Happy Birthday Wolfmann

Long time no post. Last month was hell. Deadlines, work...tons of it and uncooperative teammates... it couldn't get any better than this! :-)

The tribute gig for my cousin last Nov. 19 at Racks El Pueblo was a blast! The pinoy rock scene is so alive it gives me goosembumps. Well, yeah exagg naman yun! Anyway, it was great to get together again with the same crowd that filled the halls of the funeral parlor a few months back. This time in a better, livelier, albeit nostalgic atmosphere.

They were also celebrating the anniversary of Admit One that night and a lot of bands played. As expected, I enjoyed ALMOST all of them. Almost, I say, because surprisingly, the only lackluster set of the night was Hale's (more of this later).

Those who performed that night included SVC, Dice & K9, If Disco Is A Crime, Chicosci, Happy Meals, Drip, Pedicab, Sandwich, Imago, Cambio, Sugarfree, Twisted Halo, Hale, and of course, Wolfmann+.

My band of the moment is Pedicab. I just really enjoy the craziness and no-holds barred style of music. Yung tipong mapapasayaw ka kahit ayaw mo and once you start, you can't stop! Kawala ng poise, but liberating. For like 15 minutes, I wasn't myself - jumping, screaming, clapping... grabe parang hashish. It's worse when you know the songs (and I do) so kulang nalang tumalon din ako sa gitna with Diego and Raimund. Craziness.

My all time favorite, Sandwich, followed Pedicab and they did a great job of sustaining the momentum. Galing their new songs, can't wait for the new album. Marc Abaya's departure from the band wasn't actually a loss (others would say it was). Raimund Marasigan can handle it pretty well (is there something music-related the guy can't do?). The lost pogi points from Marc's leaving the band was compensated by Mong Alcaraz. I think Sandwich is getting better... Haha lumalabas na ata aking fan girl-ness.

Wolfmann+, my cousin's band, had a very heart-tugging set. The band sang three of his popular songs with a very emotional encore on Beer as vocalist Ebe Dancel did a sort of adlib that seemed like he was talking to Wilf. For a moment, I felt him there, listening, smiling and teary-eyed, feeling the love that brought us all together that night. Before that was a short video montage of him doing what he loves best - tweaking his electronica gadgets... making music...his friends paid tribute. His legacy lives on.

My take on the others:
Chicosci - wow... what a band. Binubuhat na ng bouncer yung vocalist nila. Mong Alcaraz. Yown.

If Disco is A Crime - aliw yung girl! I like her dance moves and her hair and her outfit.

Happy Meals, Drip - okay lang, not bad! not spectacular either. Maybe because excited nako for Pedicab and these two were playing before them.

Imago - such powerful music. band of the moment ko din sila. as in nadama ko

Cambio - enjoy! No doubt about it.

Sugarfree - they didn't sing kuarto, sayang! Pero okay parin yung set nila, parang ang dami nilang tumugtog dun!

Twisted Halo - this is the type of performance that you should just watch and feel the emotions... appreciate. hindi pang sing-along

Hale - ohmygod. I just really feel that they didn't make the most of that opportunity. Them being a fairly young band, it was time to show off at magpakitang gilas to their kuyas yet they sang the less popular songs, much to the dismay of some. That put them in a very uncomfortable position. Nobody's reacting while they were singing. They just didn't connect. I knew and liked their popular songs but their performance that night got me asking myself why I liked them in the first place. Good looks and vocal chords are not enough to make great musicians.

Nakakainis sila

Ganun ba talaga, dapat misinterpreted ka? I so hate it when people get the wrong impression. Ba't ba kasi ganito ako? C'mon! I may sound mad but I'm not mad... at all.

Bakit kahit sobrang nagpapakapuyat ka para matapos ang trabaho pero walang nakakapansin ng effort mo? Pero mapapansin nilang may isang "typo" ka.

Minsan hindi ka na naglu-lunch, mukha kang ngarag at ang pangit-pangit mo na pero hindi ka parin daw mukhang busy.

