late review: contra tiempo by sandwich

Contra Tiempo - Sandwich

PolyEast Records 2010

12 Tracks on the CD:

• Lapit! Lapit! Lapit!

• Lakad

• Takbo

• Stranded

• Pera Pera

• Sugatan

• Putik

• Sulputin

• Bisikleta

• Downhill

• Dispalinghado

• Siesta

Memorable and melodic guitar riffs. Right mix of synths, distorts, and percs. The distinct Raims vox.

The Sandwich sound that defined the band since Raimund Marasigan took over vocal duties in 2005 continues in their latest offering, Contra Tiempo, Sandwich's sixth studio album.

Ever since Marasigan became the frontman of the five-piece band, the Sandwich sound has become frenetic, punkish, quirky, pop-rockish, and at times lighter than their heavy, grunge-influenced era with former vocalist Marc Abaya. Defined by melodic and memorable licks and rhythms, the Sandwich sound of today is a bit of a departure from their distortion-heavy days (Grip Stand Throw, 4-Track Mind, and Thanks to Moon's Gravitational Pull) but despite that, they have maintained their edge and rawness that still puts them well categorized as a rock band.

Contra Tiempo, as an album, evokes movement or motion (or the lack thereof) -- obviously evidenced by such tracks as Lakad, Takbo, Bisikleta, Downhill, and Lapit! Lapit! Lapit! While the other track titles might not seem like it, listening to the lyrics and the melody of these tracks also makes one think that they adhere to the album's "motion" theme. If this theme was deliberate or not, I don't know but it works as each track moves you to the next, evoking a progression.

If you're weary of that really heavy rock-metal sound and wish for a distraction that is lighter yet edgy then this album is for you. Keeps you awake while driving and it grows on you. After a few spins of the CD, you'll find yourself mumbling memorable choruses and verses because that's how addictive the music is. Sandwich fans (yours truly included) have no doubt in my mind, that this is the same, true-blue Sandwich we've all fallen in love with. Don't look for any underlying symbolisms behind the lyrics because there's probably none. The songs' lyrics are pretty straightforward. These are not just songs, they're stories and the authors (Marasigan and company) have chosen not to complicate the listener's enjoyment behind symbolism, innuendos, and stuff. They sing their stories with catchy tunes and oh-so-easy-to-remember lines.

Despite the English titles in some, all 12 tracks are in Filipino / Tagalog. Are they unable to write English songs, some might ask. As someone who has dabbled in songwriting, writing in your own tongue allows one to be more creative and witty. I guess the same is true with Sandwich. But don't get me wrong, Sandwich has done great English songs in their past albums.

There's nothing really starkly differentiating Contra Tiempo from previous Sandwich albums. And in this case, that's a good thing because that mainly tells us that Sandwich is consistent -- consistently good -- dishing out another superb album for people to enjoy.

Memorable tunes for me include Lakad, the Ondoy-inspired Putik, the LSS-inducing Pera Pera, and Stranded. Even my daughter, Ikai, has already learned to mumble the chorus of Stranded -- "Stranded sa airport, stranded sa airport" evoking curious looks from her Auntie who can't fathom what song her niece was singing.

Sandwich fans will have another killer album to add to their collection. New listeners who have never heard of Sandwich before will most likely try to get their hands on earlier Sandwich albums.

The album title is a line from their song, Sulputin.

Final Rating: 5/5

late review: pinoy ako by various artists

Tracks in the CD include:

• Pinoy Ako by Orange and Lemons
• Bye Bye Na by Rico Blanco
• Gusto Na Kita Makita by Session Road
• Jam by Kevin Roy and Cookie Chua
• Laklak by Gloc 9 with Dong Abay
• Humanda Ka by Sandwich
• Next in Line by Stagecrew
• This Guy's in Love with You, Pare by Chito Miranda
• Pangarap by Barbie Almalbis
• Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak by True Faith
• Kailanpaman by Kevin Roy
• Beep Beep by Michael Cruz
• Someday by Barbie Almalbis
• Cinderella by Stagecrew

My CD copy of the Pinoy Ako album already has a couple of cracks towards the center of the disc that I had to burn a personal copy. The cracks are actually an evidence of how extensively the CD gets played. More so nowadays as its the music my daughter looks for when we go for a drive, from anywhere to Shopwise for the usual weekend grocery stop, or to my folks at San Pedro, Laguna.

It can't be helped. The album Pinoy Ako, released by Star Records in conjunction with the debut of the reality TV series Pinoy Big Brother in 2005, contains memorable and catchy tunes that even a four-year old took to instant liking. Granted its more pop-ish than rock-ish, it has enough grit and edge to make listening to it a habit -- be it at the office, at home, or in the car.

The tunes and the lyrics are memorable and just after a few spins, you'll be able to find yourself singing or humming along (most likely during the chorus parts).

My personal faves in the CD include Pinoy Ako, Bye Bye Na, Gusto Na Kita Makita, Jam, and Kailanpaman, which are all original tracks. On the other hand, you won't get lost with two remakes in this compilation -- Next in Line (originally After Image but the CD version is by Stagecrew), and Beep Beep (a Michael Cruz rendition of the Juan dela Cruz band hit) -- except for Laklak which has been modified into a rap version by Gloc 9. Other songs in the compilation, for sure you've heard from other albums (most notably the song's artist) like Someday and Pangarap which are cuts from Barbie Almalbis' previous offerings, Humanda Ka by Sandwich (if I'm not mistaken from an online MMORPG album) and I could only assume that True Faith's Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak as also a recycle from a previous album.

