Starstricken

Last Friday, I went with Allan and Charles to a Moonstar88 gig somewhere in Alabang. One of the Starstruck people, Jenilyn or whatever her name is, was supposed to perform. When Charles entered the house where the artists were supposed to wait, the lady said, "Ay! Akala ko si Rainier!"

Later on, a little girl went up to him and said, "Rainier!" to which he hastily replied, "Hindi ako yun." She then asked him whether Rainier was really going to come. He said he didn't know.

Jenilyn performed her set. While she was singing, Charles and Jepoy had to move around the stage behind her to set it for the band. Someone from the crowd said, "Si Rainier, o!" and others shouted, "Starstruck!" He immediately jumped off the stage to hide behind me and Allan.

The next day, we all went to Subic with The Youth, where they were to perform at Club Edge, "The only Rock Concert Hall in The Philippines!" Again, people were whispering every time Charles walked past.

While The Youth was performing, Allan talked to the club's owner, who said his goal was to make Olongapo the Rock Capital of the Philippines again. I asked Allan if it really was the Rock Capital of the Philippines once before and he said yes. For some reason, bands in the late 70's and 80's used to love playing there. Ooh, interesting. Well, from what I overheard, Club Edge is one of the best places to perform live, so I hope it'll be able to reach its goal. It's a nice venue and I hope candyaudioline gets to perform there in the future, which we were supposed to do last Saturday, except that we didn't have transportation. Sayang.

Anyway, we were about to leave and Charles was bringing the guitars out of the club when he "bumped" them on a girl by the bar (at least, that's what she said to him). He said sorry (I think that was her excuse to talk to him) and she told him that he looked like Rainier of Starstruck. Some of her friends started talking to him and they asked for his number and they took pics of him on their phones. Charles was so embarrassed because some men at the next table were staring and whispering "Starstruck", but of course he didn't want to offend the girls. And then, when we were approaching the van, some fans of The Youth who were taking their pictures looked at Charles when Robert said, "Si Rainier, o! Si Rainier!" They laughed and proceeded to take pictures of him, too!

Poor Charles! Well, he can't help it if the guy dresses like him. It's funny because Charles dressed like that way before F4 and Starstruck but when people see him now, they probably think that he copied his look from them. Hmmm… that reminds me of something…

Hehehe.

Dream. Believe. Eat.

Gutom na ako. Kakain muna ako ng Magic Flakes with chocolate cream filling.

ginamit ba namang sms ang blog...?!

hehehe. to both statements of ralph: AMININ!!!

;)

nah. just saw the teaser clips for the show. nakakatawa kasi roel na roel dun sa isang shot. hehehe.

as for what i told buwi... malalaman nyo rin yun soon. or you can ask him. hehehe.

wow, interesting observation.

seriously, ralph, i mean it. he does resemble the track star a bit. it must be because his long, shiny hair makes him look feminine, though--- if roel was clean cut, he probably wouldn't look like her that much.

haha. buking ka tuloy na nanonood ka ng "maalaala mo kaya"! :P

thanks, candymates, for fixing the blog a little more and spiffing it up!

cute na ang blog, katulad nating lahat hehehe ;)

btw, ralph, what was it you told buwi that you haven't told us yet? could it be...? nagbibinata na si ralph? yiheee! (pwera biro, hindi ko nga alam... ano nga ba??)

sana makatugtog tayo soon!

roel navalta

it just occured to me that roel looks a lot like nancy navalta. hehehehe.

naks, etc.

naks. may pics na tayo. tsaka ok yung color scheme ng tagboard hehehe. it's not exactly the ultra-coolest blog on the planet, but at least it's cute :)

btw, hindi tuloy ang WOW gig namin. pero ayn will be playing there with matilda.

um... malapit nang mabayaran ang utang natin sa recording studio. ata. yehey!

yun lang, for now.

wow... happy-happy joy-joy!

yay! nakapost na kayong lahat uli :)

si roel na lang ang kulang... wala pa siyang pic sa sidebar (though that IS a very good likeness of him). i-a-add ko na lang siya ulit. paano ba ang spelling ng "briemefont"? tama ba?

ayn, i-align mo na lang yung pics natin... wag mo kaming ipagtabi ni allan. hindi sa ayaw ko siyang katabi, para uniform lang di ba.

gagawin ko na rin kayong admin ng blog para masaya. dapat dati ko pa tong ginawa. pero wag magedit ng entry ng iba without asking first ha. ethics and honesty tayo dito hehehe.

grabe. sana dumami pa gigs natin. sana tuloy pa rin yung WOW Philippines. kaya pala hindi sure si Allan kasi may trabaho siya with moonstar that night, but he says he might be able to make it. will update tomorrow.

allan, since nakakapasok ka na sa blog, iupdate mo na rin kami tungkol sa buzz night at sa easter sunday shindig. thanks.

yay.

best band in the world!!!

tayo yun...

sa wakas nakapasok na ako sa blog!!!

it's has really been quite enjoyable for candy during the past few days... lalu na yung sunud-sunod na mga gigs lalu na na last night's gig wherein kumpleto talaga kami... sama mapadalas...

what more can i say...

uy ralph, ano yung sinabi mo kay buwi na d mo pa sinasabi sa amin?

