:: 20.3.06 ::
THE JOEY’S @ AYUYANG:: 14.3.06 ::
These are the pics of Joey Ayala’s performance (January 11) at Ayuyang bar here in Baguio. Should’ve posted it earlier.
Towards the end of Joey Ayala’s set Joey Smith entered Ayuyang, and the crowd cheered for him, and Mr. Ayala started playing the intro to beep beep, Pepe got up on stage and jammed, much to the delight of everyone in the room.
After a few songs, Joey Ayala lent his guitar to Pepe and took a much-needed break outside. Pepe then had an amazing set, playing JDLC stuff and Rolling Stones covers. There were only a few of us left at that time, and Pepe even jested “namimihasa na kayo a” as he gave way to some request. We were fuckin blown away when he played “project.” Pepe ended the set with a self-censored version of The Doors Classic “The End.”
Pepe played for us without pay.
That bearded guy in the picture by the way, the one who looks like an “ermitanyo”, is Shant Verdun. He is an original member of Pinikpikan. He played percussions for Joey Ayala that night.
Although most of the knowledge I know about guitar is self-taught, I think it’s a major breakthrough that I met Shant. His criticisms were the most important factor to my learning, as he kept on telling me to avoid playing too much funk and blues and start digging deeper into the realm of World Music and Jazz. He is the only person to fully convince me that scales are important. We also played together in a 4 piece Bossa/Samba band called “The Little Veggiemites” almost 2 years ago, and also once performed live at Session Road, in a spontaneous jam with several other percussionists, and performance artists from Vocas.
:: Jethro 11:30 AM [+] ::
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THIS IS SUMMER RAIN:: 25.2.06 ::
I feel down right now, that has been the feeling for days, I don’t know why, then here comes the rain in summertime to add more gloom.
…Blog a bit to forget things…
I am currently considering going back to school again, this time to learn more about music. I am thinking about the extension courses that UST offers. I got the idea from Jorel (he is currently taking the courses), and the guy has been giving me some advice about it. I think I am fit for it because it doesn’t require some transcript of records. Honestly anything concerning school is a headache for me, but I need to give myself some direction, although I don’t believe I’m stuck in a crossroad because I’ve decided on what to do with my life a long time ago.
This is what Jorel told me thru YM:
“im not in the conservatory mismo im only taking extensions
although i think kaya mo naman
you just have to take them extension courses to refresh on theory and stuff
and you have to keep your mind sharp and understand that pag conservatory process ang dinedevelop
theyre really strict with processes
and then as soon as you finish studying process dun ka makakapag choose ng sarili mong path”
Well, I’m not jumping in right away, not now, maybe next year.
Anyway, my band has just recorded 4 original compositions; it has been going good so far. We have so many plans, but right now I prefer not to talk about it, I want to keep it a surprise.
I need to take music seriously this time, I need to work harder, and focus more, I don’t want to fail anymore.
I don’t deserve failure.
http://www.myspace.com/malayangmalaya
:: Jethro 9:47 AM [+] ::
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Pinoy Soul Movement Anniversary:: 30.1.06 ::
I went down to Manila last Wednesday, Feb.22 to catch a gig at SaGuijo Makati. The gig featured the greatest (for me at least) band line-up in recent years. No, I’m not talking about bands like Bamboo or Parokya ni Edgar (I don’t have a problem with these bands though, they’re good), I’m talking about the funk soul trinity known as Pinoy Soul Movement.
Pinoy Soul Movement is composed of 3 bands aiming at one purpose: spread the brown funk soul, like homemade peanut butter on pandesal. Sino Sikat? Cosmic Love, and Pinoy Stories. These are bands that push the limits of music today.
I arrived in Manila at 6pm Wednesday, and actually faced a lot of hassles because of the EDSA day rally that clogged the shrine area, giving me and my friend Paulo Subido 2 and a half hours to travel from Ortigas to Katipunan, which he told me should only take about 7 minutes. (Paulo used to be the editor-in-chief of Rev Mag, and now he works for Hotwire Mag, so I think 7 minutes is accurate enough, in fact I could’ve asked about the max speed and acceleration of his car, hehe). We had dinner and fetched Pau’s brother Chino and then Frank Callaghan, who lives in Makati.
We arrived at Sa Guijo at around 10pm. It was the shit, we catched the gig from start to end. Here’s a description of the bands that played (in chronological order):
Wunjo – the backbone of this band is Mally Paraguya and Ian umali, former Bassist and Guitarist of POT respectively. They are joined by Jay Gapasin of RadioactiveSago project on drums and Vic Facultad formerly of Indio I. I forgot the name of the keyboardist, but he is one smooth sonofabitch. Wunjo plays mainly jazz-tinged funk soul.
Sound – one of my old faves. Indie Pop-jazz at its best. They released bossaManila a few years ago, and should be out with a new disc called Blue Monsoon. Soon.
Pinoy Stories – the first Pinoy Soul to play. Camoi, the lead vocalist was so so stoned. Great Escriva music. Check em out at soundclick.com to hear what I mean.
Cosmic Love – I believe this is the performance that brought people to the climax. Parang kumonti yung tao pagkatapos nila. Great music by some great human beings.
RadioActiveSago – if a fire greater than 1666, would burn Manila to ashes, this band will play the closing anthem to a degrading capital. Bedlam! Chaos! Mayhem! This is Pinoy Hardbop at its hardest, tighest and angriest. The last song of their goes “Itayo ang bandila, nasusunog ang Maynila!”
Sino Sikat? – “I love you Kat” is what you’ll hear from the guys all the time whenever this band plays. It was the same thing that came to my mind. But you can’t miss the fact that Sino Sikat? Is all rhythm and business. Kat’s voice is so damn soulful. The band’s rhythm section is composed of Nick Azarcon, Reli De Vera, Allen Umali and Nikki Cabardo on Guitars, Drums, Bass and Keys respectively. The instrumentalists are so tight, they’re one of the best I’ve seen in years. Nikki Cabardo wasn’t there though. (Nikki also played some of the Keyboard parts on the Ascension Record, by the way). Allen Umali is the baddest.
Kapatid – recently released the much-anticipated 2nd album titled LUHA. I’m a loyalist, period.
The gig ended at around past 3. Also met a few friends, KC who plays bass for Cosmic Love, BrutalGrace, my main man Randee Calderon, and Jorel. Also met Kelley (aside from Kjwan he also plays bass for his band Dicta License, buy the album!), CL’s vocalist Anton, and so many other people, I can’t remember their names.
Without any sleep since Wednesday, just after the gig and some breakfast, I was already aboard the bus at 6am for I needed to catch up on a band practice at 2pm. I slept on the bus.
I arrived at 12 noon, took a shower and had lunch and headed straight to Aurora Hill to practice with Amber Moon. We’ve got new songs to play, and Knocks Me Off My Feet WAS a hard one. After practice and about an hour of rest, we headed to Brewyard for our regular Thursday set. We had 2 sets, and amazingly, I survived the night.
http://www.myspace.com/malayangmalaya
:: Jethro 8:18 AM [+] ::
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Wala daw akong mapapala sa Music…:: 13.12.05 ::
I’m so busy with music nowadays. My band plays at Brewyard every Thur, Fri and Sat, and we also have an acoustic trio set at Giligan's every Wed. Last week, we recorded a theme song for a local indie talk show called Fat Sessions, the core members who formed the show were also the ones who composed the song. It will soon be showed on Sky Cable. Puro kagaguhan pare, it’s not a gag show, it’s a gago show. Fat Sessions is low budget underground, that’s why we recorded the main theme song at our house, on the computer. I did the bass and percussion parts, and joined in with the singing of the ludicrous hook. I shared some recording duties with Sev. This is actually Sev’s project, he will also do the mixing, lead guitars and drum programming.
