came over to me after their set saying "Thanks for requesting the song man. We hadn't played that song in years."

SunDownMuse

Soon after Reklamo, we set up to play as well. The crowd thinned out significantly by the time we played. But at least those who stayed behind appreciated our music. Below are videos of 2 of our songs that we played that night. My good friend Joseph used my Zoom Q3HD to take video of our entire set. But I only posted 2 because we made a few noticeable mistakes in our other songs. LOL.

"Nothing"

"Flesh and Bone"

It was the first time I used my clave sticks in a gig. It those two cigar looking sticks I pulled out while playing "Flesh and Bone". I bought those things years ago. But never really injected it into any SunDownMuse songs. So that night was a treat for me clave sticks. LOL.

Soon after the gig, I actually felt all the fatigue from a whole day's working, heaving my percs gear to Capone's, and the gig itself. As much as I wanted to continue drinking with my bandmates, I asked Joseph to help me bring my percs gear home, and we'd hang there instead. I conked out pretty quickly upon arriving home. I kept passing out on Joseph while we were watching "Scott Pilgrim".

Despite getting that tired on a Friday, I had a lot of fun. A few more practices and gigs, and I think SunDownMuse will be really tight already. Looking forward to it.

END OF LINE...

Diablo 3 Beta Envy

2011-09-25T12:11:00.000+08:00

As most gamer geeks know, Blizzard has opened the beta for Diablo 3. They've invited mostly media at this point. But hopefully they will soon invite random players (like myself) to try out the beta version as well. Rather than regurgitate all the details about Diablo 3 that's already everywhere else on the net, I just wanted to share the 4 part walkthrough video that IGN.com posted on their YouTube channel. They run through the entire campaign available in the beta. Which is really just a portion of the 1st Act, with a max level cap of around 13 or 14.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

/wipe geeky drool off face

END OF LINE...

SunDownMuse at Last Home

2011-09-24T10:56:00.004+08:00

Our SunDownMuse gig at Last Home last August 26, 2011 was also symbolic of many "firsts". This was the first SunDownMuse gig sporting our new lead guitarist Gigo. I was the one who suggested to Briggs to bring Gigo into SunDownMuse. Gigo was a perfect fit not only for his guitar skills, but because he had very little issues with himself and others. Gigo was already playing with us for another band, Rolling Paper Soctiety, which is a cover band of 70s classic rock tunes. So we already knew how he approaches music and how he meshes well with myself, Briggs, and Islaw both as musicians and as friends.

(The next pictures in this post are from Dash Lee of Plasma Graphics.)

It was also the first time in a very long time that we felt the band was "drama-free". Everybody was comfortable with the style and skill of each band member. We were also all relatively settled in our personal lives, and therefore didn't bring any major personal issues into the band.

Andrew, our drummer, was especially excited to play this gig since he got the gig for the band. The event was a Blaster Productions event, who are all essentially friends that he grew up with musically. Given that most of them have continued music when he went on a haitus post-Mindbender, the excitement was shared by himself and his peers to see him strut his stuff again behind a drum kit.

Below are videos taken by my good friend Joseph using my Zoom Q3HD of our entire set that night. Apparently the bassist of Mistress was smug enough to just keep putting his beer bottle in plain view of my video camera. However, the guy was apparently on to something because the beer in the foreground gave the videos a beer-stained bar feel.

"Khattamshud"

"Nothing"

"Driven To Tears" (Cover)

Islaw, our bassist, was driving lightning fast on the way to this gig as he was running really late for call time. So when he arrived, he was so speed-amped up that it showed in our "Driven To Tears" cover. He was the one who was telling Andrew to go faster at the beginning. In my opinion, we were going way too fast for me to catch up since my conga part was already in double time in the first place. Islaw! Too Fast! LOL!

"Burned"

"The Writer"

I believe we've only played "The Writer" around once or twice in the past when we had Jerold and Noel as our drummers. Throwing Andrew's drumming style into the mix resulted in a reinterpretation of the song completely.

"Unfuck"

I was still toiling in the peak midst of my cluster headache cycle during this gig. So I didn't drink anything alcohol for fear that it might trigger a headache attack. Coke was my best friend that night. I was surrounded by good friends, my bandmates, as well as Joseph, Roland, Guy, and Millet. So pre and post-gig at Last Home was enjoyable nonetheless.

SunDownMuse had a gig under the same production at Route 196 the following week which I wasn't able to join. And we had another gig at Last Home again under Blaster. Islaw couldn't make it to that gig so we got Paramita's/Mr. Anderson's bassist to fill in. But that set digressed to people in the band and in the crowd swapping in and out of each instrument and playing covers that any configuration of members know. I was the only one that didn't change out because frankly nobody really knew how to do percs, or just plainly didn't feel like it. I was perfectly fine with that. I got to jam with everybody the whole time.

SunDownmuse is back to the practice studio all of September to refine our act. We know we can be tighter than how we've played the past few gigs. So when we get back out there again. We'll hopefully be even more entertaining.

END OF LINE...

Mari's Wedding and my Jack Daniel's JD Set 7 Tour Launch Gig

2011-09-23T00:05:00.007+08:00

I coursed through this day (August 19, 2011) through sheer willpower given the day involved traveling to Batangas, to Tagaytay, and then to Eastwood. I had to attend my good friend Mari's wedding in Batangas. Then head to his wedding reception in Tagaytay. Then head to Eastwood for a Jack Daniel's JD Set 7 gig with one of my bands, Jack Versus the Crab. This entire day affair was coupled with bringing a lot of percussion gear, and battling through cluster headache attacks in between.

That morning started off with me waking up early to a mild cluster headache attack. Luckily it was just a lingering headache and not a full blown attack. My suki cab driver picked me up at my apartment. I loaded my 2 congas, and a gig bag with my rig, chimes, and toys contained within. I got to Roland's place and he seemed just as sleepy as I was. We loaded my percs gear into his car, and just chilled at his place while having some much needed coffee. Roland was nice enough to offer to drive me to the wedding and to the gig, and even help me with all my percs gear. The coffee and some medication helped my headache. So I was momentarily encouraged that I will actually pull this entire day off.

(Photos from Mari's wedding were from my Blackberry. The Eastwood photos, except the Urbandub picture, are from Shaui Padua, Joanne Salas, and Leo Dimaano)

We first had to head to Tagaytay, the venue of Mari's wedding reception, to dress up into our formal wear. The drive over to Tagaytay was pleasant. I got to talk to Roland about the latest that was going on in our lives. And he seemed relieved that despite all the heavy things happening in his life that I was relatively understanding and non-judgmental.

Arriving at the hotel of Mari's wedding reception, I stepped out of Roland's car and breathed in the fresh and cool Tagaytay air. I was thinking to myself that I should move out here some day. It would be a pleasant place to retire in. As I was part of Mari's entourage, I had to have a barong made by his fashion designer friend. So that I would have the same style and design barong as the rest of the entourage. Roland being not part of the entourage wore a stylish suit that Millet put together.

After some awkward feeling picture taking at the hotel grounds, everybody started proceeding to the church where the wedding was slated to take place. The church was small, yet cozy. While I was waiting for the ceremony to begin, I would get slight spikes of head pain possibly signalling a headache attack coming. I would cringe my eyes each time and just hope that it wouldn't get worse. The ceremony began and throughout the ceremony, I was swimming between the area of pain and slight pain. The wedding ceremony was your standard ceremony proceedings. The string ensemble up in the church rafters was a good touch in terms of musical accompaniment for the wedding.

I found the wedding gown malfunction of Mari's wife, Raech, that happened mid-ceremony amusing. Patching up her gown took a while, and people were just playfully shaking their heads and quietly laughing at the situation. I'm sure that would be a memory of Mari's that will last forever.

The wedding ended with picture taking. Then everybody proceeded back to Tagaytay to attend the reception. Prior to the reception proper, everybody proceeded to the back of the hotel for cocktails. This was when I succumb to the temptation of hitting Jack Cokes. At that point of my cluster headache cycle, alcohol actually triggers headache attacks. But I risked it since I will for sure be drinking Jack Cokes at my Jack Daniel's gig later that night.

It was nice to see some old friends that I knew through Mari. It's been years since I hung out with them, so I didn't feel any of the old mutual closeness with them. But it was nice to see them and catch up even if it's just about trivial subjects. Conversations surrounding why there was a big phallic eggplant on the wedding cake, and Mari's past crazy escapades were the most amusing of topics.

I agreed with Roland that we had to slip out before the reception proper began. We gave our apologies and goodbyes to Mari and we hit the road. It was funny that within minutes of leaving Tagaytay, I actually started getting a cluster headache attack. The pain got so intense that I asked Roland to wake me up when we get to a big gas station if I pass out due to the pain. I was getting worried that I may not be able to play at my gig later. So I buckled down and endured the pain as best as I could

We got to South Super Highway after an hour or so, and stopped at a big Caltex gas station. I changed in the bathroom into something more comfortable than a barong. I then hit the biggest Starbucks cappuccino possible and some medicine.

Roland and I soon hit the road, and Roland tried his best to keep my mind off the pain with the different topics of conversations we were focused on. Hanging out with the dude has always been fun, and this road trip/gig was no exception. Fortunately, my headache attack subsided at some point when we got to C5. I was so relieved since my headache attacks back then would last longer than it did that day. When my headache subsided, I smiled at Roland and said "Oh yeah, this gig is gonna be awesome." Roland smiled back and said "Yes!".

There was some traffic on C5. But I was just glad that my headache attack died down to worry about the traffic. Roland had a new-found interest in driving. So even with traffic, he was thoroughly enjoying driving.

Fast forward to Roland and I arriving at Eastwood. Finding parking and lugging all my percussion gear backstage at Eastwood Plaza was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be. I went up to the staff at the backstage entrance and indicated that I was part of Jack Versus the Crab. When they asked who Roland was. I just said "Oh, he's my PA." They instantly gave us sticker bracelets to wear as backstage passes. Nice, that was too easy.

The backstage area was amazing. Jack Daniel's really made sure all the bands performing that night were taken cared of. Each band had a long table for themselves. Buffet food and non-alcoholic beverages were all free and in seemingly endless supply. Of course, the only actual booze you can drink at Jack Daniel's events is Jack Daniel's. So as I anticipated earlier in the day, my drinks for the night were yet again Jack Cokes.

The event itself was bustling with activity. There were a lot of people who came out to watch, along with some current and old office mates. My good friend Joseph and another old office mate, Kenny also arrived separately. A good friend and also old office mate, Joren, showed up to watch me. I was so glad that the people I invited to watch actually showed up. Another friend Pedro showed up as well and he brought Jackie and Joanne with him. That was actually a pleasant and welcome surprise since none of those three have ever seen me play with any of my bands.

With so many people at such a high profile event, I was starting to get nervous. I showed Roland my hand and it was involuntarily shaking. But my band mates were all tipsy and not nervous. So their spirits lifted me up to a certain extent.

Roland helped me set up my gear and even helped me heave them on stage when it was our turn to play. Stepping on stage and looking at the crowd watching was such a surreal experience. I've been to Octoberfest, Fete de la Musique, and UP Fair gigs and performed in front of large crowds. But it still feels overwhelming to see a large crowd beneath you from a elevated stage.

Below is a video of the last song we performed that night.

"The Song I Never Finished"

Overall, I was proud of how I played that night. I was especially proud of my solo during the last song we performed. I really felt like I pulled it off well even though my solo was sandwiched in between the two most highly skilled members of the band, Empi our bassist, and Fritz "Dr. Sticks" our drummer. I didn't even notice that night that I was projected on the large screen to the side while I was soloing. So doing well during that solo was such a huge relief.

To my surprise, my friends Guy and Millet followed that night and were able to watch my band perform. Roland headed out with those two for a while to grab a bite to eat. I hadn't had dinner myself. But I was in such a high state that I didn't feel hungry at all.

Urbandub was the last act for the event. That was, as always, a whole lot of fun. My Zoom Q3HD was with Joseph amongst the crowd. So I wasn't able to take any videos of Urbandub's set that night. As the Urbandub fanboy that I am, I was having fun singing the lyrics of all their songs from backstage.

The night ended with me and Roland walking several people to their cars or the near vicinity of their cars. Joseph and Kenny joined us along with Millet. And that remaining group of people headed to my place to hang out and wind the night down. The four of us guys spent the remainder of the night playing Dungeon Hunter: Alliance on my PS3.

So attending a wedding, going to a big gig, and then gaming at the end. That was once again a whole lot of fun. This marked the last day I actually was boozing and having fun with friends given that my cluster headache cycle started to go full swing since. But I don't regret pushing myself hard that night to make the entire day work. I will remember that gig for the rest of my life.

END OF LINE...

Urbandub at 19 East Once Again

2011-09-22T01:28:00.000+08:00

After the fun-filled bustling week in my personal life prior to this particular night (watched Red Hot Chili Peppers and Korn), I felt like my Saturday night would be utterly boring if I didn't go out and do something. I decided to watch one of my favorite bands Urbandub at the SonicBoom event at 19 East last August 13, 2011. My friend Joseph asked me what I was up to. So I invited him to come along to 19 East with me. He brought his wife, Sarah, along, and the three of us die-hard Urbandub fans headed to 19 East after meeting up at my place.

19 East has always been a pleasure to hang out in given how nice the place is, and how good the gear and acoustics of the place sounds. This particular night was no exception. We got in soon after of the crowd piled in the place. We were lucky to even get a table at the back when we arrived.

We watched a few bands prior to Urbandub. One band of note is a new band by former Dicta License vocalist, called Malay. The frontman had so much rockstar pull that all of Urbandub along with other known musicians like Audry of General Luna, etc. all piled in from outside just to watch the band. Malay's music was certainly a big departure from how Rage Against the Machine influed Dicta License sounded back in the day. It wasn't all that bad for a 3 piece band.

Below is a video of Urbandub's performance of "Gravity" that night. Janjan, Urbandub's drummer, couldn't make it for this particular gig. So the band got Subscapular's drummer to fill in again. It was getting odd that I've been watching Urbandub's gigs with the sessionist drummer more often than the regular drummer. The sessionist was started to seem like the regular drummer. This is the only video I took that night that I'm gonna post because the other videos had too many protruding heads, or macking couples obstructing my Zoom Q3HD's view. LOL!

"Gravity"

Joseph, Sarah, and I were busy getting drunk off of Red Horse bottles and Cuervo shots while watching Urbandub's set. There's really just something about their music that makes you want to drink some more. Before we knew it, we were singing all the lyrics to their songs up loud aside from Sarah incessantly fangirl screaming. The people around us couldn't help but notice. But we didn't care about the people around us. We went to 19 East to have fun, and that's what we did.

After Urbandub's set, we went over to the band to get some pictures with them. Sarah most especially wanted to have pictures with the band because she kept missing out the last times Joseph and I watched them perform.

Personally, I just wanted another picture with Lalay, the bassist. /sigh

Another fun night. More to come.

END OF LINE...

Korn Live in Manila

2011-09-20T21:13:00.006+08:00

I had to break this one up to a separate post because it plainly deserves a post of its own. This is about part 2 of the concert double header, Korn live at the Araneta Coliseum, last August 10, 2011.

Tired but still high from the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, Briggs and I took a short nap that afternoon when we got back to Manila from Hong Kong. Briggs drove using her Tucson. We surprisingly found parking near Araneta Coliseum fairly quickly.

We could really notice the difference from AsiaWorld Expo in Hong Kong and Araneta Coliseum. Araneta Coliseum felt old and was litered with throngs of security guards.

We made sure to buy Korn concert t-shirts already. The t-shirts were nowhere nears as nice in material and printing as the RHCP shirts we bought in Hong Kong. But then again, this is the Philippines after all. Again, we were definitely back in Manila.

The venue didn't fill up all that much especially between the lower box and bleacher seats up above. The hefty tickt prices were probably the biggest deterrent for a large audience attendance. The standing floor area below and the bleachers filled up quite nicely, however.

Slapshock fronted Korn for this particular concert, which was only fitting as that band was heavily influenced by Korn from the beginning. I was a fan of the band only on their first album back in college and lost track of them ever since. Below is a video of one of their old school songs that I liked.

"Agent Orange"

After Slapshock, this DJ sporting a midi trigger and Macbook came onstage mixing tracks from Rob Zombie, Prodigy, etc. Although he performed sufficiently adequate, the crowd didn't really get into his performance much. Poor guy.

Korn came on stage soon after and that breathed life back into the crowd. Below are videos of some of the Korn songs performed that night. Briggs and I were much closer to the stage this time around compared to the RHCP concert. So the videos I took were much clearer and the sound came out fantastic.

"Here to Stay"

"Shoots and Ladders"

Munkey had a guitar solo right before this particular song. And they medley-ed Metallica's One. I particularly enjoyed the classic bag pipes that Jon Davis pulled out. I've seen this so many times in videos. But never witnessed it live. That was totally awesome.

"Right Now"

I didn't even realize how big of a Korn fan I really was until I found myself singing the lyrics of practically all the songs Korn was playing. This was especially evident when fellow Korn fans around me didn't know lyrics of a good number of the songs performed.

"Somebody Someone"

The band really got the crowd into it with this song. Mid-song, Raz Luzier, the drummer, pelted out a heavy drum solo which was right up there with the band's style. Soon after, Jon Davis shouted "Manila, get yo fucking hands in the air! I wanna see those fists pumping!". That got the crowd hopping.

"It's On"

At this point, I just decided to stop taking video. Their last encore song was a run through medley of a lot of favorite Korn songs of mine.

Briggs and I, totally worn out, decided to head home after the concert. No concert after-party for us old fogies. LOL!

When I got home, I put my bag down and had a cigarette before hitting the sack. I was really exhausted, but totally content. I had enough strength to brag about my concert double header on Facebook, which garnered a lot of envious responses from friends. "Living the life" was the general comment by many Facebook friends. And that week, I certainly was living the life.

END OF LINE...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Live in Hong Kong

2011-09-19T20:20:00.000+08:00

This post is one of the longer posts I will put up in this blog sheerly because it's the only overseas trip I've taken since 2008. This is about my trip to Hong Kong to watch the Red Hot Chili Peppers from August 8 to August 10, 2011.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were supposed to have a concert in Manila. But for some reason, for the nth time, they cancelled on Manila. So instead, my good friends Briggs and Carol, and myself decided that if RHCP won't come to us, we'll go to them. So about a month in advance, Carol started booking our flight and hotel reservations. And we all filed leaves from our respective day jobs (albeit difficult). This was actually all our SunDownMuse bassist, Islaw's idea in the first place. He called and texted us after he had already bought his concert tickets online. He was excited at the fact of seeing us and a number of his other friends all converging in Hong Kong for the concert.

Briggs and Carol suggested that I sleep over their place on Sunday, August 7, 2011. So come Monday, we all can leave for the airport together. I was so stoked that Sunday. Waking up real early the morning after was a chore but willpower prevailed, with the help of coffee at the airport. Thankfully, our flight arrangements were at NAIA 3 airport. Therefore, we didn't have to toil with how chaotic things are at NAIA 1. Only in the Philippines would you have to pay airport tax AND an airport terminal fee, when most airports only had an airport tax or even none at all. That's the Philippines for you.

The flight was not really memorable since it only took about 2 hours at the most. I put on my noise-cancelling headphones and listened to my iPod the entire time. The Cebu Pacific stewardesses were running these games during the flight. But I didn't really given them much attention.

Arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport ushered in the realization that we were indeed in a different country. The airport is expansive and very well maintained as I remembered it.

I suppose it was my bratty preference to go for the path of least inconvenience. I got Briggs and Carol to agree to take a hotel transfer instead of taking any form of shuttle or bus to our hotel. All three of us were packing quite a bit of pocket money. Split that three ways and an expensive hotel transfer wasn't so heavy.