All in all, the album is pleasant compilation of familiar and not-so-familiar tunes. Forgive its pop-rockish underpinnings because that's essentially what it is -- a pop-rock compilation that's not so hard on the ear of the mainstream FM listener. It proves itself to be a winner to many listeners including a certain 4 year old whose starting to like listening to daddy's music.

Oh, she sings along to The Jerks album too, mind you!

Final Rating on Pinoy Ako: 4.5 / 5

friday frolics: young adult reads, darna, a new hobby, the next two weeks

After reading several stories in the anthology Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves (edited by Alan Dean Foster), and failing to find even one story that was remotely laughable, I shelved the book and instead opened a newly-purchased YA read, The Mysterious Benedict Society, which is turning out to be a fantastic read and in the process adding to an internal urging to write something for the kids (or the kids-at-heart).

Why I find the anthology Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves not funny may be a cultural thing, it being written by Western writers from a totally different side of the hemisphere and yours truly being a simple, round-of-the-mill type of spec-fic reader, but then again, I've read fantasy and sci-fi books before that made me smile and even laugh. And I do dig Western-style humor be it the wry-dry type, or the cornball ones. I find myself laughing out loud with the one-liners and slapsticks delivered by the likes of Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Conan O'Brien, and David Letterman. I laugh at Mr. Bean as I do with the late Leslie Nielsen whose comedy-styles are distinctly different. So, I can't really say what is it with the stories in the antho that did not make me laugh.

Getting back to The Mysterious Benedict Society ...

It would seem that I am a late-comer to this rather new kids' series (I don't really read a lot of YA) as the author, Trenton Lee Stewart, has already three books written in the series since he first published it in 2007. The unusual artwork -- a multi-colored rather quirky passenger ship -- was the first thing that caught my attention in the YA section of the bookstore. Later on, I realized this was already the series' second volume. The volume and its artwork was intriguing enough to spur me into a quick Wikipedia search and following a quick scan of the series' synopsis, it immediately became a book on my To-Be-Bought list.

I bought the first volume of the series as my own birthday present late February.

I will most likely finish the stories in the Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves antho one of the these days but it's not something I'll be putting a deadline on. I'll probably be pulling it out of the shelf every now and then to read a story or two (most likely as a break between whatever novel I'll then be currently reading) but there'll be no hurry as my expectations for this antho have just dipped.

* * * *

Another YA I would like to read (and actually have babbled about already in this here blog) is Leviathan by Scott Westerfield which already has spawned a sequel, Behemoth.

Unfortunately, I've already scoured the bookstores and so far, I haven't seen a copy of the book in a more budget-friendly edition. What's available so far is a hardcover edition at over Php 700+, and its Php 600+ cousin in softcover edition. So far, I've yet to find a copy that's below the Php 500 range but nada. So, my next YA purchase might actually be The Search for the Red Dragon by James Owen since nearby bookstores I've been to have already replenished copies of the book.

I guess I'm just learning to appreciate YA reads right now because there wasn't a lot of them when I was a young-adult. Oh sure, there was The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, and yes, Choose Your Own Adventure and Time Machine, but the YA genre right now even bigger, thanks to the popularity of Harry Potter and other reads along the same line. The movie trilogy of The Lord of the Rings might have also helped spur a new generation of readers here in the P.I. that book distributors have also seen a potential money-market in the YA sub-genre hence the current proliferation. Add to that Ms. Meyer's popular vampire series which also spurred a lot of YA in the same mold. Hence, bookstores are devoting dozens of gondolas to YA reads on vampires, bloodsuckers, werewolves, undead, and other things that go bump in the night.

I haven't succumbed yet to the vampire rage (and I don't think I'll be sucked into it either) but I've been devoting a chunk of my time in the bookstore looking for possible fantastic YA reads. Garth Nix's Shade's Children was a terrific read so I might be buying another Nix novel or one of his series soon. Owen's The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series is also on the TBB list along with Neil Gaiman's other YA fares (The Graveyard Book was a good read as well) plus scores of other interesting YA read that I hope I will have enough time to read and enjoy.

* * * *

Have you read yet Gerry Alanguilan's and Arnold Arre's fan-fiction-comic take on Darna? Better see it here.

Absolutely gorgeous -- both the story and the artwork.

According to Gerry, it's a story that's been playing in his mind since '94 and Arnold was the only artist he thought of to work this project with. Both guys worked previously on another Mars Ravelo character, Lastikman, in 2004 and based on what has been produced by both artists in this here fan-comic, they're obviously Darna fans.

The story is a future look into what Darna might have if she had vanquished all her foes, got married, and had children. In DC terms, it's likely to be an ElseWorlds kind of thing.

However, it's only a teaser, a mere 9-page fan fiction that has no blessings of the Mars Ravelo estate. Both Gerry and Arnold did it out of love for the character, expecting no profit or compensation. The duo already has a full story in mind but unless they receive the full blessing of the Ravelo estate to work on the project, we can't expect a new Darna comic or graphic novel any time soon.

