the past few weeks have been mostly rehearsals for three things: a jazz-tinged gig for Crossover (Feb 14 and 28 i think), a similar-but-not-quite-the same gig for NU (Feb 15), and EJ for the CCP check the CCP website for the dates). oh and we sneak in songwriting when we have the chance. plus our regular gigs.

are we stressed out? since late last year wahahahahaha! we've been preparing for all three things before 2007 ended; what is normally a quiet first quarter turned out to be one of our busiest. but are we complaining? nope! we expected the heavy load. mentally we were prepared.

the play 'EJ' is based on the lives of Evelio Javier and Edgar Jopson, two very important figures during the Martial Law years who, while not quite as well-known as Benigno Aquino, nevertheless contributed significantly to the opposition's stance... and paid for it with their lives. the issues they confronted in the sixties and seventies, sadly, remain; only the faces have changed.

Maybe someday we shall see a psycho-socio-cultural overhaul.

The Dawn is not really a political band, but our songs were chosen because of our eclecticism: we're a rock band that tries to play WITH other genres. that's something i've always loved about the band, even before i became part of it. a lot of bands these days say they don't belong to any genre... and i'm proud to be part of a band that has lived it from day one.

The rehearsals have been pretty interesting, and the cast is just fantastic. for example, when we rehearsed 'Abot Kamay' as part of a wedding scene, i found myself LISTENING more than playing... Julien Mendoza was waiting for the guitarist's cue... which i was also waiting for. and I'M the one playing guitar! ("Where's the next part? oh shit... i'm supposed to be playing it right now!")
a good band has members that listen to each other, but i think i went too far today hahaha!

the band Sisig will be doing some of the dates in our absence; we'll be watching the rehearsals tomorrow. truthfully, there's still quite a bit of work ahead. i can't imagine what the CAST is feeling... they have lines to memorize, choreography to embody, harmonies to perfect... but they all seem so relaxed. well the CCP is their home; even in serious moments, its playtime. bow ako sa kanila...mga hayup kayo ang gagaling niyo! ;)

Ricky Davao is also part of it... a great actor i've always admired. he played an old american in a CCP zarzuela 'Dalagang Bukid' almost twenty years ago and i'll never forget his performance. everybody in the audience wondered who the 'old' actor was and when he removed his disguise during curtain call, the audience gasped then cheered. atsaka, naknampucha ang gwapo talaga ng mama... someday i want to be Ricky Davao! for now, i'm happy to be Strictly Babaw.

photos by yours trulily... in case you want to grab the pics for whatever reason, please ask me first. it will spare me a knife, a shovel, and a lawyer. but alas no senate inquiry and media circus

                                               Jett: bakla, ANO BAAAAAAAAAAAA?? BEND HARDERRRRRR!!!!
                                               ME: I AM DAMMIT! THE STRINGS AND MY FREAKINBACK!!!!


Music fans love the idea that a band is a group of friends that weather everything together through thick and thin, and to be in a long-running band, that certainly is true. Humans seek stability even if their purpose and ways of existing prove otherwise; even a destructive act such as war requires a group of people who trust and rely on each other for any given mission, and their solidarity extends far beyond whether their collective task is successful or not. Music, even the most discordant forms, requires that collective involvement and commitment from the players involved.  when you love a band, you look at them as a posse, each member performing a specific role, with a distinct personality... much like your own barkada. When one of them leaves, there is always a sense of betrayal. after all, when you lose a friend, you don't replace that person. The barkada will never be the same... and slowly the group dissipates. when a band is faced with a line-up change, fans tend to think: "It won't be the same, they'll never be great again."

I'll be lying if i claim i'm immune to thoughts like this. recently i heard that Chris Pennie, the extraordinary drummer and co-founder of the Dillinger Escape Plan, left DEP to drum for Coheed&Cambria. I like Co&Ca, but man... what will happen to DEP?? How could he leave one of the most respected sonically violent yet technically proficient bands on earth for a (presumably) more financially lucrative but (presumably) less artistically satisfying gig??