To even my surprise, our hotel transfer was way nicer than I thought it would be. This nice ass Mercedez Benz pulled up in front of us. We all looked at each other, smiled, and quietly told ourselves "Wow. Napaka-rock star natin. LOL!".

The ride from the airport to the hotel was pleasant as expected. That's what we paid for after all. Things have changed in Hong Kong since the days that me and my family lived there. However, some aspects remained the same. It felt surreal to be back in Hong Kong again; a weird homecoming of sorts.

We stayed at the Intercontinental on Kowloon side of Hong Kong. Carol having flown and stayed in Hong Kong on many occasions for business, happened to be some kind of VIP member there. So the room that we all piled in on was really nice. I felt a little bad that I had to technically sneak in to what was reserved as a room for 2. I actually wouldn't have minded paying for a separate room of my own. But Carol felt it would be much more cost effective to share the cost of a room 3 ways. Of course, she was right.

The view from our room was fantastic. Even though we were all tired, we decided to just drop off our luggage at the room and head back out to grab lunch.

We ate at the nearby "Outback" of all places. Frankly because we were hungry and didn't feel all that adventurous for our first meal in Hong Kong.

We still had to pick up our concert tickets at one of the branches of this music store chain called Tom Lee. The hotel concierge scribbled a winding path on a map that confused the heck out of Carol. I volunteered to be the map interpreter, and Carol immediately shoved the map on my lap while we were eating at Outback. So mustering all the intelligence out of my tired brain, we started making our way to Tom Lee after we had lunch.

When we finally found where Tom Lee was, Briggs and I were floored at how comprehensive the music store was. There was a section where you take lessons on a number of instruments of your choosing. They had several floors or sections dedicated to showcasing their inventory of instruments. There was whole section for pianos. There was a whole section for violins. There was a whole section for electric guitars. There was a whole section for acoustic guitars, etc. etc. And then I got to the section of the store riddled with drums and percussion gear. (Queue in angelic voices singing in choir unison). Carol knew Briggs and I were in a musician drool fit, so she kindly volunteered to go upstairs to get the concert tickets. After a few minutes, Briggs and I were off to our own little worlds looking at all the stuff they had there and instantly wanting to buy, well, everything.

Surprisingly, even though I tried so many percs drums and toys, I didn't buy a single thing. I had no idea how I was gonna lug all that stuff home. Briggs suddenly felt queasy. Apparently, the dish that she had at Outback was bad. So we headed back to the hotel, so Briggs could rest. We couldn't risk Briggs pushing herself for us to remain out for the rest of the afternoon. We flew to Hong Kong to watch RHCP, and that was really the priority.

After some detoxing in the bathroom, the pale and weary Briggs instantly passed out at our room. Carol and I surprisingly enjoyed just couch potato-ing in front of the TV for the rest of that afternoon. When it got dark, Briggs was surprisingly feeling better. But just to be safe, we decided to just order room service from the hotel.

Briggs and I were supposed to check out this bar near the hotel that had bands playing that night. But again, we were there for RHCP. So it was best to just sleep in rather than risk Briggs feeling unwell again.

Waking up the next morning was lazily relaxing. We really didn't plan to do anything for the trip apart from grabbing the concert tickets and watching the RHCP concert. But Briggs and I felt the urge to head back to Tom Lee and give everything at the store another look.

Once we arrived back at Tom Lee, the drool fest resumed. I wanted to take pictures of everything that was in there. But one of the store clerks, told me picture taking wasn't allowed. I'm not quite sure why it was forbidden. But the angry look on the store clerk's face was more than enough reason to taper down the picture taking. I just sneaked in a picture or two here and there while in the store.

Briggs saw a guitar amp that was relatively cheap for its wattage/power. So she decided to check it out. She just grabbed one of the many Fender Telecasters on display to road test the amp. The amp wasn't as good as we thought given that you had to crank up the volume more than most amps of the same wattage.

I snuck back into the percussion section and started grabbing a few percs toys that I wanted. I swear, it was like I was in a candy store. I wanted everything. But I had to be frugal with my purchases keeping in mind size and price.

After passing by a nearby Watson's for Carol, we surprisingly were done with what little we planned to do for the day by lunch time. We lazily walked back to the hotel through a scenic route. Hong Kong and its bustling streets always weaved some sort of spacious park here and there. I remembered Hong Kong as such and it seems those things haven't changed a bit.

Continuing to play it safe with the food we ate, we decided to have lunch by ordering room service at the hotel. We binged and lazed around the room. Any one of us was either watching TV, surfing the net, or sleeping. "Buhay-baboy" at its finest.

Later that night, I coaxed Briggs and Carol into taking a cab to head to the concert venue instead of Carol's plan for us to take a shuttle and the train. Again, my bratty attitude of just hopping into one vehicle to get to where I needed to go shown through once again.

The concert venue, AsiaWorld Expo, was huge! For such a big place, there was surprisingly not a whole lot of security there. I suppose it's because there is an assumption that hardly anybody would cause a ruckus there. The food and beverage stands were very organized and coursed through every order quickly. Of course, I made sure to buy a concert t-shirt right away, rather than wait until the end of the concert. And as true RHCP fans we all were, we put on the shirts upon purchasing them.

We called Islaw to come meet us at the concert venue. Him and his girlfriend, Agnes, booked themselves at the hotel right next to AsiaWorld Expo. The concert venue and Islaw's hotel was actually right next to the airport. Islaw really only wanted to watch the concert and then fly back to Manila.

The arena itself was mind boggling. The floor area in the middle could've fit an American football field easily. The seats were nice. And the bathrooms were riddled on the sides of the arena, all conveniently reachable regardless of where you sat. We got some of the cheapest tickets in the venue because we wanted to be near Islaw and Agnes.

My Blackberry couldn't really muster any decent pictures of both Mars Volta (who was fronting RHCP), and RHCP. And although my Zoom Q3HD couldn't get decent video from where we were sitting, I tried my best to take videos of some songs that night.

After Mars Volta played their set, Briggs and I decided to head out to buy beer. We were worried that we wouldn't make it in time for the start of RHCP's set because of the long ass lines at the beer vendors. Suprisingly, the beer vendors really just churned out the beer orders fast.

As soon as we stepped back in the arena, RHCP just got onstage. Flea went up to one of the mics and shouted "What's up motherfuckers?!?!", and everybody in the venue instantly screamed with raised clenched fists.

Below are the videos that I managed to take that night. Although the video quality wasn't all that great, the audio came out nice. Do mind the incessant camera shakes. My Zoom Q3HD only has a digital zoom and being zoomed in all the way, it was difficult not to shake.

"Can't Stop"

This particular video of "Can't Stop" was one of the first songs they played that night. This part was noteworthy because Anthony Kedis said "Let's hear a little something from the Filipinos.", as if he knew that a lot of people from Manila would fly out to Hong Kong to watch them. I suppose he was told based on all the Philippine IPs ordering tickets online or something. As soon as Kedis said that, a third of the crowd screamed, indicating that about a third of the crowd were Filipino. Nice!

"Otherside"

The band was now sporting both a percussionist and a keyboardist, which I found very cool. A percussionist integrated into a rock band. Yes! I am not alone!

They played songs from their last 2 albums, and a song from, at the time, upcoming album (The new album is already out now). Afterwards, they started digressing to playing songs mostly from their Blood Sugar Sex Magik album. Of course, a lot of RHCP fans totally love that album, and we were all relieved that they were playing their classic tunes.

"Under the Bridge"

"Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder Cover)"

I was surprised they pelted out Higher Ground that night. It was such an old cover song of there's.

"Sir Psycho Sexy"

This is actually when the encore songs started. The first part of this video was a percussion solo between the percussionist and Chad Smith, the drummer. I was so glad I was able to get that on video. Sweeeeet.

"Give It Away"

When they got down to their last encore song, I was starting to get disappointed that they haven't played "Give It Away". Lo and behold, they saved the best for last. Yes!

Soon after the concert, we all met up with a good number of "brad"-mates of Briggs' and Islaw's from UP Jammers. Some of them remember me from all the SunDownMuse gigs that they've watched. So I was treated like an honorary UP Jammers member. LOL!

The concert venue wasn't really in a location where cabs would pass by when the concert ended. So Briggs, Carol, and I decided to take the train back to the hotel like everybody else. Everybody who watched were obviously amped up on alcohol and RHCP music. We waited for the next train out to let the crowd all pile and squeeze in on the previous train.

The trains on this particular railway line were a lot nicer than in other lines. Perhaps this was because this was the train that also heads to the airport. Again, we were definitely not in Manila.

We got off at Kowloon side, and took a cab back to the hotel. We actually hadn't had dinner yet. So when we got back to the hotel. Briggs playfully pointed at the hotel bar where we saw a sign that a band was playing at. We guessed it right. It was a showband of Filipinos. LOL!

2 out of the 3 tables of people there were Filipino too. Of course, Filipinos primarily enjoy showbands like these. Edu Manzano was at one of the tables with some of his friends. Some random people on Twitter vehemently were asking me what hotel I was referring to when I mentioned that Edu Manzano was at the hotel bar I was in. I wouldn't tell them. They'll just have to somehow research their way into this particular blog post to find out.

Waking up early the next day to pack up and check out of the hotel was a slight downer. Of course, all good things had to an end at some point. We took the shuttle to a train station. And from there we got on a train to the line headed to the airport. The cool thing about it was even though the train station was on the Kowloon side, is that you can actually check in your baggage from that station itself. Well this only covered most major airlines and not Cebu Pacific. But I thought that was a neat thing to have set up so that you don't have to worry about your bags on the train ride to the airport.

We got to the airport and checked in. We got there early so we decided to have breakfast at some restaurant inside the airport. The picture above is a snapshot of the restaurant's menu. I had to take a picture because of the Engrish spelling of "Lettuce" and "Macaroni". LOL!

The flight back home was quick. When we got to Manila, we really noticed the stark difference between how nice it is in Hong Kong compared to back in Manila. We took a cab back to Briggs and Carol's place. They suggested that I eat lunch and take a nap there instead of me heading home first.

This is because part 2 of the concert double header was up next. We flew back to Manila in the morning so Briggs and I could catch Korn at Araneta Colliseum that night. Of course, that will be another post entirely. ;)

END OF LINE...

Don't Panic

2011-09-18T10:29:00.002+08:00

I haven't posted about a random song that I like in a long while. I figured I'd wedge this here in between posts about my actual musical or geeky life experiences.

I woke up about an hour or so ago, and was thinking of what I wanted to do. This song popped into my head since I've been meaning to learn to play this song on guitar and sing it. The song is Coldplay's "Don't Panic" from their "Parachutes" album. It's a really simple song yet I've always been drawn to the vocal melody, particularly during the choruses.

Below is official music video of the song along with the song's prose.

Don't Panic
by Coldplay

Bones sinking like stones
All that we've fought for
Homes, places we've grown
All of us are done for

We live in a beautiful world
Yeah we do
Yeah we do
We live in a beautiful world

Bones sinking like stones
All that we've fought for
Homes, places we've grown
All of us are done for

We live in a beautiful world
Yeah we do
Yeah we do
We live in a beautiful world

We live in a beautiful world
Yeah we do
Yeah we do
We live in a beautiful world

Oh all that I know
There's nothing here to run from
'Cause yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on

As always with songs I post here, below is a live version of the song.

The song is amazing. My only comment about this song is that it's way too short.

END OF LINE...

Urbandub at the Kerplunk Anniversary Party

2011-09-15T20:33:00.002+08:00

This is actually part 2 of the night when I watched Caren Tevanny's acoustic gig at No. 38 last August 2, 2011. This is actually the reason why I couldn't catch Caren's 3rd set. /hides from Caren

My friend, Kenny, had to go meet up with his wife and head home. But Joseph and I wanted to gamble and see if Urbandub hadn't played yet at the Kerplunk anniversary party at Casa Nami. It was drizzling/raining when we got out of No. 38. So it took a while for us to get a cab. When we got to Casa Nami, Urbandub was setting up for their set. Joseph and I looked at each other and gave each other high fives and raised our fists in the air in triumph. Yes!

Below are videos of their entire set that night. I couldn't get the whole band in one shot because I was close to being right in front of the stage. I couldn't back up either because if I did, I wouldn't have gotten a clear shot of them. Janjan, their regular drummer, wasn't able to make it for the gig. So they employed the mad skills of Subscapular's drummer to fill in for the night.

"Soul Searching"

"First of Summer"

"Evidence"

"Endless a Silent Whisper"

"Guillotine"

Being the fanboys that we are, we approached Gab and Lalay to get a picture with them. Joseph borrowed his sister camera so the pictures taken that night were much clearer than anything my Blackberry can muster. My priority was getting a picture with Lalay. The picture with Gab was just gravy. LOL!

That double header night was definitely a whole lot of fun. Good times!

END OF LINE...

Acoustic Caren Tevanny

2011-09-13T20:28:00.006+08:00

This is actually a span of two separate nights. But I figured I'd roll this into one post. Caren Tevanny of Sanctus, General Luna, and a slew of other bands, has been doing acoustic gigs the past few months. She usually has one other guitarist and at times a drummer. She plays acoustic covers mostly from the 90s, anywhere from Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer".

Her vocals and guitar playing on her acoustic gigs aren't as good as opposed to her Sanctus or General Luna gigs. But I do appreciate that she goes for high notes even if it's just shy of her vocal range. The sheer effort to go for it vocally, added to the fact that she's very pleasing to the eyes, makes her acoustic act entertaining.

Below is a video of one of the cover songs she performed at Cafe Alfonso. The venue is extremely close to my apartment. So I headed over there alone to eat dinner and wind down the work day. This cover song was from Guns 'n Roses. So I couldn't pass up uploading this to YouTube.

Admittedly, I was too shy to approach Caren in between her sets. Yes, this is a typical fanboy reaction of mine. I was happy enough just to get to watch her perform.

Caren threw out an invite at me on her Facebook wall before. She invited me to watch her gig at No. 38 at Jupiter Street, Makati. So I giddily decided to go watch her. She saw on my Facebook profile that I was bandmates with Empi. Empi is my bassist in my band Jack Versus the Crab, and Empi happened to be her bassist in another band in the past. So by sheer association, she actually acknowledged I exist. LOL.

I dragged my friends Joseph and Kenny to come along with me this time. She was actually surprised to see me show up at No. 38, as she was equally surprised that other people she invited turned up at her gig. She gave me a high-five and repromised to have that picture with me that I asked for on her Facebook wall as payment for me showing up.

Below is a video of one of her cover songs that night. This time the song is by Alanis Morrisette. Aside from her sidekick guitarist, she was joined by her boyfriend, Carlo (the lucky bastard), as her drummer.

After her second set, Caren came over to our table to chat with me for a bit. She usually chats up people at her gigs. It's part of the warmth she exudes which I find appealing. She kept her promise of having a picture with me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay to catch her 3rd set. Before I left, I mentioned if she ever needed a percussionist for her acoustic gigs, that I can fill in. She liked the idea and asked for my mobile number. She texted me the next day after noticing that I uploaded another video of her on YouTube.

Hopefully she does ask me to jam with them on one of her acoustic gigs. If not, I'm just glad to share in that side of her music.

END OF LINE...

SunDownMuse and Julianne

2011-09-11T23:25:00.011+08:00

A lot has happened that's blog-worthy since the last time I posted in here. But I just got caught up with everything between work and my increasingly busy personal life, that I really haven't gotten around documenting all the highlights the past month and half. Rather than get into the recent woes that I've been going through, I'll just play catch up with the good things that have happened since my last post.

I actually skipped over this particular night. But I'll get into it in this post. This night is about SunDownMuse's first gig in a long time. Not counting the gig we had at my company Christmas party last year, this band hasn't gigged in over a year. We were fortunate to be invited by Sari-Sari Sounds at their launch party at B-Side last July 1, 2011.

SunDownMuse

There were a few "first"s and one "last", about this gig. This was the first gig of the band in a long time. This was also the first gig with our new drummer Andrew. We only had about 2 practices with this new drummer. So we weren't as tight as we should be. However, the band wanted to gig so badly. So there we were, we took the gig invite without hesitation.

This was also the last gig of our lead guitarist Charles. I am saddened by this more than he knows. But I've obviously lost track with the guy despite my attempts every so often to keep in touch. But all that is another story entirely.

Below are a few videos that my friend Joseph took of our set that night, using my Zoom Q3HD.

"Khattamshud"

"Nothing"

It was such a great feeling to be gigging with this band again. I've been largely frustrated that SunDownMuse wasn't gigging. So I would try to jam or gig with other bands as much as I could. Hence, my recent gigs with Liquid Jane, Nimbus 9, and Jack Versus the Crab. But I grew up with SunDownMuse. And I've always saw my bandmates as some of my closest friends. So to gig with SunDownMuse was a homecoming of sorts.

Julianne

She and her band played right after us. So this was definitely a double treat for me. Unfortunately, Julianne broke a string. She was shook up as to how to pull off her set. The band had to change it up a little. And her discomfort due to the missing string showed. However, I think she pulled it off nicely regardless. Below are videos of her set that night.

"Unsaid"

"Tulak ng Bibig"

"Liwanag"

"Grateful"

She's played way better than this at other gigs. So when I get to watch another one of her gigs, I will definitely have videos to show how talented and confident this girl really is. Don't write her off with the videos you see in this post.

After their set, I approached her and her percussionist Deej. I introduced myself as the one who uploaded a bootleg recording on YouTube of her song "Unsaid" in Naga back in 2009. She instantly recognized me as "that guy sundowndos". I blogged about that particular YouTube upload and consequent reaction of Julianne here. And she quickly followed up with "Hey, I still need a copy of that audio track", which I re-promised to send her when I can. I managed to get a picture with her and Deej being the fanboy that I am.

My Blackberry sucks at low light even with the flash on. And I messed up Joseph's picture with them. I ended up cutting Julianne's face in half when I took the picture. Ugh. That's alcohol for you. (Yes, I blame the alcohol. LOL)

I was glad to be out with my bandmates that night. So boozing was definitely in order. I apparently got thoroughly drunk because I can't remember anything past Julianne's set. I was coaxing everyone to drink and as I got any one of my band members or friends to agree to a shot or a glass of something, I would get the same. I only remember snippets here and there. At that level of drunkedness, I suppose I get to be such a blabber mouth. Briggs told me I was a barrel of laughs. But I do remember Carol pinching me hard that night, to shut me up before I blurted out something that might piss off somebody. I was worried about that days after. But Briggs reassured me that I didn't do anything offensive. Thank goodness.

Since I don't remember much else from that night, I will end this post here. I'll play catch up with this blog over the next few days. Particularly the crazy, wild, and fun 1-2 weeks I had last month.

END OF LINE...

Incubus Live in Manila 2011

2011-07-31T18:58:00.007+08:00

I actually had one other thing to post first prior to this one. But I think I'll skip that one for now and get right to blogging about the awesome Incubus concert I watched back in July 28, 2011.

I took a halfday leave from work that day just go to the concert. Joseph, Sarah, and I got into my trusty suki cab driver's chariot around 7:00PM to head to Araneta Colliseum. When asked Bert (the cab driver) if he thinks we'll make it to the concert venue by 8:00PM (music start), he looked at me and said "matrapik eh". But Joseph told me to not despair as concerts always have a opening act and they never start on time anyway.