Bakit yung ibang tao, trying hard to please, sobrang back-biters, pretentious and everything pero well-loved sila? Ikaw na nagpapakatotoo lang misinterpreted ka pa.

Bakit may ibang taong grabe na ang inferiority complex? Kailangang i-compare nila ang sarili nila sayo - in your face? Mygoodness.

Bakit may taong super takot magmukhang tanga? Hindi mo naman inaano, maiinis sayo just because you brought up something that made them look stupid.

Bakit kailangan ang tao naghahanap ng kakampi? Kapag naiinis sila sayo, kailangang ikuwento sa iba para mainis din yung iba. Sa katapusan, ikaw hindi mo na nai-share yung side mo dahil naging sarado na ang utak ng majority?

Nakakainis sila. I hate this day.

Two Hours

My cousin, Andrew, passed away on August 22, 2005. He was 28 years old and was having the time of his life. Honestly, I still don't know why that had to happen. He's got so many things going for him. He had a good life. He was living out his passion for music, with the love of his life and his ever supportive family behind his back.


Andrew, Wolfmann to most, is a musician, a very passionate and nationalistic musician. He lived and breathed music. Even when we were young, Andrew was always the one who would provide the music when we wanted to sing. No onle else can do what he does. He was big in the industry and I never knew it until I witnessed the throngs of people coming to see him at his wake. Fans, musicians, old classmates, friends, family... I would have thought I was in a rock gig if not for the venue and if not for the sight of rockstars weeping. The night he collapsed, the last gig he saw was the Rockestra and he was elated, awestruck by it. He was reeling, raving and even excited to do his own version. A few hours later, he collapsed... and nobody ever got to talk to him.


His passing away pains me so much. Andrew was my F1 buddy. Ka-text ko yan every F1 Sunday. Favorite namin si Raikkonen. He even wrote me a testimonial on Friendster and it says that I'm his favorite cousin dahil favorite namin si Kimi Raikkonen. He was also my Wednesday morning buddy. Parehong coding yung mga cars kaya alam ko he's up early na and when I've got no one to chat with, I'd text him about whatever... NU countdowns, ano nang bagong songs, saan ang gigs...


Minsan nagkita kami sa Starbucks. Akala ko dati coincidence lang but now I know it happened for a reason. The time we spent at Starbucks Greenbelt that day were the most memorable two hours we spent together. Super dami naming napagkuwentuhan about our lives, family. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me the chance to spend that precious morning with him. This happened 2 months before his death. My friends would attest that I am quite a forgetful person but I remember everything that was said between Andrew and I that Wednesday morning.


Ang daming revelations, plans for the future...manonood kami ng F1 live when we get richer... madami ring advices... he told me not to fight back my parents and to just keep the peace wherever I am. He also kept pushing me to do the things I want to do no matter what people around us would say. Sabi nga niya, buhay natin to eh. Live it the way you want it. And that's what he did - short and sweet.


I miss him terribly. Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix the same day he passed away and I kept thinking, shet. Ang daya niya. He watched live without me... :(

I am in Google!

I tried Google-ing my name and it was really cool to find at least one valid entry that was actually me! Haha thanks to my cousin Coco who linked me to her blog. That's nice, at least we'd get to know each other really well. After the things that happened these past few weeks, I have realized that life is short and it is important to let the ones that you love feel that you love them.

I have a lot of things I want to write about, just don't have time for it. I'm a busy bee.

So little time, so much to do

There are so many things to do!

I have a new acount. And it's a pain! Really. I'm not referring to the people I work with, though. It's the account itself - a big multinational company, the leader in its field, which everybody loves to hate. But don't get me wrong. I'm not a quitter. The account is a huge challenge and I love it. It's just that I had this work-life balance for so long and then this one comes up and creates a disturbance. I would have to get used to a new routine. I won't be able to go home when the clock strikes 6 and sometimes I need to go to the office earlier than everybody else and leave later than everbyody else. But I can do this. I am capable of living up to this challenge.

There's so many things I want to write about. I recently lost a loved one but I admit I'm not prepared to talk about that yet.

