Recently in Arts Culture & Entertainment Category

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net Mr. "Pure Energy" Gary Valenciano and ten of Korea’s special artists performed in a one-night benefit concert Friday at the Cultural Center of the Philippines to help raise funds for Filipino street children. About 246,000 children under 18-years old are roaming the streets, of which 50,000 are highly visible street children, based on 2000 statistics of the United Nations' Children's Fund. “Children living on the streets of the Philippines are the most resilient, resourceful and determined children there are. But they also live in circumstances that leave them open to abuse of their rights and risks to their lives,” said Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF Representative. “This is an opportunity for us to raise funds for the country’s street children and have a platform from which to promote our advocacy for children’s rights,” said Tobin. The “Beautiful Children Concert” aimed to inspire its audience by showcasing how pure talent and belief in oneself can break barriers. True to its objective, the concert featured San Jae Lee, a visually impaired clarinetist; Hee Ah Lee, a pianist who plays the piano using only four fingers, and Philippine soprano Alexis Edralin, a survivor of acute myelogenous leukemia or cancer of the blood. Also showcasing their talents at the concert were the Beautiful Mind Charity Trio composed of cellist Il Hwan Bai, guitarist Jung Shil Suh and violinist Geenie Jung, the Clarion Chamber Ensemble, pianist Hye Young Park, and crossover artist Kyul. Now on his tenth year as UNICEF ambassador, Valenciano said: “My vision as an ambassador for UNICEF for the next 10 years is hopefully to encourage efforts to know more about UNICEF and unite our efforts for the rights of all children. We have seen great progress and I’m sure together we can achieve a lot for children here in the Philippines. I feel that is what I will be carrying out in the years to come.” Valenciano said he believes in the power of music to bring his message of strength to young people. Filipina Edralin said as survivor of cancer, she wants to use her “second life” to inspire hope and help people, especially Filipino children. Tobin thanked the Korean Embassy, United Korean Community Association of the Philippines and Korean NGO Beautiful Mind Charity for sponsoring the concert, adding 2009 marks the 60th year of friendship between the Philippines and Korea. All proceeds of the Beautiful Children Concert will be go to the child protection program of UNICEF Philippines. (Photos by author)

By Marjorie Gorospe WHEN passion for music is entirely pure, it becomes your life: This statement describes Tal Kravitz’ dedication to music. He got into music when he was four years old. His passion and mastery of ethnic including Israeli music is enriched by his travels to different parts of the world. He has been to Africa, Papua New Guinea and other countries which have musical instruments and traditions that are in danger of extinction. They say a musician will never run out of inspiration. Kravitz can play and entertain you with almost anything he get his hands on. Kravitz plays piano, harp, guitar, a variety of bagpipes, African percussion instruments, among others. His favorite is the harp. Aside from collecting various instruments, Kravitz also studies the ethnic languages in countries where he goes. “It is connected with the soul of the music,” Kravitz says, as he plays “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan,” which he learned through the Internet. Years of traveling, Kravitz has learned more than music. “It is the stories of the people I encounter in my musical journey that inspires me,” he says. His exposure to different cultures has made him value life more. Kravitz says he won’t stop learning about music, despite his stature today. He says he will continue doing this until the end of his days. As I watched him perform before Israeli dignitaries, it was clear that this passion emanates from his music. If I were to define passion for music, it will be called “Tal Kravitz.”

Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines – There is now an ongoing trademark dispute over the name of the popular Filipino band Rivermaya, its manager Lizza Nakpil and lawyer of the band members told INQUIRER.net in separate interviews. Representing the Riverymaya band members, lawyer Patricia Alvarez confirmed that she filed an opposition to Nakpil’s application for the “Riverymaya” trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Nakpil applied for the Rivermaya trademark with the IPO last July 7, online records of the government agency showed. Rivermaya drummer Mark Edward Escueta, however, also has a pending application for the same trademark, which he filed on October 10. “Lizza Nakpil has attempted to register the name. What she has is an application,” Alvarez said in a telephone interview. IPO rules allow any opposition to trademarks filed with the agency, Alvarez said. The band members formally opposed Nakpil’s trademark application for the “Rivermaya” name in October weeks after Escueta applied for the same trademark with the IPO. In the ongoing dispute, each party can use the trademark “at their own risk,” Alvarez said. In a separate interview, Nakpil said she has been applying for the Riverymaya name since 1994. Online records of the IPO, however, showed that she applied for the trademark in 1996 but was “abandoned.” Nakpil said the IPO published her Rivermaya trademark application on July 7, 2008 but acknowledged that “there’s a chance” trademark applications can be challenged. “There’s an ongoing opposition,” she said in a telephone interview. The Rivermaya band members, consisting of vocalist Jayson Fernandez, bassist Japs Sergio, guitarist Mike Elgar, and Escueta, announced late last month that they have parted ways with Nakpil for unknown reasons. Philippine Daily Inquirer sources claimed the group accused Nakpil of “unauthorized collection of royalties.” Nakpil had described the charge as “silly” and “funny.” “Unauthorized? I’m authorized. I’m the manager. I own the sound recordings. I’m the record label,” Nakpil told INQUIRER.net in an earlier interview. Alvarez claimed that Nakpil’s trademark application was also one of the reasons that led to the band losing trust and confidence with their long-time manager. Nakpil, though disheartened with the band members’ decision to disengage with her, maintained her right to Rivermaya, which she and film director Chito Roño created in 1993. “We conceptualized it, picked the members,” she said. “We put up the band,” Nakpil added, stressing Rivermaya has always been an “auditioned band.” Nakpil said she had always hired musicians to make the band, which had several roster changes through the years, and not the band hiring a manager to work for them. “Rivermaya is a different animal,” she said. Among the band’s former members include Bamboo Mañalac, Rico Blanco and Perf de Castro. Nakpil likened the decision to kick her out of the band to “drivers (in the Ferrari team) firing (team owner) Ferrari.” “It is quite amusing,” she said, recalling the band’s decision. Asked what led to the parting of ways, Nakpil replied, “We don’t share the same vision.” Nakpil said she looks forward to reviving the popularity of Rivermaya, which has been widely known for the hits “Ulan,” “214,” “Kisapmata,” “Hinahanap-hanap Kita,” “Liwanag sa Dilim,” and “You’ll be Safe Here” through its 15 years of existence. She said she continued to have faith in the band. “I always thought that Rivermaya was a great idea” she added. Escueta, for his part, asserted the band members’ claim to the Rivermaya name and stressed that they were working on the band’s next album without Nakpil. “We’re just gonna let our lawyers deal with the details (of the trademark dispute),” Escueta said in a text message to INQUIRER.net. “The important thing is that the people know that Lizza is no longer our agent and that Rivermaya is doing great, so many people have expressed their support and so many doors are opening up for us. Finally, wala nang tension [There’s no more tension]. We’ve already started work on our next album. We wish Lizza well with all her projects.” Nakpil, on the other hand, said it was Escueta who was set to leave the band with his contract expiring this month. “Mark (Escueta) has a strange attitude towards this. With his contract, he thinks he can take the name of the band with him,” Nakpil said in a previous interview. Because of the ongoing dispute, Nakpil insisted that Escueta, Fernandez, Sergio and Elgar cannot use the Rivermaya name if they decide to cut an album or perform onstage without her permission or supervision. She saw the legal dispute as a “weird situation.” “I’m sad over the issue on the Rivermaya name and that it has become a legal issue. The band should be more concerned with making music,” she said. She added: “I hate to think that the last chapter of Rivermaya is going to revolve over a silly trademark issue. Ayoko nito [I don’t like it]. I don’t want it to become absurd.” With additional report from Gerry Plaza.