For the meantime, cherish this short look into a what if Darna story.

* * * *

I know I talk a lot about books and that this space is already turning into a book blog of sorts. But rest assured, it's still a personal blog where I talk about things I'm passionate about with the occasional rants and fatherly-filled moments.

In the past I've talked about writing, comics, movies, boardgames, music, and a whole lot of other stuff that I've got my eye on but the one thing I know I haven't talked about is a new hobby of mine -- collecting cars.

Not cars as in real cars but model cars -- specifically the 1:64 type, the Hot Wheels and the Matchbox ones, the die-cast ones.

I thought it fitting to finally reveal this new obsession of mine as a recent Hot Wheels purchase last week was already my 10th purchase of such and that, in my opinion, solidified the fact that this collecting-die-cast-cars isn't just a fad but something that has turned into a hobby and a habit.

What cars do I collect?

I've always have had a soft spot for classical cars so I determined easily that I would like to collect cars pre-1961. Ironically, the first car model purchase I made was for a Maisto 1968 Chevrolet Camaro which I bought because it was on sale, a drastic drop from Php 250 to Php 100. Since that purchase however, I've strictly enforced the 1960 and below rule.

Where do I buy my toy cars?

Well, obviously from toy stores like Toy Kingdom, Toy "R" Us, and from Landmark's toy section. But surprisingly, a lot of my purchases have been at Blade stores, you know, the car accessories shop. I've discovered that the Blade stores have lots of car models from previous years available although limited only to the Hot Wheels brand. In most toy stores, they only have stocks for the current year or at least three years back. Another surprise source for toy cars is Comic Alley where they have models cannot be found anywhere. They even have these full die-cast metal Hot Wheels models that sell for Php 300 (most die-cast toys nowadays are made of plastic and metal parts).

There are actually a lot of retailers out here in the P.I. for such a market. The market is even bigger online where you can purchase just about any model car if you had deep enough pockets. Unfortunately, that's one thing that's made my car collecting similar to my other hobbies -- I'm grounded by the fact that I don't really that much spare change for this hobby.

So, while I find myself salivating for a 1950s classic Chevy model from an online US die-cast toy store, I won't be inputting my credit card numbers anytime soon to purchase it. Even when I go around the toy stores, my eyes sparkle when I see model cars from Johnny Lightning, M2M, and Jada but looking at their retail prices make me look the other way. So far, my car purchases have been in the Php 100 range, nothing more. I might splurge one of these days on a more expensive model, most likely one of those full-die-cast ones I saw at Comic Alley but it won't be a regular thing. I'll be sticking to the Php 100-priced ones, for sure. I'll probably be willing to stretch up to Php 150 or maybe even Php 200 but it has to be a model I'll really, really like to buy.

My crop of current collectible cars include a '58 Cadillac Eldorado, a '32 Ford Vicky, a '36 Cord 810 Sedan, a '38 Phantom Corsair, a '59 Impala, among others.

* * * *

It'll be an interesting couple of weeks for the family at the little apartment.

Our children's yaya and all-around kasambahay is off for a two-week vacation at her province in Mindanao and my wife's nephew (who had been with us for the last couple of years) has returned to his family in Misamis Occidental. So, aside from Elvie and the kids, those left in the apartment who'll be experiencing this next couple of weeks are my in-laws (father, mother, and sister).

I say interesting because it'll mean we'll be doing a bit more share of the household chores for the next couple of weeks. Thank goodness that school is out so that's already the hatid-sundo aspect crossed out. I'm guessing it's going to be a more hands-on approach on the kids that's going to happen plus most likely the weekend laundry.

What'll be more interesting and challenging would be how our daughter, Ikai, will be handling the absence of her cousin. This early, one day after Mark has left, she already misses him and last night she cried about. It's hard on her to handle such an emotion -- the absence of a loved one -- this early in her life, and not knowing how to handle the sadness, she's lashing out at everyone.

So, this couple of weeks will be about understanding our daughter's fits and yes, lots and lots of patience.

music man 2: now amped with guitar

Thanks to a new guitar (courtesy of Paolo Santos who is not that Paolo Santos but a colleague and buddy of mine), I have been tracing back my music roots.

When I had some time for myself middle of last week, when not busy trying to figure out the chords to May Bukas Pa, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and Little Einsteins (requests by my little daughter for our sing-along sessions), I tried to reminisce and play back the songs I composed eons ago -- although these songs I'm talking about were not exactly my old band's fare but personal compositions of mine.

Side note: Yes, I was in a band, you can read about it here.

That's the music man in me talking, of course.

When not engaged in world-delving or writing or blogging or in being a husband and father, music is another so-called artistic outlet of mine. Sidetracked for some time thanks to an inability to purchase a guitar (either due to lack of resources or willpower depending on the situation), the new spanking, black Silvertone acoustic metal twanger (pictured here) has got me rocking to music again.

Of course, I expect my fret-fingers to accustom themselves again to the fret-board (bleed and then harden to calluses, most likely) and I still have difficulty with doing the bar chords (the Bs and Fs along with their flats and sharps and their diminishes and majors) but like they say, "no pain, no gain". In no time for sure, I'll be back to doing my evening-long sessions with mi gitara. Probably, singing for my wife and my daughter (aarghh, still can't find the chords to Dibo the Gift Dragon).

