Friday, February 28, 2003

damn, it happened to me again. blogger should get their buttons fixed.

we played last night at Meh's benefit thing. A lot of bands were there: Boldstar, Twisted Halo, Sugarfree, Kiko Machine, etc... We were second. It was ok except thatAyn and I weren't feeling too well because of the bug we caught atthe hospital, and Allan and Ralph were having imaginary bugs too. I couldn't dance like the last two times we had a gig... i just put my hands in my pockets and stared at the floor. I'm surprised nobody made a comment like the one in Metallurgica ("Pare, sa sobrang shoegaze niyo, hindi pa ba nababali mga leeg niyo?"). I felt like I was going to puke onstage. But the gig was good. As usual, Roel just had to make a statement (ehem). Allan left right after because he had to go to Malate for Moonstar or some other band.

We saw Charms and Jovy of Matilda and they said Meh was doing great, aside from her head being stapled together. I'm really glad she's ok. Chris and I were just so tired that we slept in Ayn's van after the performance. We would wake up from time to time... I saw Jovan but I was too queasy to call her attention. We couldn't stand the stuffiness and the mosquitos anymore so we decided to leave Ayn there hehehe...

Why do I get crap when I search for "candyaudioline" on google?? and why doesn't my blog come out on it even after i'veadded the url? sigh... how will people find out about us...

I feel like shit. My body is so sore. I am going on a self-imposed retreat this weekend. Must finish thesis. Will be holing up somewhere in Paranaque. See you next week.

Thursday, February 27, 2003

shucks, allan, you really know how to post now... dalawa pa! ;]

pwede bang maaga nga tayo mamaya? medyo may nakuha akong bug sa ospital nung isang araw. If I sing crappily later, sorry...

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

[2/26/2003 8:41:22 PM | Allan Siegfried Montero]
oh my God!!! 270lbs na ako... malapit na ako mamatay!!!

agahan pala natin bukas sa Myrics para masaya...
oo nga pala, yung soft pillow gig sa friday is at Eastwood pala!!!

speaking of soft pillow... ang gulo talaga... help help and help... although we did had a great time kaninang madaling araw. practice started at around 1:30am at natapos ng 2:30am... complete with lots of beer then off to breakfast sa Bambang until 5:30am... dapat palit na kami ng name to "soft pillow alchoholics" same goes with my other bands... "candyaudiokain" at "supermanyaks"


oh my God!!! 270lbs na ako... malapit na ako mamatay!!!

agahan pala natin bukas sa Myrics para masaya...
oo nga pala, yung soft pillow gig sa friday is at Eastwood pala!!!

speaking of soft pillow... ang gulo talaga... help help and help... although we did had a great time kaninang madaling araw. practice started at around 1:30am at natapos ng 2:30am... complete with lots of beer then off to breakfast sa Bambang until 5:30am... dapat palit na kami ng name to "soft pillow alchoholics" same goes with my other bands... "candyaudiokain" at "supermanyaks"

Yellow!

We did visit Meh Antonio of Matilda yesterday at St. Lukes Hospital and she’s doing very well. We could tell she was tired, but she still made the effort to entertain us (which is more than another person would do even if they were in the best of health). Ayn brought her dad along and I brought Chris. Allan was supposed to come with us but I don’t know what came up.

Ayn had bought red roses for Meh’s room and she signed the card “from candyaudioline”. It was funny because both Ayn and I were wearing red, too, and it seemed as if we dressed alike just for the purpose of visiting Meh.

We picked up Ralph and Charmaine on our way back to Ayn’s house. We were wondering what was taking Allan so long. Ayn’s dad took us instead to Sangkalan Restaurant along Commonwealth where we were going to have dinner. Supposedly, Ayn’s family always celebrates EDSA I because they actively participated in it before. Charmaine, Chris, Ayn and I had a lot of fun with the seafood but Ralph had to make do with just the tilapia because he’s allergic (wait a minute—I’m allergic too! Hehehe…) Allan finally arrived after we were all done; he waited for Eloha and her boyfriend at Philcoa. They were going to practice for the Softpillowkisses gig after our movie marathon.

We headed on to Ayn’s. While they were setting up the video, we played with Tristania, who had this very dopey, sleepy look on her face. She’s so cute!!! She looks even chubbier with her hair combed down and I couldn’t stop giggling. I bet she felt so harassed with all her ninongs and ninangs fussing over her. She finally went to sleep on Charmaine’s lap.