We were so excited to watch Incubus that we didn't even wait to pull up to the gate of the venue yet. We got and started walking instead of putting up with the last leg of traffic. When we got to the entrance, the guards apparently do not allow cameras to be brought in the venue. This presented a problem for Joseph and Sarah as they just bought a DLSR. I brought my Zoom Q3HD which fit nicely in my pocket. So the guards didn't bother flagging me about it. I headed inside and stepped out to the smoking area to talk to Joseph through the metal barricade. With all the confusion of other people trying to get in, I told Joseph to just hand me his DSLR. So that they can get past the gate easily. That worked. LOL!

Joseph and Sarah were about to head to the entrance where our seats were the closest. But I stopped them saying "Okay, I need to buy a shirt before going in. They'll run out for sure by the time we come back out after the concert." So that's what I did. Luckily, the shirts being sold were actual concert tour t-shirts. I'll be wearing that shirt proudly to work tomorrow. ;)

By the time we got seated. The opening act just started playing. To my surprise, it was "superband" Franco that was fronting for Incubus. No wonder Gabby from Urbandub was tweeting that he was already at the venue watching Incubus do a soundcheck. That was the first time I have ever seen Franco play live. And I became an instant fan. I've been crunching over their song "Castaway" obsessively since then. The sound of the band was similar to Urbandub given Gabby and Jan-jan were at the helm for guitars and drums. But the difference is the vocals. There was something smooth about the vocals that makes the vocal melodies permeate in your head.

After a short break, Incubus finally came on stage. This is when I realized that the venue was sold out and packed, because of all the cheers, shouts, and screams when Incubus came up. I readied my Zoom Q3HD so I can take video. I also prepped my Belkin Tune-Talk/iPod combo so I can record audio for the entire concert for good measure.

Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to think Eveready batteries would suffice while taking 1080p video with my Zoom Q3HD. My video camera would die mid-song and reset because the batteries couldn't power the device enough. I wasn't feeling well that day, and the 7-11 I went to on the way home from work didn't have anything else but Eveready batteries. So I didn't bother going to another 7-11 or a Ministop to buy another brand. My mistake. Never again.

I was pissed. But Joseph and Sarah tried cheering me up. It was Incubus after all. And enjoying the band's music was the primary objective first and foremost. So I shrugged off the chip on my shoulder and started enjoying.

I did manage to take video of one full song that night. I thought of dialing down the video quality down to 720p. And that was enough to last one song. Phew! At least I have some form of evidence (other than the concert ticket) that I actually went to the Incubus concert. Here is that video of their song "The Warmth" below. (I know I failed to include the word "The" in the song title. I'm just too lazy to re-edit and re-upload).

The band remains to be as tight as in all their studio albums. I was surprised that Brandon Boyd could still sing everything, high sustained notes and all, after all these years. I didn't sit down for the entire concert, from start to finish.

After the concert, we decided to go Handle Bar in Makati for some grub. To my surprise there was quite a few people there, and there were bands playing. Coming from watching Incubus, most bands would end up being lack luster in comparison. So I won't bother jotting down my comments on the 2 bands we watched at Handle Bar that night. The food, as usual, was great there. I got to eat steak! Joseph had a rather large burger, and Sarah got a big serving of pasta.

The vocalist of Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus was there, with a female companion. That female companion happened to be Nicole from General Luna. She was donning a rather tasty and loose backless top. I suppose those two are a couple now given how they were to each other. My dreams foiled. LOL! I know I can't get a girl like that anyway. It was enough to ponder the idea at times.

After downing a few beers, we decided to call it a night because Joseph and I had work the next day (or should I say in the next few hours). The power couple dropped me off at my place and they headed home as well. When they got home, Joseph tweeted about good music, good people, good food, and having a good life.

I tweeted back to him saying "It starts with good people bro!".

He replied "indeed".

END OF LINE...

My Fête de la Musique 2011 Experience

2011-07-10T14:39:00.017+08:00

I was actually waiting for my good friends Roland and Millet to send me copies of the pictures they took that night before I blogged about it here. But it's been a few weeks since this night already. So I figured I'd get around to posting this today on a rainy/gloomy Sunday afternoon.

This particular post is my experience gigging at Fête de la Musique 2011 at Bonifacio Global City last June 25, 2011. This is an exceptional double treat for me. I got to gig with a very skilled big band called Jack Versus the Crab. AND I got to play on the "main stage" of Fête de la Musique. The few times I got to play at a Fête de la Musique event was always on the "alternative stage". So being able to gig up front and center of the main stage was a dream turned reality.

I only had 1 studio practice with the band 2 days prior to the gig (first practice with them ever). We were planning on playing 5-6 songs. So I had to practice during the afternoon of the gig day itself just for added measure. I was already nervous early that day. If I wasn't practicing along the few songs that I either had recorded or the band posted on the net, I'd just be listening to those tracks while eating or surfing. I got to a certain point that late afternoon that I just told myself that was the most prepared I was ever going to be given the lack of time to completely immerse myself with the band's music.

My good friends Roland, Joseph, and Sarah came along with me to help me with my gear and cheer me on for that gig. Joseph volunteered to bring along my Zoom Q3HD and camera stand because we both knew that handshakes are very evident when taking video with my Zoom.

Finding parking was surprisingly a lot easier than in Fête de la Musique's of the past. I guess that's because the main stage was a little further away from the rest of the stages that night. When I got to the artists' lounge, I noticed that the band was already in full force. All 9 of them were already there. We gave each other high-fives when I entered the room. Waxie handed me my artist's ID/pass so I can easily get to the artists' lounge or backstage without any hassle from security. One more Fête de la Musique Artists' ID for my collection. Yes!

Boobie, my Puerto Galera home-grown friend was apparently the stage manager for the night. I kept seeing him around the scene when I either gig or watch good bands perform. So it was nice to know that the main stage was in good hands.

I parked my gear in some corner of the artists' lounge. I figured it would take a lot of effort for anybody to just swipe my gear given I always need at least 1-2 friends to help me lug them to gig. So I wasn't worried about that, and just headed back out to join my friends.

The venue of the main stage was at Arts in the City, which to me has been the smallest venue in Fête de la Musique's history for a main stage. The stage was roomy length-wise. But it would've been better if it were raised so that the crowd at the back can have a clear view of what's going on onstage. So instead everybody tried to squeeze in as close to the stage as possible to get a glimpse. That's probably my one and only very minor complaint that night.

My friends Millet and Guy soon followed to catch my gig. And I saw my aunt, Sol (who's just the same age as me) there as well. I was headed to the bathroom that time when I saw her. She asked me if I was going home already.

"Hey! Wait, are you going home already?"

"Nope, I'm gonna be playing in a bit."

"Really? For what band?"

"Jack Versus the Crab"

"Since when have you been playing with Jack?!?"

"Since this week. LOL!"

The last time Sol and I saw each other, I was just a fan that watched Jack Versus the Crab at the Jack Daniel's Chosen 7 event in White Space. So it came as a surprise to her that the next time I saw her, that I was actually IN the band already.

I saw our past SunDownMuse band manager from years ago, Roence. We've been chatting through Facebook for a while but hadn't really hung out in so long. So it was nice to see her there. She hasn't seen me play percs since those days when she booked gigs for SunDownMuse. So she was excited to see how much I've improved and especially how I gelled with such a good band like Jack Versus the Crab. She got me to take swigs from her innocently looking water bottle with a smooth yet strong brew contained within. The brew goes down easy. But you can tell there was at least Absinth in there among other things that I couldn't identify.

Roland kept taking pictures with his DLSR and Joseph slowly weasled his way to the front of the pack so he can set-up my Zoom Q3HD on a stand. Joseph told me he had every intention of zooming into me when I get to solo during one of our songs. Although I'm a whore for gig video footage, I got real nervous when Joseph said that. I showed Roland my hand, and it was shaking. So I kept feeding myself and my friends beer to calm me down and liven up the mood of my friends.

The other acts were definitely entertaining. Brigada is apparently still together but I didn't see Inky playing with them. I guess the group changed leaders at some point. Brigada showcases Brazillian Sono beats/rhythms. That mixed in with Planet Zips fire poi exhibitionists, and some flamboyantly costumed dancers (they looked like Las Vegas showgirls) was definitely fun to watch.

Nyko Maca Presents Gafiera played next and that was entertaining as always expected of the band. The funny part was that the band attempted to play a 5th song. All bands for that night were limited to just play 4 songs. And this band's songs were usually longer than most because of all the adlib jamming in middle of their songs. So when they attempted to push it and play a 5th song, halfway through the song, the event organizers cut off power to their amps and mics. We all initially thought some glitch happened at the sound mixer board. But apparently it was the event organizers' way of saying "4 songs only, get out!".

When it was nearing our time slot to play, I chugged the beer I was drinking and headed to the artists' lounge. Waxie, the leader/songwriter of the band, re-introduced me to the band's PA, and reminded me to tell the PA whatever I needed. So I talked to the PA for a bit and set up my stuff in the artists' lounge beforehand. Fête de la Musique has always been known for quick set-up and pack-up in between sets. And this year's Fête de la Musique seemed to be strictly following the time schedule they have. This is a first in my experiences with Fête de la Musique events. Much credit goes out to the organizers for running a tight ship.

Wally Gonzales' band finished up their set and then it was our turn to play. I could feel my hands shaking as I lugged my gear onstage. The PA and some backstage techs helped me and the rest of the band to set-up given we have a lot of members in the band. How nice it was that for once, I didn't have to ask for a chair. It usually is a struggle for me at any gig regardless of venue to get a chair to sit on. But that night was an exception.

Once we started playing, the view of the stage and the crowd from my vantage point was so surreal. The lights were bright so I could only see a sea of blurry faces. This both amplified my nervouseness and planted a smile on my face. I wasn't sure whether my smile was just a defense mechanism or a genuine sign of enjoyment. I guess it was both.

Below are the videos that Joseph took of the entire set using my Zoom Q3HD. Joseph was so upclose to the stage that he couldn't get the entire band all in the same shot. But he'd swing left or right depending on who's soloing at any given song.

The last song we played is a jam song. It provides an opportunity for every band member to adlib solo for 4-8 measures, including each one of the horn section. I was having so much fun leading up to this song. And then I turned stone-cold nervous. My friends could tell because that eternal smirk on my face disappeared once we got to that last song. It was because during our band practice, the band sandwiched me in between Empi the bassist, and Fritz "Dr. Sticks" in terms of soloing in the song. Below is the video of that last song.

Joseph told me after our set that he's seen me solo better than that. But at the time, in all my nervouness, it was the best I could do. I think I pulled it off quite nicely. Albeit, brought the crowd energy down coming off of Empi's kick ass extended bass solo (Waxie signaled the band at the time to go an additional 2 measures for Empi to solo some more). I was definitely on the shoulders of giants. And I was just glad to be part of it regardless if my skills are not up to par with my bandmates.

After the set, I quickly shuttled my gear back to the artists' lounge and headed back out to my friends. I got high-fives from Roland, Joseph, and Guy. And I got hugs from Sarah and Millet. They said they loved our set because the sound was so thick due to the sheer numbers in the band. And they said I definitely meshed well with the band's music. I never take compliments well. But I was so happy to hear that from my close friends.

After drinking it up a little more at Arts in the City, Guy and Millet headed back home. Sarah had something to do early in the morning, so she begged off the festivities after some time. Roland, Joseph, and I lugged my gear back to Roland's car and headed to North Park on Makati Ave. for some eats. We ended up at my place playing Dungeon Siege 3 for the rest of the night. Music, Booze, and Gaming. That's definitely our style of geekery.

Waking up at my place semi-hungover the next day was equally surreal. I couldn't believe that I just played at Fête de la Musique's main stage with such an all-star band. Later that day, Waxie and I were texting back and forth. One of his last texts to me was...

"Welcome to the family!"

Yes!!!! /raise clenched fist up in the air

END OF LINE...

Wolfgang Live at the MET

2011-07-04T21:14:00.006+08:00

This post is long overdue as is the increasing backlog of things I'm supposed to blog about. So I figured I'd cut into that backlog once again. This particular post is about the awesome night I had with my friend Joseph and his wife, watching Wolfgang live at the ol' Metropolitan Theater last June 18, 2011.

Although the venue itself was old and in severe need of repair (to the point that the upper deck was closed off because it couldn't support the weight of people to be watching from that area), the production value of the concert was surprisingly one of the best I've seen for any local band. The lighting was well choreographed with spot lights on each of the band members to highlight them when it was their time to shine (i.e. a guitar solo).

Below are videos I took from that awesome night. My trusty Zoom Q3HD really pulled it off well especially in the audio department. I posted these videos on Facebook as well and got instant praise from a lot of Wolfgang fans on the clarity of the video and the audio. It's too bad some idiot named Danny Matta decided to rip off my videos and upload it on his Facebook as if it was his own. The guy obviously can't even spell since he works as a "BRODBAND Retention Coordinator" at Smart. But most Wolfgang fans knew the videos were mine. Anyway, on to the videos.

Left Alone

Hiwaga

Anino

Arise

Semenelin

The band was donning a new drummer, Francis. He definitely fits better in the band than Wolf does. They coined the nickname "The Beast" for Francis. The name definitely suits him because of his gigil/wailing drumming style. Of course, the rest of the band members were solid as always and obviously have gotten better in skill through the years.

The band was tight. The crowd was singing along on practically every song and they all sang in key. This surprised Basti a lot because he would pause and momentarily get taken aback because the crowd at times knew the songs better than he did. LOL!

I actually have one more video I haven't edited and uploaded. It was their song called "24". But I've gotten lazy since the concert and the videos I have uploaded take several hours just to upload. Perhaps some day I will get around editing and uploading that last one.

Even though I was still recovering from my wisdom tooth extraction, I didn't regret sucking it up and heaving myself over to the MET. It was definitely a night to remember.

END OF LINE...

Acoustic Guitar Trance Six String Samurai

2011-06-20T12:32:00.002+08:00

I'll take a break from my own personal experiences in music to share a song by Ewan Dobson. This is the first time I've never seen a guitarist pelt out trance rhythms with an acoustic guitar, until now. I was so floored when I saw it that I wanted to post it on my blog right away.

I want to try to learn playing it. But unfortunately, my minuscule guitar talent probably can't do it. I'd need a thumb pick (not your conventional guitar pick) just to even try to play this song.

I've seen drummers post their own YouTube videos while playing over it. Perhaps I could make a video of my own playing percs over this song. That would be cool.

Amazing.

END OF LINE...

Unsaid

2011-06-19T23:40:00.003+08:00

Catching up on my blogging backlog once again. This time, I'm just reminiscing the awesome birthday weekend I had in Naga back in 2009. I blogged about that weekend. You can read about it on the link below.

http://sundowndos.blogspot.com/2009/02/naga-licious-birthday-weekend.html

I dug up the bootleg audio recording I made of Julianne's set that night. I isolated one particular song of her set that I absolutely loved. Below is the YouTube posting of that song in my account. Surprisingly, Julianne (or perhaps the marketing resource that's assigned to manage all her SNS accounts) noticed that posting and reposted it in her official Tumblr and Twitter accounts. Apparently that particular live performance of that song is a rare extended version. Aside from the YouTube video, I've included the particular Tumblr post containing the lyrics of the song. The lyrics in the Tumblr post isn't exact. But good enough for you to follow along. Enjoy.

From http://thisisjulianne.tumblr.com/post/6445279898/check-this-out-guys

CHECK THIS OUT GUYS!

_______________________________

“UNSAID” - LIVE (EXTENDED VERSION)

[Words and Music by: Julianne Tarroja]

Do I have to lose you now
So I can gain you some other time
Do I have to take a bow
End the show before the curtain call

Do I have to look the other way
Coz we just got too much to say
Did it even have to be like this
For you and I, I wanna know why

Even if I know what I’ve been told
To let go means to surrender my control
But it isn’t easy to have loved and not survive
Was is for the wrong reason?
Or maybe the wrong season

Coz I wanted this love to grow
I wanted to see it soar
I wanted to give a chance for the Sun
To kiss our eyes
So maybe we could see the light
Behind our hearts desires

Do I have to be broken one last time
So I can be made whole again
Do I have to be chastised
To be saved and rescued from the fire

Do I have to be reminded of all this
That I didn’t even own a thing to begin with
No right to claim
No right to put the blame
On anyone or anything

Do I have to watch you go ahead
Leaving me with out a word said
Do I even get the opportunity to say my plea
I hope now you’re hearing me

I wanted to see the light
I wanted you to see the light
I wanted us to see the light
… Open up your eyes

Time to open up our eyes…

_____________________________

Julianne - Unsaid (Audio) (Live in Wharf Galley Rock Cafe, February 14, 2009) (by SunDownDos)

(Julianne Tarroja on Vocals and Acoustic guitar, RJ Manese on Bass, Kakoy Legaspi on Electric Guitar, Benjo Robles on drums, Nino Hernandez on flute, DJ Rodriguez on Percussions)

EDIT:
I watched Julianne last night at B-Side. I got to talk to her and actually confirmed that it was her who saw my bootleg audio post of one of her live songs in Naga. She still wants a copy of the audio track. Yey!

END OF LINE...

Jack Versus the Crab Gig

2011-06-18T01:07:00.008+08:00

Since I'm thrust to be an absolute bore tonight due to my wisdom tooth extraction recovery, I figured I'd catch up more on blogging the more fun-filled weekends I've had the past weeks. This time it's about my awesome gig with a kick-ass band called Jack Versus the Crab at B-Side, last May 28, 2011.

I've seen the band play a few times before, mostly during Jack Daniel's Set Nights, and I've always admired how they are able to come together despite having such a large number of members in the band. I believe the actual number of members is 10 (1 guitarist/vocalist, 1 guitarist, 1 bassist, 1 drummer, 1 blues harmonica player, and about 5 people as their horn section). I actually blogged about them already before. I even posted a bootleg audio recording I made of one of the songs they played that night (http://sundowndos.blogspot.com/2011/04/jack-daniels-set-reveal-night.html).

Windi, Fritz "Dr. Sticks"'s wife, asked me if I was going to jam with Jack Versus the Crab through a comment on this blog about two weeks prior to the gig. I actually didn't think she was serious until she followed up with me 2 days before the actual day of the gig. I was fortunate that Fritz followed up with Windi to ask me about it. Of course, I giddily accepted. To be given a chance to jam with with Dr. Sticks and the rest was a dream. And I wasn't about to pass that up.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend their band practice that Friday. So I only had the three songs that they had posted online, aside from the song that I recorded from the last gig of theirs that I watched. I listened to those songs a few times come Saturday, and that was all the practice I would ever get for that gig. LOL!

I begged my good friends Joseph and Roland to come with me as moral support and to help with my gear for the night. Before I knew it, it ended up the usual full posse with Sarah (Joseph's wife), Dave (Roland's brother), Millet and Guy also coming along. That made me more excited and equally even more nervous about the gig.

I showed up with my friends at the gig venue very eager-beaver early. Apparently, I was the only one that showed up for the call time on time. The actual band were all late. I found that amusing. So there I was getting all nervous going practically blind on yet another gig. They only served Red Horse beer at B-Side. I think it was a sponsorship thing. But I like Red Horse. So that was far from a disappointment. It actually helped calm my nerves.

People started trickling into the venue, and the band members of Jack Versus the Crab started arriving as well. Apparently, they were 4 horn players short for the night. So that actually made sense as to why I was invited to join them for the gig. Fritz and Windi finally arrived after a while. Fritz came over to me and talked to me about some of the other songs I wasn't familiar with. Luckily all their songs were conveniently in 4 counts. It was just some of the sudden breaks that I had to worry about. Fritz knew Guy from around the music scene from way back. So it was pleasant for such a rockstar like Fritz to hang out with us for a while to chat. I always get starstruck with Fritz's presence.