By Anna Valmero Inquirer.net Manila’s sonic hatcheries crack out the incubators at Club Dredd at Eastwood City for the third Electrostatic Sound Conference held September 24. Manila sound art musicians along with a guest Australian artist played their compositions and shared their music to their followers and to new crowds. The event, spearheaded by New Media Arts Manila, was held to support the musician’s friend who was shot several weeks ago.
“Sound art is an abstraction on what we usually considered music with rhythm, melody and harmony elements. You take away those elements and you come up with sounds that you organize to form the art,” said Singapore-based guest artist Darren Moore. “It encompasses an area of music that may not be mainstream in genre, but with a definite following.” As a form of contemporary art, the media fuses different sounds produced by musical instruments, everyday materials and recorded sound produced by animals, TV or a typical conversation. As such, the content varies because music is relative and perceived differently by people. As such, the pattering of the rain can be a symphony or not, depending on the listener. “You can use any material to produce sound and use that raw sound in your composition or you can synthesize it, depending on the effect you want,” Moore said. “For me, I want to focus on the micro sounds so I use my laptop and some tuners for my piece.” Given the freedom to compose a sound art piece, artists can produce music from any material of their choice and couple that with images to add visualization to the piece. Tad Ermitano took this fusion of music and visualization a level higher. During his turn, he used the sound vibration produced by an amped speaker to provide the motion to a set of small metal balls and colored paint, thus producing a “non-Newtonian fluid” or fluids that do not follow Isaac Newton’s model of fluid dynamics. According to Ermitano, sound art is not limited to the organization of sounds to come up with music. For his piece, he added the live-act motion of his non-Newtonian fluid as to redefine the concoction of music and visualization in sound art.

By Izah Morales INQUIRER.net UPDATE: Editor's note: Corrected error in last name of event director Leo Rialp. DID you ever imagine you would find yourself listening to your favorite rock band performing with an orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines? You may raise an eyebrow but symphonic and rock music will be fused together in a concert for a cause on May 2-4. Fiesta ng Musikang Filipino, an OPM Chronicle, will feature Pinoy rock bands from different eras, including Juan Dela Cruz, Sugarfree, Sinosikat, Radioactive Sago Project, The Dawn, Up Dharma Down, The Jerks and more. They will be joined by international violinist Lucia Micarelli and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. Here's an interview I conducted with Mike Hanopol of the legendary Juan Dela Cruz band. Here's an interview with event director Leo Riyab Rialp. And here's an interview with musical director Rodel Colmenar. Editor's note: Videos taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

KITCHIE NADAL talks about her new album, "Love Letter." Some of the songs in this 17-track album were done in collaboration with other artists. Video taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

By Candice Montenegro, Contributor INQUIRER.net THE INTERNET has proven to be a great way to discover talented amateur acts. All it takes is a great song, a musical instrument and a handy camcorder and you're well on your way to viral video stardom. Singers like Colbie Caillat and even our very own Charisse Pempengco were both discovered through online-generated buzz. Marié Digby claimed her spotlight the same way; videos of her singing and playing the guitar in front of her living room couch endeared her to online viewers. Marié (pronounced ma-ree-AY) Digby is a singer-songwriter who was catapulted into the music limelight, thanks to her homemade videos online. Her rendition of the popular hit "Umbrella" is viewed 20,000 times a day on YouTube and videos of her original compositions are well received by online fans. Her songs instantly became favorites, and she was dubbed the “Breakthrough YouTube Phenomenon.” What fans did not know, however, is that Marié Digby is not new to all this singing superstardom. In 2005, she signed with Hollywood Records, the same record label that produces Disney stars Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus and Hilary Duff. The controversy suggested that Digby, with the help of Hollywood Records, intentionally feigned amateur status to generate buzz. "Raw" videos of her performing in her living room were uploaded online, and when people finally took notice, high-quality studio recordings of her songs were distributed to radio stations. Digby denies this, saying that the videos were not a marketing ploy. She says that the videos were simply her outlet for sharing her music while the album was still in the works, and that she did not intend to look amateur just so people would be amazed by her talent. But people were amazed just the same, and the issue does not seem to dampen her career. If anything, it only made more people type her name in search engines. Her MySpace page is flooded with comments and praise from fans who enjoy watching her two-minute performances. Her debut album "Unfold" was released this year, and her first single "Say It Again" debuted in the Billboard Adult Top 40 and is topping charts here and abroad. Her songs are also featured in hit TV shows like "Smallville" and "The Hills." The California-based singer stays true to her roots and still finds time to update her online accounts even with her busy schedule. Her YouTube channel contains updates on her shows and album tours, and she even talks about feeling overwhelmed and excited over the release of her album. She writes: "So many years of work… so many hours spent writing, recording, playing, dreaming… all comes down to this moment. I wouldn't trade one minute of it." And as for her videos, the grassroots feel does not matter at this point. Her musical prowess is definitely not amateur, and video or no video, there’s no doubt that Marié Digby is one gifted artist.