I also finished 2 short musical pieces, which will be my contribution to the making of a local (Baguio) indie movie. There is no money involved here, just pure passion. The film was originally intended for Cinemalaya, but missed the top 10 spot, out of 100 plus entries, it actually landed on number 11. Peque Gallaga liked the story, he was one of the judges, but because most of his companions are from Manila, they can’t dig the plot, the story is essential Baguio that’s why. From what I gathered, Peque was the reason the film was picked for top 30, but too bad, he was in Bacolod when the time for final judging came. Gallaga was a bit disappointed. The story is written by Padmapani Perez, Kawayan De Guia and Ferdie Balanag ( Ferdie is a seasoned producer, director and great actor of the local theatre scene). I will also do the rhythmic sounds of the morning kitchen scene; I’ll try to write more about this project if it gets done soon. The post-production will be on March.
Joey Ayala played at Ayuyang last January 11, please always try to remind about the pics, so that I could post it asap. The other Joey (rakenrol legend) jammed with Ayala at the end of his set. History pare.
btw, please visit my myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/malayangmalaya
:: Jethro 4:21 AM [+] ::
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Long Time No Blog:: 26.7.05 ::
I haven't been blogging for months now, so many things happened, and none of them where penned down. By the way my band has been playing at Brewyard for almost 4 months now I guess, and although I've been feeling so unhappy about the music, so far I've survived and understood the way of the profession that I chose when I was 18 years old, that is 5 years ago when I left school and pursued this career.
The last half of 2005 was just like last year, filled with woes, frustrations, and depressing moments for me. I tried to combat everything with music. There was a time when I would go to the Subido Library and jam with the Subido Brothers until 6am, considering the fact that my band has been practicing since 8-9pm, and has played 3, 1 hour sets from 9:30pm-2am. There was also a time when we played at a Client Logic event until 5am, and when I got home I still practiced guitar scales until 8am, until I collapse.
No, I don't take shabu to aid me in this quest for knowledge, I don't need it. My health deteriorated though, and there were times when I felt that I had put too much pressure on my self, it was as if I was obsessed with improving myself musically, as if there is a fear of failure lingering inside me. All this thinking led to my stress, and when combined with other matters that required more thinking my health suffered to the fullest.
I learned a lesson after I was hospitalized. I don't really feel like talking about some negative stuff right now, because it's all over now.
Amidst all these woes, I managed to fight, and in every fight, a heavier and more powerful weapon is needed.
This is the weapon that I'm talking about people
This may not be the Bass guitar of my dreams, but for 4 years I relied on the generosity of close friends (Edong Bareng gave me a beat up 5 strings, and Mike Clavio lent me a bass which has been with for about a year and a half), so here it is, my new artillery.
note: I still don't have a camera, the pics are edited as usual with photoshop and required tons of patience to shoot with a Nokia 6600
:: Jethro 1:27 AM [+] ::
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BUHAY BANDA:: 10.7.05 ::
At last, the difficult task of searching for a drummer has ended. Reg is a reliable young veteran, a very humble person, and brings in a steady flow of positive vibes to the group, pretty much the same way I bring in a steady flow of ganja, ha ha! Buko!
Anyway, our first practice was so much fun, at times, it would reach a certain level of hilarity, as we try to scrub off the rust that built up in our systems. As of now, I could say that this is the type of band I really wanted to be in, not that I consider it to be perfect, because for me, the perfect band would be one that plays more original compositions than cover songs (this band is constructed for employment purposes, although this is the same band I plan to record an album with, we are trying our best to put a demarcation line between passion and profession). The reason why I love this band is because we practice 5-6 hours with only a few short breaks in between, if not for the curfew that we had agreed upon (our practice place is located at a residential area, so respect to the neighbors is mandatory), we could stretch the practice to 8 hours, 5 times a week. In fact, we even have tanggeros whose tasks were to make sure we stay in the cycle of the inuman sessions, that way we don’t have to stop playing, we could keep on practicing and getting drunk at the same time, without even putting down our instruments.
My point here is that, what we lack technically, we make up for with practice. Everyone in the band is talented, and we are trying our best to grow, no one in the band is superhuman, and for me, that matters a lot, because that way, humility could never ever be ignored.
In this line of job, I admit, pop music, the music that I abhor the most, is totally unavoidable, but at least there are still a few choices left. At least we still have Brand New Heavies, Basia, Aretha Franklin, Sting, and many other good artists in our repertoire, I still feel happy playing songs by these artists, songs that are of supreme quality and substance.
My band mates and me often agree, that we have to put in more quality music to this kind of job, no matter how shallow the tastes of people are nowadays. Even if it would deny us access to some bars that are not too keen about music, but are too oriented on the idea of earning mucho bucks. Even if some musicians nowadays don’t practice that much but still earn more than us. My band still chooses to work hard, and try our best to play the songs the proper way, which is sometimes difficult, but all the time rewarding.
:: Jethro 12:07 AM [+] ::
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BAGUIO INDIE SCENE:: 20.6.05 ::
The support for the gig was overwhelmingly huge last night, and I'm proud that more bands are playing original compositions nowadays, plus the crowd reaction is really getting better. The appreciation is at a higher level, as the supporters cheered positively for any genre of music being played, whether its Hardcore, Punk Ska, Old School Rock, or Pinoy Alternative.
The Moshpit was surpirsingly more violent and crazier than before, that is why my entire body including my jaw is painful right now, heck, last night, even my cock hurts man. The highlight for the entire evening for me would be the band that played Tagalog political punk, it was so fuckin raw, unpolished, and so angry at the government (the chorus of their song is like a mantra, inviting us all to abolish, and crush the government, and feast on it in cannibalistic fashion) everyone just went nuts, the slamming that occurred was more brutal than the one Solem Mayhem (who covers Slipknot) instigated.
Fuck, yeah, I won't regret getting a black eye or something harsher for gigs like these man.
it's been a long time...
:: Jethro 2:35 AM [+] ::
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Aqueduct of Tequila:: 2.5.05 ::
Almost all of my blogster friends are facelifting their blogs, but this aqueduct of thoughts has remained intact since the time of Spartacus. Sadly, if I ever wanted to change it, it would require a major excavation.
Big time, excavation.
Anyway, the family is back in Riyadh, and it's just me and my bro here in Baguio. I think I'll be stuck here for a very long time, I'll be craving for my dreams more and more. I just hope that these dreams will stay alive until I reach it.
For the mean time, calling all people, party at 170 is imminent!!!
:: Jethro 9:17 AM [+] ::
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Find me a director who can match Akira Kurosowa and you'll come up with zilch, zero, none...:: 15.3.05 ::
I spent the entire weekend with my brother at home totally bummed out to the fullest, watching Akira Kurosawa DVD's. While it is not our intention to engage in a movie marathon, watching one Kurosawa movie could eat up a lot of your time. We viewed 3 of the more popular works by Kurosawa, including the 3 hour plus samurai epic, the highly acclaimed 1954 hit, "Seven Samurai" the comedic "Yojimbo" (which features the legendary Toshiro Mifune), and "Kagemusha" which is produced by two neverheard names of the movie industry, directors George Lucas ( Star Wars) and Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather).
