What’s in a name?

The UP College of Business Administration has been officially renamed as the Cesar Emilio Aguinaldo Virata School of Business. There’s some debate going on about the legality of this move, but I don’t wish to add more fuel to the fire by unleashing my own barrage of academically-disguised expletives. Instead, I’ll defer to the wisdom of the administration and just propose that the following suggestions be considered in support of the current initiative:

• The Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III School of Neoliberal Economics;
• The Ferdinand Edralin Marcos College of Martial Law;
• The Vicente Castelo Sotto III Creative Writing Center;
• The Liwayway Gawgaw Tapia College of Education;
• The Manuel “Lito” Lapid College of Superhuman Kinetics;
• The UP MAROONONGS (to replace MAROONS; pampataas ng confidence levels, esp for the basketball team);
• The Gloria Macapagal Arroyo National College of Public Administreyshen and Governance;
• The Wilfredo Buendia Revillame College of Mass Hysterical Communications;
• The Lucio Tan School of Contractual Labor and Industrial Relations;
• The Henry Sy, Sr. University Shopping Center (pushing for “Mart“);
• The Sixto Serrano Brillantes, Jr. Financial Assistance Program (To be known as the Sixto-FAP) with Brackets 60, 30, and 10;
• The Imelda Romualdez Marcos Sunken Garden of Truth, Goodness, and All Things Beautiful;and
• The Zobel de Ayala Public-Private-Partnership University of the Philippines

Barangay Datu’s Para Kay Teddy Casiño!

Wala nang kinabukasan sa mga lumang pangalan! Teddy Casiño sa Senado 2013!

Oks, pampabuhay ulit ng blog kong di na natutukan. (More to follow, hopefully soon, waha.) At para lang sa mga rumor-monger diyan, the band supports Teddy’s candidacy unconditionally (although balak naming humingi ng libreng t-shirts) at sinusuportahan namin siya kasi dapat lang.

Kilalanin siya at alamin ng mabuti kung bakit HINDI PWEDENG WALA SIYA SA SENADO: http://myteddycasino.com/

Wapakhz! \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.

Tiendesitas Music & Arts Festival, May 16-17, 2009

Please come and visit the TIENDESITAS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL on May 16-17, 2009 (ngayong weekend na ito!)

Datu’s Tribe’s “WHOA! PILIPINAS!” album will be available at The Jerks’ booth and a FREE copy of our FAT BURNER EP will be included with every purchase of the album (only while stocks last!)

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT FILIPINO MUSIC!

\m/ 😈 \m/

Artworks by: Jun Alfon, Hoche Briones, Anna Cadiz, Salvador Ching, Jes Evangelista, Denes Basco, Ponj Roco Jr., Eghai Roxas, Lucy Fernando, Elmer Tori, Camille Ver, Anna Vergel, Nick Emockling, Chelony Mercado, Boy Dominguez, Alex Aguilar, Pete Velasquez, Dwight Gaston, Bobby Balingit, Monet Gaston and Cynthia Alexander;

Photo Exhibit, Musicians, Concerts, Bar Gigs, Musical Instruments, CDs, Band Shirts, Accessories, Instrument Service Shops, Street Wear, and more!

MAY 16 – 2pm onwards: Guitar Clinic – Francis Reyes; Songwriting Workshop – Chickoy Pura; Government Agencies Seminar for Musicians and Artists (Philhealth and PAGIBIG will be there). Performances: 6pm-Scarlet, 7pm Kalayo (formerly Pinikpikan), 8pm Fuseboxx, and 9pm Kjwan;

MAY 17 – 130pm onwards: Drum / Percussion Circle – Ryan Peralta; Drum Clinic – Wendell Garcia; Bass Clinic – Karel Honasan. Performances: 5pm Yosha, 6pm Bughaw Cultural Dance Group, 7pm Bayang Barrios, 8pm Sinosikat? and 9pm Pupil.

ENTRANCE IS FREE!

Manny Pacquiao for President!

😈

(Sorry. Couldn’t resist not putting this up kasi sobrang natawa ako. Got this from Facebook. di ko alam kung kanino i-credit. May nagsabi sa akin na kasama raw ito sa isang set na meron pang iba’t-ibang versions ni Manny, kaso di ko pa nakita. Salamat na lang kay Nato for the FB pic link.=)

“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:

😈

Congratulations, KABATAAN Partylist!

In a strange but welcome turn of events, KABATAAN Partylist (ang pinaka-labs na Partylist ng Datu’s, hehe) has now produced the first ever youth sector representative to the Philippine Congress. As of today, Mong Palatino is now the Hon. Congressman Raymond Palatino!

Not only did the Supreme Court decision to grant the 32 additional Partylist seats result in an increase for the progressive bloc’s numbers in Congress; now the administration’s allies in the Lower House will have no other rational choice but to accept the inevitability of defeat for Charter Change.

Now, if we only had more congressmen of the rational kind to begin with. 😈