(Photo credit goes to Roland and Millet for pictures taken during the Jack Versus the Crab set. Thanks friends! The rest of the pictures are from my Blackberry)

Below are a few videos that Joseph took of our set using my Zoom Q3HD. I didn't bother embedding the entire set here. If you want to see the entire set, you can look it up on my YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/SunDownDos).

I was particularly proud of the last two videos I just posted above. The 2nd song above was the only song I actually planned parts for from listening to the song online earlier that day. The last song I just had to post even though my Zoom Q3HD ran out of space. I have a solo in it around 7:20. It's not a spectacular solo. What was fun for me was that I was so happily lost in their jam song. And yet, I surprisingly was able to keep in time.

I was so high after that set. The band seemed to like my playing, and even Fritz said I seemed to even know the songs better than some of the band memebrs. LOL!

The band was apparently looking for me during their gig at B-Side the following week. Windi mentioned that none of them had my mobile number. So they couldn't reach out to me and invite me. I've given my mobile number to them since then. Waxie, the vocalist/guitarist/song-writer of the band mentioned that he just needs to run me by the rest of the band before taking me in regularly. I certainly hope they get me. It would be such a privilege to be part of that band. If not, it's all good. I was fortunate enough to gig with them even once.

My friends and I stayed on to watch Sinosikat? play. Karel Honasan, monster of a bassist, seemed to be a mainstay in that band already when he used to be just a pinch hitter. And Kakoy seems to be in a lot of bands I love these days. He's everywhere. Joseph and I were in fanboying mode once again. We were even able to sneak in a picture with Kat after she and her band played.

The rest of that night was spent feasting and boozing at Roland's place. Guy and Millet cooked up a storm, and I just kept eating and eating and eating. I love how that family makes me feel so welcome at their house as if I was actually part of the family. Some highschool friends came along too. So it was bustling at the Sacerdoti's that night.

We hung out there for quite a while. Joseph, Sarah, and myself ended up passing out and sleeping there for the night. We woke up close to lunch time on Sunday. I told them I'd treat them all to some great Indian food at this restaurant called New Bombay near my place.

After we feasted, Roland dropped me off at my place. Surprisingly, Joseph and Sarah still wanted to hang out at my place. So the three of us spent the entire day at my place listening to music and playing games on my PS3. One game of note is Hard Corps: Uprising, which is essentially the latest sequel to an old school Nintendo Family Computer game called Contra. We actually played that game all afternoon until night. By the time they left, I was exhausted, yet content. I was surrounded by music, booze, food, gaming, and great friends. I know I am sounding clichet already by saying this on the nth blog post; that was a whole lot of fun.

END OF LINE...

General Luna and Wolfgang

2011-06-09T22:25:00.018+08:00

It was an odd day at work last May 26, 2011. I felt a tad indifferent with the people around me except for my good friend Joseph that day. When I took a break from the the big pile heap of things I needed to work on, I noticed that Saguijo had a good line-up on for that night. I was primarily curious about how a band called Toi sounded live. But there were other kick ass bands scheduled for that night, the likes of General Luna and Hijo.

On a whim, Joseph and I decided to go and catch some of the acts at Saguijo. And it turned out to be one of the most fun fanboying nights we've had ever. We stopped over my apartment first to drop off my laptop bag and headed out for Saguijo. The cab driver of the cab we got into was hilariously "ngongo". But surprisingly, I understood about 90% of what the cab driver was saying. I suppose both my and Joseph's brains were hopelessly turned off that night, as we got lost with the cab driver trying to locate the venue. I've gigged in Saguijo so many times in the past years. But I usually hitched with a bandmate and never really bothered to know where exactly Saguijo was located.

General Luna

We eventually arrived at Saguijo and found it bustling with people. How all these people manage to go watch bands every weeknight perplexes me. Apparently we just got in just in time for General Luna's set. They were setting up as we entered the bar. Our eyes lit up and gave each other high fives with "perfect timing" etched in our respective thought bubbles.

I specifically brought my trusty Zoom Q3HD to take videos of the bands that night. Below are a few videos I took of General Luna's set. I had trouble toiling with all the would-be photographers totting expensive DLSRs and rudely bumping you for position. That's actually the reason why I only took videos of 3 of their songs and not the entire set.

As always, every member of the band was extremely attractive aside from their obvious respective musical talents. Each of them would play their instruments at a skill level better than a lot of male musicians I know, including myself. Being a single guy, I couldn't help but oggle at both their musical skill and physical beauty. Basically, they're a hot chick band that rocks out.

After their set, Joseph wanted to have his picture taken with each of the members of General Luna. I normally don't do this myself because I'm usually just so "torpe" to even approach girls that attractive even just for a picture. But Joseph's persistence carried us both and we managed to have our picture taken with 4 out of the 5 band members.

Admittedly the pictures were blurry. It's the best my Blackberry could manage really. And we didn't have a better camera on hand for the occasion. We couldn't really find the bassist to have our picture taken with her. When we did finally see her. We couldn't find the proper timing to approach her as she speedily headed to her vehicle. Too bad. Perhaps next time we watch a General Luna gig we will have better luck (and bring a better camera hopefully).

Out of the 4 of them, Audry and Caren were the most accommodating. They even chitchatted with me for a bit which was a pleasant surprise.

Wolfgang

At this time, Joseph and I were just hanging outside with our beers, so pleased at ourselves for our fanboying efforts. I poked Joseph and whispered that the bassist of Wolfgang was at the table across from us. He pointed out that Basti, the Wolfgang vocalist, was also at the same table. Within a few seconds, the guitarist of Wolfgang popped up from the Saguijo car park and said to the other two, "Tara set up na tayo.". Joseph and I looked at each other and both came to the instant realization that Wolfgang was playing a surprise set. They weren't in the line-up schedule for the night, and we knew that they've been only gigging in major provinces as of late for their Tanduay tour. So again, with raised clenched fists we just realized how worth it it was to drag ourselves to Saguijo on a week night.

Below are 3 videos I took of Wolfgang's set. I really didn't want to deal with all the wannabe photographers who think excessive use of their flashes shows skill in photography. So I sat my ass down on the floor and got comfy. I took the videos from that vantage point. Hence the resulting angle of the videos.

I would've taken videos of the other songs they played that night. But I noticed that my Zoom Q3HD was running out of battery life. So I saved what was left of the batteries for a good song. The last song was "Halik ni Hudas" from their first album. I definitely made sure I took a video of that song. The pleasant surprise is the total views of this particular video is 1,853. It was already over 1,000 views within 24 hours of me uploading the video to YouTube. (Now that might not be a lot of views by other people's standards. But it certainly is a lot for me considering none of the other videos I've uploaded on YouTube would even come close to 1,000 views).

Wolfgang apparently dropped in unannounced in Saguijo that night to promote their upcoming concert at the Met on June 18, 2011. (Joseph, his wife Sarah, and I got tickets for that concert already. So I'll definitely will be blogging about that concert at some point.)

After their set, Joseph bugged me to have my picture taken with Basti since he got his picture taken with him already before Wolfgang started setting up.

There were more awesome bands playing that night. But Joseph and I decided to call it a night because we both had work the next day (or should I say in the next few hours). I normally try not to go out on a week night for fear of drinking too much and end up being a wreck at work the following day. But I certainly was glad that Joseph and I ventured out that night on a whim. It was definitely a whole lot of fun.

END OF LINE...

Nimbus 9 Gig

2011-06-04T11:03:00.003+08:00

I have a lot of catching up to do with my blog posts. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of music that I haven't really taken the time to document them all in this blog. So I'll start with one of my gigs last May 14, 2011.

My friend Paul, messaged me on Facebook that Saturday around noon time, asking me if I wanted to join his band's gig at Saguijo that night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to join them for practice. So I told Paul that I'd have to wing it at the gig itself. I asked Paul a little more details about the band. Apparently, Nimbus 9 is technically both the band name and the rapper (Gino). So it was pleasant surprise to be invited to play for a rap/funk band. Fortunately, Paul told me all their songs are straight-up 4/4 counts, meaning they're largely predictable in flow.

I asked my closest of friends, Joseph, Sarah, Roland, Millet, Guy, etc. to join me at Saguijo that night. It was a Barangay Tibay Anniversary event. So Saguijo was little more packed than usual given Barangay Tibay's entire band line-up was scheduled to play that night.

Millet was kind enough to take some pictures of me playing that night. Below are a select few from the pictures she took.

I handed my Zoom Q3HD to Joseph before we played and he took videos of the entire 4 song set we had at Saguijo. The videos are below. Thanks Joseph!!!

I think I rolled with the band quite well without even hearing their songs prior to the gig. Paul asked the rest of the band if they can retain me for other gigs and they all agreed.

Paul and his girlfriend along with my posse of friends proceeded to my place after. My tiny little apartment was amusingly bustling with people. It was a wild night of boozin', music, and sharing all of that with real friends. I have very few close friends. But I feel very fortunate to have them. Net of net, I got to gig again. And definitely looking forward to gigging some more regardless if it's SunDownMuse or other bands.

END OF LINE...

I Miss Sunday Jazz Nights at 19 East

2011-05-22T16:43:00.003+08:00

Just as the title indicates, Jazz Volunteers stopped gigging every Sunday at 19 East in Sucat for quite some time now. Given it's a Sunday right now, I just miss having something to do at any given Sunday to end a weekend on a high note. Below is bootleg audio recording I made of one of the last times I watched Jazz Volunteers play in 19 East last May 3, 2010. That night was especially a treat given that Aya Yuson (my friend Paolo's guitar teacher), and Karel Honasan were there to jam.

So much talent and skill in one band. And to think they attract some of the best jazz musicians in the country to jam with them. Sundays used to be that pool of crazy mad skillz.

END OF LINE...

Nykó Macá Presents Gafieira

2011-05-21T16:00:00.009+08:00

I've seen this band twice now and both times they have managed to blow me away. Nykó Macá is an awesome singer whose sound minds very soul tones the likes of Erykah Baduh and Jill Scott. She's been around in the scene for quite some time now showcasing bands that mesh well with her sound. This time she's been associating with herself with Gafieira.

I was lucky to catch her last May 13, 2011 at B-Side, at the Collective in Makati. My friend Joseph and his wife Sarah were supposed to meet up at my place before heading out. But they were running late. So I thought I would not be able to catch Nykó Macá Presents Gafieira's set. When the pair arrived, we got in a cab and started heading to the Collective (where B-Side is a part of). I remember the cab driver distinctly because I wasn't sure whether he was playing dumb or really was just having difficulty understanding directions being given. That and the fact that he was severely ngongo made the trip to B-Side hilarious.

Luckily Nykó Macá Presents Gafieira hasn't played yet when we arrived. Sarah ingeniously was able to work up a table for us and seats closest to the stage despite the place being packed. We watched a band (the band name escapes me at the moment) with a French singer who despite saying his Tagalog wasn't so good managed to sing an entire song written in Tagalog. His two chick singers were kinda useless. They didn't provide any harmonic back-up to the vocalist really. Either that or the tech just really sucked and kept their mic volumes low.

After a while, Nykó Macá Presents Gafieira started setting up. That was the only time I found that they haven't played their set yet. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

I dug the percussionist's technique. She's not so glitzy with her fills. But the tone of her strokes we full bodied. It's either her technique skill, or the fact that her congas were really nice (expensive LP Tumbadoras) that made her sound that way, or both.

Below is a video I took of one of the songs they played that night.

Obviously the band's mission is to not stop until Kakoy (the guitarist) says they're done with any given song. LOL! I love the Deep Purple riff they stuck in the the song for flavor. They be good. I can't wait to watch them perform again some time soon.

END OF LINE...

Elevator Etiquette

2011-05-05T13:59:00.004+08:00

This was meant to be a series of tweets. But I decided to put it all in one blog post instead. Below are all the elevator pet peeve behaviors that I have given that I always use both my office building's and apartment building's elevators.

Scenario #1: While waiting for the elevator.

Pressing the button repeatedly over and over again.

Waiting for the elevator can be annoying especially around lunch time or around 6:00PM when people end their work shifts. But the elevator really won't move any faster no matter how many times you press the button.

Pressing both direction buttons.

Same thing with this one. Pressing the opposite direction of where you're going only delays the elevator further. Why? It's because the elevators now will have to open up on the floor you're on going the opposite direction before coming back to head towards your direction.

Standing right in front of the elevator door.

The last thing you want to do if you're in a hurry is delay the people getting off making it take longer for you to get on. It's funny how people continue to block the doorway and shuffle right and left. When it's just plain easier to step back let those people out and then go in.

Scenario #2: While riding an elevator.

Pressing multiple floor buttons that are above your destination floor.

Kids do this a lot. But I have seen grown men and women act this juvenile. Although it doesn't delay them from getting to their destination floor, it definitely delays everybody else whose destination floors are higher up. Some elevators have the ability for you to cancel a selected floor. However, not all elevators have that (i.e. my apartment building's elevators).

Jumping up and down while the elevator is moving.

Kids do this a lot too. And that's fine since they're small and lightweight. But when grown men or women do this in an elevator, you feel the impact. Now most elevators can probably withstand that. But it sure does freak out certain people, and annoy others.

END OF LINE...

My New Toy and the Jerks

2011-05-03T21:06:00.017+08:00

I recently bought the Zoom Q3HD from JB Music in Park Square. I have a Zoom H4n. But the thing is bulky. So I would end up just bringing my iPod and Belkin Tune-Talk combo instead. I also found myself taking video with my Blackberry or crappy video camera. Which I would then have to splice with better sounding audio before uploading it to YouTube. Therefore, I decided to buy something that could handle recording live performances in one unit, with a form-factor that fits in my pocket. I bought the Zoom Q3HD because it has the same twin condenser mics (a little smaller) of the Zoom H4n. Other video cameras have their audio as an after-thought. So the same audio recording technology, at as high as 1080p video resolutions. This beloved gadget was really made to record live performances.

So I was excited to road test my new toy. I had two choices last Friday. Either test it out on the Jerks at Handle Bar or Julianne in Saguijo. I love both bands. But found going to Handle Bar more convenient. I met up with my good friend Roland and his brother Abe. We got to Handle Bar in time for the Jerks' second set.

My good friend Paolo Manuel was there. He apparently was the session drummer for the Jerks for the night. He's actually one of a few drummers that the band brings in to session for them. For the life of me, I'm not sure why the band doesn't just get a regular drummer.

Later that night, Millet followed along with Guy. Joseph, my good friend from the office, and his wife, Sarah, came along too. Charlene showing up was a pleasant surprise. We were just chatting through Yahoo Messenger on my Blackberry, and before I knew it she popped in Handle Bar out of nowhere. All of a sudden this loner was surrounded by a lot of kind friends.

Below is one of the videos I took of the Jerks last night. I picked this particular song to post because it was one of their original songs.

I was so happy with both the video and audio quality of the videos I took. Please do click on 720p video quality and fullscreen if you got the time and the internet speed to do so. The video and audio clarity was pretty good indeed. I have to remind myself to bring my small tripod. So I can sit my Zoom q3HD on a table and just leave it there. I obviously don't have a steady camera hand.

The band's 2nd set was loooooong. I was surprised that they can play for that long tirelessly. But it was obvious how tiring that really was given Paolo's sweat secretions. LOL!

After the Jerks played, there were quite a number of lengthy jams from other musicians that night. It was nice to see the likes of Eggpie (Jun Lupito's bassist) go up on stage to jam. What was funny was as every other musician would change up on stage, that Paolo remained the lone drummer that could jam with everybody. Paolo was such a sport. But you could tell he was getting fatigued. At some point that night, Paolo was motioning for me to replace him on the drum kit. As much of a compliment that was, I'm really more a hand percussionist than a fully fledged drummer. So unfortunately, I had to decline his offer.

The night went on with boozing and enjoying the music that a number of musicians were going on stage to share. Sarah apparently was a pool shark back in the day. So she played billiards with Joseph and then later challenged some of the other people who were playing. That was interesting to watch to say the least. Half the fun was looking at everybody else's reactions as she would sink shot after shot.

It was another fun night with real people, booze, and good music. It was Joseph's birthday party the following night and that was a whole lot of fun too surprisingly. I got to jam with his band and it seems I was well received because of my playing. Looking forward to another fun, boozeriffic, and musical weekend. Now if only I can start getting gigs of my own regularly, so I can use my new toy on my own gigs.

END OF LINE...

Jack Daniel's Set Reveal Night

2011-04-25T22:03:00.031+08:00

This particular night was the Jack Daniel's Set Reveal Night at White Space in Makati last April 15, 2011. The night was really a 2-for-1 for me because I got to watch 2 of my favorite local bands out in the scene; Jack Versus the Crab and Urbandub!

I was eagerly anticipating this night the entire work week leading up to it. Every time issues would crop up at work, I just kept telling myself "You're gonna get drunk and enjoy great music this Friday.". I kept repeating that sentence in the back of my head over and over. And for some reason that actually got me through the week fine. LOL!

Jack Versus The Crab

None of the people I invited could go in time for Jack Versus the Crab's set. So I headed to White Space alone to meet up with Windi (Fritz's wife). When I got there the band was already midway through their set. This was because I had to actually find the place since I've never been there before. I also had to figure out how I was supposed to get in without having tickets beforehand. Apparently, you had to buy at least a glass of Jack Coke to get in. I knew some of my friends were going to follow. So I bought a whole bottle of Jack and a liter of Coke. I must've looked like such a drunkard walking into the place with both bottles in my hands. Luckily my good friend Windi saw me and invited me over to their cocktail table. Otherwise, I would've stuck myself in some corner chugging on Jack Coke's by myself. At least I looked like I came bearing gifts for Windi and her friends. LOL!

Jack Versus the Crab is a relative newcomer to the scene. But boasts some of the best musicians around (i.e. Fritz "Dr. Sticks" on drums, Padz on guitars, Empi on bass, etc.). The songwriting itself is not fantastic but definitely adequate. The way the whole band comes together so nicely is a feat on its own. They have about 9 members in the band because they have a harmonica player and a horn section. Their sound is so thick because of the sheer number of instruments playing that to have dead air during any of their songs would have to be largely intentional.

The video below is really just audio. I brought my Belkin Tune-Talk and my iPod with me and was able to record the last song of their set. It also happens to be my favorite song of theirs. The song weaves the main melody in between each band member having the opportunity to strut their stuff with a solo. Obviously the song would last a long time given that each band member took turns solo-ing.

Each band member's solo was great. But worthy of note is both Empi's and Fritz's solos. Empi apparently had his bass connected to his amp wirelessly. So when it came his turn to solo, he got off the stage and started heading in front of the crowd. The bouncers blocked him for a while because they were perplexed as to what he was doing. But once they let Empi go, the dude went at it with a lot of confidence.

Fritz's solo was equally as good. But I think his drumming genuis was only noticed by people who were really paying attention. The highlight was when Fritz just stopped mid-solo and picked up his glass of Jack Daniel's to take a sip. Everybody raised their glasses and screamed. That was a very nice touch in playing up both the crowd and of course Jack Daniel's.

The next few bands started playing and the friends that I invited started trickling in; from Joseph and his wife Sarah, to Charlene, to Roland and Millet. I was surprised to even see one of my cousins, errr, one of my aunts there, Sol. Sol is actually around my age but her Dad is one of my Mom's uncles. Hence why she's technically my aunt. She was apparently friends with Windi and her friends. So with all these good people around me, it really paved the way for a fantastic night. With my issues of other people ignoring me, it was such a nice feeling to be well received by people around me.

Urbandub

I don't really need to describe this band. Their music really speaks for themselves. I've been meaning to watch these guys again given I sadly couldn't make it (even alone) to their gig at Music Museum. I made sure I bought their Teedee T-Shirt/CD pack at the stall right near the entrance of White Space. And here I thought they were only going to sell it at their Music Museum gig. But they sold it that night as well. Yey!