And hey, I know where to buy a pirated DVD collection of Kurosawa's 11 works, including of course the movies mentioned above. I admit that buying pirated copies of your idol's masterpieces is a shame, but hey, you need a credit card to be able to order the original from Amazon.
For now, we are contented in borrowing from Butch Perez's collection, until monetary aid arrives.
:: Jethro 3:34 AM [+] ::
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Announcement: Pepe Smith's latest album "Idiosyncrasies" is out now, sa wakas mga repapips, at least 3 years after ipinarinig ni Pepe sa amin sa isang inuman yun kanyang demo, lumabas na rin ito, let us support the godather of Pinoy rakenrol!:: 15.1.05 ::
Anyway, I just spent the entire week travelling, and it was fun. Here's a brief account of what happened.
Last Saturday, I woke up early in the morning, still feeling groggy after a night of Kapatid music at Session Road, and prepared my self to go to NAIA to fetch my mother and little sister.
Mom and Sis disembarked at around quarter to 5pm, and we headed to Fairview to spend our night there. The next day, we travelled to Pangasinan to visit my lola, I slept there for 2 nights. On the second night, I went to a barrio battle of the bands, and witnessed an all-out barrage of 90's tinged rock and roll. No Slipknot, no Cheese, No fuckin emotional punk, just straight Pinoy rakenrol with fast lead guitars and Tagalog lyrics man.
The next day, I got up as early as ever. I'm going to the airport and straight to Iloilo with my uncles, to attend the wedding of a close relative. 5 hours from Pangasinan to Pasay by bus, and an hour from Manila to Iloilo by plane.
We spent our night at Oton (45 minutes away from the airport), and then the next day, we moved to Barangay San Joaquin, which is about an hour away by jeepney. We went for a swim at the beach just across the house of our host, and then got ready for the wedding. The chapel is an hour and a half away, and is located near downtown Iloilo. After the wedding and the reception, we strolled around Downtown to shop for a few goodies.
The next day, we took Negros Navigation, for a 24 hour trip by Sea. About 4-5 hours of the trip was spent on a stopover at Bacolod. Upon reaching the Manila pier, a friend fetched us and dropped us at Pasay o catch another bus ride to Baguio.
Man, I still feel tired up to this day, which explains why this blog was done in such a haste. Hope to post the pics soon!
:: Jethro 12:04 AM [+] ::
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LATE THOUGHTS:: 11.12.04 ::
*Tis the season to commit sin
This blogster, Ruther and Rolly, celebrated the Holiday Season appropriately by committing one of the deadly sins-gluttony. Last Christmas, we grilled a kilo of chicken drumsticks, a kilo of wings, loads of ‘dippig’ banana (‘dippig’ is the variety that can be used for ‘turon’) and a kilo of catfish.
Then on New Year’s Eve, with the lone addition of a cousin named Robert (a very willing glutton just like the rest of us), we brought our celebration to a higher level. We grilled “tahong”, “talaba”, one large tuna (good for 5 persons I guess), pork baby back ribs, prawn, and of course our perennial fave, the“dippig”.
We ate and we ate and we ate, from 6pm till kingdom come, and to my astonishment, nobody asked for imodium the next day.
*KKK has a reason to celebrate
I’m sure right now, that those white supremacists are having a cocktail party to honor the Tsunami that struck Asia. Especially when the death toll reached the 150,000 mark, which they consider a very important milestone in racist history. I mean, just check out how many colors of peoples were victimized in that catastrophe, Somalians, Sri Lankans, Thais, Indonesians and so on, and so forth. Bullshit, it’s really like New Year for these Ku Klux Klan assholes.
There would be only one hassle lingering in the minds of the KKK though, and that would be the exclusion of the Philippines in that monumental tragedy. Mabuhay tayo!
*Meningococcemia Strikes again, within sneezing distance
Yes, it is back again, and Baguio residents are overacting, tourists are overacting, and that’s because the media is overacting. For bathala’s sake dammit, you don’t have to wear a mask inside your car while driving alone, or when at home watching tv, and remember this: you don’t have to go to Baguio and buy souvenirs at Mines View while walking around with a mask on. I mean, if you are so fuckin OA to death, stay in Manila, stay in Pangasinan or wherever you’re from and don’t bother touring up here with your silly facemasks on, that way you’ll be safer and less OA.
I also wonder why a lot of people are afraid to go to the public market, but when you go to SM, they are all there, I don’t see the logic behind this, SM is still a crowded area where everyone is prone to the sickness. A bacterium is a bacterium, a virus is a virus, and you can’t just say, “lock the bathroom! The virus is in there, don’t let it out!”
The only way to avoid meningococcemia is to strengthen your immune system by eating right. Avoid the “de latas” and instant shit for a while; eat a lot of veggies and fruits, and not antibiotics. I go to the public market (alleged source of the infection) twice a week without a mask on to buy fresh stuff, and as you can see, I may not have blogged for a while, but spread the word: “I ain’t dead yet.”
:: Jethro 7:41 AM [+] ::
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Sa hirap ng buhay dito sa Pinas, ginagawa ng bawa't Pinoy ang lahat para lang umangat sa buhay. May tumataya sa lotto o jueteng, may sumasali sa mga network etcetera na yan. Pero kung itong nakita ko sa SM ay maaaring magkatotoo, lahat ng Pilipino ay makakabili ng Escalade.:: 9.11.04 ::
:: Jethro 1:12 AM [+] ::
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Preparing to Whoop Some Corporate Ass:: 5.11.04 ::
Everyone at home felt frustrated last Sunday, Viacom removed Solar USA, and when we called, they informed us that Solar USA is exclusive to SkyCable subscribers only. Solar USA sucks and I know that, but it is the only network that shows mixed martial arts. We are going to miss UFC and Pride FC. I think it would be so impractical to switch to Sky just to watch our favorite fights. I just hope there would be some Muay Thai or Boxing match in La Trinidad soon, we'll come over and watch.
Due to our overwhelming frustration, we decided to buy a punching bag, since Ruther knows basic Wushu (he enrolled 2 years ago but failed to continue because the stamina required was just too much). Aside from that Uncle Rolly obtained some hand-to-hand combat knowledge at Camp Abat as a trainee. We have to start somewhere below, and when we're ready, we'll whoop some fuckin corporate ass.
:: Jethro 4:40 AM [+] ::
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The Jam at Ayuyang Bar last Monday Night was one of the best:: 1.11.04 ::
All Hairy Dawgs members are present. After dinner, at around 10pm me and Jorel (Master of the ancient Nepalese Bastusa Na technique) got up on stage, plugged our instruments and I started out with some phrases, along with his chunkystyle solos. Inky, formerly of Indio I sat down and started diddling (ha, I like the word) with the keyboards. I felt ecstatic when I heard the very jazzy piano sound.
30-45 minutes later, Jorel handed over the guitar to Denise, Tony got up on stage with a big bass drum strapped to her waist, and our band The 'Lil Veggiemites started to play some bossa nova songs. I was a bit worried when I saw Denise holding a setlist, because we didn't plan anything, and as I have said symbolically in my previous post, "no stretching exercises." But things went well anyway.