Lest you think I'm some kind of guitar virtuoso, let me re-wire your perception. I am no guitar guru. I don't even really know how to read tabs -- I'm a caveman when it comes to these things. I'm more of a "chords" man and my personal reason for learning to play the guitar is not to do covers or mimic a guitar hero that I idolize but more to explore my creative side.

I play the guitar to play my own songs. I play the guitar to write down my own ideals, my own aspiration, about things that make me happy and stuff that make me love. I play the guitar for my own satisfaction and if in the process of my rather narcissistic musical quests someone feels happy, then that makes me happy as well.

I write about loves, lost and found ones; about life and its ups and downs; about situations that catch my fancy or tickle my imagination; about people and about places. I write dark songs (which I did for my old band) and I write novelty-sounding songs. I don't come up with overly complicated songs that highlight my skill with the guitar and its strings as I sorely lack such talent. Instead I come up with songs that allow the poet in me to come out. I play with words and I let music accompany those words and not the other way around.

And most of the songs I write end up being in Filipino. Filipino (and thereby Tagalog), in my opinion, is a great language to use when coming up with words and lyrics as the language is witty, rich and filled with nuances that you can say things one way but mean it another way. You have your choice of words from colloquial to the deep and how you mix and match them is an art in itself that makes whatever composition come out as a double artwork -- the melody and the words themselves.

And here's a little something I crudely recorded using Audacity (a great app I previously talked about here).

A little backgrounder: I was inspired to write this song after several nights (more accurately wee mornings) of watching the then Cheri Mercado (now Mercado-Santos) doing her middle-of-midnight news broadcast program "Global News" for ABS-CBN around 1997 (or '98) and my own musings on how tough it would have been for her to stay pretty, read her lines, and deliver everything in perfect English when at the back of her mind she could have been thinking "Who the heck is watching this news program anyway at this ungodly hour?". Well, I was watching. And I was admiring her for her tenacity at doing what she was doing and those thoughts fueled this short and upbeat tune.

Lyrics below, just in case you can't understand what I am hollerin' about in this song. I own the copyright to this song, the lyrics, the tune and all. And there's no mistaking it's my voice you'll hear.

Numero_Uno_(Alay kay Cheri Mercado) - Ram Ragandan


NUMERO UNO (Alay kay Cheri Mercado)

Alas-dose y media ng hatinggabi
Nang makita kita sa TV
Namumugto iyong mata
Siguradong napuyat ka na naman ‘di ba?

O pilit na pilit gisingin
Mga mata upang basahin
Mga letrang nagliliitan
Paano mo nagagawa ‘yan?

Pinipilit na ngumiti
Kahit hikab gustong gawin ng mga labi
Ako’y iyong pinahanga
Dahil pag-i-Ingles mo ay derecho pa

O pilit na pilit gisingin
Mga mata upang basahin
Mga letrang nagliliitan
Paano mo nagagawa ‘yan?

Kaya ngayon ako’y sumasabay
Sa iyong paglalamay
Para masabi mo naman
Merong nanunuod kahit isa lang

Kahit isa lang
At ako ‘yan
Your number one fan

productive?

It has been a rather "productive" weekend.

But it's not the kind of productivity that one would expect of a husband who has stayed home for two days (with house chores just waiting to be done). No, the productivity I am talking about deals with "creative" productivity.

The productivity in question involved a personal project that has been in the pipeline for quite some time (and it's not Friendster, despite my sudden addictiveness to this social networking platform) -- getting around to recording my original compositions and the first step to that personal endeavor has been to twiddle and fiddle with this nifty gadget which I blogged about, I think, last year -- Audacity.

Using just my office laptop (the IT guys will kill me for what I'm doing to this makina), a simple pair of headset with mic, and an installed Audacity software (freeware, downloaded from their site), I have managed to finally figure out that I can indeed record (ala recording studio style) and save it. You can then (using 3rd party plug-ins and DLL files) export (aka Save As) it as either a .wav file (which makes the file a HDD space hogger) or a more manageable .mp3 file.

As soon as more alone time permits, I will do further experimentation on Audacity especially to figure out how to record and mix tracks or elements (adding second vocals to an earlier recorded voice and guitar accompaniment and then later on, adding a bass line).

I think I wasted about four hours of the Saturday afternoon just playing and fiddling with the audio recording/editing software and with my old battered guitar "recorded" some songs -- covers and originals -- but since I've been out of practice (guitar-wise, lyric-wise and vocal-wise), decided they were not worthy to be "broadcasted".

I however did a sample case, tripping on Five for Fighting's "Easy Tonight" which I think is, among all the songs I recorded, presentable. Sunday, utilizing Imeem's upload facility managed to have it converted into an "embeddable" file.

This is not the entire song but a portion of it -- I even started the darn thingy in the pre-chorus part leading into the chorus before launching into the third stanza before ending it in a chorus.

