On Kid British, Downtimes, and Matinees

Hello kiddies. It is April Fool's Day but I kid you not (Did I just say that? Uh-oh.) when I tell you that Kid British is our musical programmer's current pet. Just who is Kid British? You are presently hearing one of this vibrant young band's songs on our player, Sunny Days.

Also have to tell you that there is another matinee gig coming up. This one is produced once again by A Happy Face Productions and will be held on Saturday afternoon of April 4 at Center for Arts, Timog Ave., Quezon City. Should be great: take a look at the poster at our siderail and marvel at the excellent line-up.

We may have been absent for quite awhile, downtime you might say. But, hey, the music is still alive. See you guys around, as always.

March 15 Sunday Afternoon Extravaganza Cancelled

Just to let you know. The March 15 Vaudeville Sunday Afternoon Extraganza to be held at the Mayflower Night Club has been cancelled, reportedly due to liquor licensing problems. Pity.

But again I say, let's have more Sunday matinee gigs.

Why I Love Matinees, Plus Photos from March 1 Sunday PM Extravaganza

I love matinee gigs. It is not too often, though, to find matinee gigs being held here in Metro Manila. We may perhaps take a cue from the now defunct CBCG which gave a good number of bands (e.g. Gorilla Biscuits, Sick Of It All) a venue via Sunday matinees. Even Cebu has been doing matinees for years.

Why do I love matinees? Unless you have kids (then again, you can bring them to the gigs, yes?), there's nothing much going on during Sunday afternoon. By lunchtime you would have probably been done with domestic and personal obligations. Besides, watching the bands perform onstage while the sun is high up gives a very very surreal feeling. If matinee is a new experience for you, you've got to try seeing 'em matinee gigs.

We should hold matinee gigs more often.

Last March 1 (a Sunday), A Happy Face Productions ran its first installment of Vaudeville at Ten02. The gig featured, in order of appearance, Bad Omen, Against Man, Pink Cow, Dead Sperm, Utter Dismay, Beatdown Boombox, and Tame The Tikbalang. Very commendable effort. I had a good time, especially so at the homestretch (around 8pm), though it would have been better to stick to the schedule. At any rate, I certainly want more of these in the near future.

Sayang, the second installment of the Vaudeville (Sunday Afternoon Extravaganza) has been cancelled (see succeeding post). But do check out the photos from the March 1 gig. And see you around...on any given Sunday afternoon.

Bad Omen


Against Man


Pink Cow


Dead Sperm


Utter Dismay


Beatdown Boombox


Tame The Tikbalang

(Above photo: Paulo of Pink Cow)

Blood Donors Wanted

Dennis Maniego, bassist for Throw, The GoSignals, and Betrayed, will be undergoing a triple bypass heart surgery on Tuesday, March 17, 2009. He needs blood donors, as this procedure will entail blood transfusion. You may get in touch with his brother Mel Maniego at meljm888[at]yahoo[dot]com or at trashradiomanila[at]gmail[dot]com.

Throw is likewise calling for your support for Dennis, read about it here.

Hey You Guys!

Does anybody remember The Electric Company?

(Yes yes, I am giving away my age there.)

The Electric Company is a syndicated children's television program produced by the same folks that gave us Sesame Street. Thought of as a show catering to more mature kids (ergo, kids with minds more sophisticated and, well, with greater tendency towards perversion), The Electric Company is best known for its screechy catch-phrase popularised by the diminutive Rita Moreno: HEY, YOU GUYS!

Ah, yes. Quite the sentiment of our music programmer here, hehehe. And see, I can take a hint (/me getting up from bed and typing this post).

OK. Playlist now.

1. This Rainy Decade - CLEANERS FROM VENUS

This comes straight out of the catalogue of L'Agence Des Refusés, reportedly a 1980s cassette only Belgian label which is attracting some kind of interest within the snooty "hard-to-find titles" clique. Perhaps our European radar (who also happens to be Belgian) can shed more light on this.

2. I've Got a Crush on You - LUSCIOUS JACKSON

From the compilation "Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove" comes this quirky, delightful cover.

3. Modern Girl - CAMERA OBSCURA

Camera Obscura, the band from Glasgow, Scotland, has been around since 1996. The song "Modern Girl" comes from arguably their most popular work to date, Let's get Out of This Country, released some ten years later. A new album, My Maudlin Career, is due for release on April 2009.

4. Only Happy When It Rains - RICHARD CHEESE and LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

I like Shirley Manson a lot and this is one of my favorite songs by Garbage. This track in the playlist is a wicked remake by the irreverent Richard Cheese.

5. Straight to Hell - LILY ALLEN (from the War Child Heroes Compilation)

Lily Allen does this cover with no less than The Clash's Mick Jones. Read about the War Child heroes Compilation here.

6. Army of Me - BJORK

And oh, who does not know Bjork?

So there. Capping off this post is this clip from what was once a part of my perverted childhood. Enjoy folks.