After a few songs, other musicans also performed on stage. As the night progressed, almost everyone in the crowd were already holding percussions of various sorts, and the jam turned out to be one gigantic musical orgy. At this point, I manned Tony's big bass drum.
The party climaxed, and at the edge of that peak, I grabbed the bass, and Jorel the guitars. We started this one so definitely we have to end it.
Everyone was satisfied and exhausted (pleasure is always accompanied by exhaustion, and I don't want anyone disagreeing with that), it was such a great jam, and I love it so much. It was past 2 in the morning, and when we got home, Marcus Miller, one of my fave jazz bassists of all time was on WOWOW, it was a tiring night but I had to stay up for this one.
:: Jethro 7:11 AM [+] ::
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Music is Oxygen:: 22.10.04 ::
I mean, what else should I breathe man?
Jamming tonight sa Ayuyang 9pm. My most inactive Bossa/Samba band The Lil Veggiemites will be playing with The HairyDawgs (an all-percussions samba group). No Holds Barred Jamming, no practice, no line-up of songs or whatever, no stretching exercises. If you can appreciate music well, then you don't need to listen to music that you only hear on the radio or your player, and besides Jazz truly means "improvisation."
Original music is naturally formed thru improvisation. Some bands here in Baguio can't dig these impromptu jams, and that's because their ideas are hopelessly limited, because their music selection is hopelessly limited as well. Everyone is stuck in a pit of mud.
I don't like copy and paste musicians. Technicality is not important to me, what matters most is the self-expression, creativity and of course emotions.
BTW, Sev and Ruby, goodluck with the songs, we'll be making more when you guys come home!!!
:: Jethro 8:01 AM [+] ::
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Ignorance is Bliss:: 12.10.04 ::
At first I thought that it would be disrespectful or even blasphemous to sell CD's of Jazz Legends at a low price. These artists are priceless, but then I finally realized that sometimes the musical ignorance in this country could provide nothing but bliss. Get the connection? CD's don't sell, so record stores sell them at a low price, just to get rid of them, and so I, the scavenger, the almost perfect music hunter (my music hunting instincts are close to perfect, but financially, money is always insufficient to meet my needs) would exploit the moment and immediately grab the chance.
I remember buying a 3 CD boxed compilation of the great Duke Ellington last year at p500. This Monday, I went to Tower Records and spotted an Art Blakey CD worth p250. Art Blakey, by the way, is one of the greatest drummers of all time. Blakey's earliest works are classified under the Hardbop genre (Hardbop is the Hard version of Bebop, and Miles Davis plays this kind of stuff earlier in his career), but since the record contains 1956-1958 material, the songs are a bit tame compared to the old ones.
I've been itching to grab an Art Blakey CD for months, this is total bliss man.
To now more about Art Blakey and his music, check out his website http://www.artblakey.com
Discover and free yourself. Radio Fuckin Sucks. Pogi Jazz Fuckin Sucks.
:: Jethro 1:22 AM [+] ::
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Remove the Humdrum with a Drum:: 27.9.04 ::
My eyes are semi-glued to a book titled "Drumming at the Edge of Magic" by Mickey Hart. Hart is drummer for the group Grateful Dead. The book contains vast knowledge about the most primitive instrument, as it is clear and proven without a doubt, that man discovered how to make music when they started hitting objects. Although the first beat to ever emerge may be the sound of the bigbang.
:: Jethro 2:27 AM [+] ::
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:: 16.9.04 ::
I got a new CP and I'm shooting pics of the sky like there's no tomorrow. Who knows, maybe tomorrow there'll be no wonderful sky to look at, just smogs, and maybe some smogs. Remember that just a couple of decades ago, people were joking about "bottled water", this time we should stop joking around and prevent the next generation, our sons and daughters from inhaling "bottled oxygen." Just a week ago, I saw an ad of an Air Purifying device, and thought that this is it, in the future, if you're not rich enough to buy Purifiers, you and your family will die of lack of breathable air, hell, you might not even have the chance to live and have a family.
Fact: If the degradation of the atmosphere in Manila continues at the same rate, I'll do the math for you, in 10 years no one would be able to live there, unless we have a swift evolution and develop a set of lungs that could withstand the pollution. Here in Baguio there is still hope left. A little hope.
Anyway, I was supposed to buy a Nokia7610, but just a few hours after I bought my Nokia6600, my father texted me and said "bakit hindi na lang 7610 ang bilhin mo, laos na kasi yung 6600, kung nasa 25k na ang presyo un na lang bilhin mo." Well, my anxiety prevented me from getting the top Nokia model of the moment, but I don't regret my move that much, since Erpat told me that we need to cut costs (our first move to cost cutting was having our landline disconnected), and 6600, the most common phone in KSA is not really "laos" here in the P.I. What kind of father would insist to his son that he must buy the latest? That is why I'm careful enough not to abuse his kindness (I also understand that my Siemens has been in my hands for 4 years now, that's why he is so eager to buy me a new one). Lots of people in our country still owns and uses cellphone models that are way too obsolete, that is why I feel really contented and blessed.
:: Jethro 1:48 AM [+] ::
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Selling My Soul to the Hip Hop Devil?:: 6.9.04 ::
I sold mine years ago, but then I decided that no one else owns my soul (either this sounds too clichéd or I’m just a dinosaur gamer stuck on MK). I’ll listen to whatever I want, and that’s the privilege of having a mind that’s adventurous and open to vast options. In fact, not only is music filled with so many choices, it is also an infinite source of knowledge.
This month is Hip Hop month though (pure coincidence or maybe impulse), and hopefully this will help a bit in fighting the Hip Hop mediocrity and asininity that sprawled in this country, right after it took the US by storm. I hope people would start to understand that Hip Hop is not all about them hoes, and bling-bling, both elements that brought shame to a culture that’s supposed to be consolidating the power of the Black movement.
A week ago I purchased Twista’s latest release “Kamikaze” for the regular extortionate price and “Temples of Boom” by Cypress Hill for a humane and justified p250. For those who still refuse to remove the shackles subconsciously placed into their minds by the dumb hit “In the Club,” Twista is the fastest rapper out in 2004 (BTNH doesn’t have a new release), he also holds the Guinness World Record in fastest rap in 1992, yep, he has been in the game for that long.
The highlight of this month’s hunt for music is not limited to those CD I bought. Yesterday, I received Zed’s speedpouch, and in it were 4 CD’s. Zed sent me DJ Honda’s self-titled 1996 US release, and Dilated Peoples with “Neighborhood Watch” both artists upon my request. Every CD proved to be gold and I’m a lucky sonofabitch.
DJ Honda, as expected, ripped vinyls without turning the songs into a scratchfest. Honda showed more skills through his tight beats, erudite chord patterns, and some of the realest MC’s. The scratches are filled with accentuations and emotions. Yep, Dj’s are musicians, and musicians have emotions. My fave song in the album is his joint with Biz Markie called “Biz Freestyle” a genuine trip to da old skool. Oh man, Tanerz should hear this, and bring the linoleum to our house.