As soon as the band was setting up, we started heading towards the stage as close as we could get. I set up my Belkin Tune-Talk and iPod to start recording and left it at the cocktail table we were staying at.

Urbandub's set was tight as usual. They started their set off with "Alert the Armory" and soon followed it up with "Soul Searching". The video below was taken by my friend Sarah using her cellphone. She hilariously couldn't hold her phone steady because she was enjoying the music so much. I don't blame her really, I would've done the same thing. So I did my best to fix the audio a bit and even flip the video when she turned her phone sideways.

My only disappointments is that the band didn't play "Gravity" from their latest album. I really loved when they played that song when I last watched them at 19 East. But sadly they didn't play it at White Space. /sniff sniff

My other disappointment is realizing that my Belkin Tune-Talk came loose and therefore only recorded about a minute in Urbandub's set. /double sniff sniff

I was obviously pining over the female bassist. She's not overly pretty based sheerly off of cosmetic looks. But the fact that she rocks out with a bass added a gazillion pogi points to her appeal. I took a number of pictures of her using my Blackberry. But none of them came out clear enough to post here.

Millet was apparently not feeling well and slept in her car. Roland went to look in on her and later on decided to bring her home. So he didn't stay on for the post-event activities. I was happy enough that they both showed up in the first place despite coming from a tiring party/event earlier. The remainder headed to Whistlestop to drink some more. We then later ended up in Salcedo Market the next morning. A few came over my place after to wind down the night.

That was definitely a night to remember. And once again, yet another weekend filled with booze, awesome music, and genuine people. This is the life. I'm addicted. I want more of this.

END OF LINE...

Liquid Jane Reunion Gig

2011-04-23T23:01:00.021+08:00

It's been a while since I last posted anything on this blog. The past weekends have been filled with music. And I haven't bothered documenting each fun-filled musical night on this blog. I suppose I'll start with this particular one night (April 9, 2011), along with the events leading up to that night.

My good friend since back in high school, Beng, came back to Manila to visit after 4 years. He landed a sweet job and wanted to take a short vacation back home before starting his new work. Part of his trip agenda was to jam with his old band Liquid Jane. The band was in haitus for about a year given each member's other commitments. Beng was the catalyst to bring them back together. He had me come along to their practice/jam for fun.

Come Thursday, the jam itself was a whole lot of fun. I only brought my darbuka drum for convenience. I got to meet some friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I even saw a past band member, Gino, who was Beng's replacement in the band when Beng left for the States. Gino used to play guitar for SunDownMuse as well. It was a good thing that I knew some of Liquid Jane's songs (I've been a fan of the band for as long as I can remember). Chad at times writes in different time signatures like 7s or 11s. Galit talaga sa sessionista ang Liquid Jane. LOL! But I was able to roll with it just fine. I recorded the latter half of the jam using my Belkin Tune-Talk and iPod. Erwin blurted out "Sarap ah. Gig na toooo!!!". And somehow the whole band came to an immediate consensus coupled with raised clenched fists.

While I sent the bootleg recording online to the rest, Chad, the miracle worker, informed all of us that he was able to set up a gig for Liquid Jane that Saturday. I politely asked if I could join them again and they all agreed. This wasn't the first time I jammed with Liquid Jane. And Chad always had an open invitation for me to do so as if I was a main-stay member. Chad, being the bassist of Archipelago, was able to slip Liquid Jane into the production set to happen on Saturday at Casa Nami, Jupiter Street, Makati. I've only been to that bar once before and I remember it to be a nice and cozy place. Not your regular hole in the wall type place at all.

Come Saturday, we were set to practice again around 2 hours prior to the gig at the same practice studio. I brought my congas and a bag full of toys for the gig. But only decided to bring my congas for practice. It was amazing how fast everything came together with just 1 to 2 run-throughs per song.

When we were done with practice, we felt excited for the gig. It was at this time that I noticed that Gino had a "tech". Given that he's the guitarist for Gloc 9's band, he gets to use their tech especially since they just had a mall gig earlier that afternoon. The tech apparently gets paid for a full day's work. So Gino brought him along. While we were all slowly packing up our stuff. Gino just stepped outside and lit a cigarette. And his tech packed up his stuff for him. Lucky bastard.

We then proceeded to Casa Nami. Our good friend Roland was already there about an hour earlier than us and brought Millet and a common friend Mike Mason along. I was glad he came over to watch us. That way I could hand him my Zoom H4N recorder and not worry about recording the gig amongst all the percs gear I had to set up.

When we got to the venue, I was surprised that the 1st band hasn't even started playing yet. Beng had enough pull to drag some old friends out of hiding. Jazz and Ghoul from the south were there with their respective partners. Gina and a few friends from high school were there too.

The band that played before us was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the band's name escapes me at the moment (/facepalm). The band's sound minded a very jazz standard kind of feel and to think the two main vocalists looked fairly young; brother and sister duo it seemed.

(The pictures on the rest of this post were taken by my good friends Roland and Millet. Thanks for the pictures you two!)

It was then our turn to play. For once a good number of band members took just as long as I did to set up. Normally at SunDownMuse gigs, everybody seems to be set-up and ready to go while I was still fixing up my gear. So it was a welcome relief to not be pressured to set up quickly.

The highlight of the entire set was right at the first song, Hollow Tree. I have loved this song for years. And it's always been a pleasure to play percs over it. Somewhere during the middle of the song, Casa Nami's sound tech inadvertently played the in-house music by accident. The interruption caught the entire band by surprise. We looked at each other with a "WTF?" thought bubble hanging over our heads. The crowd loved it nonetheless. And it was awesome that we just got back in the song quickly and with perfect timing.

Friends of mine told me I looked really happy while playing. Well, no one can really blame me for looking all giddy. I've been a fan of Liquid Jane's music for a very long time. I always feel fortunate to be able to jam with them. And I plainly wanted to gig given that SunDownMuse continues to be in haitus. I've been reveling and enjoying other people's music. It was nice to be part of the performance for a change.

Below are 3 of the songs we played that night. Roland was able to record the entire set. But I specifically left out Hollow Tree because of that hilarious interruption in the middle. I finally found my Imeem replacement. It's called SoundCloud. Too bad my Zoom H4N didn't pick up my playing that night. And Chad's vocals were drowned out at the venue for some reason.

That was just a whole lot of fun. Hope Liquid Jane gigs again soon.

END OF LINE...

Bali Steel Pan Response

2011-04-02T11:20:00.004+08:00

After waiting for a few days, I finally got a response from Bali Steel Pan regarding my email showing interest in buying one of their hand pans.

Aldous

You are number 265 on the wait list
Yes that is the price in US dollars
The wait is about 10 months

When your number comes up you can send me two payments and then I can
ship it out.

Thank you
Chris

Number 265 on the wait list and a 10 month wait. Damn. I won't see this thing until around my birthday next year.

Below is a video of the hand pan and the scale that I requested for.

It's no PANArt Hang. But it's pretty close. Wish I could fast-forward to 10 months later.

END OF LINE...

The Final Gift

2011-03-25T01:34:00.005+08:00

For centuries I wait.

Feeding off of vermin in the outskirts of towns.

A promise made and a hope that it will be kept.

The world changes around me.

The years grow ever so lonely.

And yet there she is amidst the darkness.

Her scent slowly grows more prominent.

I could hear the beating of her heart hasten.

I float up close to her.

I yearn for her sweet embrace.

Her arms wrap around me.

She gives off a glimmer of a warm smile.

I feel a sharpness pierce into my chest.

The pain sends a jolt throughout my body.

How astonishing this splintering sensation feels.

"Why?"

An eerie silence was her response.

"I love you."

"I know."

This old heart feels alive once again.

END OF LINE...

Kratos in Mortal Kombat Reboot (MK9)

2011-03-24T00:20:00.006+08:00

I knew for a while now that Kratos from the God of War series was going to be included as a playable character in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot for the PS3. But all I knew back then was based from a CG cinematic that gives you a glimpse of Kratos fighting Scorpion. I just saw the video below. You get to see Kratos in action in the game.

This game can't come any sooner. As a fan of God of War and Mortal Kombat. I'm getting excited for all the carnage to come.

END OF LINE...

Awesome Week Part 3: Pangasinan Road Trip

2011-03-21T22:17:00.020+08:00

I got home from the Urbandub gig around 2:00AM or 3:00AM. I flipped open my laptop to do some work to make-up from going to the gig. I also did it to keep me awake until I had to leave around 4:30AM.

I finished the work I had to do before hitting the weekend. Tried my absolute best to stay up despite being thoroughly hosed with beer just a few hours before. I started quickly packing some stuff because the road trip was an overnight trip. I had no idea what to pack in my drunken stupor. I thought as long as I have a change of clothes, everything will work out just fine.

My suki cab driver apparently stayed parked in front of my building after dropping me off at home from the Urbandub gig. That was nice of him actually. So I went down with my bag, armed with my acoustic guitar and darbuka drum. I brought instruments just in case any jam would break out at where we were going to stay at. If not, I can always just zone out in some corner there alone while playing guitar or darbuka.

I thought the meeting place was at Starbucks Shangrila-EDSA, and that's what I told my suki cab driver to head towards. Good thing Briggs texted back saying it was the Starbucks at EDSA-Central, which is a little farther. I was able to tell the cab driver in time to change destinations.

I got to Starbucks and it was still dark out. I was obviously in the middle of call center-ville because the morning shifts seems to be trickling in. I hadn't eaten anything since the day before, so I got an ensaymada from Starbucks. Also gave me an excuse to stay at one of their tables while waiting. None of my road trip mates were there yet. So I waited a good 30-40 minutes for Briggs. Once Briggs arrived, we soon met up with Ekon, one of Briggs' officemates. It was only Jon (common friend of ours) remaining before we can head out. At this time, I was still totally trashed from the Urbandub gig. Which I found really amusing since I'm obviously trying to cram as much activity this weekend to avoid getting depressed.

Jon took quite a while to get to the meeting place. The three of us already went and ate breakfast and Jon still didn't arrive. Eventually Jon reached us. Apparently, he was trashed as well the night before and woke up real late while dragging his hungover-self over to the meeting place. The sun rose already by the time Jon arrived. We then decided to finally head out.

Ekon drove for the entire trip there and back. It's his cousin, Joey, that owns the private property we were going to invade for the weekend. The trip going there was filled with facepalms and laughs. I won't bother describing here what we were laughing about because it'll just come off like inside jokes. It was a lot of fun to be around people who were comfortable with you, and treated you like a human being. This was definitely going to be a fun weekend.

Even though I was trashed the night before, I surprisingly didn't pass out at all for the ride on the way to Pangasinan. For someone I just met, Ekon was surprisingly very engaging to talk to. Briggs and Jon eventually passed out. So I just stayed up to keep Ekon company for the drive. It was nice to just shoot the breeze with Ekon while staring out the window. You definitely know you're no longer in the city when you see never-ending rice and corn fields. And farmers drying rice or corn kernels on the side of the road. Grazing cows became a common sight. As well as really weird tractor/lawnmower type contraptions that were more common vehicles than even tricycles. The name of those things slipped my mind for some reason.

Once we arrived at Joey's private property. I was surprised to see such a place in the middle of nowhere. After brief introductions, Joey welcomed us immediately by handing us bottles of San Mig Light. It was around 11:00AM, and I obviously haven't slept for over 24 hours by then. But I grabbed a beer and lightly drank to kick this trip off on a good note.

There was just so many things to look at in that place. I counted at least 8 or 9 spots around the property that were obviously inuman places. You can tell because there would always be a bottle opener bolted to a tree or against a bench to designate it as a drinking spot. Joey has a lake right smack-dab in the middle of his property. He even built a pier and a small barge that you can pull back and forth across the lake. Even the barge was a drinking spot because it too had an affixed bottle opener and ashtray.

After hanging out at one of the inuman spots for a while, Joey indicated to us that lunch was ready. Apparently this guy really enjoys playing host to those who visit his property. That sure is a fun way to retire. The food was great. It was home cooking to the max, which I severely lacked in my daily routine. From that lunch alone, I already knew I was going to gain at least 6 or more pounds just this weekend. LOL!

Briggs wanted to take a nap given that she was working until morning earlier today. Joey showed the rest of us around with emphasis on his bar downstairs. Apparently it was set-up for viewing concert DVDs and videoke. More on that later.

Part of the tour was heading over to the "Lighthouse". It's not really a lighthouse but that's what Joey amusingly named it as. We took the barge across the small lake, and got off on the other side where the "Lighthouse" is. It's a whole room/hang-out area on its own, and provides a different view of the property from that vantage point.

This was the time Joey showed-off this nifty little contraption. There were cables connecting the Lighthouse to the main house. Apparently, there's a metal container that you can move on the cables between the two houses via circular crank. All Joey had to do was pick up the intercom and instructed his kitchen to put beer in the metal container. We heard a bell from the main house and Joey started cranking. It was cool to watch the metal container travel across the lake to us. Once the container arrived, we started drinking, again. Joey said that you can just ask for anything over the intercom and crank the metal box here. Hmmm. I'm sure food and drinks would work. But I highly doubt you can ask for a girlfriend and expect a girl to be stuffed in that metal container. :p

The breeze was fantastic from where we sat. The patio was elevated yet over the water. And all you can hear was leaves rustling and birds chirping. The conversation back and forth was light as well. Everybody present was accomplished to a certain extent, and was confident about their own intelligence. Basically, it was fun to talk to intellectual equals for a change. People who are honest and stay true to their word.

Joey knows his property inside and out. He even knew that it would get a little hot as the afternoon progressed during this time of the year. So he recommended that by late afternoon, we should head back to the main house and continue the laid back festivities over there. So we got back on the barge and went back to the main house.

Joey set up a table and some chairs just right in front of the main house. His version of merienda for me is likened to pulutan. He kept bringing more and more Tokwa't Baboy, that was absolutely bad for you but incredibly delicious at the same time. After some time, Jon was feeling the fatigue himself and asked if he can take a nap too. We were trying to bug Briggs to get up and join us. But the girl just won't budge.

I was surprisingly still up and about. I did feel tired. But I think I lasted so long awake because the weight of stress on my shoulders was lifted for the duration of the trip. Without that weight to carry around, I was able to just hang out and keep drinking for the entire day.

Joey had a lot of dogs around, which he spoils a lot. I only liked the three new puppies that he had. One of them in particular was white and brown, and was exceptionally playful even to strangers. The puppies were so giddy, that I had a hard time taking their picture without them just coming out like a blur.

The sun set eventually, and we heard the bell ring from upstairs, as a signal that dinner is ready. Jon asked us to wake him up when dinner is ready. So that's what we did. Feasting is a pass-time in that place and dinner was definitely no exception. I got so stuffed, again. I was abhorring the eventual weight gain. But thoroughly enjoyed decimating the food presented to us.

We took our time just hanging out upstairs, post-dinner. I had a few cigarettes before heading back down to the table in front of the house. Eventually Briggs woke up and came out to join us. She missed dinner. So Joey fed her more of the same "merienda" from earlier today. So much for her watching her uric acid levels.

We then proceeded inside the main house, to Joey's "bar" area. The place looked different from earlier in the day, because now all the little ornamets, etc. that Joey's been collecting over the years were now all lit up. I'm not much of a videoke fan. But I can join a videoke session if that's what people are into. The entire videoke sessions was just one great ball of cheesiness/"ay sheeeeet I love that song". It's gotta be the longest string of old school senti-songs I've ever had to endure in one sitting. But it was good fun because we would be laughing half the time at how cheesy each song selection was.

During the early morning hours, people started conking out one by one. So Joey offered to take myself and Jon back to the Lighthouse so we can hit the sack as well. Riding the barge at night is pretty surreal. When we got to the Lighthouse, Jon passed out pretty quickly. Joey told us that he'd come back for us in the morning, right before breakfast at 9:30AM. With Joey leaving, and Jon passed out, I didn't want to end the night quite yet.

I stayed out in the patio over the water for a while, just staring at different things while listening to my iPod. I was still high from the Urbandub gig. So I was listening to the bootleg recording of that gig for a while. I was up for close to 2 days by that time. Oh how things are much lighter when stress is lifted from your shoulders. I eventually got tired enough that I turned in and hit the sack as well. I knew breakfast was at 9:30AM. So I set my phone to alarm for 9:00AM.

My phone's alarm went off which woke me up, but not Jon. I threw some water on my face and just hung out at the patio again while waiting for Joey to come get us. From cricket sounds the previous night, back to chirping birds again that morning. The pleasant-ness of the sounds of that place continued to be very relaxing.

Joey eventually came over to come get myself and Jon around 10:00AM. I had to wake Jon up when Joey arrived. We feasted once again for breakfast, which technically was brunch by then.

After a while, we found ourselves hanging out at another one of the many drinking spots in the property. I brought my guitar and darbuka over. And it look liked Briggs wanted to play a little guitar. I jammed with her on my darbuka for a bit. Joey made sure the beer kept flowing. Briggs handed me the guitar and I played a few tunes. One of which was "Big Empty" by Stone Temple Pilots. Obviously, I was still stuck on STP from the concert earlier in the week.

We headed back to the main house and just hung out there to wind down the weekend trip. We slowly took turns taking showers and packing up our things in true fashion of the overall pace that things go in that place.

The drive home was pleasant as well. Although, seeing the scenery slowly change into the city saddened me. As I got home, I was relaxed. My only disappointment was that weekend couldn't last longer.

From the Stone Temple Pilots concert, to the Urbandub gig, to the awesome road trip to Pangasinan. It was a fantastic week. I wish I can keep that up for the next weeks to come. I seriously need it. I tried this past week with watching Up Dharma Down last Friday. But that will be another blog post entirely.

END OF LINE...

Awesome Week Part 2: Urbandub Live in 19 East

2011-03-16T22:42:00.007+08:00

Friday came around and I was still high from the Stone Temple Pilots concert the past Wednesday of that week. I was excited to go watch Urbandub again, one of my favorite local bands in the scene, at a venue that has one of the nicest sound and lights set-ups compared to most other venues in Manila. I ended up flying solo that night because people either had work, other plans, or didn't respond to my invitation. But I was determined to enjoy Urbandub's musings no matter what.

I arrived at 19 East a little early than music start. But I found that most of the venue's tables were already occupied except for the ones further down back. I was by myself. So instead of hogging a whole length of a table closest to the stage, I decided to go way at the back where most people would probably not want to sit at. It was also situated nearest the stairs down to the bathroom. So it was convenient for me, aside from not disturbing anybody if I had to go take a piss.

I'll briefly glean over the few bands that played prior to Urbandub. Once again, when I comment about bands, it's only based on my opinion and is not meant to offend anyone. I apparently encourage some considerable flamage from some people with my comments about different bands' music. If I'm not a fan of a certain band, I'm sure others are because they have a different perspective. Enough with the disclaimer, I'll just get right to it.

Jejaview

I brought my cheapo iSpan DDV-995 video camera aside from my iPod and Belkin Tune-Talk this time. But cheapo doesn't even begin to describe how crappy it is when it takes pictures and even video. So my apologies if the pictures of these bands are seriously lackluster.

Now this band is definitely current in its style. It minds the Emo, semi-Screemo of the scene today. The band was alright. Although I thought the vocalist had just a tad little more confidence than he really should've. But then again, for the kind of music they played, his vocals had power behind it. The band overall seemed pretty tight. So I can appreciate how this band's music came together. It was definitely not a throw-away band.