The answer is... I'm not Chris Pennie. DEP fans inevitably believe that he 'sold out' to 'emo wusses'. None of them are Chris Pennie either. How do WE know he sold out? we can read all the articles we can about the man, but ultimately, WE ARE NOT HIM. we cannot and should not claim that 'if i were in his shoes, i wouldn't do it.' He has his reasons, and he probably is after another truth that we cannot claim to know. He lives his life, and only he knows the truth he seeks. we cannot impose our versions of 'truth' on him. Geez... we're not even his friends or family. we simply admire his work.

At least he didn't lie and say, "I'm giving up music to pursue a career in aromatherapy." He's still a musician, and Co&ca will benefit from his incredible talent. DEP found a young new drummer who, based on a video on Youtube, seems to be mindblowing enough to navigate DEP's breakneck tempos and metric changes and atmospherics. Will things ever be the same again for both bands? No. But i find that incredibly interesting... evolution is natural. I hope fans of both bands would be open enough to accept the changes, or at least hear them out first.

(Then the fan in me says, "Gee... i hope he's still friends with Ben Weinman...")

Besides, I'M a result of a line-up change. For 21 years, the entity that is The Dawn has been making music and has also faced changes, some tragic, and some merely necessary.  There are still fans who believe  that  the original line-up with the late Teddy Diaz on guitar is The Dawn, period... and as such, Atsushi Matsuura and I never had any right to exist (plus a few folks who still believe that i should just quit but that's another issue...). Painful sometimes even after all this time, but there are people who associate specific line-ups with perhaps the most exciting and memorable periods of their lives. "Those are the four people who helped me through tough times... not the replacement poseurs who came after! How dare the original members allow those fuckers to mess with the band... How could they do that to themselves?!"

I definitely admire and envy bands that never had a line-up change. Muse (14 years), U2 (almost 30), Rush (40)... most of them were high school buddies who formed the band and grew up with each other. The Beastie Boys... Led Zeppelin broke up when John Bonham died. But i also look up to bands that go through member changes and still make music. So what if Robert Fripp is the sole original member in King Crimson's 40 year existence? The music is still distinctly Crimson, even if it did morph radically. The music can be bigger than any individual in the band... and i'd like to think that songs are what matter, not the personalities, even if sometimes the performer is inextricably linked to the song. Musicians grow old, get ugly and die... but their songs, their legacy, are immortal, if listeners allow. 

There have been times when Jett's bodily fluids dry upon my ass like snail trails on soil dampened by the morning dew but i'm happy to compromise my dignity occassionally for my comrades... my friends, our band. Besides, they have to put up with me as well... like the times when JB had to wash my underwear, or when Buddy 'accidentally' pinched my singit when he has leaning over to adjust his effect pedals... or when Carlos... well let's leave the gentleman alone. (you're smart enough to figure out that i'm making a point yes? Buddy isn't a penis pincher) Whenever we disagree, we discuss things calmly, objectively, and professionally. And we do agree that the entity we call 'The Dawn' is bigger than any of us, including past members. (Having said that though... if heaven forbid either Jett or JB left, i would hesitate to stay in the band and still call it The Dawn... owing to the fact that i was a fan of theirs before i became a member).

When this happened, i felt sincerely sad and sympathetic. When The Dawn went on hiatus in '95, i felt lost, even if we actually had a year to prepare. It's heartbreaking if one member doesn't want the collective dream anymore, and wants to get out without considering how the rest of the team feels (or vice versa...).

                                                                                   

watdat is energetic.

You've got the energy level of a small yip-yap dog. And, much like those dogs, I hope you get run over by an ice cream truck. Yeah, that's right. I said it.

wanna know your lj's moodring color? enter your user name and hit the button. (discussion thread)

i truly detest these online personality tests... yet i answer them anyway.
it's kinda like saying how disgusting your bowel movements are, yet you keep looking, and feel compelled to take a photo so you can show everybody what you had for dinner last night...

haha! look! i'm the littlest guy on the cast!!!!

i guess thats accurate... but i was hoping i'd be The Cheerleader... :(

Micah Sanders You scored 62 Idealism, 33 Nonconformity, 45 Nerdiness

Can we play Scrabble tonight? Congratulations, you're Micah Sanders! You're good-natured, intelligent, perceptive, and naturally inclined toward technology. You're also quite innocent and loving. You've got a fondness for computers and Scrabble. Your best quality: You're extremely perceptive Your worst quality: You can be a little demanding at times