Dilated Peoples showcased their brand of Political Awareness injected with DJ Babu’s funkness, and lotsa props for the B-Boys and B-Girls. For those who don’t know, Hip Hop is really Tibak in nature, but unfortunately, that nature lies deep in the underground. Even though “Where is the Love” by BEP is popular and it talks about the bane that the Bloods, Crips, KKK and the CIA brought to man, it is degraded to being just another irritating radio staple, and the masses only love it for its trendy appeal, oh shit, I’m losing hope. By the way, DJ Babu is a Pinoy Fo sho, thus, the unexplainable funkness.
The most to die for CD in the package has to be Lyrics Born with his debut effort “Later That Day.” The CD is perfect for eclectic psychonauts, and/or for those who long for the real essence of the marriage of soul (which seems to be diminishing nowadays) hiphop, jazz, and other genres vital to the development of the culture of the black people.
Props Zed, Maraming Salamat sa mga CD’s!
It may be Hip Hop Month, but just in terms of new discoveries made. A few days ago I also bought a Black Sabbath CD, played my old Aerosmith, Pantera, and Slayer tapes, and of course the fourth CD in the speedpouch, a copy of Basti and Wolf’s Cali-based band, Lokomotiv. A hundred and twelve percent sure, nobody owns my soul.
:: Jethro 7:32 AM [+] ::
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A Third World Hell Full of Saints:: 3.9.04 ::
Pinikpikan played at Cafe By the Ruins last saturday, and it was fuckin cool and intense as usual man.
Majority of the songs they played came from their latest Cd "Kaamulan" including my personal favorite "Butanding" which is about the Gentle Whale Shark (Rhincodon Typus). The "Butanding" is the biggest fish in the world and sadly, it is in danger of extinction.
The gig, by the way, spiced up the book launching of "Espiritu Santi." It is about Baguio's most revered artist Santiago Bose. Santi established The Baguio Art's Guild. The art community in San Franciso even paid tribute to Bose by having a "Santiago Bose Day" that's how important our artists are to the world. Foreigners appreciate our talents more than Filipinos do, and that's a shame, a total fuckin shame. We may know about the Dali's and Da Vinci's but we don't even care about our own artists. I feel really pissed off by how Filipinos tend to patronize Western culture more than they should with their roots. Aside from that, culture is slowly becoming a thing for the elite or the erudite.
We don't have true identities, our identity is relegated to being great OFW's and good English speakers (even though grammatically, we still lack knowledge, and most of the time, even English teachers at universities commit volumes and volumes of mistakes).
Look at India and Brazil, they pioneered a lot and amazed the whole world with their rich heritage that could truly be considered as original. We need to wake up, now! Patronizing our very own culture is a way of resistance, and that is the only way that this country could flourish and rise from the grave. I'm not telling you all to learn the tinikling, wear bahag or abstain from eating burgers and fries, what matters most is the appreciation, the presence of principle and nationalistic pride.
And by the way, aside from not having a culture, we are 0-0-0 (Gold-Silver-Bronze) at the Olympics, not because our athletes lack talent, but because there's too much politicking. What a fuckin shame.
:: Jethro 2:33 AM [+] ::
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Lengthy Tube with Lengthy Name Ends Lengthy Suffering:: 30.8.04 ::
Since I've been enduring this digestive illness for such a long time, I finally decide to go for Esophagogastrodoudenoscopy to determine what the hell really is bothering me. Kilometric name indeed, but if you're that type of person who thinks that that supercalifragilistic thing is as daunting as hell to pronounce, then-for your convenience, just like all doctors do-you may call the procedure, "endoscopy" (yes, you may exhale heavily now).
Yesterday, I went to the hospital for the scheduled procedure. The endoscopy went for about a gruelling 20 minutes or so. Basically, a tube camera is inserted into the mouth and scans for possible tumors or ulcers, and for those who doesn't have an idea to how long the tube is, it could reach the small intestines (I'm not sure if it could go further, but nobody would want to pass in a tunnel that exits through the backdoor). The view of my digestive track is displayed on a scope, unfortunately, the hospital doesn't have a monitor so I wasn't able to view it.
During the very difficult and nausea inducing procedure, I had only one thing in mind: "never to drink again" (Sev and Ruby, I still want the soju, although I might just be tasting it). While this may sound like a miracle only a messiah could perform on me, it is definitely no big deal to me. For the past months, I've adjusted myself to this situation, I have been joining friends in their drinking sessions and not even a single drop of alcohol touches my lips. The gastroentorologist said that I am suffering from Acute Gastritis, which is treatable and that there is nothing to fear. Which means I could drink again after the treatment, but I guess I'm not that hard headed, and that I'm still a master of discipline in my own way.
Finally, I realized that I still wanted to enjoy my meals, live a good life, and eat, and eat all the food that I missed.
:: Jethro 3:05 AM [+] ::
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:: 20.8.04 ::Blogging and Staying Positive
- Thanks Sev and Ruby for respecting and supporting my decision to leave you guys when we were in Thailand. The biggest relevance of that departure is being manifested in this time of crisis. For the rest of the year, including the final quarter of 2003, I would chose to stay nowhere else but Baguio. Imagine if I am in Korea or Thailand today. My role in this time of crisis is too vital, my responsibility, too important to be neglected. Yesterday, we brought lola to Pangasinan, the place where she desires to rest.
- "kJWAN LP is Out" I've been preaching this for more than a week now. And still no copy in my player. I texted J-Hoon, and he told me that "it might take while because of the distance, but it's selling like crazy here." Damn, that means I'm missing a lot.
- "Kumadyot Pito-pito, kumirot pa ng walo, sa poste iginapos atsaka pa binayo." Yeah, call it nostalgic rhymes. Asteeg talaga ang Erectus, one of the first rapmetal acts of the 90's, along with FrancisM's "FreeMan" LP. This is the real me, almost 10 years ago, and I'm reviving the moment by playing their self-titled lone release again and again (the same ritual a decade ago). Then I went a bit further by listening to Nirvana's "On a Plain" and Aerosmith's "Blind Man." What's next? Andrew E? Ha ha
:: Jethro 4:18 AM [+] ::
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Dark Days:: 18.8.04 ::
I am about to enter one of the most emotionally and mentally exasperating periods in my life. I feel tired but certainly I'll still be robust. Now I know how it feels to have a very ill grandma clutching my arms, writhing in unexplainable pain, uttering her inner thoughts such as "tanggap ko na kung anong gusto ng Diyos na mangyari sakin." Relatives are arriving every moment, our house will be like a pilgrimage site soon. My grandma is in agony, and there are no other choices but to mask that agony with artificial euphoria, with morphine. And before anyone else's reacts to this post, I would want to make it clear that a miracle is the only thing we could expect right now, we've done and still trying to do the best we can. Grandma fought this battle too hard, this is cell mutation, not just virus proliferation. Stay positive, and struggle that's all we can do. I just hope this won't happen to other people.
:: Jethro 2:51 AM [+] ::
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Late Blog:: 14.8.04 ::
- We went to the Wushu Competition last Saturday, and it was great. Ruther made an error, it was at BSU not BCF. We still drove the extra 5 kms or so, arrived there late and enjoyed the fights. We didn't get to watch the Main Event though (main event sa umpisa? shit baliktad a...). Respects to the Wushu Federation! The Taulo Exhibition was also great, you know those stuff that Jet Li does, yeah , asteeg pare, suporta.