Meanwhile... I go back to the tasks at hand.

Destruction

Devastating is an understatement when used to describe hurricane Katrina. This tragedy had me glued to CNN all night. I cannot believe this is happening to America, the world’s most powerful country. America must have thought it was invincible. And the response of its government is appalling. They can’t say they were caught unaware because they weren’t. The sad thing is that majority of the population of New Orleans, the most affected state, is black. Black people have always felt ostracized and disenfranchised in the land of the whites. In whatever field of expertise, even in entertainment (with the exception of rap/hip-hop, of course), there has always been this prejudice. Even Oprah is a victim of racism. And the way that the U.S. government handled this hurricane of a situation made it worse. It is already hard enough to survive without anything - no water, food, electricity, TOILET – for a day, what more when you had to bear with it for 3-5 days? The picture of a lifeless man in a wheelchair breaks my heart. Instead of heading straight to the scene, George Bush managed to stopover elsewhere to thank whoever for a job well done and blah blah blah go the PR blurbs.

Deadly storms, earthquakes, terrorism, bomb explosion, fire, landslide… these are banal in the Philippines. But a hurricane drowning a state almost the size of Great Britain in the world’s wealthiest and most powerful country is a different story. Devastating as it is, however, this catastrophe only goes to show that after all, we’re all in the same planet.

Musical influence?

Like what I have mentioned in a previous post, my preference in music is pretty flexible. I don't really care about genres...music is music.


Well, this survey says...

Your Taste in Music:

90's Alternative: Highest Influence

80's R&B: High Influence

90's Hip Hop: High Influence

90's R&B: High Influence

90's Rock: High Influence

Adult Alternative: High Influence

Classic Rock: High Influence

R&B: High Influence

80's Alternative: Medium Influence

90's Pop: Medium Influence

Alternative Rock: Medium Influence

Punk: Medium Influence

80's Pop: Low Influence

Dance: Low Influence

Hair Bands: Low Influence

Hip Hop: Low Influence

Old School Hip Hop: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

Frustrated Musician

Unfortunately, I am one of those who do not have God-given musical talents. I tried to learn playing the piano when I was 10 years old but I never got past crunchy flakes. I was playing by numbers and not by notes. 12 years after, my dad buys us a guitar and I've only touched it once. The weird thing is I love music and I can never live without it. I can live without television but not without radio or a cd player or an mp3 player. I can even live without my PC and the internet... well, ok, I'm lying. Though I am able to appreciate all genres, I am a frustrated rocker. If I had total control of who I'm going to be, I would love to be a guitar genius much like Jimi Hendrix, Carlo Santana or John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And if I had more talent, I would love to write songs and compose melodies like Paul McCartney or Chris Martin. All in all, I'd love to be Bono. Ang labo!!!

Okay, if God insists that I still be female, Bjork will be great. If I were a pinoy rocker, I would love to have Raymund Marasigan's and Marc Abaya's brains, Bamboo's charisma and Kitchie Nadal's beauty. NGEK! That's really hard to imagine... Bamboo na Kitchie Nadal is like saying malikot pero maganda. Hahaha!

No Rain

It's amazing how one song can lift my spirits and get me in the mood just because I haven't heard it for quite a while... and how it feels good to remember the times when I was young and careless. For a split second, I was back in the days when I'd be with my friends, sitting infront of the steps leading to the corridors of my highschool, gazing at the vast field where the pre-school boys catch dragonflies.

No Rain

Blind Melons

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two

and speak my point of view

But it's not sane, It's not sane

I just want some one to say to me

I'll always be there when you wake

Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today

So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day

And I start to complain that there's no rain

And all I can do is read a book to stay awake

And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape

escape......escape......escape......

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

ya don't like my point of view

ya think I'm insane

Its not sane......it's not sane

F1 rants...

For the joke that happened in Indianapolis, I blame Ferrari and Mosley. Ferrari for their selfishness and Mosley for his stupidity. Mosley must have thought that by siding with Ferrari, he can keep the sport alive. However, he doesn't realize that it is the spectators and supporters that is the backbone of any sport industry. Ferrari alone cannot survive Formula One.

