Music Speaks, April 6 at Route 196

Unang pagbasa ayon kay Lourd De Veyra

Oftentimes, overusing the phrase "random acts of kindness" annoys me a bit. I cannot fathom how choosing a definite recipient of a supposed random benevolence can be left to chance. Unfortunately, however, one is sometimes overcome by a feeling of a natural "high" (I am guilty, sometimes) and a want to just, just do something nice to anyone.

Caliph8 and Malek Lopez (Drip, Rubber Inc)

The phrase crossed my mind days ago. I, an ordinary denizen on the face of planet Earth, has been (and continues to be) a beneficiary of kindness in all forms, that sometimes I do wonder if any of these acts are actually "random". [Dear friends, tell me quick, your kindness is not at all random, isn't it? I deserve your generosity, yes? Hahaha!]

Take for instance, Music Speaks' first gig last April 6 over at Route 196 along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. The planning of this gig was not without the usual hitches (unusual for me, a total vierge in the gig production arena). It was through the kindness of many people that gave its maiden gig its modest success. Is it random at all? Certainly not, perhaps ... but some actions are just purely pleasantly unexpected that they, too, may probably qualify as "random". Errr, am I making sense?

Call it what you want, then. :) Of course, a bunch of thank you's are in order.

To Erwin who conceptualised and pushed me hard into doing this gig with him, Arvin who was excited with the whole idea of "genre heterogeneity", Albert who did the posters and helped with the publicity, Leslie who effectively assisted specially with the legwork, Mina who did the Music Speaks logo, Hil for the additional promo.

Sago + Caliph8 on drum machine + Malek on keyboards

To Radioactive Sago Project, Malek Lopez, Caliph8, Throw (with Al sporting a spanking new tattoo - w000t!), and The GoSignals (Mel, thank you, you know why) - it was a most fantastic set. Grabe, mind-blowing.

The GoSignals: we joyfully wait for your full-length album ;)

To Route 196 for providing us with a great venue.

Throw with Lourd on guitars

To the guests who opened their minds and hearts (and their schedules too!) to the vision that we have of the kind of gig that we wanted to offer that night. And to everyone else whom I missed, a million thanks.

To those who did not make it to the gig, TOO F***IN' BAD! Hahaha! How does Radioactive Sago Project + Caliph8 + Malek Lopez on a single stage sound to you? How about Throw with Lourd De Veyra on guitars? Or The GoSignals doing a full set of nearly 100% fresh originals?

It was a great night. We were very happy with the response and another gig should be up sooner than you think. Till next time, mes amis et amies.

[This event somewhat coincided with Je Bautista's first death anniversary, which was on an Easter Sunday, April 4. I know that he is happy wherever he is, moreso that we have finally pushed through with what he had wanted to do the whole time.]

Le chemin est loin et difficile, je sais, mais d'accepter le défi. Toujours toujours. We dance to the death. Yes!

Easter Sunday: A Year After Passage To Eternal Life, Among Other Things

Maligayang Linggo ng Pagkabuhay sa inyong lahat!

Today marks the end of the Lenten season in the Christian world. It has been said that Christmas Day should be celebrated on Easter Sunday. I would rather involve myself in related discussions in another venue. :)

Instead, I want to point out some things relevant to this blog.

Today, Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, marks the First Death Anniversary of Trash Radio's co-founder, Je Bautista. When I first realized this months ago, I thought, what beautiful serendipity: even in another dimension, Je has always kept his twisted sense of humour. He was, is, and will always be creative, and nothing will ever change that fact. For this reason, I have a song playing right now, a personal favorite of his, to remember him by. Need I say what it is?

A few months ago, some arrangements were being made with friends of Trash Radio Manila. The result, ultimately, is Music Speaks. Music Speaks is the production arm of Trash Radio Manila, so named after Je's multiply blog (which also happens to be the prototype blog of Trash Radio Manila). Funny that our good friend Hilboy wrote about Music Speaks days before I did, haha. Thanks man, as always. Read about Hil's write-up HERE.

The first event of Music Speaks will be held on April 6, 2010, Tuesday, at Route 196 along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. The gig will feature full-length sets by Throw, Caliph8, and Radioactive Sago Project. That the choice of artists is somewhat of a musical motley was deliberate and something that I have always wanted to see on a regular basis.

