skip to main |
skip to sidebar
ROCKESTRA
When Two Musical Worlds Collide
by Kristine Lim
When an immovable object like classical music meets an irresistible force like indie rock the results are nothing short of explosive.
ROCKESTRA brings together six of the Manila’s finest rock bands and the prestigious Manila Symphony Orchestra.
Forget what you think you know about classical music. ROCKESTRA will coax it out of its dusty old box, polish it shiny and new and make it ready for the future, with a little help fromour local rock scene.
Imago, Cambio, Sandwich, Silent Sanctuary, Sugarfree, and Twisted Halo will share the stage with the MSO in a mind-blowing collaboration that will happen on August 19, Friday at the Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (formerly Folk Arts Theater) at 7:30 p.m.
The Manila Symphony Orchestra has a long and impressive history as being the oldest symphony in the Philippines. Despite its age, the MSO has the youngest and most vibrant group of musicians in the country. Not only are they exceptionally trained musicians; they also have many influences outside of the classical genre. With Professor Toti Molina waving his baton and leading them on, their passion for music is always evident in their performances.
Imago is a coed band with a handful of impressive awards under their belt, including the Awit and NU Rock Awards. Their highly awaited second album, “Take 2”, will be released on an independent label.
Cambio rose from the ashes of one of the Philippines’ best-loved rock acts. But to dismiss them as less than their predecessor would be a horrible mistake. Equal parts pop-rock and witty cultural references, Cambio resists comparisons.
Sandwich combines the best of B-boy rap and lo-fi rock. Their unique stylings and electric live performances sets them apart from the pack. They released their long awaited third album,“Thanks to the Moon’s Gravitational Pull” early this year.
Silent Sanctuary are the perfect fit for ROCKESTRA. Already possessing their own string section, they create a sound that combines their many influences Bob Marley, Dave Matthews Band, Mozart and Yo-yo Ma among others) into something completely unique.
If you’ve ever experienced heartache then you’ll know what Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree has gone through. Taken to heart by youths everywhere, Sugarfree’s odes to true love are as true as what’s in your diary as they are perfect examples of pop songs.
You could describe Twisted Halo’s music as art-rock. Or avant-funk. Or maybe even a little 80’s. You would be right and you’d also be really wrong. Twisted Halo defies definition by making music they way they want it. A hardworking band by nature they can be seen playing clubs and schools all over the city.
At ROCKESTRA, the bands will rip through their sets with the usual enthusiastic abandon, only this time they’ll have the awesome firepower of a complete orchestra behind them. Imagine songs like “Mariposa”, “Divisoria” and “Two Trick Pony” played like you’ve never heard them before.
And while you’re imagining that: Imagine buying yourself a ticket to ROCKESTRA, telling all your friends about it, showing up at Folk Arts Theater and having the best night you will ever have in your entire life. Now quit imagining and go buy the ticket. Leave your top hat and tails at home. The dress code is strictly smartly caustic.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tickets priced at Php 975/ 630/ 350/ 175/ 75. Tickets are available at the CCP Ticket Booth, major National Bookstore branches, Robinson’s Department Store (Malate, Galleria, Cavite & Pampanga), Tower Records (Makati and Alabang), Music Museum (Virra Mall, Greenhills), Ayala Center Inc. Greenbelt 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby, Glorietta 1 Ticket Booth Cinema Lobby and on the TicketWorld website found at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Call 891.9999 for inquiries and reservations. You may also call 879.4589 or e-mail us at manilasymphony@gmail.com.
ROCKESTRA is being produced by The Thirdline, Inc. For more information you can call 426-0103, 426-5301, 0918-9379209, thirdline_2005@yahoo.com
Mourning:
Departures:
1. Quite a number of deaths of people related to Pisay admin/faculty/staff :(2. Neal axed from Rockstar INXS too soon (they just booted Daphna and Heather - yes, both of em - kanina)
3. Barbie leaving the Cradle (old news na though)4. Jerome leaving the Mongols (who are now known as Pupil)5. Tonyo leaving Wolfmann+ (yeesh, ni hindi ko pa sila napanood eh!)
