back to work

i've been in my absence for almost 2 months here.i missed writing though.i've mostly been busy.i've been through a lot lately so i really do apologize for that.but now that i'm back,let's get to the main stuff.

last 2 weeks so far was awesome.

1-22-09

FRESH SOUNDS at RCBC's hexagon lounge

Upharma down,Not Another Boyband,and Sleepwalk Circus

I simply cannot miss that because of some reasons

* it was my day off
*i still have spare cash to kill
*rcbc is a place that a few heard of as an elite gig spot
*lastly-sleepwalk circus and updharma down

i came there late with my usual posse- ben and charles. then i saw some friends there as well,like red and nikki, tim, aki and even my grade school classmate,paula!:D

we already arrived when the first act, Not another boyband did their stint.they sound electronica,which will make me look forward to listening to them.i was only able to hear one song from them when we arrived.but i promise to listen to more of them soon.

it was nice when i was a bit tipsy that time.listening to Sleepwalk circus feels like it drives me to into this place when no one braves to enter.plus that was my first time to also see their new bassist,laurie.she was cute,hehe.

the reason why i also loved Sleepwalk is because all performances are different.they weren't boring.the light shows were only a plus.

The next and last act of the night were from Updharma down.

And just like Sleepwalk, they are also one of the acts that everyone shouldn't miss.

Armi's vocals were as superb as always,followed by Carlos' trippy riffs and Paul's basslines were always awesome.And finally i get to watch Ian to play again.All of their songs made me fall in love with "Bipolar" once again-as if i've lost my love for the album.haha.

It was also great that I've encountered my 5 minutes with Armi.She asked where i got my shirt- my fave tee of the moment-my yakult shirt.:D

late night ends,and ben and charlie had to leave after.So red nikki and tim invited me to eat midnight dinner with them at an area in ortigas where foodtrip galore exists.They call it banchetto,and the foodmarket opens every friday midnight to saturday lunchtime.

And the glory of it all began. i had a hard time choosing what to eat because all looked so mouth-watering.i liked Tim's blueberry pie that he ordered.it was perfect-not to sweet and not too heavy at the same time.and i ate my chicken pasta. and i was baptized with banchetto's bestseller- the crepeman's white chocolate crepe.and i was craving for it after.hehe.that was a good night.

make believe

Nov 7, '09

friday last week- i went for the very first time to CubaoX to view Darel Ballesteros's work called "Make Believe" at Pablo Gallery.since that was my first time ever,i went there with one of my new friends, Amber.she looks like my sister,but she's a lot more quiet than her.i arrived there by about 8 pm- because the mrt that i rode that time experienced technical issue so i was stuck on the train for about 20 minutes.then i got a bit lost going to cubao x until i got past of ali mall. Cubao X is a quaint hotspot for artist/musicians/entrepreneurs for the arts.then again,it's actually NICE to get lost in CubaoX-there were a lot of nifty stores/vintage hubs that i can browse through.but i went there a bit late so some stores were closed too. I never met the artist before but i did want to check out the artworks - i was handed with a little picture invite from dex's show and pretty much went to exhibits after that.it was fun,that these artists are something.there wasn't any sense of intimidation as they welcome spectators to see their works.Anyway,funny thing happened that night,i was looking for amber in CubaoX when someone shouted my name-not on my nickname-but my REAL name! i was thinking if i knew someone in the QC area who knew me-aside from my relatives,of course.i was thinking of friends from MY area-the BF area-because they're the ones who usually called me by my name.then slowly turning around- i see familiar faces - shannen of NU,froi,kuya neil,andy,and raf. Funny that they eventually recognized me from a 10 feet distance.haha.so i hung out with them and finally saw the pablo gallery.It's a small space for an art event,but i think what makes up for it would be the well lit room.the artworks can be seen and the colors blended as well. Since that was my first time ever to view darel's artwork,i could say that i instantly fell in love with it,since all i see would be pictures of doll-like figures.they're all in the same ,but the feelings would have changed it otherwise.i liked how it had this dream like effect-almost nostalgic-makes you wish that you were a kid and that you would like to become an artist someday. it was child-like but the deep shades of purple is what appealed to me the most.i had an opportunity to say hi to darrel saying that i loved his works.plus a quick trivia that shannen told me-that was also his first time to draw a real idenity-such would be the picture of a young girl with a book. but it still looks surreal.he may have forgotten me after that,but i still would be a fan for his works.the night was young,so i hung out with people-and then i saw joe de jesus-first time that i also met him was at the al's bar silipan at rinigan event-friendly dude. and then we talked abou anything new about his prod- Tubby Trousers.I'm already familiar with Tubby Trousers because Soft Pillow Kisses usually performs on his prod.And undoubtedly-i've been a fan of Soft Pillow kisses for quite sometime.then we chatted the whole night,and it was all good.Then i saw Brendan Goco- so i'm really relieved that i saw people whom i've been really open to when it comes to music and art.but then i had to leave early because i have work the next day after.