*snort* *snort*

"i also chatted with buwi before i left, and told him something i haven't told the candy guys about yet. so, i guess i have my "own scene" too. *hint* *hint* hehehehe"

Ay! Alam ko yan!!! Yung porn diba?? Hek hek.

Welcome back Ralphyyyy..

yes, i am alive and yes, i am back

to say that i had a hellish past month is an understatement. that dreaded four-letter word consumed so much of my time. amd with all the stress i had to put up to, the trip to caliraya has been a very welcome breather. t'was not yer regular spa, but it served its purpose. dips in the pool and nature's fresh air played a lot in "de-toxifying" me. hehehe.

the gig last night was another welcome change. i haven't touched my guitar nor a single string in over a month. medyo paranoid nga ako that i might be rusty during the performance. when roel still wasn't there by the time moonstar was into their last few songs, i went back to my panic boy state. and like selena said, good thing he made it just as moonstar were on the last bars of torete.

on stage, all i could hear was allan's guitar, ayn's bass, and roel's drums. i had to turn my volume up to 9 so i could keep up. hehe. not the tightest of set, but we pulled it off... considering that i haven't played with them since UP Fair. this time around, i felt confident with my tone since my favorite mayrics amp... the fender something amp, was back! allan used a stereo setup, figures why he was that loud. Playing Something Wrong aka La Pa, IMHO, was a highlight in our set, although i fumbled quite a bit on the instrumental part.

by the time we finished, everyone kept complimenting us on a nice set. "balanse", "galing", "swak!" were some of the nice words i heard the other bands say. herbert kept asking me what effect i used on La Pa, which really boggled me too since i couldn't explain it well - that i just stumbled upon it while playing around with my effects box.

i also chatted with buwi before i left, and told him something i haven't told the candy guys about yet. so, i guess i have my "own scene" too. *hint* *hint* hehehehe.

reunited (and it feels so lewd… ;)

yehoo.

Ayn picked me up at around 9:30 and when we arrived at Mayric's, everyone was there (except Roel, who was still on his flight from Cebu!): Allan, Charles, John Paul, William and Ralph. Ralph was eating a pork chop meal, which was a relief because he looks so very, very, very thin now. He said that work has been hell for the past month and that he now has insomnia. It's not that all this has affected his appetite but that all the unhealthy parts of his lifestyle have refused to let him get fat. Remember the Colasa's jokes Allan was making about Ralph and the barbecue stick? Well, he wasn't that far from the truth after all. But it was really good to see him and I'm sure my other bandmates felt that way, too. Again, Allan's frivolous plans of disbanding candyaudioline have been foiled, mwahahahahaHAHAHAHA!

John Paul and William were two more refreshing faces as we hadn't seen them in a while. John Paul has been busy with studies while William has a controversy of his own, about which he reluctantly told me after a lot of wheedling on my part hehehe. Gosh. Dapat talaga magka Grand Buzz Night Reunion. Hindi lang alam ng mga tao na marami palang mga behind-the-scenes action hehehe. Exciting!

Superminty opened the night without keyboards, but they still impressed the people. Hebert and Acel kept asking, "Original nila yan???" in tones of disbelief. After 4 songs, Moonstar88 took the stage with their new member. We were getting nervous because they were about to finish their set and Roel had just arrived in Manila. He still had to work until the very last minute before rushing to Mayric's in record time for our set. Hats off to you, Roel!

We played a wonderfully loud set of four songs: An Empty You, Better View, Something Wrong and My Silver Chair. Hopefully, we'll get to practice again soon so we could refresh the old candy songs (which I really miss). During Empty, Roel took a long time to do the first "bagsak" which is supposed to set everyone off into instrumental, and it was amusing. Hindi rin kami kasi nagkakarinigan masyado sa stage and I couldn't hear myself at all. I was just hoping to get by in tune. Afterwards, people were joking Roel about that little mishap hehehe… but everyone said we played a great set and Charles said I didn't go out of tune in Something Wrong (even if Allan thinks I did :P beh!). It was fantastic to play together again and we were so loud that my ears felt funny when I stepped off the stage. Someone even said that we looked like the main act because we were much louder and rougher than the other sets that night. Yebah.

It wasn't a perfect set… we've had much better ones, but the fact that we were all together again was remarkable :D Nakakamiss talaga si Ralph… buti na lang aalis na siya sa trabaho niya next week hwehehehe! But of course, that's more because he's so pooped out from so much work than anything else…

Ayn had to go home early because she still had to finish some stuff for school so it was only Allan, Charles and Me who went to Timog Food Plaza for some Zamboanga chicken. Kakaiba talaga yung manok dun.