6. Monmon leaving Twisted Halo! :(
Loss:
My 5/6-yr-old(???) black Giordano wallet, packed with:
- highschool grad pics of my friends
- pic of my Lola when she was 30/40sumthin
- pic of my Asti when she was about a year old
- picks (as in guitar picks hehe)
- Sam's wonderful creative semi-nude shot and her proof of the pipe of UP (Sam: 'Oh my god, someone now has a nekked pic of me')
- sangkatutak na Drew-and-Dacs pics
- DJ's dollar na binigay niya the first time he came back sa Pinas
- Teddy's baptismal card (my 2nd inaanak; proud Ninang)
- my MBBS card (the impossible is not!)
- little card given by Faye back in '95, containing all the codenames of my crushes (ALL, hehe)
- a Marcos time P5 coin (the BIG one)
- my Starbucks stamp card (argh pinaghirapan ko stamps dun!!!)
- and of course driver's license and ATM (payroll!) card (buti yun lang impt documents)
Grrr. Sob.
It was *carelessness* and not theft. Shit.
Celebrating:
1. Faye's/Lingan's/Altea's birthdays (July 24)
2. Monmon's birthday (July 28)
3. Allantoyn's birthday (July29)
4. Ei's birthday (July30) - Ei send dollars, we'll celebrate in your honor =D
5. Adam Duritz's (Counting Crows) birthday (August 1) - I so looove this guy.
6. 1st periodical exams (Aug2-5), pahinga muna sa lessons, although sandamakmak to check! =P 7. A pinoy guy in Rockstar INXS - MiG Ayesa rules! (2nd cousin daw siya ni Manuel Legarda of Wolfgang/DRT fame) 8. Ninna and Dre's baby boy Jacob9. CSI's 5th season ender by Tarantino. I love George Eads. Good actor who happens to be gorgeous as well. (Though the ending kinda bombed)
10. Jun Lopito's BODHISATTVAS album. Ang gandaaa. Stuff I would've wanted to watch live.
11. Mong Alcaraz (Chicosci) joining sandwich12. Abe Billano (formerly of Nuncyspungen) joining Twisted Halo 13. Amma's (my lola's) successful hip operation
14. Getting to spend precious time with my highschool friends. Loads of laughs. The memories. The Sam and Coco thing. The Vic things. Saya. Bon voyage Bikoy!15. 82 months with my baby ;) (Dacs-and-Drew, since 28 Sept 1998!)
There. My life is now an enumerated thing. *Sigh*
Badly wanna gig.
ADMIT ONE REUNION!
Catch orig Admit One cast members FATAL POSPOROS and DICTA LICENSE
Together with the usual suspects Twisted Halo, Sugarfree, Cambio, Happymeals!
Saturday, July 30, 9:30 pm, Saguijo Cafe+Bar Makati
Til the next blogworthy moment...
(Dacs trabaho na...) - - - - -take fate by the hand to guide youbefore it grabs you by the heels and drags you- jun lopito bodhisattvas (c) 1995
I'm loving Rockstar INXS so much. And rooting for MiG Ayesa too!Recently saw some online Pinoy articles on the latest Pinoy-blooded reality show star...- - - - -http://www.manilastandardonline.com/?page=goodLife01_july23_2005“Mig has a great voice. He’s a very good singer,” agreed guitarist Tim Farris, adding that Ayesa was a natural choice for the band. “Mig is an amazing performer and I think some of the contenders will have to step up to compete against him.”