:: Jethro 9:42 AM [+] ::
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Saturday Notes:: 11.8.04 ::
- The guy who thought of "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is the same guy who thinks that Satan is a scary monster from hell. Who ever that person is, he/she obviously have never seen the film 18th Angel*, has never heard of the Omerta-like coldness of malinis trumabaho. That old adage that we commonly find in kindergarten classroom walls is really a vapid one. I mean, why not just simply associate cleanliness with good health. I don't know really, you should ask Imelda Marcos how many times she takes a bath in a day and how many times she goes to the spa in a week.
- Again, there'll be a party at Vocas tonight, but I'll be watching the Wushu Competition with Ruther and Ced at 6pm, it's a priority, 60 pesos for so many fights. Maybe we could drop by at Vocas, I just wanna see the local newspaper clipping posted there (Rose told me I was in the picture, which I surmise, nakatalikod)
*notes: Rachel Leigh Cook and vaginal wash, man that's total pH care, beauty, cleanliness and hell on earth
:: Jethro 1:02 AM [+] ::
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sounds, sounds, sounds:: 30.7.04 ::
- I recently purchased Pat Metheny Trio's cd "99-00". A superb LP. No guest appearances by Diana Krall or Nora Jones, no keyboards, and most of the time there are no rhythm guitars, just the bass, drums and Pat's guitars. As usual, the trio simply relied more on their tightness to achieve a minimal but still rich jazz sound.
- Here's what I did yesterday: Get 2 mini components, put it in the room, and play two of the most sonic sounds existing in the universe...at the same time. The trip wasn't the regular "Ear Massacre", for non-psychonauts, they may call it "Auditory Genocide with Mind Rape." The concoction of Sonic Youth (LP's "Washing Machine" and "NYC Ghosts and Flowers"), and George Harisson's 1969 experimental project "Electronic Sound" created an environment so surreal!!! Sigh...I wish I had a brand new laptop...a Mac preferably.
- Chico Molina will be missed so greatly, it would take forever to fill up the vaccum he created. I personally miss his wall of sound, the trademark delays in his rhythm guitar, and his rock and roll honesty. If you would close your eyes and listen to Chico play, you'll never imagine that it is created by this frail-looking, low-profiled prodigy. Pure talent and passion, no egos, just music and art...Paalam Chico.
:: Jethro 6:16 AM [+] ::
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No Ayahuasca, but, What the Heck! There's the Musical Orgasm!:: 19.7.04 ::
There may be a limited amount of entheogen at Vocas last Tuesday, but it was still one hell of an experience. No, wait, the word "experience" alone is too lame. Perhaps a few more words like "cosmic orgasmic" or "the-ultimate-intense-one-with-the-cosmos-trip" would suffice.
Around 7pm and me and the crew arrived at Vocas to attend it's grand opening. Vocas, by the way, is an art haven in the heart of Session Road, it is where all aspects of culture, art, and music unite and copulate with each other endlessly.
In times like this, scouts like me and my bro always come prepared with the P.R.'s (pre-rolled joints), this way everybody would turn out to be happy all night long.
Let's skip the part where everyone is normal and go to the part where Noel de Brackinghe of Rubber Inc. started with the set, and I picked up a bongo to jam with some strangers. The set turned to be a percussion jam mixed with ambient electronic music that lasted for what seemed an hour. Then Hepe Pepe Smith sat down for the most honest in-yer-face blues and rakenrol, just simply legendary. Then he broke a string and took a break. Since, Kawayan De Guia was a bit eager to let me play the bass, he called me to plug it and I commenced with a groovy phrase, everybody with the percussions followed in, and when Sir Pepe Smith picked up a bongo and banged it with my basslines, the rest is history.
This is one of the most super impromptu jams I've ever engaged my self into, everyone's goin' crazy dancin and groovin the night away. Kawayan with his spontaneous poetry reading, and Shant's mystical performance, there was no resting. The jam also lasted for what seemed an hour or longer. Even when I felt that my hands are on the verge of collapse-which prompted me to stop-Pepe still wanted me to go on and on. I love the Hepe man, he's a legend but still, despite my shortcomings and lack of experience, he still is very appreciative of what I can do. To be with great artists is a very humbling moment.
Whatever energy and passion I unleashed that night, I dedicate it to Chico Molina (Kapatid's guitarist), thank's for the music man, we'll never forget you, be in peace Kapatid!!!
:: Jethro 6:47 AM [+] ::
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This is the Future...A few decades ago:: 11.7.04 ::
I'm kinda obsessed with vintage sci-fi films nowadays. Me and Ruther recently bought 2 vcd's (I don't have a DVD player) both with retro-futuristic plots.
Here are the titles:
"Forbidden Planet" (1956)
"Logan's Run" (1976)
Both movies feature breakthroughs in the technological advancement of filmmaking. "Forbidden Planet" used electronic tonalities created by Louis and Bebe Baron instead of conventional music, while "Logan's Run" the movie that came out just a year before Star Wars, was a pioneer of Holographic Images. If only I have enough dough I would go further by ordering "Metropolis" (1927) and "The War of the Worlds" (1953) at Amazon, but for now my hunt will be limited to the more mainstream stuff.
note: I also bought "Follow That Bird" (1985) the first Sesame Street Movie ever!
:: Jethro 6:15 AM [+] ::
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TOP13 STONER HITS:: 8.6.04 ::
(some of the best stuff I've been listening to lately)
1.) Deciphering the Message>>>Art Blakey
2.) Scared Shitless>>>sandwich
3.) Milestones>>>Miles Davis Quintet
4.) Riders on the Storm>>>The Doors
5.) DeathBlow>>>deftones
6.) Crystal Ship>>>The Doors
7.) Diamond Sea>>>Sonic Youth
8.) Babylon Sisters>>>Steely Dan
9.) Batucada sa Calesa>>Bong Peñera
10.)Waiting Lord>>>Try the Extra Special
11.)One>>>Three Dog Night
12.)Summertime>>>Janis Joplin
13.)Vibrate>>>OutKast
:: Jethro 6:45 AM [+] ::
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Another Gig in the Wall:: 31.5.04 ::
Down Season('tis the season to be further bored) is here. Parokya/Kamikazee is coming to town, I guess everybody is excited, ta hell with em! Me? Gonna watch? Hell no!
Fete De La Musique is fast approaching, it will take place at Libis...huhm...should I stay or should I go?
:: Jethro 6:41 AM [+] ::
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Dilemma? Solved!:: 28.5.04 ::
There was no such thing as a gargantuan musical dilemma last Saturday. Here is a short account of what happened on May 29.
1900hrs I embarked at the Jagad Yoga Studio, and witnessed Denise's Mosaic Exhibit. It was fantastic, bloody fantastic! I'm all praises for Denise. Liquor is free and flowing at the bar, Beefeater, Negro and Gato Wine, Tanduay, and that Sweet Vodka which I forgot the name after imbibing a sufficient amount.
9:30ish and the atmosphere is already posting a caveat that an intense party would culminate. Minutes later, The Hairy Dawgs arrived with their all-percussion weaponry. They played, and eventually released an energy so high and mighty, the tectonic plates must have been agitated. Jorel, guitarist for Kjwan and Happy Meals was one of the members of the Dawgs, along with Toni Bernardo, Cynthia Alexander's drummer, and I think 8 other guys (I lost count, I was too mesmerized to conduct such basic arithmetic). The Dawgs are Gawd!