And then we went home.

I don't think we're going to push through with the Wow Philippines gig this Friday but I'm not sure about that. Buzz Night might be held on Black Saturday, but keep posted so you'll know kung tuloy. Ang tuloy yung Easter Sunday gig sa Millennia na medyo In BeTWEEn Days ang dating. More updates on this soon.

A scene

Candygirl: (to candyboy) Alam mo ba na kami na ni *********?
Candyboy: (with true pinoy shock and matching thrown-off-balance action) NGYEH!!!
Candygirlette: (laughing) para kang taga AngTV niyan eh!
Candygirl: (suddenly and with thrice the feeling of Candyboy's reaction and twice the facial expression) NGEEEHHH!!! (and much more calmly, without missing a beat) wag mo yang ilalagay sa blog ha.

gig tonight---- with ralph!

we have a gig tonight at mayric's and ralph will be playing with us again. yehey. kasama namin ang moonstar 88 at kamikazee.

finally, a candy reunion :)

hope this will be the first of many to follow...

Two Gigs, One Night (March 15th, 2004)

Act One: "Against Perfection"; Millennia

Let me explain what happened. Last Friday, during our Deadpan Society gig, Tiffany casually said, "Hey, I heard you guys are playing here on the 15th."

"Huh? I don't think we can. We have a gig that night with The Mongols at Mayric's."

"Talaga? Eh nakita ko dun, eh…" she trails off, leaving me guessing on where "dun" was.

Later, I'm hanging out by the doorway, looking at the posters when I happen to glance at the Millennia calendar. I do a double take. "Hey! We're here on the 15th!"

"Sabi sa 'yo eh!"

"Oh, no… nakakahiya naman kung di tayo sumipot eh kaya naman natin ngayon dahil nandyan si Charles. Sige, lagari na lang tayo on that night."

And so the stage was set for this scenario 2 nights later:

Allan, Mike (of Weedisneys and Chicken Pao Productions) and Charles were sitting at a table and Ayn, Roel and I walk in. I say to Mike, "Ayan, hindi ka na galit samin kasi sumipot na kami ngayon," to which Allan interrupts with, "Sabi niya hindi tayo naka-lineup ngayon," and laughs. Mike laughs, too and says, "Hindi, ok lang!"

"Talaga?? Pero nakalagay dun sa calendar sa------" I whirl around to point at the evidence…. And discover that it's no longer there! Mwahahaha…

I examine the night's poster and see that there really is no candy in the line-up for this night (Mike probably thought we wouldn't be able to make it this time either hehehe). But Mike lets us play anyway, which was nice of him, considering we had just showed up. Also, Twisted Halo graciously agreed to let us play ahead of them so we could make it to our Mayric's thing earlier (but that's another story). One of them also lent Ayn his strap. Thank you.

We did an ok set. I flubbed the song titles due to some misinformation. Ah well. Allan got really tired after it so we had to wait there for 20 minutes while he caught his breath again. Meanwhile, he talked to Diego Cambio about cd production (thanks for the tip… can't wait to "hook up" with the cd guy hahaha) and he gave him previews of our upcoming album, pati na rin yung mga Eps ng Pillow at Minty. Sabi niya, "Wow, thank you! Ba't ang bait niyo sakin??" which caught us off guard and I smiled and said something lame like, "Kasi pamangkin kita!" hahaha. Actually, siguro Allan was just feeling… I dunno… nice and Diego happened to be there and he's receptive to that kind of material. Well, he did give us an idea of where to go to publish the album.

So… Lara dropped by pala because she had a friend who wanted to do a production at Millennia. Soon after, we left for Mayric's.

*
Act Two: "The Mongols and Friends" [title, mine]; Mayric's

We arrived at Mayric's around midnight and Kiko Machine was in the middle of its set. "Wala si Spiderman."

After Kiko Machine, the main act, The Mongols were set to perform. We were to do our thing after them so we decided to while the time away eating. Allan ordered sisig and liempo and rice and we dug in. The Mongols did about 5 songs, I think. I liked them.

Then it was our turn. Well… we did ok, too. I couldn't hear myself over the mic but Allan said he could hear me. I was just praying I wouldn't go flat. But I didn't. It was fun. Allan's back was killing him halfway through the set and he badly needed to rest. He asked Jerome (of The Mongols and Teeth, former guitarist of candyaudioline, too) if he wanted to play on "Flaming Walls"--- he agreed to do so for fun :) It was great, but the dilemma was that Jerome had done lead for the band before, and Allan does rhythm, and Charles doesn't know anything but lead for now. So we had two lead guitarists… and Jerome kept doing different chords for the pre-chorus part hahaha. But it was really fun and he obviously enjoyed it. He was even singing with me and he'd sing "It ain't right" with this exaggerated articulate accent hehe (It aynt rawyt!). Ely B. (or whatever he'd like to call himself now) just had to take a peek at Jerome playing for us. After that song, Allan came up to play the last one with us, "My Silver Chair" and we finished the set. Later, he told us that watching us almost brought tears to his eyes (NO KIDDING!!! He meant this!) because we sounded so good onstage. "We never get to see ourselves actually playing and, you know, I've found that it's a really great experience to be part of the audience while candyaudioline is performing." Awww… *sniff*, *sniff*.