CHECK out this video interview that INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Erika Tapalla did for iVDO on Yahoo! Erika talked to Urbandub band members (L-R) Gabby Alipe, Lalay Lim, John Dinopol and John Mendoza. Video taken at the EMI office at Universal Tower on Nov. 22. For more info on Urbandub, visit their official site.

By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net I RECENTLY got this e-mail message that says Odysseylive.net is live. Labeled as a "social music network." So I went to check it out. First impressions: Odysseylive.net seems to have covered all bases. It has streaming music, featured blogs, news about gigs, and classified ads. For artists (or those who want to be a rock star), you can register and upload some of your music. You can also invite friends to join this social music network. It was also quite easy to set up a profile. The service is still in "super beta." I am not sure what that means. But I did notice some bugs as I went in to check out the service. You don't have to register though to listen to the streaming music of featured Pinoy artists on the homepage. What's interesting here is that you can also upload up to 10 megabytes of data (photos, music, etc.) to your own profile. Personally, I don't think that's enough. But this is still the super beta version, hehe. As I went in to check some of the streaming music available, I found this interesting collection of Filipino bands compiled in an album called Bandtrip2. You can listen to at least 12 of the songs in the album. I thought, "What if you want to download the music you're listening to?" Hmmm. Currently, you can only listen to the music available online but there are no indications if the music is for sale or available for download. Here's another discovery: Beach Head with their chillout (with a mix of hip hop) song called "Freestyle." According to the group's profile, "Beach Head is a project band that writes, records and shoots video's during the songs composition. " A quick check reveals that Beach Head is apparently a side project of Urbandub's Gabbie Alipe together with the Kerplunk boys. Beach Head also has a nice video available on YouTube.

By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net I THOUGHT it was about a little fish that got lost... er, oh, that was Nemo! Okay, this has been "bugging" me since I heard a teenage kid say to hairstylist, "I want an emo haircut." What is an emo haircut? And why are kids today going gaga over anything that's emo? For starters, emo, as shown by the need for disambiguation in Wikipedia, is a topic that leads to other topics. So that means, emo can mean different things to people, as this blog attests. I understand emo as I understood the headbanging rockers in the 80s, the grunge movement in the 90s, and well, the hippies in the 60s and 70s. But again, these are terms that are often used loosely (read: abused). This article, however, reveals that the term emo emerged, well, back in the 80s. Excerpt:

The term "Emo" is not derived from the word "emotional" as I was falsely led to believe before delving into further investigation. In fact, it is derived from the word "Emotive". Emotive, noun: tending to arouse emotion. This is a key piece of jargon when trying to understand the most confusing Emo world. The "Emotive Hardcore" music genre began to flourish in the late 80s, led by bands such as the likes of Rites of Spring. The term Emo was, believe it or not, a somewhat derogatory term used to put down fans of the new wave "Emotive Hardcore" bands. But, after a huge boom from the genre over the last decade and a bit, the term has been stolen by "stupid little boys who cry and wear eyeliner," as Jack, 15, so eloquently puts it. Now many teens who have never even heard of the word emotive or listened to real Emo music, claim "Emo" as their own. Because of this apparent label theft, ironically, emotion, namely anger, has been aroused amongst non and anti-emo teens.

One thing evident here is that emo is a relatively new term used by today's teens to express themselves in music or in fashion. Back in the 80s, we called it punk, new wave, or whatnot. Or something else. This article also explains it further. Ian MacKaye who happens to be the "Grandfather of Punk" was reportedly the person who coined the term "emo." Some people don't agree. You can find more useful stuff about emo here. And more definitions of Emo from the Urban Dictionary. Now, back to reality...