Curbside

Curbside for me is a sleeper. The physical appearance of this band really doesn't do the band justice. The best I can describe this band's music is a mixture of Deftones and KoRn. The vocalist made all the difference actually. His vocal style was leaning towards Deftones when singing. But obviously had a Rage Against the Machine/Zack Dela Rocha vibe when rapping. The band seemed pretty tight and I dug the heavy riffs.

The only gripes I had was that their songs were either written with rapping or singing only. So the band kind of came off not fully forming their musical style because of it.

The other gripe I had was that the vocalist was way too shy. I wasn't sure whether that was because of his heft or some other reason. Between songs, he would introduce the next song, but have his back facing the audience. With such a powerful voice, he could use some of the confidence of the Jejaview vocalist.

December Avenue

As I mentioned previously, my crappy video camera takes lousy pictures in low light situations. So my apologies again because the picture above is the clearest one out of the bunch of pictures I took of December Avenue. (Either that or I'm a lousy shot.)

Any band with the word "Avenue" in it for me has always leaned towards pop in my opinion. So this band came onstage and I had a cynical ear put on by default. The vocalist/guitarist had a "singer/song writer" vibe given that he was sporting an acoustic guitar. It was a pleasant departure from the usual bands that SonicBoom normally showcases. The only minor gripe I had was that given that they played after 2 bands that were heavier, the band's onstage presence seemed way too toned down even for their musical style.

Urbandub

The critique bias obviously starts here. I fired up my iPod/Belkin Tune-Talk to record the audio while the band was being announced. I also wanted to get that out of the way so I can focus on watching.

The first song was "Alert the Armory" which kicked off the awesome set. I pulled out my crap-ass video camera to take a video of their second song, "Gravity". The video was so awful. But like what I did with my Stone Temple Pilots video, I ended up completely replacing the audio with the bootleg recording I made. The resulting video is below.

I hated the fact that the waiters just squarely plant themselves in my video camera's field of vision while taking orders from other customers. But I was all the way at the back. So I couldn't complain really. I chose the spot so.

The bassist had such an allure about her solely because she rocks at bass guitar, aside from the fact that she can sing really well. She does back-up vocals. But there are so many instances where you wouldn't even consider her as just back-up.

The entire set was filled with selected songs from each of their albums; from "Soul Searching" of the first album, to "Evidence" from their second to the last album. I was surprised as to how many of their songs that they played that night that I absolutely loved. It was obviously very entertaining for me because I got decently drunk that night all alone.

Good fun considering I ventured out on my own. I think this is the start of some Lone Ranger trips to good live bands over the next weeks/months. But I seriously have to buy a decent video camera. I need one that's compact enough to fit in my pocket. But has good quality even in low light conditions.

There's a 3rd part to these blog posts. And what's funny is that the 3rd part begins literally 2-3 hours from when I got home from this Urbandub gig. LOL!

END OF LINE...

Awesome Week Part 1: Stone Temple Pilots Live in Manila

2011-03-15T23:25:00.012+08:00

I've been so stoked to watch Stone Temple Pilots for weeks prior to the concert itself. I invited people to go with me when I first found out that STP was playing out here in Manila, but to no avail. No one seemed interested. This is where the notion started that I was going to enjoy great music regardless if anybody wanted to go with me or not. Luckily, a few days later, my good friends Briggs and Roland both expressed interest in going. So I had people to go with me after all. We all agreed that the most expensive seats were the way to go. I grew up with STP. There was just no way I was not going to get as close to the stage as I possibly could.

Roland and I met up at Briggs place prior to the concert. I originally thought we had 4th row seats. But actually, we got 7th row seats. Briggs was the one who got us the tickets and Roland and I just paid her back for it.

Fast forward to arriving at Araneta Coliseum, we could see a lot of people already waiting outside the concert venue. We figured we wouldn't have much trouble getting in given how our seats were so close. We got in and I noticed they were selling merch just right near the entrance. I hopped skipped over there like a giddy kid. But Briggs and Roland looked at me like an idiot. I told them that when I was at the Nine Inch Nails concert, that the stall with shirts already closed by the time the concert was done. I just drooped back to Briggs and Roland like I was just scolded by my parents.

We all then proceeded to the inner part of the venue. We bought water and a few other things before proceeding to the Patron area. We were there rather early apparently as there was only a few people in the patron area compared to other seats higher up. And here we thought we came just in time. It was quite a wait while we were seated.

I was trying to locate both Islaw, my band's bassist, and a friend of mine Mari from the upper box seats. I had fun calling them up just for them to tell me where exactly they were. It was equally fun goading them by saying "Heeeheee... I'm down here and you're not... nye nye nye". I enjoyed that thoroughly actually. LOL!

I previously asked one of the vendors outside if they were selling any beer because that's what they did during the Nine Inch Nails concert (same venue as STP's concert). Briggs was too lazy to get up. So Roland and I walked to the outer circle to search for alcoholic beverages.

I asked Roland if we could pass by the merch stall again. He wanted to buy a shirt or two as well, so he agreed. Unfortuantely, they ran out of Large size shirts, just Extra Large. I ended up buying one Extra Large T-shirt and a Large long sleeved shirt that was obviously a little too form fitting to my liking. I shamelessly wore that long sleeved shirt to work the next day. People seemed to like it. Good thing I was quite a few pounds lighter by then.

We ran into Erwin (Sound) when we found the stall that sold alcohol. I was glad to hear that he finally finished his UP Music degree, Major in Composition. His current problem is that now he doesn't know what to do with his finished degree. He said he's looking to work on a few projects, etc. While Roland kept chatting with Erwin, I bought beer for us. Apparently, they set up smoking areas. So we had a few cigarettes before heading back in.

The front act, Sinosikat, already started playing, by the time Roland and I got back to our seats. Briggs was thrilled to be handed a beer. We proceeded to enjoy the first salvo of music for the night. To my surprise, both Sinosikat bassists were there. I know Karel and the other bassist would take turns during Sinosikat gigs. My guess was it's because of their varied commitments and schedules. But of course, this was a Stone Temple Pilots concerts. So I highly doubt they'd wanna pass up playing as the front act.

Kat, the vocalist, is very pleasing to the eyes. She was half the entertainment for the set. Of course, the other half was the rest of the band. From Kakoy, the six string samurai, to the crazy bass lines coming from both bassists. It's too bad the front act techs didn't know what they were doing, as I hardly heard the bassists as they were playing.

I was also wondering why the front act selection was Sinosikat, when they're musical style was nowhere near that of STP's. I found that very odd. But nonetheless, Sinosikat performed with a lot of energy, and it was very entertaining.

It was by this time, that I started realizing how crappy the camera is on my Blackberry. I should buy a decent digicam one of these days. But it's plainly more convenient to just lug around my phone rather than another block in my pocket.

After Sinosikat, we were waiting a while again until STP started playing. The crowd from the farthest seats was rowdy as expected, with their premature screams and cheers each time one of the techs would go up on stage from tuning the drums to the guitars.

Two stage-hands yanked on ropes on either side of the stage to reveal a large red cloth tarp with the band's current band logo. They always change their band logo depending on the most recent album they've just released. And this time was no exception. Everybody screamed as the band came out and took their positions. It was at this time I pulled out my iPod and Belkin Tune-Talk to record all the audio of STP's set. I put it down on my seat and just looked at it from time to time, wishing it wouldn't conk out of me.

Scott Weiland was a surprise. He came out with a blazer and scarf during their first song "Crackerman". His voice sounded different to the point that I almost thought it was somebody else who filled in for Weiland. Once he took off his shades, then he became a lot more familiar. There were a number of things to say about Scott's individual performance compared to the rest of the band. And I guess this is the root of all the unnecessary rage over Twitter and Facebook. Weiland lost his low register, and overall power in his voice. At times he would lose pitch or his voice would break. He would often go vibrato when he's supposed to sustain notes cleanly like he does in studio recordings. There was also something to be said about his garb, and Mike Jagger-esque dancing. Not to mention that he's not the lean Weiland of yester-year. I suppose everybody was so used to him pinned down to a rocking chair from his old MTV unplugged performance, that his current onstage antics came as a surprise.

In Weiland's defense, he did employ other style tactics with his vocal performance that I liked. He used a megaphone just like he did back when he was still in Velvet Revolver. This was a nice touch on some songs, particular one of their encore songs, Dead and Bloated. And at times, his melodic re-interpretation of some portions of songs sounded reminiscent of Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction.

The rest of the band was rock solid, with special mention to Dean DeLeo, the guitarist. Dean played like it was over 10 years ago. He played the slide guitar parts close to perfect like in their studio albums.

The set list was no surprise to many who were there. Apparently, the band plays the same set list for all their concerts around the world for this particular tour. My friend Dru clued me in on the set list a few hours prior to the concert. So while others were clamoring for "Plush", I already knew it was coming up at a certain point.

The concert was so much fun. It just made me remember how much musical discovery I went through growing up with this music. And the song selection went deep with how they played a good number of songs from their first two albums. My only real complaint was the two big ouphes in front of us that obstructed our view somewhat. They were flailing their arms pretending they knew the lyrics of the songs, while you could clearly hear myself, Briggs, and Roland singing the lyrics of practically all their songs to the letter.

At a certain point during STP's set, I pulled out my Blackberry to take a video of one of the songs. One of the big ass goons kept flailing his arms to the field of vision of my Blackberry. So the video I eventually uploaded on YouTube was more starring that goon's head and arms than STP... erg...

After the concert, we ended up drinking a few beers at a nearby establishment. I so wanted to drink some more. But I got work the next day. When I got back home, I still had a huge smile on my face. I loaded up the bootleg recording I made of the concert. The audio recording came out pretty good considering it's just my iPod and Belkin Tune-Talk that was used. I love that thing. Decently reliable. I planned to replace the audio of the video I took with my Blackberry with the audio from the bootleg recording. The resulting video is below.

I ended up falling asleep while listening to the bootleg recording. This was a great start to a series of events that was gonna last me through the week until past the weekend.

END OF LINE...

Changes

2011-03-01T22:44:00.004+08:00

This year so far has definitely been different compared to last year. So many subtle changes even though everything appears to be the same.

Changes in Work Perspective

Admittedly, I was spiraling out of control with how I reacted to work most especially late last year. I was coming into the office with a genuine fear. And as Master Yoda once said "Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering". That pretty much spells out how bad it got for me on the last few months of 2010.

The result of which is that not only was I affected so intensely about work, that I started affecting people around me in the office as well. People started harboring animosity and a general feeling that they need to avoid me. It took a person to get pissed at me before I started realizing what I was doing. Venting started to become extremely unhealthy and largely hurtful to others with the harsh words that would come out of my mouth.

Good serious talks with my Dad over the holidays really instilled some much needed perspective in me. For the first time, I have a new found respect for my Dad. Most, if not all, our discussions almost always end up in an argument. Perhaps it was also changes in his outlook on life at the time that paved the way for some of the most meaningful conversations I've had with my Dad. When we came across differences of opinion, we backed down and tried to the understand the other. What touched me the most was when my Dad started referencing how I was when I was a kid as a means to explain his suggestion or advice.

One of the options that my Dad suggested was to stay in my current company and see things through until the end. He said...

"You love this industry. When you were young, I watched you play game after game on your PC or whatever console you had at the time. I remember you would go to the library often just to borrow programming books, so you can make your own games. I see a future for you where you're managing a whole team focused on creating games. This is what I see for you."

(That's not an exact direct quote from him. But that's as close as I can remember. LOL!)

/queue-in teary eyed moment
/sniff sniff

It was the first time that my Dad really spoke like he knew me well. During the course of other points he made about my work situation, I felt such a cathartic relief that I even looked up articles on the net regarding excessive complaining, etc. to improve my behavior.

I found two articles surrounding a "complaint budget", where it talks about thinking twice about complaining about something trivial and just let it go. Save the complaining for something heavier so to speak.

The net result of all this is that I have a fresher perspective on things. Recent key resignations in my company has resulted in work starting to all pile back on me. But somehow, I have been complaining less and less and just try my best. People in the office hardly notice it. But that doesn't matter to me. What's important for me is that I stop accumulating so much anger and hate working in an industry that I absolutely love.

Change in Relationships/Friendships

The former change is the most important of all. But I'll take the time to briefly glean over this second change. The former obviously trumps the latter.

I have lost friendships even further the last few months. Close friendships at that. Without getting into the details as to what lead to this situation (whether it is because of expressing one's feelings for someone, or blurting out harsh words that I obviously regret uttering, etc.) is really a moot point. No amount of apology for wronging people apparently can mend those lost relationships. This has left me relatively isolated.

As I'm finding myself complaining less and less, I also speak of whatever issues and concerns I do have to people less and less. And coincidentally I am finding that I have less and less people around for me to express those feelings.

Perhaps it's just my paranoia, but it also seem like these people look at me with some level of avoidance and disgust, like I'm a leper. Being a geek ever since I was a kid, I'm no stranger to people looking at me with apprehension. So just like my young geeky self has always done, I can take my lunch tray to the far end of the school cafeteria.

I do miss those people dearly (some more than others). It is most unfortunate that things have turned out this way. That less and less people have a genuine concern for my welfare as much as I am concerned about theirs. But I am reminded once again who are my closest of friends and confidants. Those are the ones that actually initiate asking how I am and have something more of weight to share with me beyond the trivial. I can literally count them in one hand and they know who they are. And I will keep these few people close, treat them well, and be by their side for a long time.

Changes happen here and there. Some are good. Some are bad. The good changes in my life lately deserve a pat on the back to myself on their own merit. I will keep moving forward. I am destined for bigger and better things. Whoever wants to share in it and join me are most welcome.

END OF LINE...

Family Birthday Greetings

2011-02-13T15:29:00.001+08:00

Amongst all of the festivities last night coupled with the somber undertones in the back of my head, I was pleasantly surprised to see a few emails from my older sister that had videos attached to them.

My sister took videos of my Mom, little niece Kami, and little nephew Cody greeting me for my birthday.

Despite the heavy feeling in my chest, these videos warmed my heart. :)

END OF LINE...

Nothing

2011-02-06T16:30:00.003+08:00

I look into her eyes
She looks back at mine
I see beauty beyond skin deep

She looks into my eyes
I look back at hers
She sees nothing in front of her

END OF LINE...

Marvel vs. Capcom 3

2011-02-05T11:58:00.001+08:00

I wasn't planning on paying attention to this game. But after watching how Dante can whoop so much ass. I'm sold. I'm gonna get this game for sure.

Dante FTW!

END OF LINE...

Jordan

2011-02-03T23:38:00.002+08:00

I don't watch basketball that much these days, the past years for that matter. Back when I was totally into the NBA, Michael Jordan was obviously one of my favorite players. After a long and trying day at the office, it was funny that I clicked on these recommended videos on YouTube out of all the other ones in my homepage.

I don't care what all the new school players can brag about. No one has matched what Jordan has done. Take note, he shot buzzer beater three pointers from the old much farther away three point line.

END OF LINE...

White Discussion

2011-01-27T03:46:00.006+08:00

In my bitin drunken stupor, I will share with you the song that randomed on my iPod on my way home. I ended up putting this song on repeat over and over to stifle my uncertainty of standing for the rest of the night. Live - White Discussion. (Best listened to with the volume up loud)

I warned you...
I prepared you...
I instructed you...
I told you what to expect...
all the times and seasons...

look where all this talkin' got us baby!

Come on Ed Kowalczyk... Scream me to sleep...

END OF LINE...

Liwanag

2011-01-23T12:59:00.005+08:00

As I woke up just about an hour ago, I rummaged through some of my YouTube subscriptions to find stuff to watch to nurse this hangover/"bleh" state that I'm in. What I found was actually very cheesily pleasant.

I came across this particular song on Julianne's YouTube channel. I had the privilege of hearing this song live back in 2009. Briggs dragged me to Wharf Galley Rock Cafe in Naga to watch Julianne and maybe even jam with them or other musicians afterwards. I distinctly remembered this particular Julianne gig because I recorded it on my iPod using my Belkin Tune-Talk recorder. Her voice just made a normally lonely birthday and Valentines experience into an ear-pleasing one. I even blogged about it in the past (http://sundowndos.blogspot.com/2009/02/naga-licious-birthday-weekend.html). The song wasn't released yet at the time. And you could only hear it at Julianne's gigs. I remember that song to be soulful and very well written.

The song's title is called "Liwanag". Over a year later, Julianne released the song as a single. Below is the music video.

Now the funny thing is, this next video popped up on the related videos section while I was watching the music video of the song. I actually found a video of Julianne playing this very song at that Valentines gig in Naga back in 2009.

Nice. I got to relive that gig again.

END OF LINE...

Razer Switchblade

2011-01-22T11:18:00.005+08:00

During the recent Consumer Electronics Show 2011, Razer revealed a new product that completely blew my mind. Razer is known for their very niche hardcore gamer peripherals like mice, keyboards, and controllers. I was already sold on Razer products when I got my new mouse a while back (Razer Naga, http://sundowndos.tumblr.com/post/687121842/razer-naga). But this time this new deviation from their core product line just kept the salivations of geekery flowing.

One thing to note though about the keyboard. That's not really an original idea by Razer. A guy came out with this keyboard (http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/) a few years ago more as an art form than a computer peripheral product.

Looks familiar huh? But the keyboard was crazy expensive. People just plainly felt it was too much of a luxury item.

Now according to Razer the Switchblade is just a concept design. I guess they wanted to patent the idea as their own as early as now. And they're just waiting for big companies like HP or even Dell/Alienware to approach them to create the actual retail product.

I'm sold already. I know I want one. I waaaaaant oooooone. /drool

END OF LINE...

Ukulele Crazy

2011-01-19T22:52:00.000+08:00

Two of my officemates have been interested in the Ukulele lately. So I decided to check what kick ass Ukulele players sound like. I found this guy, Jake Shimabukuro.

Of course, I'm a Michael Jackson fan of the 1st album and this Ukulele rendition just did it for me.

END OF LINE...

Geeks

2011-01-18T22:39:00.004+08:00

I was one of the fortunate ones to be able to watch Blizzcon 2010 remotely. I bought a virtual ticket months before the actual 2 day event. And it was definitely worth it as it was the closest I could get to actually being there.

The video I wanted to share in this post is actually one of the opening speeches that kicked off the illustrious annual Blizzard convention last year. This was the inspiration behind both the speech I gave at our company general assembly for Q3 and the opening remarks for our office Christmas party.

If you're a geek, you will appreciate most if not all the images that Chris Metzen puts up on the screen during his speech. Trust me, a geek will thoroughly enjoy this video.

Being a geek means you are passionate. We are just as fanatical about things as any other coined genre or race. I'm proud to be one.

END OF LINE...

Bad Ass Conguera

2011-01-16T14:58:00.000+08:00

Just thought I'd share a video I came across of Crystal Vargas solo-ing with 3 congas.

It's very rare that you find a girl that is good at percussions. Hell, she's way better than me and most other male percussionists. Awesome...

END OF LINE...

Not so Smart After All

2011-01-06T00:18:00.002+08:00

I just took an IQ test from IQ Test Labs and got a whopping 124 IQ Score. The site says I'm above average given that the average score is 100. But then I found a list of people with notable IQ scores on the site. The list is below along with my score.

Leonardo Da Vinci Artist, Inventor 220 IQ
Voltaire Writer 190 IQ
Garry Kasparov Chess grandmaster 190 IQ
Galileo Galilei Physicist/Astronomer 185 IQ
Descartes Philosopher/Mathematician 180 IQ
Immanuel Kant Philosopher 175 IQ
Plato Philosopher 170 IQ
Charles Darwin Naturalist 165 IQ
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer 165 IQ
Albert Einstein Physicist 160 IQ
Bill Gates 160 IQ
Nicolaus Copernicus Cleric/Astronomer 160 IQ
Rembrandt van Rijn Painter/Etcher 155 IQ
Abraham Lincoln President 150 IQ
Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor 145 IQ
Richard Nixon President 143 IQ
Hillary Clinton Senator 140 IQ
Madonna Singer 140 IQ
Aldous Castro 124 IQ

I feel dumb all of a sudden... -__-

END OF LINE...