Good thing that the last train ride was until midnight.otherwise,i would be screwed up after.

maybe someday when i have a kid,i'd buy a huge artwork from him and give it to my future kid to "make believe".


http://pablogalleries.com/2009/11/06/make-believe/

rainy weekend

wednesday again.my nose just itches and i feel like my body was run over (again) by a car or something.ah. anyway. the hype after the NU Rock Awards 2009 is over and i got the chance to witness it.it was my first time to watch it.even if the weather wasn't that game (at that time typhoon "Santi" already was in the manila area).I was with my friends Ben and Charles, and the gave me the ticket ABSOLUTELY FREE .heheh.But the event was hell fun. Because the event was not that packed,and it was star studded-rock stars everywhere. from the hottest names-like say, Ehra Madrigal, Ornussa Cadness, and other heavy names in the biz,i'm in absolute haven,i guess.Iza Calzado was a goddess by every inch and her co host was even a rockstar-Ramon Bautista.hahaaa. The performances were stellar-from the opening acts like Salamin, Turbogoth and Even to Up Dharma Down's Armi Millare singing the National Anthem, and to the hardcore acts like Kamikazee, Urbandub, Juan Pablo dream, Razorback,Kjwan and Chicosci. But 3 of may faves would be from Franco, Up dharma down and the one for Francis M- Ely Buendia singing "Higante" with Elmo Magalona.i couldn't help but coo at his kid siblings at the side of the stage-the youngest of the Magalona clan-they were in synch with the rap part. The downside part of the show would be the storm and how the heck are we going to go home after.But that was not part of the event-so blame it on the weather that time.hehe.

list for this year's winners:

Artist of the Year: Up Dharma Down
Album of the Year: Bipolar by Up Dharma Down
Song of the Year: “Antukin” by Rico blanco
Hall of Fame: Francis M
Best Live Act: Hilera
Listeners Choice Award: Chicosi
In the Raw Award: Dimmerswitch
Best Music Video: “Last Day on a Cruise Ship” of Bamboo as directed by Pancho Esguerra
Producer of the Year: Robin Rivera of Peryodiko
Best Album Packaging: “Mornings and Airports” of Sugarfree by Inksurge
Vocalist of the Year: Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree and Armi Millare of Up Dharma Down
Guitarist of the Year: Kakoy Legaspi of Peryodiko
Bassist of the Year: Ivan Garcia of Hilera
Drummer of the Year: Allan “Bords” Bordeus of Kamikazee
Best New Artist: Peryodiko


*photos were taken by Popo dela Cruz.awesome pics.

500 days of Summer

my new favorite movie.it's not a chick flick.but it is a hard hitting story about love. oh yes.
and somehow the scene of the story was sort of autobiographical for me.what i like and how i view relationships were true. on the summer's point of view,as i have said it to people.and how i dump guys,yep,the cold truth. and how i get dumped,from the guy's point as well. i do that,breaking things after rejection.and most likely gets depressed and drunk and plays music that loud and screams.but then again on my end i get past thru depression,i guess.