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Idealism You scored higher than 99% on Nonconformity You scored higher than 99% on Nerdiness

Link: The Heroes Personality Test written by freedomdegrees on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

The internet has been difficult lately, due in part to the earthquake in Taiwan which damaged some underwater fiber-optic cables (what? no back up?). it has greatly inconvenienced personal and business affairs... and cost a couple of lives and physically hurt a few more.

it's scary to think that it happened roughly two years after the tsunami disaster... while we worry about repairing our cyber-relationships and dealings, the earth worries about healing herself. heal she will, regardless of the human condition. i think about it all the time; we ARE trivial creatures in the grand design of the universe.

i will never forget 2006. from a personal perspective, it was definitely a roller coaster ride... and i reflect with equal parts joy and sorrow. but the earth will do what she does, life goes on... and my personal triumphs and tragedies, no matter how great, are of no consequence to nature's cycles. in a way... it is a comforting thought, this smallness of human existence. i have long accepted our transient presence in the universe. the events that punctuate my concession don't make life itself any easier, but it does ease much of the self-importance we place upon ourselves.

but having said that, human beings ARE important to each other. transitory we may be in an aquarium measured in light years and countless epochs, but in our little corners lie opportunities for healing...


Nins' older sis Apple and her hubby-to-be Jojo were at CRIBS before Christmas. in lieu of wedding gifts, they requested for contributions to the CRIBS Foundation instead.


The experience was beautiful... Nins and i helped Jojo and Apple carry some of the babies and held a little Christmas party for the teens. seeing the CRIBS kids smile, sing, joke around and dance belied their tragic personal stories. we stayed for just a few hours, and hopefully made their lives a wee bit brighter. it was physically and emotionally exhausting...


Jojo and Apple wished they could do more...


...and so did i...

I thought about things extensively... how the kids felt, and how Jojo and Apple felt... how i felt... and how to bring it all together...


( entry please )

This weekend was pretty intense for the band in a lot of ways but the culminating hour couldn't have been more worth it: 'Tulad Ng Dati' is the Cinemalaya Best Picture of 2006! the entire experience has been unique and amazing for us, going all the way back when we were shooting the 'Laging Narito' video and Mike Sandejas thought of ideas for the movie. the band has received tons of praises from people, but it's really Mike who deserves a large bulk of the credit. the shooting was incredibly fun, and not without its share of heartaches along the way. even if the movie didn't take any awards, all of us in the cast and crew agreed that we knew we did our best and we did it as a team. we would've celebrated anyway ;) To have Ricky Davao, with his eyes red from tears, come up to me and say, 'Grabe ang ginawa niyo, sobrang ganda talaga.' is just amazing. to have the Diaz family tell Mike that he did a wonderful job in writing in a beautiful representation of Teddy is immensely touching. these are the true awards... along with the reactions of the people who saw the film. we did something good, and people laughed and cried... the true essence of communication.
we celebrated at the Fort afterwards, and appropriately enough, it was also Ping Medina's birthday (he played Teddy Diaz, in case you haven't seen the film). happy birthday pinggoy!

yesterday was also my kuya's fortieth day.
they say that when a person dies, his or her soul stays on earth for 40 days before departing for heaven. i really would like to believe that this is so. my family watched the screening on Saturday...the 39th day of his mortal passing. i would like to believe that he, with his love of going places, hitched a ride with my family to watch the film. i hope he read my dedication to him.

people thought i was funny in the movie... one scene in particular stood out. but in reality... i got that from kuya! he was agenuinely funny guy ;)

On July 23 2006, 'Tulad Ng Dati' was awarded Best Picture; it was also the last day of Kuya Ferdy's soul on earth. it rained when his body was claimed by the earth, it was raining when his soul was fetched by Divinity.