Deresolution

2011-01-03T10:28:00.013+08:00

It's just been a few days of the New Year so far. Facebook is riddled with status posts of people being hopeful for this year compared to the last. So I suppose I should take a few minutes to analyze my life in the past year, in my attempt to be equally as hopeful as others.

To be honest, 2010 was a blur for me, largely because there weren't any significant events worth remembering. But if I reflect hard enough, I suppose I can summarize this past year for me in a few macro-topics. 2010 has been a year of just busting my ass off at work, of searching for reciprocity of affection in all the wrong places, of splurging on addictions, and of escaping into limbo-esque worlds.

Busting My Ass Off at Work

I started off 2010 working straight through the holiday season with no leave. This is very common in the call center industry, and 7 years of working in one should've desensitized me about working through holidays by now. However, I am no longer in the traditional call center industry. And therefore, my sensitivities have changed over time. The work I had to do for the first month or so of 2010 was necessary, and I got through it just fine. But at the same time, I ended up kicking off the year with a general exhaustion that carried throughout that year.

Each day of work was largely a grind. I always felt like each day only really started when I got home from work. Each weekend was spent attempting to recuperate and relieve all the stress built-up from the week. Every week was just an iteration of a cycle. And as the year progressed, I started having less and less free time.

I am at a crossroads right now in terms of passion for my work. A little over 3 years has passed since I first started in my current company. I remember coming into this company with an exhilaration at the fact that all my geeky knowledge of games since I was a kid, was now "industry knowledge" for my new occupation. That enthusiasm has waned since then. And yet I trudge on for reasons that are both unclear and in some perspectives largely trivial.

Stress and Apathy become the result of each day, week, and month at work. And no amount of thought given to my professional situation ultimately finds the path I must take. But somehow I still kept plugging away at it regardless. The people around me at work are good people. And I suppose they are part of the reason why I'm still in the company. I have other reasons. But I won't bother to get into them in this post.

Searching for Reciprocity of Affection in all the Wrong Places

Affection in this case is both romantic and non-romantic. As this past year drew to a close, I realized more and more that I didn't really have all that many friends that I could open up to, much less have any possibilities concerning romantic interest. Work this past year has left me exhausted to the point that I don't feel like going out there to search for connections and relationships. On the rare occasion that I do get out there or make a gesture to form these connections, I usually feel a sense of distance. Whether that distance is created by me, or by someone I reach out to, is largely unknown. And with the few connections I do have, it is obvious that I get so attention starved beyond what those people can provide.

I am thankful for the few people that were around for me this year, namely my best friend Roland and 1 or 2 other people. Even though this year was very lonely, having a few people around every so often is better than nothing.

The butt end of the year showed that I still have the capacity to give. When I vowed never to lend money to people again unless they are really close friends, I ended up lending money to some people because they were in need. Those people haven't paid me back yet. And they quite possibly will never pay me back. But I still lent the money knowing that was the outcome. I don't give money away for I'm not rich. It's just ironically funny that I still have that habit of monetarily helping people.

I didn't buy anybody Christmas presents this year except for one person. I surprisingly put a lot of thought into the gift. The gift was thankfully well received. But I am sure I'm getting ahead of myself in terms of how well received it really was. My best friend Roland told me that says something. But that just says something about me, more than it would say something about the recipient of the gift.

Splurging on Addictions

Given how I kicked 2010 off with 14-16 hours work days and working through holidays and weekends, the built-up stress and exhaustion had to be released in some form or another. I always give advice out to people to do the things that make them happy as means to cope from any problems or issues in life that they are experiencing. I took my own advice this past year by throwing money at the problem. This manifested in many forms, from purchasing the souped up PC, buying up games that I still haven't gotten around playing, to treating people at drinking binges just to have company or to keep the celebration going. None of what I splurged on was regrettable. Money well spent. But at the same time, they ultimately were just relief from the problem. It became costly maintenance rather than a solution.

Escaping into Limbo-esque Worlds

I noticed that I have a tendency for escapism. I crawl into these worlds to stop worrying about everything and just enjoy. The repetition of visiting these worlds shows the percussionist in me. I kept going back to them over and over.

There were a few months this year that I didn't go to sleep until I picked up my guitar and sang and played a few songs. There is something that raises my heart about playing and singing songs I can manage to do with my minuscule talent. It's like some sort of drug that gives a minor cathartic release. Just enough for you to keep looking to do it again and again.

I would queue up and watch TV shows, anime, or movies and burn through what little free time I had. I would log into virtual worlds and stay there for as long as I could. It was easier to live in fictional characters' lives than your own. Like the geek that got the girl. Or the kid that was shunned by peers that turned out to have limitless potential power. Or even the opportunity to be heroic and defeat a monstrous foe.

I looked to drink at least once every weekend. The month of December, I noticed signs of increasing alcohol intake. It's as if I made it my personal mission to work through whatever it is that's wrong with me through the path of San Mig Light, Jack Daniels, Jägermeister, etc. Apparently, I can still drink like a fish like I did 10 years ago. There would be times, that I would feel that the night's drinking wasn't enough and drink when I get home. My autopilot skills are as sharp as ever because I would get myself home safe and sound each and every time. The recovery the day after takes longer, showing that age is slowly starting to beset me.

Another definition of worlds which is an anti-thesis to my escapism addiction, are the ones when I would get sick and would have to nurse myself back to health. One notable instance was when I had a stomach acid problem that was causing complications with my throat. The whole ordeal lasted 3-4 months. But during that time was the healthiest I have ever lived. I kicked the habit of drinking Coke all the time. I went to the gym 3-4 times a week (just cardio). I significantly cut down smoking for half of those months. The treadmill in the gym of my apartment building died because of some collegiate athlete raping it with his competitive spirit. And there went my regular exercise. Laziness set in and I lost the habit.

What Now?

And here lies the question. I really haven't thought about my New Year's "resolutions". Hence the title of this post beyond geekily ripping off the term from the movie Tron. I have some ideas but nothing concrete. Perhaps attempting to go to the gym again more often (whenever the admin of my apartment building would get off their ass and purchase a new treadmill). Perhaps start writing more songs, blog posts, etc. more. Or perhaps find a new job that would improve the quality of my life, aside from bringing back the passion into my work. Or possibly consider a life in music as a full time job, or at least gig more often with kick-ass musicians. Whatever it is, I'm guessing that 2011 will either be more of the same with slight adjustments, or a completely drastic life-altering change. Which one it will be, is still hazy to me.

I know I'm a decent person. Most people don't notice that about me or just plainly take it for granted. What I didn't mention in this post is that all year, I treated everybody nicely and with the utmost respect (even the ones I hate). My parents, my sisters, my niece, and new cute little nephew are still very dear to me even if they're miles away. And it's this decency in me that will guide me through 2011 as well. At least I hope it will. It's gotten me this far.

END ON LINE...

Recurring Dream

2010-12-21T23:28:00.000+08:00

I opened my eyes and found myself laying on the floor surrounded by darkness and fog.

I got up from the floor and looked around. But I saw nothing in all directions.

I extended my arms here and there, tried to feel for any object.

I started walking aimlessly in the hopes that I would arrive at some path or even a wall.

The air felt cold and heavy. Every breath I took ensued a piercing sensation in my chest.

I spotted a dimly lit figure of a girl up ahead. No amount of squinting of the eyes, nor waving away the fog made the vision any clearer.

The figure slowly approached me. As the girl came closer, I looked at her face. I couldn't make out what she looked like.

There was something familiar about her because I surprisingly dropped to my knees as she approached.

She reached out her hand to touch my cheek. The warmth of her hand was pleasant.

My quiet frustration increased because I still couldn't recognize who she was.

She placed her hand on my head and smiled.

She started walking away from me. I tried to reach out to her but somehow created more distance between us.

I tried to call out to her, not a sound came out from my mouth.

As the figure faded away, I started crying not even knowing why I was all of a sudden in tears.

END OF LINE...

Breakin' Down

2010-12-21T00:15:00.008+08:00

Regardless if this admission shows my age or not, glam rock was right up there for me as grunge was back in the 90s. Skid Row's Subhuman Race album was part and parcel of my musical fixations back then. I loved the album and practically all the songs in it, regardless of the lack of attention it got compared to Skid Row's earlier albums. It was unfortunate their monster of a vocalist Sebastian Bach was kicked out of the band after this album. The vocalist that came after Bach never really did it for me.

As with a lot of glam bands back in the day, I always loved the fact that they would slip some cheesy yet very cool ballad amongst all their heavier songs. Skid Row's Subhuman Race album had one particular ballad that kinda just stuck to me ever since high school. The title of the song is "Breakin' Down". Today at work, I was listening to this song on repeat over and over again (Yes, I do obsess over songs like this at times). I've been trying to find a way to sort out things in my head given that even people that I care about dearly have grown tired of hearing me vent. I figured this song could help me get by on my own. So as soon as I got home, I picked up my guitar in the hopes that I can learn to play and sing it. I could play it, but the singing part... Well, let's just say Bach is just way too good to be emulated by most. LOL!

This was part of the soundtrack for an old movie called "The Prophecy". I found the official video on YouTube. So I decided to share the video and the song's prose with you in this post.

Breakin' Down
by Skid Row

What was it you once said
That there would be things in life that couldn't be
Not for a second did I believe you
Not for a minute did I believe that

Within your need you lie alone
This empty space you call your home

If you just let me in
I wouldn't let you break down
'cause I'm breakin' down

As if you thought the rain could wash away the day
And could heal you
Not for a second did I believe it
Not for a minute did I believe that

Within your need you lie alone
This empty space you call your home

If you just let me in
I wouldn't let you break down
'cause I'm breakin' down
If you just let me in
I wouldn't let you break down
'cause I'm breakin' down

What was it you once said
That there would be things in life that couldn't be
Not for a second did I believe you
Not for a minute did I believe that

If you just let me in
I wouldn't let you break down
'cause I'm breakin' down
If you just let me in
I wouldn't let you break down
'cause I'm breakin' down

As always, I found a live version of the song. I actually found a better quality one than the one below. But the audio had a static hiss when Bach's vocals would clip, aside from the fact that he looked thoroughly stoned off his ass. LOL! So this MTV one will have to do. Just don't mind the corny MTV UK VJ that introduces Skid Row. LOL!

\m/

END OF LINE...

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

2010-12-11T17:54:00.000+08:00

Spartacus depicts extreme sensuality, brutality and language that some viewers may find objectionable.

The show is a historical portrayal of ancient Roman society and the intensity of the content is to suggest an authentic representation of the period.

Badass...

END OF LINE...

How Soon Is Now

2010-12-08T00:31:00.007+08:00

I've been listening this song on repeat all day at work for some odd reason. Today was largely undefined for me as how I felt about it. Admittedly, I first got into this song because it's the opening theme song of an old TV series called Charmed. Yes, I know what you're thinking. And yes, I watched Charmed for the same reasons I watched another old TV Show, Baywatch. I'm a guy after all. After a while, I started liking the song itself.

I eventually found the full song of the cover theme song done by a band called Love Spit Love. And that's what I was listening to all day on my iPod. I found a video of the song weaved in with Charmed clips on YouTube. Here is the video.

I also found out that the original version of this song was written by The Smiths (a band that my bassist Islaw absolutely loves). This song and Islaw's influence got me into The Smiths in the first place. I found a live video of this version on YouTube as well.

As I was writing this post, I found a girl duo/group that covered this song by The Smiths. They're called "t.A.T.u.". The video of one of their TV live performances is below. I just had to slip this in last minute.

I like this version too. LOL! But what's funny is that I like all three versions of this song for varied reasons.

END OF LINE...

Soundgarden is Back!

2010-11-13T22:05:00.005+08:00

I've been a huge fan of Chris Cornell and Soundgarden for eons. As a 90s boy, Soundgarden was one of quite a few bands that made an impact on me back in high school. When I first heard that Soundgarden was back together, my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Imagine my elation when they released a carrier single, Black Rain, for their upcoming album, Telephantasm. Below is the music video for that single. It's really good. I'm really happy that there is new Soundgarden material out.

To my surprise, I found out that Black Rain wasn't new material at all. It's just one of their unreleased tracks around the Badmotorfinger era. When I got my hands on the new album, it was all previously released tracks from different albums.

Disappointing, but I still dig their music. I would've loved to hear new material from them to see how they've matured and grown as musicians. But a slice of the past is good too.

Below is another video of them playing a song called Hunted Down from their Screaming Life/Fopp album.

Damn, they still got it.

END OF LINE...

Reaching Your Limit

2010-10-01T22:29:00.001+08:00

It is the question you have always asked yourself. How far do you push in the name of your occupation? Even a dream job isn't without its ups and downs. Running away prematurely just because there are piling issues and disappointments is coined as the "easy way out". Pride pushes you forward, telling yourself that your resilience is the very measure that you're better than everybody else. You revel and smile at that fact even on your most trying of days.

A beer or a smoke is all that it takes to get past a day, a week, or month full of occupational difficulties. A good night sleep usually makes everything all better upon waking eyes.

When is too far just plainly too far? When is going the extra mile already dangerous? When do you let your fear get the better of you? When does your survival instincts take precedence? When do you finally let go of your dream? When do you start thinking of yourself rather than caring about others?

Is it when, within minutes, you start turning into someone you're not? Is it when you start blurting things from your mouth that make you cringe soon after? Is it when your personal safety is in jeopardy? Is it when your personal well being is severely affected? Is it when you realize that your superiors and your peers will not take care of you when it really counts? Is it when even you spent your entire life keeping your nose clean and treating people right, that you can potentially be sentenced like a common criminal?

Doubt sets in on your own capabilities. You start doubting your ability to be strong and lead, and most especially doubting your ability to stand firm and take care of yourself. With your family thousands of miles away, you are left lost with nothing to latch on to since everybody is already perched on your shoulders.

So you continue to drink the next beer, or smoke that next cigarette, in the hopes that the solution comes to mind like an epiphany that you should've had eons ago.You're still searching. You tell yourself perhaps listening to this next song will help you find the answers. You are the only one that can help yourself. No one else can. Think, you have to think. Think or you will face something worse than being alone...

END OF LINE...

The Pawnshop

2010-08-21T20:14:00.005+08:00

He finds himself in a dingy pawnshop on the other side of town. There were quite a few pawnshops between his appartment and this particular one. But somehow he felt it prudent to travel some distance away from his home.

To his surprise, there was quite a few people lined up at the counter. He figured that given the distance of the place would equate to little or no walk-in customers. He's not in a hurry, yet keeps looking at his cellphone to check the time. The dirty ceiling fan was the only source of relief from the internal humidity of the place. The screeching sound of price negotiations were piercing his ears, as a customer in front pushed for a higher price for the necklace he was trying to pawn. His chest gets heavier as the line gets shorter.

He gets to the counter, and breathes a sigh of relief. He sinks his right hand into his pocket, and pulls a small box out. As he opens the small box, a plethora of feelings engulf him; from annoyance, anger, sadness, to disappointment. He shows the open box to the lady at the counter. The lady stares at the object in the box and cringes while in deep thought. The lady offers him a third of the price in which he bought the object. This upset him a little. His eyes show signs of hesitation.

He picks up a shiny little ring from within the small box and holds it in front of his eyes. He stares at the diamond that sits on top. The stone gleams against the blinking fluorescent light. He gives off a disappointed smile as he places the box and the ring on the counter. He then gives the lady a nod.

As he grabs the money given to him and walks out of the pawnshop, he whispers a word quietly to himself....

"Goodbye"

END OF LINE...

Hang Denied

2010-08-15T20:46:00.000+08:00

I got an email from PANArt, the makers of the Hang, today.

PANArt
Hangbauhaus
Engehaldenstr. 131
3012 Bern, Schweiz

We got your letter. You are interested in a hang. The demand for our high energy resonance body has been incredibly overwhelming. The Free Integral Hang is not a musical instrument. It can`t be produced in masses. The PANArt Hang makers create in dedication a tool for daily concentration. Therefore only a few of interested people will get it on their lap.

We can`t sell you a hang.

Have a look on the newest publication to see where the hang reached.
http://www.hangblog.org/hang-library/

Thank you for your understanding.
Yours sincerely,

F. Rohner, Hangbauer S. Schärer, Hangbauerin

:(

END OF LINE...

mobiusonline: World of Warcraft 60 Day Subscription Card

2010-07-06T23:17:00.007+08:00

I've been playing World of Warcraft a lot as of late. The term "a lot" is actually an understatement. It's actually all I do with what little free time I have. I've been largely a hermit, dealing with issues of loneliness and general distrust of people. But regardless of all that I've found a home in World of Warcraft that geekily keeps me happy.

My main character is a Draenei Hunter. I linked my character below from the World of Warcraft Armory site.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/gnomeregan/xhava/simple

I've been playing this game on and off for a while. I initially started playing this game as a "break-up game" to deal with a very traumatic end of a past relationship. Since then, it's always been a game that I can play solo, despite the fact that my gaming preference has always been multiplayer with friends.

Now I realize this is probably a self-serving shameless plug. But this is my blog. So I'll post whatever I want.

I felt the thrill of having a small victory in the office the other day. There are very few of those happening these days. So I relish them whenever they come around. We finally worked out a deal with Blizzard/IAH to retail World of Warcraft subscription cards. Being a very avid WoW fan myself. Of course, it's only natural to be thrilled about this.

In the past the only way you can purchase WoW game time in the Philippines is to buy sub cards physically from Datablitz, or key in your credit card. At least now we provide another avenue for WoW players, especially for those who don't have credit cards and can't visit your nearest Datablitz store easily.

If you're interested in purchasing WoW subscription time from us just click on the mobiusgames ePoints logo below.

END OF LINE...

Please Vote for my Cute Cute Litul Niece!

2010-05-18T23:30:00.001+08:00

Like the title says. Anybody who stumbles upon this post, please vote for my very very cuuuuuuuute litul niece, Kami. My sister and her husband entered her into a Parents Magazine Cover contest. Just click on the link below to vote for Kami.

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/292456

You can vote again each day until the rest of the week. Please please please!

END OF LINE

One Man Jazz Band

2010-05-12T02:03:00.005+08:00

I know I should be sleeping already because I have an early day at work later. But I just have to blog about this video that my good friend Gino showed me. His name is Fabio Valdemarin (as far as I can surmise from his YouTube username). He is a true definition of a "one-man band". You just have to check it out.

There is just no way this guy didn't make a deal with the devil. LOL!

He is the man. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! (Bows deeply in front of this guy)

END OF LINE...

The Irony of Health, Understanding, and Reliance on Others

2010-05-05T00:56:00.015+08:00

It's regular weekly maintenance for World of Warcraft tonight. I'm left relatively lost as to what I want to do with what little free time I have tonight. The night is about to end anyway. So I won't have to worry about what to do for very much longer. Tomorrow will be back to the grind for me. I'll just jot down some of my thoughts that have been lingering around in my head before I hit the sack. Of course, I like trifecta topic blog posts as always. I'll just jump in head first and download all my 3 topics in this post.

(Writing this post while listening to John Mayer's new album "Battle Studies". I just got it so might as well give it a good once over)

Irony of Health

I've been going to an ENT doctor for the past 3-4 weeks regarding my recent sore throat bouts. I was diagnosed with Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR). All the years of Coke drinking, cigarette smoking, boozing, and then some has finally caught up with me. Apparently, my throat is sore not because of some inflammation or infection, but because my stomach acids rise up while I'm sleeping and nestle around my larynx and vocal chords.