What i loved about the film was the cold hard truth that love is not getting the guy (or girl- from the protagonist's point of view). I mean Tom (played by Joseph Gordon- Levitt) sets his eyes for Summer (played by Zooey Deschanel) and madly falls in love with her-but the girl though otherwise. it's a perfect story of reality vs. expectation. One cannot help that they can be so torn up for the dude.but that also goes the same for the ladies as well.

BUT THIS IS ONE GOOD FLICK WITH AN EVEN BETTER SOUNDTRACK TO MATCH.
Take it from the Smiths-- the cinematography also goes with it-- the neutrals and the browns are visible on the movie.really sharp and snazzy, i may say.

favorites on the soundtrack:

Mushaboom- Feist
Please please please let me get what i want - The Smiths
There is a light that never goes out- The Smiths
Bad Kids-Black lips
There goes the fear- Doves
You make my dreams- Hall and Oates

what i'm listening right now....

"Buang"

It's filipino for "crazy" or a mad man if that one's much more specific. This is one the recent exhibits that i recently headed to as a kickoff for my restday since that fell on a Tuesday. One of my new friends, kuya Neil gave me this cardboard brochure to check out their works at Makati. That was good because i don't have to get frantic at that time because the location wasn't that far from the office. I even checked out the webbie for the address on where the event will be shown at.

Alliance Francaise de Manille

(formerly Reposo St.) Bel-Air 2, Makati City

i was a "buang" too when i realized that Alliance is ridiculously near the place where i work at.no less than 10 miuntes away.haha. i cam there by 8 ish. i was able to see same faces which is fun because in my own opinion,i'm starting to get reacquainted to people who i've been introduced with and i've gotten comfortable with myself because i get to ask helluv questions.

then the exhibit closes.next thing i knew is i was already with dex and others.having a drink somewhere in manila.the night was late so i stayed at dex's until 6 pm.That was also the first time i ever went to Marikina. I do get to see what it's like to be a visual artist firsthand-it's typical. the difference is that they full heartedly are committed to see how things are and they've mastered it on medium.

But i'm enjoying all the hype that they're humble still nevertheless.good to know that there's still a group who welcomes the world and makes it better. No doubt I'm really enjoying art in real life.

these past few days...

i would not say that i'm an artist too.But i like art,i really do.it's one of those things that makes a big part of me "ME". i finally came to my senses that i should be better off solo having a healthy appreciation for the art scene rather than hassle people to view artworks that they can never say what makes them think towards it.i do get rejected after a couple of tries to invite friends to accompany me to view art.sadly enaough in my own honest opinion,a huge population doesn't really appreciate art unless it was being dictated as cool.that's why i get annoyed when people tell me that i'm there to see friends and not view the works itself.

16-October-2009

"FTW"
-works by dexter fernandez and froilan calayag
-Tala Gallery, Kamuning, QC

i had a good 2 hour sleep from work,so i headed to Tala Gallery at Tomas Morato.i was an idiot for those "going- to -north" commutes.anyways i was already there by 8 pm-and saw some kids who were introduced to me from the previous "spoils" event.these kids are students from TUP-or Technological University of the Philippines. These kids are aspiring artists so i also like their eagerness and they absorb interest like sponges.really a good sight to see.then seeing familar faces like mihk and beejay from tether,redslim 08, even reporter julius babao was there. The ever so good think about art events is that there is no pretenses-on my part,i was introduced and i honestly say who i am-just an employee from a call center who likes art to its extremes.

Then came Dex and Froilan, who came by 9 ish.it was awesome that they're both simple guys who have this really strong force for the art scene.

I like Froi's work when it somes to color--it has this really strong hue which is total irony for his fuzzy looking creatures. Dex , on the other hand has a penchant for brown tones, japanese culture and things that are deranged.the awesome thing about it is that he makes it look interesting.

I came there solo flight. But i ended up getting acquainted to new faces,and even see their perspective towards art.