By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

THEY describe their music as “rebellious, live and organic.”

An indie garage-rock/post-punk band (yes a mouthful) with influences from the Beatles, the Libertines, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, among others, the Charmes believes they have what it takes to stand out.

Formed in 2006, the Charmes is now working on an album. It was formed by long-time friends Brian Josef (vocals and guitars), JB Bulan (lead), Jerome Abello (drums) and Jino Manalo (bass later replaced by Jiggers Vergel de Dios). They all went to the same high school.

The Charmes disbanded but later reunited.

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By Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES — Lynyrd Skynyrd pianist Billy Powell, one of the longest-serving members of the 1970s supergroup, has died aged 56, the band announced on its website Wednesday.

Powell, a survivor of the 1977 plane crash in Mississippi that claimed the lives of six people including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, died on Tuesday, the statement said without giving further details.

“Beloved pianist for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band, Billy Powell, passed away last night,” the statement said. “The family and band request your respect and understanding during this difficult time. Thank you.”

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By Clarence Yu

AEROSMITH’S Joe Perry pays homage to his idol Chuck Berry with his own recording of “Run Rudolph Run,” and it’s about time.

According to Aerosmith’s official fan website, AeroForceOne, “Joe has always loved Chuck Berry’s and Keith Richards’ version of this song and has wanted to record it for years now. He also wants to share it with all the fans right here at AF1.”

A diverse list of artists who have covered the song include Bryan Adams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Grateful Dead and Billy Idol, a testament to the long lasting recognition of the song first made popular by Chuck Berry in 1958.

Perry is reputed to be an ardent admirer of Berry, and it shows in his previous guitar work on songs like “My Girl” off Aerosmith’s Pump (1990) and the axeman often employs Berry’s trademark double-stop licks on his own guitar solos.

The recording, available for free download at AeroForceOne, follows the tradition of a swinging, rockabilly beat as previously recorded by Keith Richards. Perry’s voice is ice cool in its lack of emotion, and it is obvious that the recording was engineered to sound like a classic ‘50’s rock and roll song: high on the reverb, with a lot of bar chords, heavy on the crash drum cymbal, with bits of piano flourishes.

Perry adds his own mark on the song with his signature buzz sounding solos throughout the song. An accompanying video recorded for the song can be viewed at YouTube.

While the song may only be of interest to die-hard Perry and Aerosmith fans, much can be said about Perry’s gesture of making the song free for download. The legendary guitarist has nothing more to prove, and in making this his gift to his fans, it shows a tender side of Perry that he rarely reveals in the rock arena. It can be viewed then as a simple gift from a human being using his God-given talent. Which is, in essence, part of the true spirit of Christmas. Download it now.

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.

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)