On Life Outside the Band

Obviously, the greatest obstacle to playing in a band such as Candyaudioline is living life. We do such different things that it's so difficult to match schedules and activities where everyone can have a good time and/or do what we love to do best: play. I'd like to examine how these circumstances came to be and hopefully, achieve some catharsis on this matter. I know that one of our greatest frustrations these days is that we can't get together and play… we don't really like talking about it because it seems all the more futile when we do.

Well, let's see. When this line-up was formed in summer of 2002, Ayn and I were still at school, Allan and Roel were already working at their current jobs (Backbeat Management), and Ralph was a skilled peon at some web design company in Makati. Obviously, Ayn and I had freer, more fixed schedules that were easy to match, even as we were finishing our respective theses. Allan and Roel had flexible schedules, though many a gig had to be cancelled due to the unpredictable nature of such a schedule (sudden gigs, etc.). Ralph was… I don't know. I guess he had less work then and I think he was starting to hate his job, which made it easier for him to nix a work night in favor of a gig hehehe. All these explain how easy it was for us then to play so many dates without having a real schedule for gigs like other bands did. Most of it was usually spur-of-the-moment; Allan would just text us all on the same date, "Uy, may tugtog tayo mamaya sa ____," and we'd all just show up. I think the only real roadblock back then to our availability as a band was when Ayn got pregnant, but even that was assuaged by a sub-bassist named Sonia and then later on by Ayn herself when she realized she wanted to keep playing in the band right until a few days before her due date. I remember that time that we were all scared she'd suddenly go into labor in the middle of "Wicked Glances" or something freaky like that.

Then, I graduated. But I was out of work for a long time. Ralph also quit his job. We were basically just raring to go play all the time because it got even easier to drop everything for a gig. We also started going out together more often. With our bosom buddies from Popular Days, we did everything together, from watching the latest movies to eating at our favorite Pares or Kebab places, to videoke at Nymphet'z and movie marathons/drinking sprees at Ayn's house. This was the height of our closeness as a band, I think. I eventually found work, but its flexibility enabled me to keep performing even with all the late nights. Then, Allan and I got together and bonding became even easier.

But then, Ralph found work at a more prestigious (but stingy) web company in Eastwood. That was the beginning of extended periods of rest for the band. His work became very demanding to the point that he disappeared for days at a time without answering our texts. I think I must have posted about 2 "Where's Ralphyyyyyy???" entries in the past 6 months hehehe. He was just swamped at work.

Meanwhile, so were Allan and Roel, with all the Backbeat gigs during Christmas and School Fair season. Schedules were becoming more difficult to match, and soon Ayn was having a problem, too, because she was preparing for graduation and for law school. This gave Allan time to concentrate on his other bands, Soft Pillow Kisses and Superminty. It was a good thing that we had at least finished our album recording by the first quarter of the year because things became even more desperate.

Ralph quit his job again and decided to make it as a freelance web designer. With the news of Charmaine's pregnancy, he needed to raise some money-- and fast!-- so he decided to concentrate on all his rackets for the benefit of his future child. Roel was also promoted to being a Parokya roadie; i.e., he had more gigs to go to and less time on his hands. Ayn was waiting for law school to start and she worriedly kept asking for us to take advantage of summer to play or practice because she knew how trapped she was going to be in law school come June. I, on the other hand, was still at my same humble job, frantically thinking on ways for the band to balance its time. So was Allan, but he found a way for us to take advantage of the last week of May by booking us over the weekend for several gigs. Yahoo.

Except that he suddenly had to be hospitalized for his leg. All those gigs were cancelled.

And here we are. Still waiting. The few times we get together are so precious. We can only do it two or three at a time, but each instance is a momentous event, like that time Allan and I stumbled upon Ayn at Rockwell. Or when Roel, Allan and I see each other at Backbeat events and talk about "the next gig".

Or yesterday, when Allan, Roel and I met Ralph and Charmaine at the Parokya DVD shoot in Makati. The two met me at Shopwise and relayed Allan's message to buy him a shirt (the one he was wearing was dirty from hauling props around). Charmaine really looks like a mother now with her extra weight. I hastily picked out a gray, triple XL Crispa shirt, knowing very well that Allan wouldn't fit in it, and watched Ralph and Charmaine paying for their baby stuff in the next checkout line. Later, at the studio, we sat around in monobloc chairs and someone commented on Charmaine's pregnancy. "Pare, kami na lang ni Selena ang walang anak sa banda!"

"Gumawa na kayo," Ralph said.

I suddenly remembered Ayn and Tristania so I texted Ayn about Ralph and Charmaine being at the shoot, if she wanted to have a reunion. Regretfully, she replied that it was too far and that she had an exam she had to study for the next day; she said she would try to make it up to us and that she was sorry we always had to adjust to her. I said she shouldn't mention it because we care about her and we admire the fact that she's working so hard. "Basta usually free ako pag Friday," she said, "Kung may balak kayo…"

This, I relayed to Allan and he said that he'd try to get us dates on Fridays. We all miss it, dammit. But this was certainly a spark of hope.

