December 2007 Archives

By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net A GROUP of Filipino new media artists is set to explore the digital sonic landscape in another performance in Manila next year, just a day after the New Year. Blum Borres, member of the New Media Arts Manila, said the group is staging a "digital fireworks" with the second installment of its "Electrostatic Sound Conference," which put simply is an orchestra of sound art using today's digital technology. Sound artists the Children of the Cathode Ray (CCR) will also play during next year's performance and pay homage to experimental filmmaker, animator and art icon Rox Lee, Borres said. According to organizers of the performance, the CCR will provide live score to "Lizard and Ink," which are "two early works that showcase the lyrical and abrasive sides of the man who has inspired and influenced many of today's contemporary artists." The organizers also said that CCR will provide some background sound to "iterations of Tad Ermitaño's generative video installation cum mutation, dubbed 'permutation.'" "The installation features a probabilistic editing algorithm coded by Ermitaño, which creates live variations of the classic narrative. Mutation's videos are the first Philippine videos to be edited by artificial intelligence," the organizers said. Canada's Maggot Breeder, which is led by Filipino-Canadian Reuel Ordoñez, will also perform using the guitar as the "primary sound source." Organizers said Maggot Breeder features a "dark yet oddly serene soundscape," which aims to evoke images of war, conflict, pain, despair and suffering. Other performers include Lirio Salvador, who is known as a sculptor and luthier who has created ornate, chrome-plated instruments that have been shown in galleries and on television. Lirio is a member of Elemento. Salvador will perform alongside Jonjie Ayson. Erick Calilan, who is also known as Ugong, is also set to demonstrate his circuit-bent tweaking of custom lunch-box-plastic-toy electronics during the performance. Borres said the Electrostatic Sound Conference will happen on Jan. 2, 2008, 8:30 p.m at Club Dredd in Eastwood, Libis, Quezon City.

CHECK out this video taken by INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Erika Tapalla. Erika convinced Terno Recordings artists (in order of appearance) Swissy; Radioactive Sago Project trombonist Pards Tupas and trumpet player Wowie Ansano; Up Dharma Down lead female vocalist Armi Millare; and Giniling Festival to sing Christmas songs after their gig at Route 196 in Katipunan, Quezon City.
Online Videos by Veoh.com Merry Christmas, everyone!

By Abigail Kwok INQUIRER.net WHY is it that good bands eventually break up? It is a common sight, not just here but also abroad, for popular bands to eventually disband. It could be that a member leaves for “greener pastures” or to “pursue a different career path.” Nevertheless, it is a sad sight to see that those who leave are the front men and the songwriters. Once they leave, the band is rendered helpless. Some pick up the pieces and find a replacement, while others just simply pack up their bags and head home. Take The Beatles, for example. The Beatles, admit it or not, are nothing without Paul McCartney and John Lennon. When The Beatles eventually disbanded after the production of their last studio album, Abbey Road, everyone decided to try and make it on their own. Each Beatles member produced his own solo album, but not all of them became a big hit. In fact, it was just McCartney and Lennon’s solo albums that clicked with the listening audience (you can just imagine how Lennon was such a phenomenon back then). One alternative is that, when someone from the band leaves, the others will find a good replacement. Truth be told, though, finding a replacement is not always a great option. Some replacements just don’t click with the listeners, so the band ends up being a flop. It is very rare to see a band be able to pick up the pieces after its main man leaves. That’s why many were impressed with Rivermaya. Rivermaya has undergone several changes internally. Band members came and went, but when front man Bamboo Mañalac decided to leave the band, everyone thought the band was headed downhill. But they were able to find a great replacement through Rico Blanco. Blanco carried the band after Bamboo left, even changing the band’s image to carry the label, “Ang Banda ng Bayan.” Just this year, Blanco announced that he will be leaving the band. All good things come to an end, so they say, but the band never let this bring them down. They launched a reality show to look for an able replacement of Blanco. Just recently, Rivermaya named a new front man in the form of 18-year-old Jayson Fernandez. But before completely absorbing Fernandez, Rivermaya released a single titled Sayang, which upon first hearing you won’t think that it’s Rivermaya! The band sounds completely different minus Blanco. Admittedly, I first thought it was Hale. Kudos to the band, though, for being able to pull things together even without the popular Blanco. Here’s the very heart-wrenching music video. Fernandez was handpicked by the remaining band members themselves to replace Blanco. Also recently, Rivermaya released its latest single titled "Sugal ng Kapalaran," sung by newest front man Fernandez. In fact, Rivermaya got to a great start as the opening act in the recent concert here of Vertical Horizon. Fernandez is different from Blanco, who has a melodic and hypnotizing voice. But admittedly, Fernandez brings in a fresher and a different side of Rivermaya. But since Fernandez is relatively new, he has yet to hear the criticism that all artists experience in the entertainment industry.