Check out the poster for details. While I do not dare say that this is a tribute gig to Je (again, coincidental!), starting anew is almost the most natural thing to do after Easter Sunday.

Something like ... spring cleaning, too. ;)

See you guys on Tuesday.

(Photo of The Resurrection from this site.)

Guest Playlist No. 1: SevenPlusOne (Expressionist Mix) by Caliph8 ... Because Different Is Good For You

One of the plans that Je and I conjured in the past is to feature playlists from some guest artists and friends in the scene. We thought that it was a nice thing to feature these artists' current (or perennial, as the case may be) tracks of interest, which may not be exactly the same as ours.

We want it that way, of course. Listening to the same stuff is downright boooooorrriiiiingggg!!!! (Shall I say that again? Boring! Boring! Boring!) So, here is the first guest playlist for you.

I finally got to talk, and convince, Caliph8, to lend a playlist for our consumption. For those who do not know him, Caliph8 is, by the words of lay people, a DJ, but I would rather not say such, because he is simply more than an DJ. He is a visionary, initially working on hiphop music before venturing into and incorporating textured sounds derived from funk, soul, psychedelia, acid, bossa...probably every beat that he can lay his hands on. If you are familiar with his works, you can actually glean a bit of a punk influence too. (Yay! Yay!)

His most known accomplishment has got to be the founding of the radical hip-hop group A.M.P.O.N. He is likewise with the band called Drip (yes I am sure you've heard about these guys). Also a graffiti and visual arts purveyor, he has done a lot of collaborations (i.e. live scorings) with the filmspeople. Caliph8 is a lot more, his personality as textured and rich as his works, and probably one of the most adorable and nicest people to talk to in the scene.

Check out his MySpace Site HERE. (Photo also comes from this site.)

Enough now, folks, and do your own research too. The title of the playlist is SevenPlusOne (Expressionist Mix), as done by Caliph8. Tracklist here:

Acutel (intro)
Beats by Numbers - Transcendence
Forms - Arif Mardin
Les Electroniciens - Bruno Spoerri
On the underground road - Santucci Scoppa
Fotomodelle - Pierro Umiliani (Caliph8 Remix)
Man is Not a Bird - Broadcast
Kriminal Theme
Cha Tatch Ka - Bernard Estardy
Bridge - Amon Tobin
On Your Marks - Bonobo
Soul for Sahib - Koop
The O.G. - Goo
Esquetando Os Tambourinos E Cuica
Distortion-Broadcast
Neon Massive - Icarus Remix
Michio - Pu22l3 (Caliph8 Deconstruction)

Thank you very much, Caliph8. Looking forward to more playlist, yes? Hahah!

Updates from last Saturday's gig coming up later. ;)

Holiday Gig #2: Keb Darge Live at Cubao X, December 22, 2008

It was 4 in the morning of December 23. The Marika half of TRM was already whisked home and the friend half stayed on at Cubao X. Nearly everyone in the crowd were dropping like flies, out of exhaustion. The turntable was continuously churning northern soul and rockabilly tunes relentlessly, like there's no tomorrow. And Keb Darge, London's renowned funk, soul, and rockabilly DJ, was just as relentless, dancing along like he was the youngest person in the crowd.

"Oi bastards," Keb bellowed, "Get up! You, you lazy bald punk, why do you keep on nodding?" Or something to that effect. In fairness to the said punk, he was, alongside Keb, one of the few last men standing that night.

In reality, Keb Darge is a very nice gentleman. What impressed me more, however, is his passion for his craft. One just have to see him "at work" to understand what I mean: the way he thoughtfully goes over his records, makes his choices, pulls out a few discs, plays them, and dances in between spins. Mesmerizing.
Providing local support were Juan Pablo Dream, Bembol Rockers, Minister Zero and Caliph8. The crowd was a diverse mix of people coming from various scenes (punk, ska, hiphop, electronica, name it), all together dancing and having a good time for a seemingly unifying cause: good music. And for me, good music, regardless of imagined borders and outdated convictions, is all that ever matters.

To Keb, thank you very much for the music, and hope to see you in your favorite coffee place soon.

Juan Pablo Dream

Bembol Rockers

Bembol Boys clowning around with Glenn Mod and Hilboy

Minister Zero

Caliph8

Keb and Caliph8

Minister Zero and Lourd DV

Dancing Master

The crowd