Wala lang, trip-trip lang.

itching to play demons

Aiming to de-stress from the hustle and bustle (not to mention the seemingly demotivating atmosphere) of the office, I decided to don my earphones, whipped out a long-forgotten CD of MP3 recordings which I entitled "Alternative Stretch". Obviously, the songs in this CD collection were alternative songs -- which is a relative term of course. My personal view of an alternative song is that it doesn't fall at least into any of these genres: soft rock, glam rock, new wave, metal, hardcore, punk or grunge. Nowadays, the genre I'm talking about is sometimes labeled emo. But heck, what's with labels anyway, right? As long as it's not operatic or trance music then it might be worth listening too no matter the label.

The songs in the CD included songs by 311, Our Lady Peace, Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, Flaming Lips, Biffy Clyro, and others. However, one song caught anew my attention and that song was Guster's Demons.

A hauntingly beautiful song (albeit a bit difficult to croon because of the high key) I was surprised to find out that the entire heck of the song only had four chords - Am - F - C - G! Very basic ones at that!

Previous attempts at finding chords were nil -- all that was available on music and guitar sites were tabs and I am an idiot when it comes to reading such. So, I was very, very pleased to finally figure out that the heck of the song was so simple that why didn't I think of just trying to pluck out the tune from air (aka kapain).

So, after listening to the song for a few more spins (or clicks of the WinAmp rewind button), I made up my mind to dust off the guitar from its hanging place when I get home and give it a go. Now, those who've been reading this blog know the state of the old guitar at home (agh, another reminder that I still need to buy a new guitar!!!) and braving the blisters that were soon to appear, I played out Demons (with the accompanying yoodle, of course).

Here are the lyrics of Guster's Demons, followed by a video of the band playing the acoustic version of the song that you can sing-along with:

DEMONS by Guster
from the album Goldfly (1996)

My words confuse you
My eyes don’t move a blink
Cause it’s easier sometimes
Not to be sincere
Somehow I make you believe ... believe

When I speak I cross my fingers
Will you know you’ve been deceived?
I find a need to be the demon
A demon cannot be hurt

Honest is easy
Fiction is where genius lies
Cause it’s easier sometimes
Not to be involved
Somehow I make you believe ... believe

When I speak I cross my fingers
Will you know you’ve been deceived?
I find a need to be the demon
A demon cannot be hurt

being kicked out because of gnr

I almost got kicked out of school because of the Gun N Roses song Sweet Child o' Mine.

This happened way, way back in high school in Colegio San Agustin - Binan (nowadays, they refer to the school as CSA-Southwoods, pa-sosyal pa!) when I was part of our batch's band, the Hexxad.

A bit of a backgrounder: CSA, like all other Catholic educational institutions is run by priests. In the case of CSA, it is run by the Order of Augustinians who try (notice the italization? I've got a lot against CSA-Binan's particular OSAians) to emulate their patron St. Augustine.

Of course, being a Catholic school, there are rules and regulation that should be followed by its Catholic student populace and this included the types of music that can be listened to, performed in public and generally, "allowed".

This particular incident of me almost getting kicked out happened during the annual Ms. CSA -- a beauty pageant held to determine who's the brightest and loveliest of CSA's female populace (before they made it a fund-raising program which declared the winner as the one who sold the most tickets) -- and our band, Hexxad, was picked to perform during the show.

That era was, of course, glam rock era and the likes of Guns N Roses, Poison, and Jon Bon Jovi were the rave and idols of many wannabes -- us included (our repertoire included such beautiful music as Knockin' on Heaven's Door, I'll Be There for You, November Rain ... catch the drift yet?). And so, when we learned that we were to perform at the Ms. CSA Pageant we chose three cover songs -- Sweet Child of Mine by GNR, Losing My Religion by REM, and if I recall correctly, Isang Bangka by the Dawn.

The choice of Losing My Religion was an obvious attack at the institution running CSA. That was the reason Losing My Religion was the 3rd song in the lineup (Isang Bangka was first). But we never expected Sweet Child of Mine to be the catalyst that would've meant our expulsion from school.

The choice of performing rock songs was already a red flag for our beloved Father Rector and Principal and the rest of the Augustinian priestly community watching the pageant but the whole gang lost its temper when during the interlude of SWoM, I started gyrating onstage ala Axl Rose, dancing with the mic stand and doing all sorts of rockesque antics -- I don't know what came over me but I felt one with the music and that memorable "lead" part mesmerized me into nothingness that I just floated into air.

No, I was not high. I was not drunk. I was not on drugs.

But the Augustinian fathers thought I was since my onstage antics rubbed off on my fellow band-mates and in intance we were "nagwawala" -- going agog -- on stage. Our lead guitarist decided to swagger ala Slash and our bassist was head-banging as if he wanted his head to fall off. Adi, our drummer, was banging away like a maniac.

Up the stage stalked the school's Rector-Principal and demanded that the curtains be closed while we were still finishing the song. The crowd went wild. The last thing I remember before being hustled off stage was looking furiously at our Rector-Principal and basically stamping like mad.

And then we walked out of the stage and out of the gym where the pageant was being held. We didn't finish the pageant and that marked the end of my banding days in high school.

For the next couple of days (which was fortunately a weekend), I blew off my steam and my disappointment. Monday the week following, my band-mates and I found ourselves inside the Guidance Counsellor's office being adviced upon to allow our general common sense and practicality to prevail. We were due for a meeting with the Rector-Principal over our antics at the pageant and the Guidance Counsellor strongly advised humility and to seek for forgiveness.

