For those about to throw rocks, we salute you. \m/@@\m/

You tell us to shut it, to give them a chance

Play these “different” tunes (for the same same-old dance)

You tell us to stop with the flood of bad vibes

As it gives such discomfort to comfortable lives

 

You ask we move on, but with blind supplication

That balm you would have us apply for redemption

But the silence you ask for is a silence too loud

As it cuts through the din, as its nature resounds

 

Days from today, when you slink from the shame

Of the things you let go, of the shit that remains

We’ll still be around, different voices, the same

Will you tell us to stop, do it over again?

 

______________________________________________

The thing about silence is that it has only made it easier for the system to feed us the same garbage over and over again. If you really want the complaining to stop, break the cycle and join forces with those who would also have the same.

Make some noise. \m/@@\m/

Hmm, wala nga ang Datu’s Tribe sa Tanduay Rockfest. (Bakit wala ang Datu’s Tribe Sa Tanduay Rockfest Part 2)

To everyone who waited, my apologies for the delayed posting. My brain was already on torture overdrive, distilling 20 years worth of thoughts, experiences, and insights on the music industry, and it really took time to decide on how to finally treat the issue at hand without resorting to producing a litany of sins I’d love the music industry to answer for.

This piece, I address, above all others, to my fellow established musicians in the local rock music scene. Most of us have gone way past that enigmatic “dead at 27” mark, so I think it’s about time we started thinking about the future. Not ours – the music’s.

**************

Like so many others in the scene, I’d like nothing more than to just simply make music, have fun, and deliver the shit out of my bowels at every engagement. But the fact is that I’m forced to deal with the business side of things by default and this necessitates my having to arm myself with as much knowledge of the industry’s inner workings as I can just so my crew and I don’t end up getting victimized.

Since the 90s, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk to fellow artists about their thoughts on the music scene and one thing I’ve learned through these interactions is that everybody is privy to some kind of industry bullshit or sob story in one form or another. Whether it’s about greedy label execs, fly-by-night organizers, lopsided contracts, under-the-table agreements, payola and other kickback schemes, or even opportunistic poseurs within our own ranks, these rants have essentially remained the same since I first entered the fray more than 15 years ago.

So, I guess the question is not so much about what’s happening anymore (again, since everyone seems privy to all kinds of dirty info) but rather, HOW the hell they keep on happening and WHY in Pepe fuckin’ Smith’s name haven’t we been able to fix these problems in spite of the fact that WE, the MUSIC ARTISTS, are central to all the wheelings and dealings that take place inside the music industry?

Bakit wala ang Datu’s Tribe sa Tanduay Rockfest?!?

Towards the end of July, I received a text message from (itago na lang natin sa pangalang) Jonas Jejemonias asking me if Datu’s Tribe would be interested in playing 2 songs for a gig on October 15, 2010 at the Mall of Asia. Jejemonias told me that he was organizing the event and that it was going to be a major reunion concert for “old school” 90s bands. Aside from telling me that the talent fee was going to be 15k, no other details were provided.

I was all gung-ho, of course, and decided to give conditional approval for the event in spite of the bare info given. Since the occasions that still provided opportunities for bands of my generation to get together already come rare and far between these days, the chance to participate in one exclusively organized for us “old school” 90s bands was too good to pass up. An element of blind faith was also involved as I knew Jonas Jejemonias to be the manager of another “old school” contemporary we’ve had the pleasure to play with back in the 90s and also even on a number of other occasions (some fairly recent) since we came back into the scene in 2005.

Now, ever since our last manager left us in virtual limbo late last year, I asked Cindy (my wife) to handle booking negotiations for the band. She’s always been very meticulous in her professional dealings and we’ve been quite satisfied ever since at the level of professional savvy she’s always brought to the negotiating table on our behalf.

So when she told me a couple of days later that something didn’t feel right with Jonas Jejemonias’s proposal, red flags started popping up. Apparently, Cindy had been informed that the talent fee would be dropping to 10k, with Jejemonias citing budget constraints and other difficulties as reasons for the drop. My wife naturally took back the conditional approval and reasoned (rightly so) that a new approval now had to be secured from the band before anything can be finalized.

Rakistang Aktibista (A Reprise)

(NOTE: This is a truncated version of a much earlier post that was, in part, a rejoinder to arguments posted on a musicians’ forum. This version only contains the 2nd half of the article and I’m reposting this as a prelude to an article in the works. This future article is inspired by a grossly scheming 3rd party’s botched attempt to have Datu’s Tribe perform at the Tanduay Rockfest this coming October. Wait for the juicy stuff, kiddies. Sandali na lang. \m/@@\m/)

Si Spiderman na ang nagsabi: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Not everyone has what it takes to be a true artist, and that’s why a true artist’s talents are uniquely double-edged gifts. A true artist possesses the means to inspire people through creation; in the musician’s case, through music and lyrics. But a true artist lacking in direction will instead have the dangerous ability to reinforce escapist mentality, submissiveness, and conformity. For those of us who won’t be fortunate or resolute enough to go beyond the 15-minute fame mark, the talent may early retire to a quaint, perhaps even painful corner of memory. But for those who’ll persevere and perhaps even break into the scene with a vengeance, talent suddenly takes on a more enormous significance.

