October 2008 Archives

By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines--Following the news that Rivermaya has parted ways with its manager Liza Nakpil, a controversy over who owns the Rivermaya trademark has started brewing. A check with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) website shows that former manager Liza Nakpil has applied for the trademark “Rivermaya” on July 7, 2008 under the “Entertainment” classification of goods. According to the IPO, the trademark application of Nakpil is “for updating,” which, according to intellectual property expert and lawyer Jun Rodriguez, indicates that the application is awaiting publication. Meanwhile, the same search on the trademark "Riverymaya" produces another applicant, Mark Edward Escueta who is a member of the band. A closer look reveals that his application is still “pending.” Escueta applied for trademark application on October 10, 2008, and has classified the trademark name "Rivermaya" under “clothing, footwear, headgear” and “entertainment.” In all trademark applications, the rule of thumb is “first to file,” Rodriguez added. As of this writing, officials at the Bureau of Trademarks of the IPO are unavailable for comment.

Breaking news: Filipino rock band Rivermaya has left their manager Lizza Nakpil. Excerpt:

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) More than a year after Rivermaya front man Rico Blanco left to pursue a solo career, it’s now the other members’ turn to take drastic action. No, none of them is about to leave the band again. Instead, they have decided to part ways with manager Lizza Nakpil. One band member was said to have consulted with a songwriters’ group about record contracts that Rivermaya has entered into since its inception. One of the major issues at hand, according to a source, is the unauthorized collection of royalties due the band.

More details can be read here.

By Clarence Yu With news of the imminent release of Guns N’ Roses’ new album setting the rock music world on fire, I thought it apt to write something about one of its members -- to be specific, an ex-member, Slash. To most of us growing up in the 80’s, Slash was the epitome of the cool, tough, classic rock guitar, refusing to use a whammy bar in an age where ala’ Eddie Van Halen tapping was en vogue, and keeping mostly to Gibson Les Paul’s as his main guitar of choice. He (along with Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi) brought the talk box back to life (a device, when connected to a guitar can make your voice and guitar sound cool and robotic -- listen to the intro of “Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi). Unknown to most of us then (well, at least to me), Slash wasn’t really that cool at all (at least in my opinion), and he really didn’t bring back classic rock guitar playing (it never really left). In fact, after many listens of their landmark album “Appetite for Destruction,” Izzy Stradlin (the rhythm guitarist) perhaps contributed much more with his sparse, rhythmic playing, and his songwriting (Stradlin wrote most of the good songs). At any rate, that’s perfectly fine with me and Slash’s seeming coolness is replaced with a surprising tenderness, honesty and sensitivity in his autobiography, “SLASH (by Slash and Anthony Bozza).” The book starts with a (not a spoiler) brief anecdote, with Slash using this as a metaphor to display his gratefulness that he is still alive and kicking today. I picked this book up overseas two months ago and finished it in two days. It’s quite a long book, but a good read. It does not try to be Hammer of the Gods (a biography of Led Zeppelin), Walk This Way (Aerosmith’s autobiography) or The Dirt (Motley Crue’s autobiography). Instead, it comes off as a heartfelt story of a man caught up in one of the world’s greatest bands, confused, left for dead at one point and resilient enough to come back to life. Slash doesn’t mince words in this seemingly honest tale of his own personal upbringing, his innocence (which seems to shine throughout the book) of the ways of the world, his skyrocket ride to fame with Guns N’ Roses, his fall, and his current venture with the band Velvet Revolver. The usual tales of the perils of rock and roll (sex and drugs) are abundant enough in the book and are surprisingly shocking instead of being inserted in as entertainment value. Slash also shows a great sense of humor in the book, and one of the most common phrases you’ll find in the book that he uses is, “All things considered…” after which something ridiculously funny follows. The book also chronicles little known stories of how Guns N’ Roses really got together and wrote one of the greatest rock albums in history. As an example, Slash admits that he could not coherently play the riff to “Sweet Child Of Mine” when the band first wrote it because of the fingering on the fretboard which he found difficult to execute, and it took him quite a while to get used to it. For those interested in the other band members, similar honest stories, again not for entertainment or shock value, are in abundant supply. Slash’s relationships with W. Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler, Duff McKagan and company are well documented in the book, again with surprisingly matter-of-fact, honest prose that doesn’t pretend to be brilliant nor cool. It’s perfectly readable, and Slash, for all his posing and reputation, may very well have turned out to be the most intelligent and sensitive member of the band. He doesn’t say much about his opinion of the new Guns N’ Roses, nor does he seem to harbor any resentment towards the entities that caused of the break up of the original band. He is human after all, and is just happy to be alive. For anyone looking for a rock and roll story that has heart, get this.