While we initially wanted to protest and voice the injustice brought about by the prayle system (friar system: during the Philippines' Spanish colonial regime, schools were run by friars or priests), we relented and good sense prevailed (imagine the fiasco that incident would've created with our hardworking parents had we steadfastly refused to bow down).

We finally met with the Rector-Principal and made peace with him. He had initially wanted to expel all of us from school on the suspicion of drug use but was prevailed upon by the faculty and others who knew us that we were just kids who loved that type of music and didn't mean to be discourteous or disrespectful.

Lessons learned, the band and I kept our rock antics out of the school thereafter.

Here's to reliving high school days --

music man

As I enjoy my last day of a two-day leave from the office checking and answering emails (what kinda vacation leave is that?!) this Friday afternoon, I am listening to a recording of songs which I've composed, sung, guitared, and primitively recorded during my college days -- more than a decade ago.

And I once again go off to a dreamy daze as I remember my long-hair days in Peyups as a member of alt-rock band Hampas Dugo (literally translates into Strike Blood) and former band-mates Wendell (lead vocals), Val (lead guitars), Gen (bass), and Christian (drums). I played the rhythm section and was secondary vocals -- singing my own songs, of course.

Out of the 12 or so pondo songs we had (all originals), two were my compositions -- Gaya-Gaya (Copycat) and Pesimistiko (Pessimistic) -- the rest were written and sung by Wends. And during gigs, my two songs were interspersed in the song line-up to allow Wends to rest his vocal chords because, truth be told, our songs were not the mainstream types. While we were not the type that screamed their lyrics, our originals were more on the heavier side -- mixing heavy metal with a bit of glam and folk. Wends' songs were what I referred to as socially-conscious with titles like Timbangan (Weighing Scales), Bangungot (Nightmare) and Berdugo (Executioner). But he also showed his easy-go-lucky and uhm, gago side, with songs Nabuburat (Pissed Off) and Lango (Drunk).

Gaya-Gaya was probably the most pop-ish in HD's song line-up with traces of E-Heads and Yano in its tune and lyrics. I originally wrote and performed it for a Communications class and somehow, my future band-mates felt it was a good mix. The other song I sung, Pesimistiko, was typical angsty Ram. Originally, a very slow tune, the guys mixed it up during a semi-hiatus I had due to chicken pox and when I returned two weeks later, they arranged Pesimistiko in such a way that it became a precursor of what was to become rap-metal. It became a jazzy fusion thing and was actually fun to sing -- I was almost rapping it, actually.

HD enjoyed a full two years with its original line-up, developing a bit of a cult following in the UP College of Mass Communications where many friends and college-mates watched our performances in and out of campus. We managed a couple of gigs in then Club Dredd Timog and composed and recorded a version of the DZUP station ID. At that time, our contemporaries were Tungaw, Fatal Posporos, Agnus Dei and the now extremely famous and prolific Parokya ni Edgar.

Unfortunately, the band, like I said, lasted only a couple of years as other priorities set in. I was the first to leave the band, opting to concentrate on finishing my degree in four years. A full-time commitment to a band was not what my parents had in mind for me, and I myself didn't see a future whereby a long-haired Ram would still be holding an electric guitar and making the rounds of the rock scene. There was also a falling out between our vocalist and our lead guitars, something that had been brewing for the longest time, and the latter decided to part ways with the band he had co-formed.

Wends, Gen and Christian actually continued with HD even after Val and I left. They picked up a new guitarist and their music became punkier although their heavy metal tone remained. Even after I graduated, Wends led the band into several more gigs until the band had to really dissolve when Wends finally got his diploma in 1998 or early 1999.

Since college, I've not made any attempts at forming a band or becoming part of one. I've been busy with corporate life and now as I have my own family, that has permanently sealed the door to such ventures. I will however welcome an opportunity to sing or play again, just give me enough time to practice. And I will continue to write songs when I can. And I will record all the songs I've thus written so far, along with any other song I will write in the future.

The music man may have left his band, but the man has not left his music.

Cheers, repapips!

party and the day after

Home on a Tuesday.

Yes, it's true and that's because someone or some two or three obliged to warble Jon Bon Jovi songs to appease the delightfully-drunk bosses. The reward -- a company holiday ... at least for many but I just received word that our IT guys are reportedly coming in and of course, our customer support and operations people still have to go on shift ... tough luck for them. But for the rest of us, it's a rest day after a night of partying.

I no longer was there when the Bon Jovi warbling began. My staff, Janie and Joyce, plus Weng, texted in the good news of a holiday around 4am when I was already asleep and probably several decibels in snorks. I received the news when I got around 7am this morning.

Last night was the corporate Christmas Party at Strumms and despite the absence of the big bosses, it was a jolly, good time especially for many people there who have never ever experienced a corporate party before either because they were rookies or their previous employments never believe in fun after a hard day's work. For veterans like myself, it was a welcome change as I was there to enjoy, hope to win one of the good prizes (which of course, didn't happen and the Nanos, the Shuffles, the plasma TV, the DVD players, the cellphones and the PSPs all went to others including two of my staff), get boozed up a little, get fed (nothing spectacular though with Strumm's fare), and party. I did dance a little but since my capacity for rhythmic movement with my feet is limited to a few sways and swings, I decided the leave the dance floor after a few minutes and watched from the sidelines as the real party-goers partied.