I just hate MSC and Ferrari right now. After the Indianapolis GP, all the admiration and respect I have for Schumacher and Ferrari have been replaced by hatred, disgust and disappointment. They didn't think about the sport, the fans, and the passion for F1. The farce at Indianapolis could have been avoided had they used their brains and opened their minds.

Those sore losers. They could have just allowed a chicane and let the others race for no points but they didn't. And I suspect this is because Ferrari was scared to go through the embarassment of not having a place at the podium despite the perfect tires. They did not want to risk losing the points to Raikkonen or Alonso now that they have the opportunity to secure it for themselves. Ferrari obviously has an identity crisis. They can't accept the fact that they are not at the top anymore.

As expected, MSC won after a long drought... and that's because the top drivers and constructors - his fiercest competitors withdrew from the race.

My two cents? Schumacher should get in shape and regain his title in a real race with the best drivers today. Afterwhich, he should gracefully retire.

Related story

12 red roses

Dennis, my half-brother, is 13 years older than me. Despite the age gap, we’ve become really close and it never felt like we were “half”. He had a huge influence in my life. It was he who taught me how to play the family computer and it wasn’t just Super Mario, Mappy or Popeye. We played the boys’ games – Battle City, Galaga, F1 race, and later, Tekken, Gran Turismo and the like. We’d watch basketball games, refuse to believe Wrestlemania was scripted, and monitor F1 races rooting for Mika Hakkinen. When I was younger, my brother would take me for a ride in his trusty motorcycle every night after dinner, and we’d come home late, much to our mom’s distress.

He is my confidant, my friend, and my most loyal supporter whenever I come in conflict with my parents. My brother would always bail me out when our parents would punish me. He or my dad would bring me to McDonald’s sometimes so I wouldn’t incur any more of my mother’s wrath (part and parcel of motherly love, they would appease me). And when I was too young to reason out to Mom or Dad, my brother was my voice.

I miss him so much. My brother passed away in September 2000. He was 31 years old, barely four months into his marriage and his wife was 4 months pregnant when he figured in a tragic motorcycle accident.

I really missed my brother when I had a falling out with my mom days before mother’s day. That was a huge fight and things could have been easier had my brother been there to make things ok and to straighten out things for us. On the eve of mother’s day this year (7 May), my mom dreamt of my brother. He went to our house as he usually does during special occasions, and gave mom a bouquet of red roses. That was a first, though. In his lifetime, my brother never really spent much on flowers for our mom as he was very practical and the last time our mom received a bouquet was when dad was courting her. The most she got after her marriage were 3 red roses.

When mom woke up the next morning, on the dining table were 12 red roses beautifully arranged and held together by a huge ribbon. No, the roses were not from my brother. It’s no Nginiiiiiiig moment.

The roses were from me. I am not known to be the sentimental daughter and it took a lot of guts for me to do this. I’d usually buy a gift from some department store, have it wrapped and accompanied by a greeting card, or if not, I’d just give mom some shopping money. But the night before, I happened to be at a mall where there were a group of flower vendors. My dad was late to pick me up so I decided to take a stroll and look at the flowers. For some reason, I was swayed to buy a dozen of them for my mom. Even my dad was surprised. My dedication read:

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
Thank you for everything.
You just think you’re not appreciated
but you are. Love you.

Love, Dad, JOY, Jenna, and Kuya Dennis

It just melted her heart. And what made it more special was that Kuya was part of it. Seeing the look on my mom’s face was more than enough to make me happy. That was an affirmation that no matter how much we disagree sometimes, my Mom loves me and she knows how much I love her.

Amazing how God really works. And thanks, Kuya, for the help.

a mistake that everybody makes

Have you seen (name of artist here)'s new MTV?

Oh really? (artist's name) has his own MTV?