If Ayesa’s exotic good looks and amazing singing prowess can keep him on the ballgame until the end, this signals the end of our long, painful wait to see one of our kind at the center of the world stage, a rare chance that we sorely and sadly missed in the past two seasons of American Idol. Read more.- - - - -http://www.carouselpinoy.com/articles.htmlWhen I asked if he spoke Tagalog, Mig smiled and said, "Hindi, pare. Ang Tagalog ko putik."
From the interview portion:You said your Tagalog was ...?
Putik, putik naman kasi, e (Laughs). Do you know a rock song in Tagalog?
Um no, but I do know some Gary V songs.
Oh, that's not rock. (Laughter)
Yeah, I know ... but do you know the rock band Wolfgang?
Yes.
The guitarist is a Legarda (Manuel, his cousin). He gave me his CD so I could listen to the songs. But I [still] don't know how to sing them. (So pinsan nga niya si Manuel.)Also found out from this article that his Legarda cousins (Manuel's family I guess?) live in Alabang and he used to visit them yearly. *Ting* Stalker mode on! Hahaha! Alabang pala ha...neighbor! LOL =P (Belated happy birthday nga pala kay Manuel - July 18?)Read more.- - - - -And of course I love reading the witty recaps on the show's official website:http://rockstar.msn.comSome excerpts:From Week3: Reality Show RecapIf Neal's absence makes the Rockers' hearts fonder, J.D.'s presence is having the opposite effect. The negative vibe created by J.D. telling INXS that while the rest of the Rockers have to learn their songs, he's known and loved them since he was a kid, still lingers. When J.D. walks into a room, you can feel the tension rise. "Are you guys cool with me?" he asks, and the stony stares he gets show that, although MiG assures him "we're over it," the truth is, they're not. Read more.From Week3: Performance Show Recap...MiG's theatrical background can give his stage moves a dismaying literalness . . . remember his wave on "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Tonight, it happens when he gets to his knees as he sings "I got down to my knees." It's a good vocal performance, and the girls in the crowd certainly appreciate him, but Dave wants to see him sing with more "abandon." Andrew wants to see him after a half-bottle of vodka, and the crowd gets to see him topless......And as happens so often on "Rock Star:INXS," it's the song selection that could lead to a downfall. Dave wonders why, if he's been asked to be less cocky, J.D. chose "Champions." J.D. has no answer, except to call everyone "champions," a bald-faced attempt at making things right that fools no one...Read more.From Week3: Elimination Show RecapDaphna gets to defend herself first. Jon tells her that last night she did a "funky rock song" and didn't do it very well. She says that yes, she "murdered" The Clash's "Rock the Casbah," and perhaps hoping to plea bargain it down to manslaughter, explains that it's a punk song, and in a statement that musical CSIs will study for years, says that punk songs are "supposed to be murdered." She must have mixed it up with death metal.Daphna and Heather were *both* eliminated.Read more.- - - - -And from MiG's Rockstar INXS blog:On losing Neal too soon:Eliminations Day #2. Today we lost Neal. I couldn't believe it. Not Neal! I though (sic) for sure he'd make it to the end. Top Five at least! Neal is one of the most beautiful human beings I have met. His relentless energy and enthusiasm for everything lit up this place like a Christmas Tree. He was a breath of fresh air and always made me feel good and excited to be here. He is a rock god! He IS rock! It's psychotic that he is not here. Our lives will never be the same again. We're all feeling the loss deeply and heavily. On his Week3 Performance song:The neat thing I did was to choose the song "LOLA." It wasn’t even my top 5 choices, but if it meant that next week I will be able to choose ANY song, then I am happy for the trade. "LOLA" is a classic, but I've worked out a new arrangement with the House band. "LOLA" also means 'Grandmother' in Tagalog, so this song is dedicated to my 'Gigi,' who was my 'LOLA' and to celebrate my Filipino connection. I just need to make it work, show spontaneity and survive this coming week's elimination show.- - - - -Rockstar crazy it is ;)
Not too long ago, I posted about a gig at 6Underground featuring the band called "Pupil", which was supposedly formerly called "The Mongols". It got me to wondering whether the Mongols have broken up already. Found this message at The Mongols Yahoogroup, posted Fri Jul 8, 2005, 9:23 pm:
- - - - -
It's true. Last night was the last gig of the mongols.
jerome's departure has made it sort of an odd thing for us to continue as the mongols. and so we, the current mongol lineup (ely buendia[vocals, guitars], yan yuzon [guitars, vocals], dok sergio [bass] and boga jugo [drums]) will proceed under a new name.