Anyway, Roel and Kerwin had to leave because they had a 5 am flight to Davao that morning, but the rest of us decided to hang out after that…

*

Act Three: "The Grand Exeunt" (or "Angels Can Dance Really Well in Knee-High Leather Boots")

In gratitude to Charles' heroism these last 4 gigs of candyaudioline, we felt like giving in to his innermost (though unarticulated) desires and return to… er… shall we say, an "old favorite haunt" of our group of friends, the majority of which are male. Allan, Ayn, Charles and I hopped into a taxi and sped off to…

As expected, The Ladies were very polite and welcoming--- some perhaps delighted at the return of their prodigal friend Sir Charles, others clucking their tongues in reproach at the newfound detachment (totoo ba yan?) of the magnanimous Sir Allan. We were escorted to our table with a lovely view and given the plastic binder to make our selections for the videoke, which was to happen after the "program". Of course, the DJ greeted the two men warmly, asking Sir Charles where "Sir Jann Faul" was. Also, he asked Allan over the sound system if "it was true"… and then promptly welcomed the anonymous "first lady". Hmm… where'd they hear about that??

And yes… angels do dance well in knee-high leather boots.

It was still relatively uneventful, but fun. Allan sang "Regret"; we did duets for "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Careless Whisper"; Charles sang "Gaya ng Dati" and dedicated it to The Ladies, and he also sang "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get"; Ayn didn't sing at all, but enjoyed just the same. I think The Ladies were sorry to see Sir Charles go.

We needed to wait for Ayn to be fetched so we had coffee, pineapple juice and bread and scrambled egg at Ongpin's along Quezon Ave. We had a good long talk about---- you guessed it.

Then, Ayn and I exited stage left while the curtain fell silently on Allan and Charles waiting to pay the bill as the lights faded.

Bow.

Deadpan Society; March 12, 2004; Millennia

Our first gig in a little more than a month, due to Ralph's unavailability, Deadpan Society at Millennia was something the band looked forward to. We forced Charles to study our songs so he could sub for Ralph; by 8 pm he was texting Allan that he was apologizing in advance for ruining our gig.

Allan and I arrived at Millennia at 9:30 pm and some of the bands were already there. Tiffany was worrying and moaning about the fact that Incubus was playing at CCP that night. We told her, don't worry, there are probably lots of people who couldn't afford going to Incubus who will probably drop by, don't worry, let's just have fun. I forgot the name of the band that opened for the night… Charles arrived around that time and we were busy reassuring him that he didn't have to feel pressured because we were just happy to be playing again.

"Eh, hindi, eh… 'di ko kasi makapa lahat tapos sobra na akong kinakabahan!"

"Ok lang yon! Kahit gumawa ka na lang ng version mo ng mga lead parts!"

Next, Silent Sanctuary played. I liked the strings. Then, Paramita performed. Ria, the drummer was the organizer of the event and she was the one who contacted Ayn and booked us (Thanks again!). Next, played Bagetsafonik, whose set impressed Allan, who is considering including them in a future Buzz Night now that he's actually heard them. After that band, we performed with Charles and it was a considerably good set. As usual, I felt a little rusty after our hiatus, but it was fun to be onstage again. We were really satisfied with Charles's performance, too, because we didn't feel as if Ralph wasn't with us------ he had to modify some guitar lines, but he was able to simulate Ralph fairly well. It was almost the same level of… um, I don't exactly know what to call it… "intensity"? In any case, it was a lot of fun and we were really grateful that Charles agreed to do it for us. Of course, we still miss Ralph.

Then, Agartha's Remorse, last band for the night, performed two songs. We were especially waiting for them because the band is composed of Ayn, Charms, Lara and my younger sister Edwina, who is a fledgling guitarist. The latter's friends had come to support her and they were screaming her name, along with yours truly, who was in turn marveling at her "baby sister growing up" hehehe. I know. I'm cheesy :D kulang na lang mag-baby babble ako dito, eh hehehe. Natuwa din sina Charles, Roel, Kaye at Allan sa kanila kasi the girls had had only a few practices and they were performing Within Temptation and Sisters of Mercy fairly well. Natuwa sila especially kay Lara kasi hindi daw siya nag-kick sa last part ng "Lucretia…" They were shouting, "Dream come true para sa drummer!!!"