Later, while we were watching the shooting, Roel confided to me that he was excited to use the new cymbals and snare he had acquired recently. I think the enthusiasm in his voice was not in the least due to the alcohol that tainted his breath. I think playing in Candyaudioline again is on his mind a lot, too.

The fact is that there is no life outside the band for us. We may not be able to play as often as we could before, but the band itself figures largely in each of our lives, whether we like it or not. It's infused with our separate existences; it is the golden thread that binds the web designer, the road manager, the law student, the roadie and the editorial assistant.

Buzz Night last June 26, 2004

Allan and William picked me up at home at around 9:45 because I had to lug the keyboard around. We arrived at Mayric's at around 10 and found the first band, Irony, setting up. They played a good round of noisy tunes, Weedisneys-ish (which wasn't a surprise as both bands had similar roots in Fin) and loud and melodic. After three songs, they suddenly said their set was over, which prompted Allan to tell Charles to tell them they could play another one. This apparently caught them off guard and they debated for a few moments on a good song to play. They settled on one, sang it, then finished their set with another Thank You. They had to leave soon after because they had another gig to go to somewhere else. I think they were happy they got to play at Buzz Night again.

The Manyaks were at Mayric's before the gig started, but they weren't going to play as Popular Days because Eric supposedly couldn't make it and Ian didn't show up. Eric was at work where he was just going to start his nightshift. Charles told us he was thinking of cutting work because a certain band was going to play (ahem), but he convinced Eric to go or he'd face the consequence of losing his job.

Lara came in holding a bunch of pink, peach and yellow daisies, which she picked from a wedding to which she had gone. She put them in our hair, the guys' lapels and we dumped the rest in a used glass to grace our table headquarters with their prettiness.

Blue Stellar then took the stage with one less member. Who should step through the doors of Mayric's but one Ericho Lucas, flushed from a dash from the office? Shouts of disbelief greeted his "they suddenly called off work tonight" speech.

The Blue Stellar vocalist had to play the bass while singing. For some reason, this did not diminish their appeal but increased it. I admit that I'm not exactly the best believer-slash-practitioner of the soft and laid back school of indie singing (oh, man, I sound like Boy Abunda in "Star Circle Quest"… eew) because, well, my voice is naturally big and also, my formative years were spent listening to your run-of-the-mill rock songs, where emotional wailing is the way to go… however, this subdued singing really fit their type of music better than the way she used to sing before. Lara, daisy tucked behind her ear, large dark glasses and serene smile on her face, commented, "Ok sila ah." Allan said the band improved since last Buzz Night. I agreed, but there were some songs where the off-key guitars jarred my senses. At first, it seemed like it was out of tune, but then Allan thought that it must have been intentional like the weird chords that he sometimes does. Hmmm… I think it didn't work on some songs though, but I'll let everyone else be the judge of that.

Next, a new band, Kneel On Nails performed. They had told Allan that their music was emocore/post-melodic, and when I first heard that, I asked Allan what it sounded like. He said it would sound something like Ronald Schlander's band (I still had no idea). So he booked them. Anyway, they came on. I thought they were ok, but I raised a brow when I heard them roaring. "Hindi, ok lang yan. At least iba yung pagka-emo nila." Well, after their set, he asked if they wanted to front for a Backbeat event, so one good thing came out of that.

Then, Superminty performed. We played the staples well, but decided to insert "Little Nothings" into our set, even if we weren't sure we'd gotten it already. Thankfully, we played that very well, too :) I was especially proud of myself because I had been having a hard time practicing the keyboards for that song and during the performance I managed to get by without one mistake.

Sunset Drive then performed their comeback to Buzz Night. It was great to see these guys again because their sets are always so tight and they sound really good. Hopefully, they'll grace Buzz Nights to come. They were so good that night that there's nothing more I can say.

An old Buzz Night band, Easy Mercy (sorry, spell check… I remember reading a different spelling on the Mayric's white board) performed next their 60's music. The Beatle-esque harmonies were refreshing and their little stops and starts endeared them to the audience. It's interesting how a low-fi set-up can still tweak our pleasure knobs every now and then… I had gotten so used to waves of hypnotic guitars in the past months.

Finally, Soft Pillow Kisses ended the night with a 6-song set. I had to sub for Luie because she couldn't make it. I got to sing "It Will Never Last (Forever)"-- I begged them to let me-- and it was the highlight of my short stint as SPK vocalist, even if I flubbed some high parts hehehe. Lara and I sang the last song, "Bathing in the Sun", together and I think we blew everyone's minds with that. And that's how the night ended: brains leaking out of people's ears, people whose last thoughts before the ecstasy of death were, "Oh, maaaaaaannnn, this is gooooooood…"

I thought the floor was a little stickier to the soles of our shoes that night.