***a point of clarification: jerome velasco left the band to pursue a career in recording. he now works with the rehearsal and recording studios of six underground. as his responsibilities with his new occupation will have made things logistically difficult for the band, he opted to focus on his new career. he remains an active member ofdaydream cycle; in fact they have a gig tonight and i'm gonna catch up as soon as this message is sent. :) FOR THE RECORD, jerome and the now-ex-mongols are good friends, and rest assured that there is no animosity between him and any of us. in fact, we wish him well on his new career, and we're certain he'll do well with it. Mabuhay ka, JAstro!
***Once again, there is no more "the mongols". The current lineup, myself, ely, dok and bogs will reform under a new name. Which means, what was anticipated to be the mongols' second album becomes_ _ _ _ _'s debut album. Not bad, eh?
For this reason, the site www.themongols.com has been torn down. A new one will be up soon, and you'll be the first to know once we're backonline. right, kieth? It's been a very thrilling ride, if i may say so myself, and we thank all of you--the ardent fans, for everything you've given us, and we thank jerome for everything he's given us.
Hopefully, as we embark on what appears to be the coming continuation of this journey for the four of us, we may count on your continued support. For now, we offer each other goodbyes. Hope to see you all again when it's time for hellos.
and so it ends. don't believe everything you see on tv, and have safe sex as often as you could (if you are 18 or older). bye!
yan yuzon
bass, then guitar :)
the mongols.
and so it begins!
- - - - -
For band updates: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pupilcity
On Friendster: Add pupilopulis1@yahoo.com
Coming soon: http://pupilopolis.com
Got this in my inbox:LIVE @ 6underground this Friday 15 July 2005. Sponge Cola, Slapshock,Pupil (former Mongols), Kiko Machine and Ramp Queen. Show start 9pm.Cya all thereNagbago na pala pangalan ng Mongols? Checked the website (www.themongols.com) pero account has been suspended na raw. No official word either sa Yahoogroups nila. Hmmm...- - - - -Stumbled upon the first episode of Rockstar INXS the other night...and I loved it! Hehehe, it's AI for the rockers - astig! And there's a pinoy guy there, Mig Ayesa. Australia/London-based, but both parents from the Philippines, and he was actually born here in Manila. I like him, he's got that cool Brit rocker thing going on.Lots of other great contestants too. My favorites so far: Jordis, Mig, Neal, Suzie, Ty. Was blown away by both of Ty's performances. Didn't see Jordis the first night, but she was smoldering tonight (she did Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box wonderfully)! Not particularly impressed by Neal's vocals, but he's definitely a performer. Suzie's got more to show, but her voice really saved her from being booted on the very first night. Medyo trip ko rin si Brandon, though I love "Hard to Handle", and I didn't quite like his version of it. Props to JD too - he redeemed himself tonight. Impressive performance after almost getting axed yesterday.Astig, hehehe, didn't really think I'd be watching this show. I'm not an INXS fan, hardly know their songs. But the show's concept, though not new, is very much welcome. And Dave Navarro hosting? Hot! (Siyempre hot din si Brooke Burke) =P And of course, the contestants are great. A number of em actually have bands that have toured with big names, or have songs that already landed on the Billboard charts.La lang, natuwa naman ako =P Nood kayo, dali! Para may kakwentuhan naman ako dito hehehe =Dhttp://rockstar.msn.comhttp://www.cbs.com/primetime/rock_star