Asia Agcaoili was also at the party as a special guest and her presence upped the temperature considerably. She even managed to get one of our bosses half-undressed and poor fella just didn't know how to handle the mischievous vixen.

I did go home with an extra Php 200 which was the prize for the music trivia game of which I was a part of.

When the clock struck 1am, I decided to call it quits and headed for home.

Janie reported that the partying and dancing extended until 3am and many of my respected colleagues apparently reverted to drunkards by that time. It was around this time that the holiday Tuesday was announced. Strumm's closed at 4am with still stragglers being shooed home.

In my experience, the highlight of a corporate December is the Christmas Party and when that's done things in office seem to die down. But with the IPO scheduled for next week, I do doubt things will be quieter anyway.

But that's a thought for tomorrow. Today, I rest and enjoy the free day!

matic i like it

Super Pinoy band, Cambio, recently released their second offering “Matic”, some three years after their well-received debut album “Derby Light”.

Cambio is composed of ex-Eraserheads Raimund Marasigan (drums) and Buddy Zabala (bass) with Kris Gorra-Dancel (lead vocals and guitars) of Fatal Posporos fame, Sugarfree frontman Ebe Dancel (vocals and lead guitars), and completing the cast is Diego Mapa of Monsterbot and Pedicab (vocals, guitars and effects). Now wonder, the moniker superband or supergroup can’t be discounted.

Like their previous album, Matic dishes out an eclectic array of musical musings. And no one can doubt that the influence of the different bands from which the members come from is quite loud and clear. Pedicab’s discotechish resonance is evidenced in the songs Totoy Boogie and Bulimic. On the other hand, the Sandwich and Monsterbot rock-and-roll gusto is present in songs Admit One Thing, Rumarampa, Passengers and Pasaway. Echoes of Fatal Posporos (most probably because how Kris sings them) can be traced in Shopaholica and Pasaway. I however failed to notice the classic Ebe-Sugarfree influence. And though the lyrics of the song seem E-headish, the Eraserhead sound is not present.

If it sounds like Cambio is no more than a clone of the aforementioned bands, they are not.

Very fresh on the ears however is You Wear Me which starts off with a drum sequence very reminiscent of Sugarfree but as soon as the vocals kick in – jazz and pop-rock fusion?

All the fusion of influences has however developed a distinct Cambio sound – an amalgamation of all the good things we love about the other bands the Cambio members come from – the pop-like yet message-laden lyrics of Eraserheads, the punk rockiness of Fatal, the grungy and rock-and-roll laden attitude of Sandwich, the electricity of Monsterbot and the passion of Sugarfree.

Listen to Call Center, Rumarampa, Field Trip and Sakanasabi and you’ll get my drift on what the Cambio sound is. It’s not distinctly Sandwich or Monsterbot or Sugarfree or Fatal Posporos but something in between that can only be described as Cambio. Eraserhead in thought and concept (and lyrics) probably, but certainly no Eraserheads.

My final thoughts? If you liked Derby Light you’ll also like Matic.

Wednesday Warbles: Moving Again and Other Tales

The Big Move
The big move is this coming Saturday.

After a two-month waiting period, the transfer to a new, and hopefully better, apartment is this coming Saturday with a pre-transfer of some smaller items starting this Friday evening.

This week will be a busy one as we are preparing all the household stuff that needs packing like ceramic-ware, silverware, cook-ware and yes, even a majority of the clothes have been stuffed into boxes leaving only the necessities unpacked like those that will get worn to the office this entire week.

But there’s still a lot of packing to do and the rush-rush will most probably hit us this coming Friday and Saturday (until noon). After lunch, my wife and baby along with the yaya and the in-laws will be going on ahead to the new apartment and leave me with the moving crew who will come in later in the early evening.

The only problem I have is the transfer of my cable internet connection which entails a payment of Php 1,500 which I can’t spare right now. I already wrote MyDestiny about this problem and hopefully they can solve this one for me.

The transfer will also mean that we will be switching cable TV service from the current SkyCable one to the Global-Destiny one as it is the best cable TV service we can afford. So, bye-bye Animax and Hero Channels. Bye-bye Lifestyle Channel, NatGeo, AXN and Cinemax. But welcome back Discovery Travel & Living which is one of my favourite cable channels along with Discovery, AXN and CNN. I’m still hoping that Solar Sports and ESPN are indeed available already on Global Destiny as advertised on their website.


Dredd is Back
Hey, hey, hey Club Dredd is back!

Unfortunately, it’s in Eastwood Libis, QC which makes it suspect – sosyal na ang Club Dredd!

According to the PDI website article, it’s now located a floor below Gweilos in Libis and now boasts improved amenities like a working CR, real air-conditioning and adequate parking.

The return of the Dredd will be very much welcomed by old-timers and younger rakistas alike. This is the same Dredd who gave rise to now legendary names such as the Eraserheads, Teeth, Wolfgang, and Parokya ni Edgar as well as to some now almost forgotten ones like the Youth, Yano, Tungaw, and Fatal Posporos (although from the Club Dredd site it was mentioned that Fatal performed last Friday, July 13).