Previously Unreleased

Like the new photos? Found them in my e-mail archives. Courtesy of (who else) the soon-to-be-daddy Ralphyyyyy. ;)

Here's one more:



See you all real soon!

Buzz Night Tomorrow

9pm, Mayric's featuring:

soft pillow kisses
superminty
irony
sunset drive
kneel on nails
blue stellar
and more…

tickets at P100 each

+++

I was supposed to write something about being in a band with such diverse members with diverse obligations, but I forgot what I was supposed to say, hehehe. I think I'll talk about it some other time.

good news

our album problems may soon be solved. the outlook looks very promising (haha, i sound like that weight machine that spits out hack fortunes). more will be revealed in time...

yipee! :)

Soft Pillow Kisses last night at 70's Bistro

SPK had a wonderful set last night fronting for Parokya at 70's Bistro. They started at 10:30 pm (late for 70's Bistro... the manager was fretting madly) with the long-missed song "vodka ice #3" which made me cry. other songs were "stay here for a while", "i was right" and "bathing in the sun". a very short but very sweeeeeeeeeeet set.

we weren't able to eat out as usual because lara and i had to go home early, but it was great seeing everyone again. you know, it's great how pillow can sing their old songs impromptu, even without practice. it reminds us why we admired this band in the first place. we should try doing that when we play together again :) look how stupendous we were last buzz night with "broken to pieces" even with some minor flubs hehehe. we shouldn't be afraid of little slipups like that because they make us all the more human and, therefore, adorable ;)

anyway, wonderful set. i'm sure it left a lot of people sighing in their seats last night.

Allan's phone is gone again

to all those attempting to contact allan montero for business or pleasure:

allan's phone was snatched in baguio. it's gone. standby for an update on his new number.

Blab Awards hehe

grabe astig talaga. ngayon alam natin na si ralph pala yung nagnominate satin hehe. kaibigan pala niya yung may-ari ng awards... eh di you can put in a good name for our blog, ralph!!! :D

ayn, 2 out of 3 criteria not met? i guess that disqualifies us hehehe ;)grabe kakaiba talaga tayong magkabanda...

kulang na lang, tugtog tsaka album :)

pleasant impromptu meeting

Last night, to celebrate our *ehem* monthsary, Allan and I decided to go malling somewhere else for a change hehehe. Ahwuhwuh nuhmun-- monthsary na nga lang, sa mall pa pumunta! We decided to go to Power Plant instead of our usual SM fetish. On the Santolan Overpass, we suddenly realized that we should have gone to Klub 102 because then we could have had good sounds and reminisced the early days of our relationship when we used to go to the Makati incarnation of the new wave club; plus, the new one in Quezon City is nearer. But then, we decided that going back to Klub 102 meant that we'd stay up really late, when Allan had planned to be home early to fix some domestic problems of his.

We entered the mall at around 9 and were dismayed to find that it was about to close, too. We decided to eat at Dulcinea after roaming the basement and we had an iffy dinner of salad, baked lasagna, a ham and cheese sandwich and fries, and lots of churros. We started feeling really queasy with our full stomachs and dissatisfied palates, and the trash guy at the restaurant was making loud comments about Salbakuta and Vendetta, obviously aiming them at us. Allan kept mumbling under his breath, "Nakakaawa ka lang, eh… nakakaawa ka lang, eh…" and managed to control his murderous urges. It really was offensive because we were customers at the restaurant (a very reputable one at that) and the guy wasn't making much of an effort to joke discreetly. Oh well, another day in the life of Allan Montero. Blood on knuckles isn't good for holding hands.

Allan remembered Ayn because we were in Rockwell and I had casually mentioned her name--- he texted her, "Nasa Rockwell kami at naalala ka namin kasi namimiss ka na namin." To our surprise she called us and said she was still in Rockwell at that hour; her classes for that week were from 6 to 9. What luck! We decided to meet her outside and, since she hadn't had dinner yet, accompany her while she ate. We settled down at Gram's Diner and Ayn told us about her first experiences in law school. I was very intimidated by the people she seemed to be exposed to; I decided that I could never fit in an environment like that myself. Allan also talked about his misadventures with some of the Backbeat Bands from long before… I think it started from a discussion about that shroom segment on Jessica Soho Reports. We kept laughing there in the drizzle of rain and enjoyed each other's company.

Finally, it was time to go because Allan had to get home and Ayn had to, well, study! Her parents had brought Trista with them, but she was so deep in her oily sleep that no matter how much we pinched or poked her, she wouldn't wake. It was really great meeting up like that, so serendipitous, and we're hoping that we'd get to have Ayn play again with us soon.