Chad of Liquid Jane and sessionist bassist for Sound arrived with his bass (The guy still remembers me, I broke his strings when I joined Sound in an inpromptu jam last year)
Surprisingly, Karl Roy, the birthday celebrant for the other gig, was there too. I greeted the reverend.
As the night progressed, inpromptu jams where happening endlessly. I jammed with Toni, and several other wonderful musicians who are so willing to share their talents. My last jam was with Jorel, and a Dreadheadguy (I forgot his name, but his good music still lingers in my mind).
Meanwhile, at corner Aguirre street, at the Republic Glass building, BrutalGrace was texting me, asking me if Karl is still at the exhibit. After a while, I took a cab to Peligro bar, Kapatid was already playing, the crowd is hyped up, but since most of them are konyo kids, no moshing occurred. Fortunately, 3rd World Project failed to make it to the gig, so the disappointment waned a bit.
After the gig, I hanged out with BG and Joel (Kapatid's manager) and a few members of Olympic Smoker a bit.
At past4am, I was alone at a gasoline station just across Dusit Hotel, eating some cookies and drinking milk, waiting for time to pass, then I took the bus and collapsed at my grandma's bed in fairview at 6am.
The dilemma, was definitely solved. Solve din ako.
Note: Nathan looked sober, Ira played guitar on "Fadeaway" at the end of the set. J-hoon had his hair cut short...and so on, and so forth.
:: Jethro 7:44 AM [+] ::
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DILEMMA (FUCK it, forget Nelly/Kelly, hammer the nail on the coffin):: 1.5.04 ::
I'm goin to Manila tomorrow, and for the very first time, I'm facing a gargantuan musical dilemma. The dilemma might not be as big as the type one would encounter at the previous Fete, or Lolapalooza, but believe me, if you'd get into my shoes, you won't be able to tie the shoelaces.
I have 2 choices tomorrow night.
The first: A Lighted Mosaic Exhibit at the Jagad Yoga Studio(located at Pasay Rd.), which features The Hairy Dawgs, an all-percussions samba group.
The Second: Karl roy's Birthday party at Peligro Bar. Featuring the band Kapatid, and the Third World Project.
Now, all I have to do is weigh things up. The mosaic exhibit is my priority because, the mosaic artist is my friend and she invited me, and we're going to jam our brains out of course. One of the Hairy Dwags members is also my friend, and I've been dying to watch them live. Plus, a few old friends from the PESR posse, whom I haven't seen for years are planning to come.
On the other hand, Karl Roy's birthday celebration at Peligro is brewing up. Not only that Kapatid is my fave band in the world but, I've been dying more to see 3rd World Project live! And plus, BrutalGrace is there, I need to get the pics, and of course, if BG is there, I have some sort of a chaperone, a passes to join the post-gig party.
I'm a Libran so I must equilibriate things up. And, oh, yeah, both gigs will be in Makati, and Makati is not such a big place for me not to hop. But anyway, I hope time would coordinate with my wants and needs this time.
:: Jethro 6:44 AM [+] ::
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Kay Sarap Bumiyahe sa Pilipinas:: 8.4.04 ::
I've been wondering if we were ever colonized by the Soviets. I mean what if the original name of the place was Nuevavskaya? Anyway, here is an abridged detail of what happened while I was away from this crappy, wannabe-infested, place called Baguio, and spent 4 days in Nueva Vizcaya.
Tuesday, Our clan took off on our Hilux at around 9am. Since Ambuklao road is a nightmare come true, we decided to take the longer, but more convenient route. It would turn out to be an 8-hour travel (about 10 hours for commuters), passing through numerous towns in Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija. The road to Nueva Vizcaya is convenient enough for motorists to think that they are anywhere but the Philippines.
Late in the afternoon, we embarked at my uncle’s place in Bayombong. His house, a “bahay kubo”, is located near a vast rice field. Farming is the main bread and butter of the residents there. We stayed there for a night, and in the morning we went for a swim in the river. The river is 5 minutes away by foot (and maybe 5 hours by hand). The water is just knee level, so I didn’t bring my hovercraft. After the swimming and shitting in the river, we packed our things and hit the roads to Maddela to visit more relatives.
After 3 hours, we finally landed in my great grandfather’s house.
The next day after breakfast, we visited a cave, a nameless one, and not included in any map. Armed with flashlights (some of our companions had improvised flashlights powered with motorcycle batteries). We trekked the cave, guided by some of our relatives and neighbors. The cave didn’t have an exit, just dead ends, so that means, we have to go back to the entrance to go out. Inside were a few bats, stalactites (we took home a few large formations), and of course, water. The highest level the water could reach is up to the chest, but most parts are only knee-high. 10 years ago, according to our great grandfather, the water could reach up to the chin in most areas of the cave. It took us more than 2 hours to get in and out of the cave (we didn’t trek its total distance, because it could last for 5-6 hours).
After the cave experience, we went back to the barrio to have some lunch. Late in the afternoon we went to Cagayan River, the longest in the PI, for a much-wished-for swim.
Friday, we took off in the morning loaded with sacks of rice, coconuts, stalactites and dirty clothes, headed towards our beloved TSP-rich, tourist-infested, derelict home called Baguio.
Note: I didn't include the Hundred Islands story that happened last week, it's not really that worth telling
:: Jethro 8:04 AM [+] ::
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ATLAS speaks...at last:: 12.3.04 ::
My Family arrived recently, so I won't be going online as often as I did. Most parties bound to bump into me would be set aside, beacuse I'd be spending most of my time this month with the clan.
As for gigs, guys, the Happy Lil' Veggiemites, the Scabfairies, the Monarchs the Haginomdans, and my supposed try-out for the Fusion band...I might be totally out of the scene (there is no scene anyway) for the remaining year, I don't have any plans but a huge burden of responsibility would be cast upon my shoulders as soon as my parents are back in the K.S.A.
I might be forgetting music for a while, so i guess it's time for all y'all to look for a bassist because no one knows when I would be back
I promise...I won't be just "a legend existing in the books"...I'll be back, and as Ping Lacson said "Matira, Matibay"
:: Jethro 4:56 AM [+] ::
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Life is Bitchy:: 10.3.04 ::
Fuck talaga!, dehins ako natuloy na bumaba, walang awa ang tadhana pero ok lang wala rin naman akong awa sa tadhana. Sumama ang aking pisikal na kalagayan kaya dehins ako natuloy pero ok lang yun, marami pang susunod, dahil kung hindi, tignan natin kung ano ang mangyayari.
:: Jethro 5:31 AM [+] ::
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Sa Wakas!!!:: 28.2.04 ::
Kailan lang ay dumadaing ako dahil sa matinding pagkaburat ko dito sa Baguio, gusto kong makakita ng iba, at gumawa ng medyo kakaiba. Sa wakas, bukas ng gabi, I'm fuckin out, sana malunasan na ang aking pagkaburat. May gig sa UP DIliman, opening kasi ng art exhibit ng isang James, at makikitugtog ulit ako kila Tony ( who calls themselves "The Happy Little Veggiemites") upang kumana ng mga bossa nova, samba, at iba pang uri ng jazz. Magaganap ito dakong alas 5 ng hapon hanggang alas 8 ng gabi (hindi ko alam kung anong oras yung mismong tugtugan), sa Vargas Museum, sa Biyernes, ika-12 ng Marso.
Sessionista lang ako kaya mag-isa lang akong pupunta at hahanapin ko pa ang bahay ng mga kasama sa Pasig.