MTV, which stands for Music Television, is a cable television network dedicated to music and has popularized music videos. A lot of people seem to forget that although it is a noun, it is not the general term for any visual rendition of a song. So it is not proper for any music video to be referred to as MTV. The Black Eyed Peas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5 or any musical act cannot be said to have an MTV unless they are part owners of the giant cable channel. What they have are simply music videos that get airtime on music channels like MTV, Channel [V] or Myx.

La lang. Just my two-cents.

a letter to stinkerbelle

Dear Stinkerbelle,

How can you be such a pain in the ass? I though the business of PR-ing is easy to comprehend. In fact, some lousy people even dared to call it a mindless job. If it is, then why can't you people grasp the idea? Ok, we organized a press conference and came up with a media list that we meticulously worked on to ensure that we get the message across to our target audience. As in all gatherings, we cannot always get a 100% attendance. And not getting the desired number of warm bodies in a press briefing does not mean that the PR company does not deliver or live up to your expectations.

Let me tell you that head count in a press briefing wouldn't really matter in the end. If the story you are selling is interesting enough, then the media will not hesitate to tell the world about it even if they got the info from a press release. Didn't we prove that to you late last year?

Do not say that we do not have a hold on the media because we do. Unfortunately, we are just not among those companies who would buy the dignity of the press in order to please our clients. We refuse to shell out cash so they would publish our press release. Yes, you would not believe it but we do observe good business practices and we respect the integrity of these journalists.

Chillax. We will redeem ourselves. Just wait and see.


In Tagalog: Humanda Ka! May araw ka rin!

Hope in the new pope

Amazing. I cannot believe this is all happening in my lifetime. I got home almost midnight last Tuesday, and the breaking news on CNN and BBC was that white smoke was coming out of the chimney at the Vatican. In Rome, the people are in chaos. Even TV audience such as myself could not escape the excitement and thrill of anticipation. Outside my room I can hear my father's enthusiasm as he followed the event on the living room TV. Thanks to technology, the whole world is connected and we got to experience what could be the biggest event in Christianity for this decade.

We have a new pope. A few minutes after the bells rung at the Vatican, Joseph Ratzinger was introduced to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. I do not mean to offend whatsoever, but something in the new Pope's face scares me. He strikes me as a man with an iron fist. Christianity surely needs a ruler who can make people return to Church and recover their faith in the Almighty. In a time where all inocence is lost, Pope Benedict faces a huge challenge. Some people say that the Catholic Church has been left behind because of its resistance to change. The world is evolving and the church has to effectively evolve with it.

A new Pope signifies a new beginning in the history of the church. I just hope that in his time, Pope Benedict XVI musters the strength, courage and determination that John Paul II had to bring the world together and restore the faiths of the many people who have lost their way in the course of coping with life's challenges.

Beep beep beep beep.

Last night, a colleague and I sort of got lost around Makati on our way to Capone's (yeah we finally made our minds to watch the Sandwich gig). That's pretty ironic because she grew up in the area. Damn those one-way streets! After an hour of u-turning, we finally got there and guess what? We didn't even last 10 minutes in the place because we realized we didn't want to be there... at least we used the washroom. Instead, we ended up at Tapika. Oh my college days! Instead of some rock music, I listened to some George Michael. I enjoyed it nonetheless. Honestly. I'm glad I was able to unwind.

Based from experience, my most enjoyable moments are those that went unplanned. Wouldn't it be great to live a spontaneous life that I don't even have to make plans at all for the future or even for the next day?

Then again, to live without looking forward to something is not living at all because the things that we look forward to are the things that inspire us to move.

Actually, when I go to sleep at night I always seem to have the same thing on my mind - what do I wear tomorrow??? ...again?

Sandwich or Spanglish?

Today, my blog is born.

This is my first post. I'm not doing anything and I'm terribly bored that's why I decided to try this. It's Holy Monday and I feel so cranky... hehe di naman. Just one of 'em days lang siguro. This feels funny. I'm like talking to somebody.

Pam and I are supposed to watch a movie... or a band but I can't make up my mind yet... and she can't get out of her 'to do list' yet. Basta I just don't want to go home yet.

I really feel a different kind of rush when I go out on Mondays...