Nominate Ralphot!!

Guys, nominate Ralph's personal website!!!!! Siguradong panalo!!!! His site/blog will kick the asses of all those other nominees (including ours) all the way to Zimbabwe.

(pero baka naman over-qualified).

Obiter Dictum...

I read this from the Blog Awards website, re: rules.

2. Your blog site should not focus on pure adult materials, illegal stuff and pure hate related content.

(1) Adult materials - Nymphets (though we weren't that detailed)
(2) Illegal stuff - Hmmm... uh... hmmm... nah, we're all clean ;)
(3) Pure hate related content--

--Dudes, we had it "saved."

*wink wink*

Ooops! Silly me. I never learn, do I?

Ha ha :)

Oh yeah, that was for "entertainment" purposes only I reckon.

we've been nominated

this will sound really really funny but--- our blog has been nominated in the Philippine Blog Awards 2004. haha! i came across it accidentally while i was surfing.

but to whoever nominated us, thanks :) what were you thinking? did you perhaps think that the content alone qualified us for the award? but, hey, we're truly honored... it was just so funny to stumble on the info like that.

a postscript to the superminty news last entry: 2 people thought we played very well. one guy, who was drunk, said, "put*ngina, ang galing niyo, pare," over and over again. and he said he wanted to clap but he felt too shy because no one else was hahaha. and another girl asked if we were soft pillow kisses but allan said we were a different band and she said, "you guys are great!"

:D

long drawn out silence

yep, here we are, lying low. can't help it. a lot of obstacles have come our way in terms of time and money, but at least the desire is still there. i heard roel suggested a practice the other night. if only we could.

about the album, don't worry. when allan finally gets up the nerve, he's going to submit it somewhere. at least it's finished, save for the mastering. kaya yan.

last night, superminty (a band i have also missed) played to front for parokya at mayric's with popular days and it was really great to see everyone again. :) allan tells me that buzz night is on the 26th.

see you around...

nakakamiss yung wee-wee breaks...

thank god allan is out of the hospital and on his way to a healthier life. he got much needed rest and solid advice from the doctor to lose weight. would you believe, though, that his blood pressure, his blood sugar and cholesterol levels are all normal??? what a miracle! and also, what a relief... hope they'd stay that way. guess we have to lessen our cravings for chicharon bulaklak during gigs...

i'll miss playing house though :D and the staff at udmc were nice.

wish we could play before school for Ayn starts. miss you guys!

back from the HOSPITAL

at last i'm home. after nearly a week being hospitalized sa U.D.M.C., it sure is nice to be in the comfort of my own house. i will surely miss that place, the nice but oh so expensive doctors, the great food, the kind nurses and hospital aides, the needles the did both hands of mine, the firehose like power of the showers, the smell of clorine every mid-morning during room cleaning that that somewhat took away the smell of cigarettes that i had every early-morning in anticipation of that dreaded anti-biotic injection that i have to take every 3 0'clock in the morning (sure can't forget those shots, as if my arm would busrt in pain)... also the nightly DVD marathon that me and my girlfriend, Selena have just to woe away the loneliness of not having too many friends visit us every now and then. also me and Selena's mid-afternoon sound-tripping sessions...

i would like to thank those who gave me a visit during my stay there... syempre salamat kina eric, charles at jannpol ng popular days. pero duda ako kung ako nga yung binisita nila o nagpa-cute lang ang mga walang-hiya sa mga nurse doon sa nurse station. si ayn din with her mom and dad, si lara na nung araw na iyon ay nagpagkamalan kong si sadako nung maalimpungatan ako. si anne backbeat sa pag hatid ng pera na pinahiram sa akin ni richard na pandagdag ko sa hospital bills. kay richard tan for being understanding at sa pagpapahiharam ng pera. sa kabanda komng si roel na nung araw na ma-admit ako eh naging isang ganap na ama. buti ka pa pare concerned ka sa akin d tulad ng ibang mga dati kong kabanda... kay popo ng m88 sa paghahanap sa akin at nagsabing dadalaw daw... kay francis archaster for texting, kay pancho soul connection sa pangungulit, kay kaye(piyas)na nakadaldalan ko sa phone nug mag-isa lang ako sa room, kay joey ex-candyaudioline na nagpasabing daan daw. kay william-minty na d nauubusan ng palusot pag tinatamad umalis ng bahay at kay noel colina... sa mama ko na humabol pa kanina para tulungan akong ayusin yung hospital bills ko... at syempre kay selena na from E.R. last week, wednesday evening hanggang kanina ay syang tumayong tagapag-alaga ko... swerte ko talaga...

sorry nga pala sa tether kasi d ko sila na-inform na d ko itututloy yung gig last thursday. bawi ako sa inyo next time... dami ko sana gusto i kwento pero next time nalang... okey