It took 17 years, but finally classic American rock group Guns N' Roses is launching "Chinese Democracy," Agence France-Presse reports. The band released Use Your Illussion I and Use Your Illusion II albums in 1991, which were the last original recordings of the band before some members including guitarist Slash left the supergroup. After that, the band has gone through a lot of changes, with frontman Axl Rose remaining as the only original member to date. Songs like "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Paradise City" are now classic tunes that emerged from the hard rocking band from Los Angeles. Of course, who can forget their acoustic composition, "Patience," which also became a hit. Excerpt:

LOS ANGELES – US supergroup Guns N'Roses will unveil their first original album in 17 years next month with the release of long-awaited work "Chinese Democracy", a statement said Thursday. The long-delayed album will go on sale in the United States on November 23 while the title track "Chinese Democracy" has already been released to radio, the band's managers said. The album is Guns N' Roses' first since the 1991 release of Use of Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. "The release of ‘Chinese Democracy’ marks a historic moment in rock n' roll," co-managers Irving Azoff and Andy Gould said in a statement. "Guns N' Roses fans have every reason to celebrate, for this is only the beginning."

One-word album titles still sound cool no matter what and those eager to find out Up Dharma Down’s next album sound like must take heed. The one Manila band BBC radio DJ Mark Coles thinks most likely to sell in the Western hemisphere is releasing what is by now described (us included) as one of the highly-anticipated albums by any local artist. As described by Toti Dalmacion, the band’s manager and Terno Recordings head honcho, the songs on the new album are like yin-yang, plus-minus, Obama-McCain … well, something like that. “Each song on the album can stand on its own,” Dalmacion tells INQUIRER.net via phone. Whereas the songs in the debut outing Fragmented had some sort of cohesiveness and flow, those in the new one, he says, are more distinct from one another. Picture yourself pairing one song with another. All 14 of them plus bonus tracks (thanks Toti for the hint). It took the band two years to come up with a follow-up so expect every interview to refer to the term “sophomore jinx” (us included). Dalmacion acknowledges precisely that and admits that, though it sounds so utterly cliché, the band has matured. “They’ve spent more time on the songs compared to the first album,” he says. Still, it has all the Up Dharma Down elements to it,” he says. To find out what elements lie in Bipolar, check out album launch details (hooray GoogleMaps) in the band’s website. Periodic table not needed, but P150 gets you in with a drink, while P500 gets you a limited edition Bipolar CD designed by drummer Ean Mayor plus a 40-minute making-of DVD. Also, "Every First Second," taken from Bipolar, is still up on Myspace. ##

CAN'T get enough of the song "Umbrella, ella-ella-eh, eh, eh...?" If it keeps ringing in your eardrum over and over again, then surely, you would not want to miss hearing it live from the multi-awarded artist Rihanna as she jams with Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Chris Brown at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field on November 16, 2008. Globe and MTV Philippines will be giving away discounted ticket prices for those who will avail the tickets from October 15 to 31, MTV Philippines announced. A platinum ticket regularly priced at Php 10,000 will be sold for Php 8,000, gold ticket priced at Php 5,000 will be sold at Php 3,000, silver ticket costing Php 3,000 will be sold at Php 1,500, and bronze ticket costing Php 600 will be sold at half the price of Php 300. At the age of 19, fashion icon and R&B sensation Rihanna attained the status of international superstar. She acquired multiple number one hits, two music awards from MTV, and three billboard awards. Aside from the success that she has attained in the music scene, she also extends a hand to charity organization for the needy children. Not only does Rihanna holds the record of being multi-awarded, but also multi-talented Chris Brown has his own share in the limelight for selling worldwide three million copies of his self-titled album, Run It, and 1,920,665 copies in the United States. (Izah Morales)