After the gig, we brought Lara and Kaye to where May was waiting for them (Freedom Bar) so they could pass by the Amoeba event of the Lubitels, TV Guide and Carnival Park. Then we went on to Colasa's for a food trip. After eating, Allan started goofing off. We were talking about Ralph and then he picked up a barbecue stick and said, "Ralph… Ralph… kumusta ka na?" Tapos sa kalamansi na piga na, sabi niya, "Roel… Roel…" and then he picked up two barbecue sticks, formed them into a cross, then pointed it at Ayn and said, "Ayn… Ayn…" Sayang nga kasi wala siyang ginawa para sakin… it's either wala siyang maisip or he was scared of consequential "sanctions"--- hehe! Basta ang dami pa niyang ginawa tapos tawa kami ng tawa dun. Hay.

Buzz Night; March 13, 2004; Mayric's

Allan was a little worried about Buzz Night because he had unwittingly lined up 11 bands for the night. Still, there's something positive about that… before, he had been hard pressed to look for bands who wanted to play. Now he has enough to resurrect the sometime active event In BeTWEEn Days. He's thinking of changing the name, though, so that it doesn't have to be specifically restricted to twee, which the event never really was in the first place with bands like us lined up. I hear there are plans to begin this coming Easter Sunday and he's already asked Weedisneys and Balloon Derby to perform. Expect more to come about that.

Anyway, back to Buzz Night--- being worried about the great number of bands set to perform, he decided to start it early. Kaya lang, pag dating namin dun, wala pang kumpleto nung 9:30, puro mga kulang ng isang member. Suddenly, the band Five Leaves Left, which played last month but wasn't on this month's line-up, arrived thinking they were set to play. Since they had come all the way from Paranaque, they begged to perform under any conditions. Allan decided to let them play 3 songs first so the program could start and they were grateful for the chance. It was a good idea because it gave the other bands time to complete their members. Matilda was up next, with Ayn sessioning for one song (but it was good to see Yvette again). Then the much awaited Sonnet LVIII. Buti na lang nakakapagtugtog uli si Nelson, kaya lang paalis ata yung brother ni Rommel for abroad so Buzz Night was supposedly going to be their last performance. Aww, damn. They gave an awesome set, and next came Popular Days. Lasing na si Charles by then. Don't ask. Pero syempre, hindi naman sila nagkalat.

Skrew Ups played next and they gave a refreshing set… my gosh, if I remember correctly it's been a year since they last performed at Buzz Night. Then came candyaudioline and Charles, despite his tipsiness (a little of his buzz had worn off by then), did us justice. He was even brave enough to do "My Silver Chair" with us, though he was caught off guard by Ayn and Roel conspiring for a long version.

Balloon Derby followed, with Wally greeting the audience with, "Welcome to Buzz Nights(!)" Hehe… pero ok yung set nila ha, kahit wala nang nagke-keyboard. This Buzz Night ko lang sila talaga pinakinggan and I liked one of their songs. Hmm… teka… kasalanan ba ng Superminty kung ba't wala na silang keyboards??? Si William kasi dati yung nagba-bass para sa kanila, kaya lang, ngayon na wala siya, yung keyboardist na nila ang nagba-bass! Oh no…

Hmmm… should I start a blog for Superminty, too? Si William nagtatampo ata samin kasi wala kami masyadong tugtog na lined up. Feeling niya ata, we're leaving him out. Hindi no! I asked Allan, "Ba't di mo siya pinapunta dito sa Buzz Night??" Allan said, "Sinabihan ko siya! Ewan ko kung ba't wala siya dito." Naku, William, wag ka nang magtampo… tapos na nga yung ating malupit na EP eh… ;)

Next, performed the ever-reliable Tether. I really liked their last song, but I noticed that the oomph I was looking for wasn't there. Then I realized it was because they had a different drummer that night. Later, I learned that their real drummer was sessioning for the Phil. Violators so he couldn't make it. Finally, Skies of Ember performed as the last band for the night. They gave a great set, although Dott-dott was having difficulty because his guitar kept going out of tune… was that why he wasn't able to sing the chorus for their song from the Mutual compilation album? Sayang. Pero ok na ok pa rin sila despite the setbacks.

Weedisneys passed by, but since they weren't lined up, Allan had to put them last… only Mike had work at 1 am so they ended up leaving. Well, it was good to see their continued support for Buzz Night.

Afterwards, we weren't able to eat out because nobody had money. Sigh. Because recording sessions are officially finished, it's time to pay the bill. Oh well.