have a wonderful trip to your new home Kuyang! i hope you liked your send-off ;)

and whether people know it or not, i hope they feel the beauty of who you were with every note i play. you were there at my first note, and you will be there at my last ;) i love you

to everybody who took the time to extend their condolences... God bless you ;)

this entry is 'work-safe'; gimme a little more time and i'll be back to my old sick self. thanks for understanding ;)


we are currently a third of the way into recording guitar and bass parts for the commemorative album. the past two months have been pretty hectic. we're actually a month behind schedule with the album due to projects that came up which needed to be adressed immediately. we're not complaining at all, though with the album's release date being pushed further back, minor amounts of panic can't be avoided.

first off, the movie. yes we're done shooting and scoring the thing. i think what needs to be clarified is that it is NOT entirely biographical. it is not a documentary of the band's history, but i'm sure people will be asking if such-and-such really happened or why certain people who are part of the band's history are not in it. we had great fun making it, revelling in the 'alternate' situation that director/writer Mike Sandejas thought of. yes the band's music is in it, references to our history are made, we played ourselves, and some problems we faced are represented... but hopefully it will be less a film about the band but rather about issues that most of us face almost everyday.

the other projects i'm referring to are a contribution to the APO Hiking Society tribute album and a jingle for Alaxan. we recently recorded our take on Bawa't Bata... and it was a pretty daunting task. we simplified the arrangement immensely; i don't think anybody can top the original's complexity! what i hope we achieved though is capturing the message of the song, the playfulness. we had a lot of fun doing it... unfortunately the computer's hard drive where we recorded it crashed. hopefully the files are still there. so much for the wonders of technology!
deadline is in two days... pray pray pray...
the Alaxan jingle reminded us of the Iisang Bangka Tayo period. we were given the melody and lyrics and 'Dawnified' them. this meant looking for a different set of chords underneath the melody and practically changing the initial ideas 90%. client is happy; we did it right then. they wanted the 'classic' Dawn sound, and we delivered.

speaking of 'classic', the new album will be 70% Dawn classics revamped and rearranged; the remainder will be new songs. i will admit to a bit of skepticism at the idea. the thought of reworking the old stuff is exciting for us, but i often wonder if the punters will agree. for the band, it's an act of reinvention. for a listener... well i hope they won't feel that we are redefining their personal histories. we've often remarked at how we'd like to re-record the old stuff because bits of them sound dated. but sometimes i think... well we can make the guitars sound better now true... but those old supposedly 'tunog lata' guitar tones or that thin snare crack are what people have grown to love, and were what they partied to during their youth. to the listener, it is not a technical issue, but an emotional one. i really hope the old Dawn fans understand. yet... if Hendrix was still around... would i like it if he reworked Voodoo Chile with new technology? the vibe would be different... these are the issues i'm personally adressing while recording my parts. in addition, some of those songs were Teddy's... and how i wish the local music industry was more keen on preserving his recordings. those old master tapes... gone forever. i really hope i won't be doing Teddy a disservice. i don't mind redoing, reinventing, or completely ignoring ideas that i and a previous guitarist recorded previously. but Teddy's... it feels sacreligious almost. so i will stick close to most of what he did. (it's still bewildering when i think about how a former member expressed how much he hated playing 'Enveloped Ideas'. so much for respect... )

The recording process is fun... and depressing once you're confronted with your limitations. but once you've crossed a hurdle or stepped forward even by a couple millimeters, it's all worth it. and we feel blessed to have Buddy in the band. he is a bundle of creative energy, enthusiasm, wonderful ideas, and great vibes. i'm really looking forward to the NEXT album. at the very least, the re-recordings provide the four of us with the creative groundwork for the future. i really hope people appreciate what we're doing for the re-recorded material, and like the new songs.

i guess the bottom line is we're having a blast and feeling extremely positive about the future. and if people don't like it... they can just face the other way.

given all the things that have been happening, i thank Divinity for music. the work/career aspect of it has kept me fed, and music herself continues to keep me (reasonably) sane. Consonant, dissonant, rhythmic, arrhythmic...much like life itself innit?

he taught me how to ride a bike.
he taught me how to drive.
he taught me how to wire up speakers.
he taught me how to dismantle appliances (but unfortunately not how to reassemble them)
by example, he taught me that humor attracts friendships.
and he taught me the value of friendships.

he taught me how to play my very first chords on guitar, patiently, and with that toothy smile and mischievous eyes. every single day in the years since is colored by the memory of his hands on my fingers.

he was the very first person i shared a stage with, when i ran up to be beside him as he sang with the chorale at his kindergarten graduation.

he had so many friends and family who loved him for his mischief, and more importantly his selflessness.

he was my only brother.

he is now an angel of Divinity. a mischievous one perhaps, but an angel nonetheless.

strangers know my name for what i do...but friends and family loved him dearly for who he was. and i have always been proud of him for that.