By Marjorie Gorospe INQUIRER.net Looking for good old fashioned Christmas music but a fresher sound? Filipino Band Bloomfields – known to cover music of the Beatles and other American Rock and Roll music – has recently unveiled ts Christmas album “Pasko natin 'to,” which is also its carrier single composed by Jay Jay Lozano, lead singer and guitarist of the group. Pasko Natin To is Lozano’s actual first attempt at making a Christmas song back in October 2005. "What's so special in this album is that worked with the big guys… Chito Ilagan, Nikki Cunanan. We felt the pressure but it was fun", Lozano says. The album is a collection of songs that depicts how Pinoys usually celebrate their Christmas holiday. Lakan Hila (keyboards) says the album sounds like the traditional Christmas carols but with Bloomfields ' trademark of happy tunes. The 11-trackin album mixes some traditional Christmas songs like 'Have yourself a Merry little Christmas', 'Himig Pasko' plus some original compositions. The Bloomfields is composed of Jay Jay Lozano on the lead guitar, Louie Poco on bass, Pepe Lozano on the electric guitar, Lakan Hila on keyboards and Rocky Collado on the drums. The album is out starting October 16, 2008 under EMI Philippines.

By Izah Morales INQUIRER.net ON stage, you see them bringing the house down as they rock the house with their eardrum-popping music. But off stage, they are your ordinary people like you and me. Vocalist Henry Allen of Filipino rock band Faspitch, for one, says he and his bandmates play computer game Warcraft for pastime. “We’re a geeky band. We grew up playing computers,” added Faspitch bassist Trevor Bicknell. Faspitch is composed of Allen, Bicknell, Trick Berganos (guitars), and Russell Manaloto (guitars). They made their debut on the airwaves with the single, "Staying This Way" and eventually earned people’s attention with the song, "A Day Before Pisces." Allen describes their music as “new metal hardcore” with little elements of Emo (emotional). But he quickly added that they continue to experiment with their music, stressing that they don’t have a fixed sound. Just like Faspitch, Cebu-born Filipino rock band Urbandub vocalist Gabby Alipe disclosed that off stage, they often hang out at home. “Sobrang normal lang kami [We’re just normal people],” said Alipe. Alipe admitted though that on stage, they always perform with much pride. “On stage, ‘yung nakikita ng tao, mayabang kami [the people you will see are very proud],” said Alipe. But before Urbandub became popular, bassist Lalay Lim recalled how they started, playing in gigs without pay or receiving a talent fee of P2,000 for a set of 15 songs. For all-girl rock band Nyctinasty, vocalist Noodle Perez said the band had to do some sacrifices for their schooling. The all-girl band plays a mix of punk rock, progressive, metal pop. “Hindi girly ang dating ng music naming [We’re not your typical girly band],” said Perez. While they want their music heard, Perez said they declined to reveal their ages. These local bands have achieved an extraordinary status. But after the volume fades out and they go off stage, they are just like any ordinary people living their dreams extraordinarily.

Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net ADMIT it. Your musical taste is largely influenced by friends or at least people close to you. And you often want to share it with everyone or at least to those who share your taste. That is essentially the idea behind Blip.fm. "Music discovery is social," says Jeff Yasuda, CEO and co-founder of Blip.fm, a tab service originally under the Fuzz.com website. (Actually, Yasuda’s card reads Founder and CEO of Fuzz Artists Inc.,' which is an independent music label). Calling himself a former "bean counter" (read Investment Banker) and a VC (venture capitalist), Yasuda and his co-founder Brian Venneman set up Blip.fm out of their love for music -- of course, they believe there’s business in the social aspect of music discovery now that you have the Internet as your platform. "I’ve been in a band since I was 13 years old," says Yasuda as we talked in his music-filled room that he calls his office. Everywhere you look, there is music. There’s an exclusive photo of Pearl Jam’s frontman Eddie Vedder wearing a wig and a rather funny and amusing photo of Yasuda and his funky band and a lone fan listening. Yasuda has a vast collection of music posters of various concerts and known musicians, which gives away his own musical taste. Of course, his first guitar was hanging on one wall, reminding him about his roots. He describes Blip.fm and Fuzz as his second baby -- the first is a cute child whose photos are also on his desk. Amid existing online social music services like Last.fm, Pandora, IMEEM, MySpace, Blip.fm launched sometime in July 2008, while Fuzz.com went live as early as March 2007, according to Yasuda. Blip.fm actually was an idea that emerged during a smoke break, Fuzz and Blip.fm software engineer Ian White reveals. As one of the co-founders was already into Twitter (now a popular micro-blogging service) and music, it hit them: why not mash all these ideas and come up with a new one. "It was initially launched as a tab in Fuzz.com. But now it’s totally independent," says Yasuda referring to Blip.fm. Inspired by the “What are you doing?” question on Twitter, Blip.fm asks people, “What are you listening to?” Just like Twitter, people can post up to 140 characters of text. But instead of the usual, sometimes cryptic, messages, Blip.fm includes streaming music attached to that message. The message could be anything from a shoutout to, er, cryptic messages from fellow music lovers. People have the choice to tune in to what you’re listening or create their own playlist and invite you and other people to listen. Like other online social music services, Blip.fm is powered by the people, the users, the music lovers – your "trusted sources" for musical nourishment, as Yasuda puts it. So it all points back to the human element that makes music discovery a social activity. But there’s more: Why can’t you and I be the DJ for once? Since Blip.fm was created as also an online streaming music service, the co-founders are giving everyone a chance to become the "tastemakers." For once, you and I can be the cool DJ, spinning the records online. Finally, there’s the element of immediacy. Simply put, Blip.fm is living in the "Now." "Why can’t I share my music now? And tell them why they should listen, now," Yasuda says. How does Blip.fm work? Well, it’s user-generated. It is powered mostly by third-party music that the service finds online (or music people search and find through Blip.fm). The service itself does not store music except those music Blip.fm or Fuzz owns copyright. So don’t be surprised that you will sometimes stumble upon music that sucks because they’re incomplete or just barely audible. But that's really rare. How many people are tuned in to Blip.fm? Yasuda declines to disclose this detail but says users spend an average of 30 minutes listening to music from Blip.fm, a big leap from an average of 20 minutes when it was unveiled. Why are people spending that much time on Blip.fm? Yasuda says they have devised a way to keep people from tuning out. They have created a badge system for top DJs, while they also have introduced a reward system called "props," which people can earn and give to other people whom they find interesting. It’s like a virtual pat on the back of people who share your taste. “That makes our service a lot of more interesting,” Yasuda admits. Blip.fm has also built a widget, an instant code which people can embed into their own blogs or whatnot to showcase their "blips." In a few weeks, Blip.fm will be on Facebook, according to Yasuda. Currently, Blip.fm works with social network services like AudioScrobble, Twitter, Pownce, Haiku, Last.fm, Friendfeed, among others. So you can spread your musical taste through this other social networks. Now, how does Blip.fm make money? Yasuda says they have "referral links" for MP3 music bought through their service. Blip.fm gets a cut from MP3 music sold through their service. They will also soon launch other revenue-generating services like "buy ticket" or "buy t-shirts" through the service. Of course, they also have the usual online advertising as another source of revenues. At this time, Yasuda says that Blip.fm has been a surprise to the co-founders since it was launched because it is gaining more listeners from different parts of the world. “We believe and play on the belief that music is social,” Yasuda adds. We hear you, Jeff.