Tonight, we will be playing with The Mongols, Stonefree and Gish at Mayric's and then we'll be heading to Millennia after that for a gig as well. See you!

soft pillow kisses and superminty ep's finished at last!!!

soft pillow kisses and superminty has finished mixing sessions
also at pink noise, for their respective eps which is also set for
release within the next two months...

mixing of the soft pillow kisses ep was done last wednesday evening at around 8pm with selena of candyaudioline / superminty taking up producer's chores during the first half of the mixing sessions while your's truly was busy as usual with with being pathetic while doing managerial chores for backbeat... upon my arrival, they were already in the last part mixing "special day"... the session ended before 3am...

the superminty ep mixing session on the otherhand started 8pm thursday night and ended at about 1:30am as witnessed by the entire popular days gang while occassionally going in and out of the booth hoping to get a glimpse of the lovely ladies who was with lito camo on the other studio while yours truly fell a sleep in the middle of the mixing of the superminty song "sink into something" up to the end of "when we smile"... sayang ang dami pa naman nilang tirang pizza...

a listening treat is in the works for the candyaudioline, soft pillow kisses and supermity recordings on saturday before buzz night, hopefully during buzz night and most probably during the end of buzz night...


soft pillow kisses will be releasing and ep tentatively
called "wasting opportunities".
here's the track list...
01 wasting opportunities
02 i was right
03 bathing in the sun
04 special day

superminty's 4 song ep on the otherhand is called "sink into
something"
here's a track list...
01 bitter art
02 when we smile (formerly song #1)
03 silly thing (formerly song #2)
04 sink into something (formerly song #3)

Buzz Night on March 13, Mayric's, 9 pm!

Kaya pala di nakapagpost si Allan kasi di siya makapasok sa blogger. anyway, here's an updated lineup for Saturday:

March 13 - Buzznite, Mayric's
Starts at 9 pm

Skies of Ember
Tether
Balloon Derby
Popular Days
Soft Pillow Kisses
Matilda
Candyaudioline
Skrew-Ups
Children of Eden
Sonnet LVIII


GO!!! :D

si allan talaga, di na nagpopost...

... eh may internet naman siya. dapat dito mo linalagay din yung news mo, chong. pano... hmp.

sent by "allan siegfried" through the candygroups:

Buzz Night this coming Saturday, March 13, 2004 at Mayrics!!!

featuring:

popular days
candyaudioline
soft pillow kisses
skies of ember
velvet
matilda
screw-ups
tether
balloon derby
children of eden

gig starts at 9pm (hopefully)entrance is at a very cheap 100 bucks...

additional news:

candyaudioline has just finished mixing the final 2 songs ("don't go
away" and "something wrong") off their supposedly 14 song album
called "saved it for torture reference" slated for release within the
next month and a half... three songs didn't make it to the final cut
namely "can't sleep", "all smiles" and "felf so fine" (although a
decision is yet to be made if "felf so fine" will still be re-mixed)
due to artistic reasons of your's truly. hehehehe

here's an almost final track list:

candyaudioline "saved it for torture reference"
01 sad inside
02 waste my time
03 light a candle
04 discarded toy
05 flaming walls
06 don't go away
07 an empty you
08 better view
09 my silver chair
10 wicked glances
11 for all i care
12 something wrong
13 nothing much to lose (my bloody valentine cover)

all songs were recorded and mixed at pink noise except for track 11
and 12 which was recorded last year at tracks studio in pasig as part
of the never-to-be-released "an empty you" ep.

also, soft pillow kisses and superminty has finished lay-in sessions
also at pink noise, for their respective eps which is also set for
release within the next two months... mixing is expected to be
finished before friday (March 12, 2004) in time for a listening treat
this coming buzz night...

soft pillow kisses will be releasing and ep tentatively
called "wasting opportunities".
here's the track list...
01 wasting opportunities
02 i was right
03 bathing in the sun
04 special day

superminty's 4 song ep on the otherhand is called "sink into
something"
here's a track list...
01 bitter art
02 when we smile (formerly song #1)
03 silly thing (formerly song #2)
04 sink into something (formerly song #3)

Ralph

Ralph is alive. He texted yesterday. He won't be able to make it on the 12th and 13th because he'll be in Caliraya then, and the 15th is still iffy for him. buthe's good to go for the 26th.

we will still be playing at all the said gigs because Charles will be subbing for Ralph and this time we'll drag him to the venue. hehe

yay!

btw, the pics show up on this pc so it still works. i think. could it be my temp files lang? but i wouldn't know. ralph, enlighten me. does nobody else see the pic? just a survey to let me know if it works. on a pc using windows 98 last friday, the pics didn't show, but now on an xp pc, they do. hmmm...

Candyaudioline March Gigs

12 - Dead Pan Society, Millennia

Silent Sanctuary
Paramita
Mr. Mindbender
Bagetsafonik
Nityalila
Agartha's Remorse
Candyaudioline

13 - Buzznite, Mayric's

Skies of Ember
Tether
Balloon Derby
Popular Days
Soft Pillow Kisses
Matilda
Candyaudioline
Skrew-Ups
Children of Eden

15 - Mayric's

The Mongols
Candyaudioline
Gish
Stonefree

26 - WOW Phils, Intramuros

Matilda
Candyaudioline
and many more.