Kitakits!!!
:: Jethro 4:32 AM [+] ::
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KUDOS!!!
Bigyan lang naten ng maigsing pagpupugay ang mga kaibigan na kailan lang ay nagtamo ng tagumpay sa buhay...
*BRUTALGRACE
Asteeg, tanggap na nga pala si Grace sa Pulp pero "magreresign" na daw siya, I mean, yung website niya, ewan ko lang kung anong balak niya. Galeng tol, steady lang!
*CATHY
Asteeg din, nanalo sa Fashion Competition sa Manila ng maraming awards, asteeg Cathy, ang lufet mong rumampa, kahit di kita napanood, you're so galeng!!!
*ZONK (bagong Aso namin)
Asteeg, nabakunahan ka na ng anti-rabies!!! kudos!!!
:: Jethro 9:49 AM [+] ::
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The SuperBombDigittyDoe Party at Salud Bistro:: 27.1.04 ::
LAST night was one of the best parties I've been to...well...parties are getting better and better nowadays, and people still assume that I'm a troglodyte. Well yes, I am, but in that case I'm a vampire bat.
A Lomography exhibit happened at Salud Bistro last night, and a private party was thrown by its owner Nina. I get to jam alotta bossa nova stuff with Denise on guitars and vocals, Shant on percussions and his unprecedented mystical presence, and Toni Bernardo (Cynthia Alexander's drummer) on the trap kit. As the night progressed and the seeemingly "slow party" started to hype up with the help of a voluminous amount of ganja and beers, everone else began grabbing their own percussions or any vacant instrument and jammed the whole night. A smoke of samba, bossa, ethnic, and blues filled the house and even across the ceiling.
Later that night, I met the members of Indio I, including Ian Umali (formerly of P.O.T.) just before they played "Earth to Man", a song which I requested.
After every party is a post party, so on we hitched with Paulo to Khaldis Bistro and there we had a few beers and buffalo wings to chill down the effects of an intense night.
:: Jethro 9:41 AM [+] ::
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NEW YEAR:: 22.11.03 ::
I've procrastinated to the excess. Christian New Year, Islamic New Year, Thai Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year - they all passed in front of my face, but my eyes remained closed. As you can see, my last entry was published November 22, and since then, I haven't written anything, I haven't done anything worthwhile. I turned into a troglodyte, but not exactly that type of hermit who stays in his cave spending time honing his talents and skills. In my cave, all I did was get my self stoned and held a mental coup de etat against the world....alone
But then, certain uncertainties knocked my skull and reminded me that something must be done. I, the former peripatetic who used to think that Manila is within walking distance, and that Thailand is a country where I must go to just because my taste buds crave for Kao Pad, must wake up. I woke up and found out a vast web of uncertainties clouding my path (mas baduy na kong sumulat ngayon, obviously). There is only one way (while Shelob is away), and that would be to clear everything out.
Still the cynic that I was, the forever loner who thinks that nobody believes, I merged with some troglodytes to create music, which I choose not to bring to the details yet...
My New Year starts now...depending on the definition of the word "now"
Source: Procrastinator for the Dummies, How to Procrastinate Long Enough to Make Yourself Rot
:: Jethro 5:39 AM [+] ::
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Creativity at its best...or shall I say, "Kabangagan at its best":: 9.10.03 ::
As a part of the 18th Ad Congress, which is fuelled by the virtue of creativity, Baguio bloomed with its own art festival (which to some, rembles that of the typical Boracay gimik), and its flowers turned into a potent brew stronger than a concoction of talampunay and ganja.
Last night was total bliss at the Botanical Garden. I rushed to attend to the event, and drowned myself in herb smoke.
One highlight of the said event was the set of tall bamboo installations, and of course, the all-night experimental music. The band (I never got their name) played sonic youth-triphop-deftones-influenced music with ambient electronic hues, and the freestyle poetry by the almighty Kawayan De Guia. Percussions were set on the grounds for everyone to jam.
I came, I saw, I conquered...while stoned
:: Jethro 6:35 AM [+] ::
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GMA TAKBO!:: 23.9.03 ::
Hindi naman siguro ganoon katanga ang sambayanang Pilipino upang muling iboto ang isang tutang Pangulo na walang idinulot sa ating bansa kundi kahirapang pilit pinagtatakpan ng mga kaimpokritohan ng ating gobyerno. Ilan taon na tayong dinudumihan sa ulo at niloloko ng gobyerno. Kaya sa nalalapit na halalan, ipakita natin na ang sambayanang Pilipino ay hindi tanga...
:: Jethro 6:39 AM [+] ::
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WANDERER'S GUILD: ARMOR FOR SLEEPLESSNESS
Friday night: I didn't go to the Cheese concert...I'm watchin' Admit One' Chong' tomorrow, and I need some sleep.
Saturday: Woke up at 6am and prepared for the trip (vehicular trip is what I mean)...a few minutes (yeah, like after 80minutes) and I am aboard Victory. I think Victory Records should endorse them. Good Idea: "The official tour bus of Snapcase"...8:20 and the wheels of the bus started to revolve rapidly, meaning "umaandar na kami."...Past 3pm, I finally disembarked at the Pasay station....BrutalGrace is late of course, but that's OK, her house is a bit far...errr....really far.
"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to TeeHankee street"
Katarungan Village, Muntinlupa City, the home of Brutal...we stayed at Nino's house for a while to pass the brick duchie in exchange for the cheddar...Evening came and we had a wonderful dokkito dinner...mmm sarap...The sky has already darkened so I can't read my watch (good alibi), we hanged out for a short while and then headed to Rock Radio Cafe Alabang.
ADMIT ONE CHONG
Ok, we're finally here, the Fatal Posporos girls are here, KC of Lokopyl is here, Isi is also here...this night's gonna be cool, everone is a stranger, but I don't feel much like a stranger... "si Jet nga pala tiga-Baguio, pumunta pa yan dito para manuod ng gig", BrutalGrace introduced me simultaneously to everyone...I met Jorel (Happy Meals, Kjwan guitarist) and he gave me their Kjwan CD, man, this is bliss music...The gig started with Sugarfree, then Fatal Posporos, Kjwan and of course Kapatid...KC also played with Kapatid...KC, you the man, you got the groove man...as usual Nathan is pissedrunx...What else?...uhm...Chico got a sixpack abs...Ebe could truly speak a lil' Ilocano...etc. etc.
"Bullet the Blue Sky"
After the gig, everyone packed up and went home, leaving me and Grace nowhere to go but Caltex...We hanged out at Caltex, waiting for the sun to come up...After a few minutes (120 minutes), the sky turned blue and Brutal took some pics of its extravagance...I imbibed the remainder of my beer, we packed up and found my ass aboard a bus to Cubao...Due to sleeplessness (6am-6am, I never sleep aboard buses) I feel like gravity doesn't really exist...7am, I arrived at Fairview and went to my grandma's house...past 8am, I succumbed to sleep...and collapsed on top of the bed...12noon, I woke up and had lunch...1 pm and I'm back on track to Cubao...2:30 pm, I'm on my way to Baguio again...
ARmOR for SLeEP: GAnJa (Baluti sa Pagtulog)
At last I can enjoy sleep...but first...I gotta take a toke to enhance every sensation of sleeping....
:: Jethro 6:21 AM [+] ::
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