Art for art’s sake is a luxury that our counterparts in developed countries enjoy, sometimes to the point of absurdity. In our country, this just isn’t the case. If you’ve ever given a thought as to why most musicians who pursue their craft outside the mainstream tend to struggle and/or starve, you should know what I’m talking about. But despite this reality, the sorry state of affairs is precisely why we should push on and continue evolving as artists, as musicians.

The ‘Ayes’ Have It

Not yet…

➡

Rakistang Aktibista 2: Rise of the Poseurs

Barely a year left before this decade draws to a close, my “old school” rocker status now burdens me with an Amador Daguio “Old Chief” kind of dread.

Although our Pinoy Rock godfathers and goddessmothers from the 70s and our New Wave/ Pinoi Punk brethren from the 80s do fall under the same general category, “old school” seems to have become a classification that today’s younger set more readily associates with “dekada nobenta” bands, albeit with a quaint naivete.

There are, of course, meatier indicators that can expose a music generation’s (both fans and artists alike) manifest ignorance of and/or contempt for the histories and traditions behind the musics they claim devotion to. While we might all be aware of the saying on how history repeats itself through those who have no appreciation for its lessons, we should be more aware of that implicit possibility embedded in the truism: That ignorants can also end up unfolding an entirely new history replete with epic fails that can surpass even the most idiotic idiocies of screwed-up generations past.

Even as Rock & Roll continues to prove itself the most dynamic and innovative of all musical languages, it also continues to inspire self-delusion in those ill-equipped to deal with its awesomeness. But it’s never too late to shift towards an intelligent “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll” lifestyle (yes, it does exist) for as long as one is inspired enough to dig into history to obtain it.

(WARNING: Clicking on “read more” will activate the “Magical Mirror of Musical Truth and Other Holy Shit” – an “old school” relic that’s been proven deadly hazardous to poseurs.)

😈

“365 Days to Change: TODO NA ‘TO!”

MGA MAGTATANGHAL:

LEAH NAVARRO
JUANA CHANGE
JOEY AYALA
ISAY ALVAREZ
PHILIPPINE ALL STARS
TEMPESTUOUS JONES
ROBERT SEÑA
BITUIN ESCALANTE
KJWAN
YENG CONSTANTINO
RADIOACTIVE SAGO PROJECT
ARIEL RIVERA & DATU’S TRIBE (oh, yesss…)

😈

This is going to be the first in a series of “countdown” concerts leading up to the 2010 elections.

Date, Time, and Place: May 11, 2009, 8-12 pm, Music Museum, Greenhills Shopping Complex, San Juan, Metro Manila.

Martin Nievera (and other…uhm, World-Class Filipino talents)

I never imagined I’d ever be thanking Martin Nievera for anything other than leaving Pops Fernandez. But after all the controversy generated in the wake of his interpretation of “Lupang Hinirang” during the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, I guess that at the very least, I should credit him for giving me the perfectly-timed moment to take this article out of the drafts bin (where it’s been languishing for over two months now, no thanks to a bogus writing job offer-scam perpetrated by a compulsive liar masquerading as…as…ok, that’ll just have to wait for another post.)

This isn’t about the Nievera controversy, though; but it is related in so far as the question of propriety in matters of music is concerned. So, here goes:

😈

Happy Alcoholy Week, Pilipinas!

Dedicated sa lahat ng sinungaling at manlolokong mapanlinlang na mga ipokritong relihiyosong banal na aso’t santong kabayong nagkalat sa Pilipinas (and you are Legion).

This song was actually written way back in 1996, but only got released as one of the tracks in our late 2007 album, ‘Whoa! Pilipinas!” It’ll never get aired, of course, so share-share ko na lang sa inyo, hahaha.

NOTE: It was partly inspired by Nora Aunor’s character in the 1982 film classic, “Himala” (directed by the late Ishmael Bernal) and also by the early ’90s Agoo “miracles,” among so many other things (kasama na ang mga kahibangan ng matagal ko nang namayapang lola at ang mga katropa niya sa Samahang Sto. Nino!)

😈

Francis M’s Presidential Medal; GMA and the Peter Principle

\m/ \m/

“The opinion, stated as a law, that employees are promoted to the level of their own incompetence.” – The Peter Principle

Malacanang is set to award Francis M with a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit for his contributions as a music artist to the cause of nationalism.

Waaaiiitaminnit…! Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (?!?) is going to award Francis Magalona with one of the highest civilian honors that can be bestowed upon a Filipino in recognition of the man’s contributions to the cause of nationalism?!?

Okay, before you organize a lynch mob to hunt me down and string me upside down by the balls, let me make clear that I am not criticizing the recognition and most certainly am I not criticizing the intended recipient himself (pls. read my prior post on Kiko). It’s just that I can’t get over the supreme irony of it all that the person who’s going to give the award is the very embodiment of the corrupt “trapo” culture that FrancisM’s music legacy stands clearly in opposition to.

I know this administration has always had long-term plans since illegitimate day one to institutionalize government ineptitude as a tourist attraction, but couldn’t someone from the presidential staff have had the initiative to do just the littlest bit of teeny-tiniest research on FrancisM’s music to avoid making an already approval ratings-challenged pretender to the throne look monumentally ignorant for the nth time?

I guess not.

So, in honor of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s continuing to defy the Peter Principle (also for the nth time) I’m conducting a poll. Please take the time to read all the choices below before clicking your answer/s. I’ve taken out restrictions on the number of times you can vote, so knock yourselves out, people. If you have any other suggestions, please just put them in the comments box.

8)