News (for once)

Candyaudioline will be playing at Buzz Night on the 13th. I don't know the final list of performers yet but Allan will probably post it within the next few days. Also, we'll be playing on the 15th at Mayric's with Stonefree and The Mongols and Gish. Ralph, for the umpteenth time, we wish you could make it because we really miss you. Please. But if not, we are making sure that somebody else will be there to sub for you. By hook or by crook, we will play on these dates.

The other night, magkasama si Ayn at si Allan sa Ratsky Malate. I was at home resting. Sayang. Last night, I ignored my fatigue to meet Allan and Roel at Lyceum, Intramuros because I needed to get out. Some bastards there harassed Acel by holding her and pulling her hair and pushing her head while she was walking past. We had been way behind her around the corner, so we weren't able to catch them in the act, so we couldn't beat the crap out of them. Fricking bastards. I wanted to be violent last night. I know that if I had gotten into a fight, someone would most probably have kicked my teeth in or something, but I was in a seething, silent rage and didn't really care. If only we had seen the guy. I would have loved to elbow him in the face and feel his eyeball pop into his skull.

Ew. Did I just type that? That was gross. But it would have been lovely.

Tonight, we will be doing vocals for the two remaining songs in the candyaudioline album. Yehey.

totoong candy

pero wala si roel. oy roel kelan ba tayo uli magpipicture taking?

The Rewards of Stage Management

Saturday night, Allan brought me with him to work in Baguio. He clarified from the start that it wouldn't be a leisure trip since he had to help oversee Parokya Ni Edgar's welfare during a Bombo Radyo stint there. I was just eager to tag along for a refreshing, albeit brief, change of scenery. We left Manila Sunday early morning and made several Shell Select stops on the way before finally reaching Baguio at 6 am.

Roel was there to roadie. We felt a little wistful that the three of us were already there--- with Ayn and Ralph along, we would have been complete! Maybe they'd even have let us play front act if we were all there, since the only performers that night were Aleck Bovick, the Sooperbabes and PNE. But of course, just bringing me along was already a burden on Backbeat, and besides, hindi siguro sulit kung lahat kami pumunta dun tapos balik din the same night. But going to Baguio last Sunday did serve as an initial scan of what we could possibly do if there were to be a candyaudioline Baguio trip in the future. Going home, the wheels in our heads were turning on how to make such an outing feasible.

Anyway, I'm not really going to talk at length about my personal Baguio experience. We didn't really get to roam around and do the usual things. When we arrived at the transient house, we slept until one then woke up to have lunch at the ihaw places next to Burnham. Allan and I hadn't even bathed yet because we had only planned to eat then go home but we started browsing through ukay for a preview of things to purchase in the afternoon. Suddenly, Roel texted that they were already on their way to the radio station and so Allan and I had to nix our plans (including baths!) to accompany them. It was like this for the rest of the day--- tight schedules--- but we were finally able to bath in the afternoon, at least. So we weren't really able to do any sightseeing… we just visited the SM Baguio (which isn't all that bad with its wide terraces perfect for a view of the metro) and Allan shopped for underwear. Haha.

What I really want to talk about is the concert itself, or rather, the preparations for the concert. It was held at the oval behind Burnham Park and by the time we arrived there (7 pm) people were streaming in by the hundreds. Then, the fireworks started and they were soooo beautiful! I had never experienced fireworks like that before, missing both the Centennial and Millennium celebrations. Afterwards, the people's energy was so high and they closed in on the stage--- Bombo Radyo security had to step in and push people back to make leeway for the crew and the artists. The audience did comply, but already I was thinking that Bombo Radyo lacked a bit of foresight with the preparations if they hadn't thought of doing that at set-up time.

So the Backbeat crew started doing soundcheck. This is something they usually do hours before the program, but until 6 pm there had been another event at the venue and a different sound system was being used. When they were finally given the go signal to soundcheck, Backbeat encountered several problems: the sound system was undermanned, the board was set up weirdly and had to be heavily troubleshot, and the set-up onstage wasn't working properly. Particularly, the monitors for the drums was kaput and Roel spent more than 45 minutes pounding the kick while Rommel (of Sonnet LVIII) fixed the board. They were so pissed at the inefficiency of the sound system that tempers started to rise at nagtampo si Kerwin (bassist of Aspirin, who was setting up onstage) kay Rommel. The crowd was getting restless and so was the organizer… but of course, the guys refused to start until they had fixed everything because the band would suffer under existing conditions. It was becoming frustrating for everyone… so much that the guys started making wry jokes over the monitors. Some examples:

1. (After a particularly exasperated comment from Rommel)
Allan: O, puso mo, Rommel. Alam mo namang matanda ka na. Paano na yung pamilya mo? Yung boyfriend mo? Sino na ba ngayon--- si Randy na ba?
Rommel: Hindi. Si David na. Ikaw ba, sino na?
Allan: Bago na. Si Benjo na. Guwapong-guwapo. Itong si Sherwin may hinahada din kanina eh. (Points microphone at Sherwin the driver in talk show host fashion) Ano bang pangalan nun, Sherwin? Peter di ba?