We watched Ring 2 and Ring 0. Chris and I had already seen it several times so we started getting sleepy. And Allan was so conscious about the time since Softpillow had to practice afterwards. It really wasn’t the candy movie marathon I had hoped it would be, but I guess we can find another day to make up for it. Tristania, on the other hand, woke up and refused to fall asleep again. She was trying to watch the movie; we kept trying to block her view because the images might be burned into her head even if she can’t understand them yet hahaha. Paranoid ninangs! Anyway, after the movie, we just dropped everyone else at the studio and Ayn brought me and Chris home.

Allan, still having problems with posting?

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Last night, we went to Precious Baldo’s wake at the UP Chapel. She was the only casualty of the Kamia Residence Hall Mishap last February 18, 2003. It’s been a week today. Still no justice.

I was with Ayn and Roel and we were just in time to join the procession back to Kamia, where relatives of Precious were going to fetch her things and bring her body back to Benguet. Her friends and dorm mates sang songs while we walked. It was the first time Ayn and I saw the place since it happened. The metal barriers were really wrecked and there was broken glass around. Candle drippings lined the pile of debris, probably from the night Precious died. One of her relatives asked to be shown the exact spot where she lay. He stood over it and said some words in their language. Ayn told me he was telling Precious to go home, that her schooling was over now. I think the part where I most faltered was seeing Precious’ younger relative, a brother perhaps, carrying some of her things, among them a guitar. How hard is that—to be bringing your sister’s things home knowing she’ll never be able to use them again… things that she probably used a little more than a week ago?

The van carrying her coffin needed a guide out of UP so we volunteered. Along University Ave, we said goodbye and went on our way. They went on theirs soon after, too. They still had a long journey ahead of them.

We, on the other hand, went to Starbucks Katipunan. Tried to shake the solemnity off with some mocha frapps… that is, Roel and Ayn did. We started smiling again when Ayn was trying to rifle through her messy bag for the hundred pesos her dad supposedly gave her—Roel wanted to have a mocha frapp, too. Then she says maybe her dad didn’t give it to her after all. Haha! Roel had to buy it himself.

That was the first time we had a bonding session without Allan. Damn, I wish I could remember all the stuff we talked about but I think all this lack of sleep is starting to mess with my brain. That was around 1 am. We had to bring Roel back to Mayric’s because he had spent his fare on the mocha frapp and besides, he said, Allan was there and we could hang out (and maybe get some food out of him hehe). There was a Parokya ni Edgar gig there and he was overseeing things.

On the way there, I told them I had started this blog. Of course, Ayn had a few things she wanted put so I’ll say them now: On the 27th we’ll be having a benefit at Mayric’s for Meh Antonio, one of the victims of the Kamia Mishap. We also had a pictorial for the PULP Summer Slam last Saturday (I forgot to put that). Watch out for the new Kamikazee video, where Roel plays the evil villain. The evillain hehee. I think that’s all.

We arrived and Allan offered to buy us a beer each. We also had chicharon bulaklak, which I miss since I haven’t been having isaw at UP lately. Sigh. We were pleasantly buzzed. Pinagchismisan namin ni Ayn yung mga nandun sa Mayric’s hehehe (you know who I’m talking about, Ayn). We had to wait until about 3 for Allan to be finished with managerial duties. Allan says what I’m about to write is no longer candyaudioline business but Superminty business, but what the hey. He and John Paul and Charles (the latter two from Popular Days) flipped a coin to decide if they were going to do… ahem… “Superminty business” or not. Suffice it to say, they flipped heads.

Anyway… I guess that’s all I can say about that. Allan will kill me if I say anything more ;) Besides, John Paul is witness that there is a God.

Today, we plan to visit Meh and maybe push through with our candy movie marathon at Ayn’s.
nice work... nice work!!! that's all i can say for now... after a disappointing cruise along QC's night spots with my mintymates, it's really nice to read something as WHOLESOME as this... hay naku!!! the coin really did it for us...

as for something of candyness... well, i'm looking forward to seeing you guys this thursday when we play this benefit gig at mayrics...

on the pillowfront... SOFT PILLOW KISSES will be playing it's first live gig in almost 8 months this friday at shangrila EDSA...

buzz nite is on the 8th of march... ngeeks... the sun is almost up...yahoo!!!