By Abigail Kwok INQUIRER.net WHATEVER happened to first-ever "Philippine Idol" winner Mau Marcelo? After ABC 5 aired the pilot series of "Philippine Idol" last year, everyone thought that it would be just like "American Idol," with winners becoming instant celebrities: instant access to elusive fame, so to speak. So during the show’s finale, everyone held their breath and crossed their fingers as the 27-year-old Marcelo belted her way through three songs she was required to sing. It was her third song choice -- Whitney Houston’s “Try It on My Own” -- that won her the coveted crown, besting two male contenders, Gian Magdangal and Jan Nieto. When Marcelo was declared champion, everyone watched as she cried ala Miss Universe and, in between tears, sang her winning piece. After that fateful night at the Araneta Coliseum, everyone had high hopes for her. But days, weeks, and months passed, nothing was heard from the “Soul Idol” or “Black Belter.” It was just this year that Marcelo finally released her first album under Sony BMG titled “On My Own.” She recently released her first single, “I Shine for You.” Sadly, since ABC 5 is not as popular as networks ABS-CBN and GMA 7, Marcelo wasn’t given full exposure. She appeared, though, in some shows from these top networks, so she gained a little bit of career boost. But other than that, Marcelo was lying low. This is a surprise since Idol runner-up Magdangal was able to land a regular stint in GMA 7’s SOP. Talk about a major ego slump, right? But Marcelo finally got a chance to “shine for us” once again as she heads to Indonesia for the "Asian Idol" competition this month. Marcelo will compete against other "Idol" winners from Asia, including "Malaysian Idol," "Indonesian Idol," and "Singapore Idol," among others. But since "Asian Idol" will be aired by ABC 5 here, the question of exposure then comes to mind. Because, the truth hurts; since ABC 5 is not as high-profile as the other networks, Marcelo might not get the fan support she badly needs. But the Philippines is the texting capital of the world, so it will be a cinch for Marcelo to win, right? Let’s cross our fingers again, shall we? The 2nd season of "Philippine Idol" may be more promising, especially since GMA 7 will now be airing it. After beating ABC 5, GMA 7 will finally air the show, giving Idol that much-needed publicity boost. Admittedly, though, the Philippine music scene is distinctly different from the American music scene. Great artists here are so rare. Most of the artists coming out offer nothing but played-out (or gasgas in Filipino) versions of old, popular songs. Remixes are what mostly define the Philippine music industry. That’s why I really look up to singers and bands like Yeng Constantino and Bamboo. Not only do they have great voices but they also have the songwriting or composing skills -- something which is a rarity these days. But my standards are utterly high, I know. It’s unfair to compare our local artists with international ones. Ours have a distinct sound quality that is also great. We are fans novelty songs like “Papaya,” “Itaktak Mo,” and “Boom Tarat.” We patronize dance albums “made” by John Pratts, Edu Manzano, and Mark Herras. Other people may laugh at us, but this just explains why Filipinos are the 2nd happiest people in Asia. We appreciate seemingly mundane things in order to forget our life problems. Meanwhile, in America, we hear loads of hard rock, heavy metal, emo songs that talk about love lost and life’s failures. Which is better? You be the judge.

By Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net UPDATE: Editor's note: Corrected Neil Schon to Neal Schon. Thanks to reader Ana for the heads up. WHO would have thought YouTube would make for a good audition tape? As reported by Blabbermouth, the band Journey found a new lead singer in Arnel Pineda. Simple story, really. Arnel's band The Zoo posts videos of them covering Journey songs on YouTube, Neal Schon (guitarist for the real Journey) sees them and boom!, somebody's dream comes true. Here's the story in Neal's own words: "I was frustrated about not having a singer so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, 'he can't be that good.' But he is that good, he's the real deal and so tremendously talented. Spicing up the story further, it was one of Arnel's bandmates who saw Neal's message on YouTube and immediately SMSed him about it. Who would have thought, right? But they did fire Neil an e-mail and the rest is history. Arnel becomes the latest Journey front man after Jeff Scott Soto, Steve Augeri and of course, Steve Perry. The band is currently working on an album due '08. Check out this video of Arnel and his band during a local gig.

By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net AMERICAN alternative rock band Vertical Horizon is scheduled to play in Manila on Dec. 7, 2007 at the Araneta Coliseum. This 90s band whose popular songs include "Everything You Want" and "You're a God" (which was included on the "Bruce Almighty" soundtrack) will only play for one night. PhilMusic has posted details on this interesting performance, which brings back post-college memories (especially for people my age, hehe). Jamie Kennedy (yes of "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment") will be the frontline act along with popular Pinoy band Rivermaya with its new vocal singer Jayson Fernandez. So if you love Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, or Third Eye Blind, Vertical Horizon is a lot like these bands. Their laidback beat complements their acoustic guitar-driven rhythm and powerful vocal harmonies. In the re-released album called "Go 2.0," songs like "Sunshine" would showcase the band's "heavy" side. Scannell and Kane, however, are in top form whenever they whip out their acoustic guitars and sing melodic harmonies. Compare two versions of the"Better When You're Not There" in the "Go 2.0" album. You'll hear the difference. Also, check out "Forever" on their MySpace profile. You'll understand what hooks people on their own flavor of alternative rock.