This is the third incarnation of the popular rock joint. It had its birth along Timog Avenue QC (never had the chance to be there) before closing and reopening along EDSA in Cubao (the place is now a firing range/ shooting gallery). It’s latest version, according to owner Patrick Riedenbach, is new and improved as he and the rest of the owners have already learned from lessons brought about by the earlier two Dredds.

The new Club Dredd, aside from the aforementioned amenities, now features a better sound system and food and drinks are to be operated by the Gweilos Group. I expect the Dredd to sport Gweilos prices as well.

But the philosophy of Club Dredd is maintained, meaning that it will still be a haven for rock n’ roll especially for up-and-coming groups. The owners expect to load the club with a mix of old and new talents and will continue to advocate “originals” as opposed to “covers”.

As a once-upon-a-time rocker in college, I did manage to have 15-minutes of fame (so to speak) at the Dredd twice. As vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Hampas Dugo, my band-mates and I shared a couple of nights with the likes of Tungaw, Fatal Posporos, Agnus Dei and then cheeky and musically-challenged Parokya ni Edgar. More than 10 years later, Parokya ni Edgar is now one of the country’s most successful bands, Fatal Posporos are still here then and now, Tungaw is a fond memory, while Agnus Dei and my band are no-heards.


8 Months and Counting
Today, my baby daughter, Ikai, celebrates her 8th month.

She now is able to crawl, dance, sing, giggle, laugh, squeal, tumble, stand up (by hanging onto something or someone), walk (with help, of course), sit, drum the table, drum the wall, shout, grin, close-open her hands, kick, squirm (from someone’s grasp), lunge, do a jump-like motion, say “mama” and “papa”, appreciate TV commercials, grasp objects, turn her stuffed-toy caterpillar into a teether, finish 6 ounces of milk, strike a pa-cute pose with her hand on her cheek, put her foot in her mouth, and lots of other things some of which are quite advanced for someone of her age.

World-Building
Watching a portion of a National Geographic show about planets fuelled an idea for a new fantasy world that I hope to build and develop as preparation for my (hopefully) upcoming venture into fantasy fiction-writing.

Instead of starting on work this morning in the office, I allocated about three quarters of my first office hour to jotting down and sketching the rough ideas that came suddenly as a result of the NatGeo show last night.

Once I get my “world” made up and done, I can begin the writing process which begins with fulfilling the regular formula for epic fantasy as penned by one of my favourite fantasy authors, David Eddings, in his book the Rivan Codex:

• the underlying Theology
• the Quest
• the Magic “Thingamajigger”
• the Hero
• the Resident Wizard
• the Heroine
• the Villain, usually with some diabolical agenda
• the Companions, generally a multi-cultural crew who can protect the hero until he is old enough to do the killing himself
• the Romantic Interests for the Companions wherein both Companions and their Romantic Interests must be well-rounded groups, with individualized personalities and flaws
• the kings, queens, generals, courtiers and such, who make up the governments of the world

Read Wikipedia’s page about Eddings here.

Becoming Lost
In another addictive frenzy attack, my wife and I finished all the remaining episodes of Lost: Season 3 in a marathon 6-hour stretch which began on a Saturday evening at 10pm and ended at 4am the next day.

And as the reviews have touted, the third season picked up in pace and action and more questions as the episodes progressed, ending in an unusual twist of an ending – instead of a flashback, the series ended in a flash-forward!

Yes, more questions arose beginning with “What the @#$% happened?”

Now, we can’t await for the return of Lost for its fourth season.

Nifty Recording Tool Found!

A query of "free recording software" turned up several interesting finds on Yahoo, but what caught my fancy was this nifty little site called Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net).

Why the heck am I looking for a recording software, you may ask? The answer, later on in this entry, folks.

Anyway, the website proceeds to inform me that Audacity is "The Free, Cross-Platform Sound Editor". It also tells me that "Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds." Cool!

Seconds later, I have already downloaded the basic Audacity installer and several plug-ins (which I intend to tinker with later on). And several more seconds later, I had Audacity installed and running to perfection.

Now comes the juicy part of testing the dang thang. Not bothering to read the Read Me and other instructions, I tinker with the menu and the many buttons on the software interface. Thank goodness for the auto-balloons that pop-up when you point your cursor on a particular button or symbol. Otherwise, I would've spent a better part of the hour figuring where's the recording button (which was really stupid of me in the first place because like in any other audio device, the "record" button was symbolized by a big friggin' dot that stared down my nose).

Clicking on the red button, I started mumbling and talking and reached a cresendo with a stifled shout. Then I hit the stop button and played back to check if my blabberings were recorded -- SUCCESS! The recording was crystal clear.

I then decided to open one of my MP3s -- Coldplay's acoustic version of the song Yellow -- to check out the additional features. Even more fun! I had Chris Martin singing with a ghost thanks to the echo effect. Another feature and I had the Coldplay frontman gasping as I upped the tempo.

Neat gadget this Audacity! Check out this amazing free software here.

And why was I looking for a free recording software in the first place? That's because I am planning to digitize some of the compositions that I have ... errr ... composed. And a recording studio would just be a waste of money and time as I will definitely choke if someone else was present while I was recording. With Audacity, I can finally realize my dreams of coming out with a CD of my own song compilation at a very cheap price :D