...culture sucks down words, itemize loathing and feed yourself smiles - "motorcycle emptiness" - manic street preachers...

Monday, February 24, 2003

roel's last name is sotto. i hear he's the long lost brother of inno sotto. haha.

must buy a new guitar.
must buy a new guitar.
must buy a new guitar.
oh well... chris took away my first entry "This is candyaudioline" when he was fixing my template. That's ok. He's the manager. Roel! Email address please!
At last. You have no idea how hard it has been to get to this point. All this trouble for a blog.

First, I did a really nice and really long introduction for candyaudioline’s official blog. I was two sentences away from finishing it when Yahoo Mail sends this stupid notification that I had new mail. I was caught off-guard. I panicked, clicked away, and there went all traces of my beautiful intro. All of it.

Everyone knows the feeling. Your guts turn to water and you slump dejectedly in your seat. But you still have some fire left in you. You start over, thinking to yourself that all is not lost. That’s what I did. I picked up the pieces of fragmented thought in my brain and typed away. This time, I let everyone know how pissed I was. As the new intro took shape, I marveled in satisfaction at all the vitriol. I read it, smirked, clicked. This was candyaudioline history.

And then, I realized I had clicked the wrong button. Everything went poof once more.

Argh. After some trial and error, I finally learned how to work the damned thing. Lo and behold the first entry—“This is candyaudioline.”

Which brings me to the present. I’m just too tired now, after seeing everything disappear into internet limbo. If this intro sounds inadequate, my sincerest apologies.

The band consists of:

Allan Montero – vocals, guitars, songwriter, all-around kingpin and financier
Ralph Romero – guitars, webmaster, keeper of mystique (to borrow from Cameron Crowe)
Ayn Ruth – bass, femme fatale
Selena Salang – vocals, resident paranoid—and I don’t mean this in a cute way, as you’ll discover along the way (yours truly)
Roel … - drums (Sorry, Roel, I never really found out your last name… will update)

We’re from the Philippines. We play indie/shoegaze. I’m still reluctant to use labels because I can’t tell the difference (!). As far as I’m concerned, it’s simple enough—it’s kickass music.

The Latest:

1. We played at “Metallurgica: The Science of Rock” the other night at the Sta Lucia East parking lot. There was a contest for memorizing the line-up (in order: Milk and Money, Kiljoy, Monsterbot, Pentavia, Cover Me Quick, candyaudioline, Moyg, Hammilan, Cog, Cheese). The gig itself was strange. Everybody else was adhering to the metal theme. We tried, but somehow we stuck out, I think. On the other hand, people noticed we were different. That doesn’t necessarily mean they enjoyed us, though. After all, they did go there to mosh.

2. Headed to Mister Kebab as usual for an after-gig bonding session. I think food is an integral part of candyaudioline’s existence. If you look at the name, you’ll definitely note the Freudian connection. Over special chelo, upside down and keema, we discussed how we sounded at Metallurgica, points to work on, and the mailing list (candyaudioline@yahoogroups.com). We like to listen to recordings of our performances because we’re still experiencing growing pains as a band (mostly my fault since I’m still adjusting). On the tape, my voice sounded a little better than the last time, but still too loud when nervous, and some of the guitars couldn’t be heard as much as we liked. Allan tells us kids that what comes out of the board isn’t usually what the audience hears; he says extraneous factors like echo and extra fuzz and blahblah make the actual sound better. It was decided that a live journal be kept for the band and the task was assigned to me. Finally, a concrete contribution on my part.

3. Our EP is almost out. We’re just having a little problem with budget and we’re trying to find the most practical way of releasing the album. Anyway, we hope it’ll push through soon since this will be the first output for this configuration of candyaudioline. Patience!

4. We’ll be part of PULP Magazine’s Summer Slam on April 30, 2003.

Okay, this is it for now. This is candyaudioline’s official blog, aiming to document the band’s endeavors. As blogmaster, I’ll try to be as objective and as accurate as possible. Don’t expect this to be absolute, though, since everything will still be filtered through my perception of the experience of being in the band. Do join our mailing list. Do buy our EP when it comes out. Do come to Buzz Nite every month. Do visit our website when Ralph gets to finish it. Do drop in. Do eat your carrots. Don’t stick one in your bellybutton, though.

Oh yeah… who the hell got first dibs on the username “candyaudioline”? Had to settle for something else. Boo.