Ferdinand Bartholomeu Saludo Reyes, born August 24 1964, travelled to heaven on June 14 2006.

Kuya... teach the angels how to dance and teach them how to play guitar. i know you will make them laugh.

and if they assign you to dismantle the chariots... show them how to do it right, because you always did

Twenty years... that's almost a third of a normal person's lifespan. A musical entity called The Dawn celebrated twenty years of existence in Boracay with 4 gigs in as many nights. I am very proud to be part of those two decades (and counting)and the enthusiastic response we received is quite overwhelming. Thank you to all who were there! hungthemoon attended one of them and it's always great to see LJ friends in the flesh in far off places (Em, pasensya ka na kung inireto kita sa isang boatman from the stage hehe). Honestly though, Jett and JunBoy are the essence of The Dawn... so congratulations boys! Thank you for letting me be a part of your twenty years together!

We also decided to turn it into a vacation obviously. Truthfully, i had my trepidations. Supposedly, there were going to be more people in Bora the week we were there compared to Holy Week. Fantastic... i'm not a fan of crowded beaches no matter how white the sands or how blue the skies. The sea... like a diamond-encrusted blanket festooned with cockroaches... no thank you. plus, i wasn't looking forward to flying. The only time i've been to Bora was in '97 if memory serves... the flight back was horrifying, with our plane tossed around helplessly by fierce stormwinds and lightning. the turbulence was incredibly nerve rattling...Joey Ayala and his family were on the same flight; i played for him, Kulay and Lou Bonnevie. i've felt uneasy about flying ever since...and Bora was the source in essence.

When we got there however...




tranquility...



...and the calm gentle hand of Divinity...


...too quiet... restlessness got the better of me...

And i saw a familiar face and decided to break the silence...

( boragay )

i just realized it has bizzy a mizzonth since mah last post. Many bustin' have bizzy runn'n through mah mind in tha weeks since . Snoop dogg is in this bitch. I've bizzy think'n a lot `bout changes ta help you tap dat ass.


Thank ya to mah bitch Nishizzleins fo da fashion drug dealin' shizzle!
and her momma fo da bling bling

wha'? ya'll pimpin' i write dis shit in just ten minutes?! nigga pleaze!. here's one of my posts rewritten via Gizoogle... freakin hilarious! try it with your blogs!

Someone suggested it to Nins, btw. whoever you are, yo' mah bitch!

Oh and to reply(if you feel like it), click on 'leave a comment' below, NOT the gizoogled page. even the comments are gangsta!

(bow wow wow yipee yow yipee yay)


i just ran THIS post via gizoogle... oh my God, i can't think of this shit even if i shit it! (ha?)
fo shizzle

i have to admit it was kinda fun to answer these things. Do they actually describe moi? i mean, i'm also a Gemini, born on the Year of The Goat, blah blah blah blah...and i like walks in the rain, you know shit lakdet...

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

( shit lakdet )

Back in the seventies, extensive research was done in the outer regions of the earth's atmosphere. The assumption was that there would be a higher percentage of radiation; logical, since it is the earth's atmosphere that filters out a significant amount of ultraviolet radiation from the sun (plus cosmic rays, x-rays and all sorts of other wonderfully dangerous invisible things that are the farts of deep space). Simply put, if the atmosphere was thinner, the earth would essentially be our microwave (the hole in the ozone is actually bringing us closer to our charbroiled fate).
Surprisingly, when Geiger counters were taken to space, the results indicated LESS radiation.

Impossible...!

It turned out that the lesser readings were simply the Geiger counters choking from so much radiation. They were recalibrated, and the assumptions were correct all along.

That's how i felt about the forthcoming Pat Metheny Trio gig. i was wondering: why am i not feeling as excited as i should? this was what i've been dreaming of for years and years...




...and i was more excited about shopping and walking. but the next day...