For these past 3-4 weeks, I've been drinking nothing but water just to help my recovery along. I've actually gotten used to just drinking water. But it does get frustrating to not be able to go on alcohol drinking binges every weekend.

I read on the net that losing a little weight helps people with my condition. So this is my 2nd week of going to the gym 4 days a week. I finally get to use the gym in my appartment building again. It's a lot less embarrassing to work out there compared to going to a gym like Fitness First. At least I can deal with my own frailty and physical weakness on my own. My gym sessions are mostly about cardio on the treadmill. I've gotten up to doing 2 miles each time I hit the tread mill. I'm now trying to lessen the time it takes me to finish 2 miles. I'll eventually get there I suppose. I just hope I don't get lazy.

The only downside of going to the gym is that I seem to go on gluttony-mode on those days. The treadmill I use has a read-out on how many calories I burn. But I'm pretty sure the uber large amounts of food I eat on those days is about twice or thrice as much calories than what I've burnt. So I don't know if this working out thing will be good for me in the long run. LOL!

Although I have lessened it, I haven't been able to stop smoking cigarettes entirely. I suppose 2 out of 3 is good enough. I don't have to answer to anyone but myself anyway. And it's not like anybody but myself cares about my health.

Just today, I just had a video stroboscopy at Medical City. I got annoyed at my HMO Intellicare because they put all this red tape on me last minute for them to shoulder the procedure. After I saw the girl taking care of my LOA request filing her nails. I just flipped and told them I'll pay for the procedure with my own money. Stupid HMOs. There's so much process involved that I think they've lost sight that they need to provide better service to their clients. And here I thought Maxicare sucked. Intellicare is much worse.

The results of my stroboscopy did show that some areas of larynx is slightly swollen. But other than that, everything is normal. The doctor even noted that my larynx and vocal chords seem to be very well hydrated. Guess all the water drinking really does have an effect. I took a picture of the report with snapshots of my larynx. I was surprised that my larynx didn't look as bad as I thought it would. Guess my friend Gil who was sure on what my larynx would look like was dead wrong (HA!). I'll bring the results of my stroboscopy back to the ENT doctor I've been consulting tomorrow. Something tells me this doctor is just "milking the cow" unnecessarily. But I'll just go ahead with it anyway.

I should be fine in another week or so I think. I just need the medicine to stabilize me further. And hopefully I can go party again. But for now, just water, hit the treadmill Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays/Sundays, will have to do.

Irony of Understanding

I've been rather irritable at work lately. I've been taking things personally with both work related and personal issues with officemates. Being a VP in my company, I've always been the one to try to understand everybody when it comes to both professional and personal issues. However, as of late, I've kinda refused to be the one to always understand. Complete forgiveness in even petty things is placed on the shelf for me for now.

It's just funny that even though I am one of the few executives in my company, that I'm usually the oversight. I guess people in the office have gotten used to me being so nice and understanding all the time. That they can't tell if they're maltreating me as an executive in the company. Heck, there are new managers with more space on their desks or even have their own office. I seem to be the escalation queue for people who can't resolve issues between each other internally. Mr. Fix-It all the time, I swear. It's my job to resolve issues in the office. It's my job to understand everybody. But people in the office don't really take the time to understand where I'm coming from as well. Is that too much to ask? Can't an executive ask for that out of people below him? I guess that's never the case. My boss asks that of me unconsciously all the time, and yet time and time again, I extend that understanding to him no matter how much I disagree. But I suppose I don't get the same executive benefit.

I also seem to be construed as a bank in the office. People assume that I'm so "well-off" that borrowing money from me for any emergency under the sun is a viable option for them. Nevermind that I can't refuse because it'll prevent their Dad from getting admitted to the hospital or they'll be short before their next pay check comes in. Nevermind that they can just delay their payment indefinitely or just never pay the debt back. And nevermind that they can go buy something expensive even though they haven't paid their debt to me yet (and flaunt that expensive thing in my face as if I didn't mind at all). Ironically, when there will come a time that it will be my turn to borrow, that none of these people can really help me in return. Apologies and gratitude from these people seems so shallow to me these days. After the apologies and gratitude are uttered, then all of sudden they act as if there was never a debt made, nor was there anything wrong done to me. Oh well, I didn't realize that people can be so manhid. It's either that or people are truly conniving and evil. Which one is it really?

Irony of Reliance on Others

Given the first two themes that I just explained above. I've gotten this general feeling that I can't really rely or ask anything of anybody.

I got so disappointed in myself that I don't have more in my savings to be able to invest in the high-end bar that my friend is putting up. And yet people come to me for money when they have emergencies. When it's time for me to put money to something I've always wanted to do, I can't do it, nor can I borrow that kind of money from anybody. I feel frustrated at the fact that I will miss out on an opportunity that will make my life worthwhile. And yet my money is put to good use for other people's lives. I suppose I can just revel in the fact that I can provide the funds to take care of my parents. But I want something more out of all the hard work I put in my job.

With all the doctor's visits, and my innate dislike of HMOs and hospitals. I often have to fend for myself when I'm sick. One of my direct reports in the office has helped me by looking up my ENT doctor's schedule (which I found out I could've done myself because she just looked it up online), and even make the appointment for my video stroboscopy. But ironically, the last favor she did for me, she didn't bother finding out what the full procedure is in dealing with Intellicare, that I ended up shelling out a lot of money for the procedure on my own anyway.

And to think that I had to rush deposit my rent money as soon as I was done in Medical City because my landlord might've cashed in my rent check. I wasn't able to deposit my rent money because, lo and behold, I lent my rent money to an officemate in need. And I got the money back from her too late Friday to make it in time to deposit it in the bank.

Where does this leave me? It has dawned on me that I can't really ask anybody for help. I have to help myself. I know I'm not doing a bang-up job in taking care of myself. But I have to because no one else will help me. I'm forcing myself to say that I don't need anybody. It will have to be that way, else things in my life will start falling apart.

Coincidentally, I'm writing this last sentence in my blog post while the last song of John Mayer's "Battle Studies" album is playing. I suppose it's a sign that I should end here and hit the sack. Goodnight Dos. Sleep well.

END OF LINE...

Two Handsful of Sound

2010-04-27T01:30:00.002+08:00

My good friend Mari, gave me a copy of Manu Delago's album called "Handmade" just a while ago and it literally blew me away. I've been following Manu Delago for a while now (one of my very first posts in this blog was about him and the wonderful instrument called the Hang), and this was the first time I've ever gotten my hands on one of his albums. The only other performance of his that I was able to download is at Shpongle live back in 2008. And he only had a short stint performance in the entire concert at that.

So after listening to the first few tracks of Manu's "Handmade" album, I looked at his website to see what's new with his work. I came across a video in this YouTube channel that yet again blew me away. Here is the video below. You should definitely check it out.

What's amazing is that it's actually a 10 layer song (yes, I even counted the number of separate "picture in picture" screens in this video). Each track is a separate Hang track that he recorded one at a time and it came together really well. What I like about the song the most is that you'll notice that each track starts ending one after the other with the same melody lick until it reaches to just 2 tracks and ends there.

Manu is the man. I found his Facebook fan page and I definitely clicked on "Like". I even left a post on his wall praising him and how I wished to be blessed with a Hang of my own.

I faxed a letter to the Hang makers a month ago, and I haven't received a response. From what I've read on the net, the Hang makers don't really respond right away. Perhaps I'll send a follow-up letter through snail mail this time. I don't know how much better I can phrase my letter for them to know how serious I am of wanting one and exploring the instrument myself. Oh how I wish.

END OF LINE...

Starcraft 2 Sounds

2010-04-13T22:40:00.002+08:00

All gamers practically have all the common voice overs of Starcraft 1 units imprinted in their brains after years of incessantly spam clicking each unit for amusement. Those phrases normally come up in normal conversation, followed by a chuckle and a giggle displaying how geeky we really are. Starcraft 2 rolled in with closed beta, sporting new voice overs that are totally different yet still very funny and entertaining. A guy in YouTube going by the call sign 9livesBE painstakingly recorded a lot of the new unit voice overs. Check two of the basic Starcraft 2 units and their voice overs below. I'd add a Zerg unit on this post. But Zerg units still don't say anything discernable in Starcraft 2. Just different variations of somebody throwing up. LOL!

Terran Marine

Protoss Zealot

Cracks me up. LOL!

END OF LINE...

Photoblog Migration

2010-04-12T00:36:00.001+08:00

Found a way to import all the posts in my Blogger photoblog over to Tumblr (Not like the pictures in my photoblog are much to look at or anything). You can check out further posts in my new photoblog in the link below.

http://sundowndos.tumblr.com/

END OF LINE...

Feeling Music Beyond Just Hearing It

2010-04-04T18:08:00.003+08:00

Every musician should watch this video. Evelyn Glennie is a true inspiration to all musicians. What drew me to this video is the fact that this orchestral master percussionist is deaf. Yet, she feels and understands music better than most people who have the use of their ear drums.

Very inspiring indeed...

END OF LINE...

Highs and Lows: On the Lows and Returning to Status Quo

2010-04-01T22:52:00.005+08:00

After having so much fun at the beach, the days after that were filled with physical difficulty and self-induced loneliness. This is the second part of wheel of karmic of fortune I speak of.

The Lows

The very next day when I arrived back from Puerto Galera. I obviously had a sore throat. I was surprised to find that I had difficulty eating, drinking, and swallowing. My throat would even hurt when I would yawn. I had this metallic taste in my mouth that I couldn't get rid of no matter what I would do. And I felt a fever coming on.

A fever did arrive after a few hours, and I spent the next two to three days not being able to eat anything at all. I attempted to self-medicate, which of course isn't always the wise thing to do. I was too weak to step outside to even buy medicine, let alone drag myself to the doctor.

My office obviously needed me, given the truck load of issues that even co-executives in my company conveniently left for me to handle when I get back to work. I was following everything that was going on in the office during my vacation by reading all the emails coming in on my Blackberry. But I had to keep letting go of work especially since I was sick.

Perhaps I could've dragged myself to the doctor back then. But when I remember the days when my ex-girlfriend left me, and my entire family was in the States during one of my 1-2 month long cluster headache bouts, I hesitate to ask for help or even heave myself over to Makati Med for a check-up. I remember being alone to tend to my pain back then. I remember being bounced around between my HMO's office and Makati Med several times in a day when I sought medical help. All of that made me turtle shell this time around, and attempt to nurse myself back to help on my own.

I realized that there aren't a lot of people who care about me enough to check on me, or even offer help. But likewise, I also didn't reach out and ask. I didn't even let my parents know about my sickness until this week when I was better already.

I was disappointed in the fact that I couldn't just plainly enjoy my beach trip and return to work revitalized. Instead, after enjoying so much, I ended up suffering for days. As if I have to go remit back how much I enjoyed. The first and only vacation I've had in over a year. And yet I suffered after it. How ironic.

To make matters worse, after a day of coming back to work, I had some sort of allergic reaction that resulted in my eyelids swelling like I was StayPuff the Marshmallow Man. I fed off of instant sopas and noodles for days. And it even actually hurt when I cried.

I eventually was able to heave myself to the doctor the following week. I still didn't want to be a human pinball again. So I decided to go to a Healthway clinic instead of Makati Med. I saw two doctors; an opthamologist and a ENT. Years ago I would only need to see one doctor. Apparently they took out the E for "eyes" from EENT and separated the specialization as its own stand-alone. Hence the need to see two doctors. A girl from the office was kind enough to accompany me to the doctor (I had to ask her, of course). Although I would've been perfectly fine going alone, it was just nice to have someone there to support you.

The opthamologist was nice and very sharp. She immediately understood the background story of symptoms that I explained to her and knew exactly what to prescribe me. The ENT was alright. But I felt like he was bullshitting me half the time. When I told him that I was allergic to Penicillin, he immediately concluded that the Cefalexin that I was self-medicating myself with was the culprit of my allergic reaction. He told me that Cefalexin was Penicillin based. But my Aunt who's a doctor who suggested I drink those for my sore throat said it didn't contain any Penicillin. When I looked Cefalexin up online, several sources on the net said that Cefalexin was good for people who have a hypersensitivity to Penicillin. The ENT doctor gave me a different antibiotic to take and instructed me to cease drinking my current one. Doctors... You don't really know who believe among them these days. And this is just yet another example that I can throw in amongst the throngs of Makati Med doctors who bullshit or laugh at your condition.

Returning to Status Quo

The past day or so, I've been relatively well. I just have to continue the medication prescribed me to term I suppose. So I'm pretty much back to normalcy. There are stuff about work that's really bogging me down. But at least this long weekend, I'll try to turn it off. I wanna go out and do stuff. But everybody has their own Holy Week plans. My only plan is to treat my parents to lunch come Sunday. Other than that, I'll just pretty much hole-up in my apartment playing this or that game (I have way too many gaming options here at home that I don't know which one I feel like playing).

So back to status-quo. Not all good, but not bad either. I'd rather it'd be like this compared to not being able to eat solid food.

END OF LINE...

Highs and Lows: The Highs

2010-03-29T00:42:00.016+08:00

The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind ride for me. It's as if I was spinning around wildly in some wheel of karmic fortune. I have no one to talk to about it. So here I am telling my blog of all the smiles, joys, tears, and sadness of the past 2 weeks.

The Highs

The Friday before last Friday was the beginning of my long anticipated "vacation". I have not had a vacation in over a year because of work. Considering I didn't even get time off from the Christmas and New Year holidays, I was so stoked to actually take time off and head to the beach. I was fortunate that my good friend Roland wanted to hit the beach as well. So unlike, many trips years ago, I felt good that I wasn't doing this particular trip solo.

I missed White Beach, Puerto Galera. It has been years since I would go there practically every weekend. I used to treat the place as my escape because of my immaturity/inability to handle love and the loss of that love. Through those countless trips, I found friends and music that guided me towards a life direction that until this day I am glad that I took. After a while I went back to White Beach less and less. This was actually a good sign back then because I became less dependent on the place to help me deal with my depression. I was reckless and self-destructive back then (I was such a stupid kid). But with the friendships I formed there, and the music that we shared, it shaped me towards the person I am today. With all that personal history with White Beach in the back of my head, I was so excited to "come back home", so to speak.

The bus ride and boat ride was relatively quick. The only lag time during the trip over to White Beach was the fact that our boat waited until it was full before departing. But once Roland and I arrived at White Beach, I felt a joy that I haven't felt in such a long time. It was an indescribable exhilaration that came from my chest and outward to my limbs.

Roland and I proceeded to CocoAroma. The place looked slightly different from when I last went there during New Years of 2008 (That was actually the longest gap of time that I haven't gone back to White Beach). I'm glad to see they've moved the bar off the stage to the side instead. It seems they finally got fountain constructed and it looked nicer than how they described their plans for it when I was last there.

I like CocoAroma because it's not bustling with people like every other resort on White Beach. It makes the place feel quiet and more your own.

We were fortunate that "Room 1" was not occupied. So we definitely had to get that room. We've had a lot of history with that room (and the room's front porch, and hammock) that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab the room for this trip.

Joel and Tita Cora came on over to CocoAroma from their house upon hearing that we were back. I gave them both hugs upon seeing them.

I was saddened to hear that their house band called "Turtle Club" disbanded. I brought my bongos specifically so I could jam with those guys. It seemed most of the band members went their separate ways already. The Turtle Club bassist was still there, and was apparently the most veteran musician of the regular performers at CocoAroma now. The guy still remembers me because of the Brazillian models that were watching us jam during New Years on my last trip. Apart from him, there were the new generation of musicians. These youngens have a lot of raw talent. But lacked the skill refinement to really perform well. Regardless, they all managed to pull it off sufficiently and they were very entertaining.

They've changed the performing format in the place these days. The same house musicians would rotate between instruments every so often, essentially forming a different band that played different songs with each rotation. They would even call themselves a different band name whenever they do rotate. One band name thoroughly cracked me up; that particular member configuration was called "The Mighty Band". Of course, foreigners would have never gotten the humor behind the name. But for Filipinos, the pun allusion to "MightyBond" just made it amusing. Jamming with the new blood musicians was fun. It was fun stirring the jams with my playing and it flowed pretty well. I jammed with those guys every night of the trip. Saturday night was particularly amusing because even the foreigners who were there acknowledged me in appreciation after I got down from the stage.

Pino came down from Kido's place upon hearing that Roland and I were at White Beach. I haven't seen Pino in years. And it was such a nice surprise to see him again. Pino has apparently found love once again, which he emphasized he hasn't felt in 20 years. He would go on and on about how nice a feeling it is to be in love, and that his current song writing creativity surrounds that. That morning to early afternoon when he visited, we would lightly jam, and talk away about some of the amazing things we have come across in music. It was some of the most engaging conversations I've had in a long time.

The Saturday of that trip happened to be Joel's birthday, which was a quite a pleasant surprise. We were invited to the celebration of course. I remembered being at White Beach during one of Joel's birthdays in the past. So it was nice to celebrate Joel's birthday at CocoAroma again. Surprisingly, I met a good number of locals that I haven't seen in years either during that celebration. I didn't even realize that I knew so many people there from different trips until Roland pointed it out. I would remember a particular trip depending on who I knew a particular person from. It was the first time I felt that I knew practically everybody around.

I noticed that they had a poster at the back of the stage of a production we held at CocoAroma years ago. I found it amusing that the poster still existed. And I immediately remembered how much that gig rocked because my band came along with me on that trip. The production was put together specifically for my band to gig at CocoAroma. What a fond memory that was.

The entire trip was filled with listening to good music, jamming, spacing out, feeling the wind, breathing in the fresh air, boozing, lying down in the shade, soaking up the night sky, staring at the stars, etc. I have never felt so much warmth from people around me in a long time.

As Roland and I traveled back home to end the trip, I asked him if I could hang out at his place for a while because I didn't want to end the trip. Even hanging out at Roland's house was nice. We ended up watching the original Tron movie in anticipation of Tron Legacy coming out later this year.

By the time I finally got home, I had this general feeling of contentment shown through a big smile on my face.

END OF LINE...

More Hype Built Around Tron Legacy

2010-03-15T23:42:00.001+08:00

I blogged about this upcoming movie last year. Check out the post here. A very short teaser trailer was released that made me and throngs of die hard Tron fans jizz in their pants. Recently, they just released a new extended trailer that shows a little more of what's to come. Check out the video below.

Even more jizzage in thy pants. I'm glad to see that they retained more than just Jeff Bridges from the original cast. Too bad this movie is not coming out until the butt end of this year. Disney hype building. Damn marketing machine works.

(Of course, I end all my blog posts with a line ripped off from the original Tron movie)

END OF LINE...

The Power of the Pentatonic Scale

2010-03-06T22:10:00.000+08:00

The past few months have been such a late epiphany for me about Bobby McFerrin. For years, the only thing I knew about Bobby McFerrin is how intricate his song "Don't Worry Be Happy" was put together. No instruments, all vocal track harmonies, layered one after another in an analog recording studio (That basically means if he made a mistake, he rerecords the entire track again). That in itself was amazing for me.

Friends, as of late, have been showing me YouTube videos of Bobby McFerrin that totally blew my mind. One of which is the video that I'm sharing with you below. This was taken at the World Science Festival in 2009. The theme of the event was "Notes and Neurons". And they brought in Bobby McFerrin as an expert speaker for the event.

It's uncanny how the pentatonic scale seems to be instinctual to people. It gives some of us musician wannabees a little hope. LOL!

END OF LINE...