2. Rommel: O, ayan. Umaandar na ba ang amp?
Allan: Hindi "umaandar" ang amp, pare. "Tumutunog".
Rommel: Yun na nga yung tinatanong ko, eh. Kasi kung umaandar, pigilan niyo sana at delikado na. Baka wala pa tayong magamit mamaya.

3. Rommel: May tao na ba diyan, Lan?
Allan: Ay hindi, pare, wala pang tao. Tingnan mo nga, walang laman nga yung field, eh. Ay… ah, tao ng sound system pala. Oo, meron nang tao dito. Naghahanap lang sila ng masasaksakan.
Rommel: Naku. Sino ba yung gusto nilang saksakan?
Allan: Ikaw.

4. Rommel: Kerwin, gumagana ba yung bass amp? Kerwin? Kerwin?
Allan: Pare, wag mo nang utusan si Kerwin at nagtatampo yan sa 'yo.
Rommel: Ah talaga. Sabihin mo sa kanya, I love you.
Allan: I love you, too, pare.
Rommel: Hindi, para kay Kerwin yun.
Allan: Pare, hindi ka niya mahal.

Of course, this was all on the monitors, so people couldn't really hear the bastos parts. I think they should have done it on the house speakers, though, para naaliw naman yung mga tao kahit papaano habang naghihintay.

People were really pissed off by 9 pm because Bombo Radyo had promised that it would start by 7. The organizers were getting impatient, too, and Allan had to use all his self-control to be polite about the situation. The fact was that if the planning had been more efficient, even with a sucky sound system, they would have been able to fix the problem way ahead of time. In fairness to the people in Baguio, organizers and audience, even if they were really pissed off, they didn't boo loudly at the roadies as they fixed the stage; the most they did was mock-cheer when Roel pounded on the drums and Kerwin tried the bass.

At around 9:30 pm, Rommel finally gave the signal to start and the Sooperbabes came on. I really enjoyed Aleck Bovick's performance, by the way. She's one courageous chick. Hero na namin siya ni Allan.

Anyway, witnessing this, I realized how difficult the crew's job is. They're the unsung heroes of gigs.

To end this story, Rommel and Kerwin kissed and made up in the following manner:

Kerwin: (to Allan) Lan, hindi ako pwede sa Parokya Mayric's sa Tuesday ha.
Allan: Oo, sige.
Rommel: (annoyed) O baket na naman?
Kerwin: (gives Rommel the evil eye and an "I'm-still-not-friends-with-you-so-what-makes-you-think-you-can-talk-to-me" look) Basta, Allan, di ako pwede nun.
Rommel: (annoyed) BAKET hindi?
Kerwin: (more annoyed) ANO BA? Kung ikaw, makakapunta, wala nakong pake dun!
Allan: Pupunta ka ba, Rommel?
Rommel: Hindi rin hehehehe. (everyone, including Kerwin, laughs)

We left for Manila, Monday early morning at 1 am.

*

Last Wednesday, we spent the holiday resting. I went to Allan's house in the afternoon and let him listen to some funny recordings I made with the minus ones and my own voice. He said he had been doing the same thing that morning! He set up his stereo so we could make more recordings and we played around with some of the minus ones we had made. Ayn had a gig at Millennia with Matilda so it was only me, Allan and Charles who watched a movie, "Lost In Translation". I loved Bill Murray's performance and Ms. Johannsen wasn't too bad herself. I remember she was that child star in "The Horse Whisperer"… it's great that one of her first mature roles was in an acclaimed movie. An Oscar snub won't hurt her career. Pshaw. Hehe… anyway, we decided to pass by Ayn's gig, only we missed their performance. She was outside talking to Matilda. They in turn asked Allan some advice about their recording offers. Afterwards, we went inside to drink and watched a screening of one of Quark Henares' short films. I suddenly had an asthma attack (hindi na ako sanay sa beer) so my friends kindly bought me some medicine and took me home (thanks, guys!). I heard that Charles and Ayn had some more drinks later that night but I think Allan went home, too.

Tonight, Allan was supposed to make candyaudioline play at the PNE Mayric's gig but he texted Ralph last night and Ralph said he couldn't make it. Shucks. He must still be sick. Superminty is playing tonight. I really miss candy. Reeeeeeeally.

The Soft Pillow Kisses recording sounds really good! Luie has certainly shined in this one… we're very impressed at the output. Expect a good SPK EP sometime soon…

I've finished printing the candyblog! It's ring bound and ready for perusal. Allan and I were having fun reading it over the weekend… ang dami na niyang nakalimutan na funny things na sobrang sarap sariwain. 148 pages! Buti na lang I took advantage of our office supplies hehehe. Meany.

Allan made a revised track list for our recording and it sounds great! This time, the sequence of the songs flowed well so that each track complemented the next. We still have to hit the studio for two songs but that will be easy, as soon as Ralph is ok.

Wish we could play together again soon.