( when i woke up the next morning... )

It was a little weird to be in Singapore again mere weeks after watching Franz Ferdinand. When nins and i arrived at Changi, we went straight to the MRT station and pulled out our E-Z Link cards. it really felt like we never left at all.

Yeah, the first Singapore trip was fantastic, no doubt about that! When the genie-on-earth Raymund Miranda offered a pair of tickets to the Pat Metheny trio concert, it sure planted a seed in my head. i kept thinking it over, even during the FF gig. when i finally decided to go, nins was quivering...



( singapore )

What is the most exciting three word sentence in the world?

"I have tickets."

That sentence was uttered over a very nice Singaporean dinner almost three weeks ago by Raymund Miranda (see previous post). i nearly had a coronary. intrigero was livid: "ano ka ba kiko? go na! go naaaa!"

when nins and i landed at Changi International Airport three days before those words materialized, we were absolutely buzzed over many things... it was our first real trip together, and we were going to see Franz Ferdinand for starters. (and oh yeah...my surgery...) we walked over to a few racks and picked up some maps, and a booklet containing upcoming events in singapore... and i saw a very familiar face on the cover.

'Pat Metheny Trio Live at the Esplanade March 15'

i couldn't believe it... my biggest living musical hero will be walking in the very same airport i was in. i got REALLY excited, and minutes later was saddened, and then thought, 'well, too bad.' and focused once again on the days ahead. going to singapore for FF was not easy on my finances, and i didn't even bother to consider flying back for pat metheny. all i thought was, 'i wish i was rich.' and that was that. (over the years, i've learned to get over disappointments very quickly. you cry, then move on. the world doesn't stop turning no matter how many floods of tears course through it)

Who the fudge is Pat Metheny?!

i guess most people know him for his collaboration with David Bowie, 'This Is Not America.' or a jazz musician with a bad haircut. or someone over-valued by the Grammies (he's won 17, so far)

but for me, in three words, my musical God. you won't find his impossible licks in my playing (oh God, that would be the day!), or precious little evidence of how much i love the guy in any Dawn songs (JB and Buddy appreciate Metheny greatly also, i should add). but how he sees and hears music... i take my cue from him.

sure, i love all kinds of music and musicians, and Franz Ferdinand is on my list. but Metheny... it all started many years ago, when i heard 'Last Train Home'. quite self-descriptive that title... a hi-hat cymbal struck with brushes simulating a train chugging , very soft strings, a strident bassline, sparse piano chords, and an electric sitar floating on top. three fourths into the song, voices enter... and tears start to well in my eyes. it was a clever piece of music, but what hit me was the emotion, melancholic yet heart-warming. (if you like Cameron Crowe movies, you'll know what i mean) sentimental, but not sappy. maybe it was just me, missing home so much, wanting to get on a bus and head for LIpa.

eventually i got whatever cd i could find that had Pat Metheny on it; i guess i have around 30 under his name, and there's a lot more. while most guitarists and music-lovers are blown away by his virtuosity on the guitar (if you have no idea what a jazz guitar solo sounds like, any of his is an excellent reference), and obviously i am too, what really hit me about his music was the emotion of his songs. unlike most so-called 'guitar heroes', his compositions seemed to really talk to me. i believe that even if he removed ALL of his solos on his music, the emotional impact would still be the same.
thankfully, he has been able to sustain a successful career without ever becoming, and i really detest this genre, "smooth jazz". his guitar playing seems to encompass all that is historically and harmonically great about bebop and jazz in general, and yet, he allows himself to be influenced by nine inch nails, radiohead, and even nirvana, and even assimilates their vibe without ever betraying his own vision. he has one foot firmly planted in jazz tradition, and the other in exploration. in short, here is someone who keeps growing as a musician, a genius who knows the rules and respects history and yet is not afraid to break away when necessary. he is everything i want to be, and achieve, as a musician.

i'm not passing this up. i'm going back to singapore to watch Pat Metheny, and hopefully, attend his workshop. thank you, raymund!!!

i'd often have conversations with friends and when Metheny comes up i always say, "Pucha, pag na-meet ko yun, chuchupain ko!"

shoot. i really don't want to let my friends down... i better start gargling.