Catching Up...

Hello Everyone...

After a succession or really fun and memorable gigs, we've decided to rest for a while although we did have a sort of short practice session last night just to add some songs to Elaine's repertoire... I was feeling really tired, reason enough for me to end the session abruptly...




We focused on songs like "Better View", "Sad Inside", "Something Wrong" and the Eraserheads cover "Light Years"... I can see that Elaine's quite comfortable with these songs... we also did review the two other covers we did during the "Guilty Pleasure" gig...

Speaking of that gig, i guess it was quite an eye opener for me... specially now that i've been having a hard time writing songs... Doing covers is not a bad thing after all... Specially when pattern it to your band's style... This gives me an idea to record all of the covers we do and either release it or just include it as a bonus thing if ever we (Candyaudioline) get to release an album soon... As in really soon...

Here are some of the songs that Candyaudioline has already covered and how we approach the songs:

See See Rider - She Sings Alone (Almost close to the original version)
Cub - Secret Nothings (a bit noisier than that of the original)
My Bloody Valentine - Never Say Goodbye
My Bloody valentine - Nothing Much To Lose
Pixies - Velouria
Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation
Pale Saints - Time Thief
Smashing Pumpkins - Today (We messed this up a bit... kicking off in it's original state then shifting to a reggae-ish stanza, the lounging to a punked-up chorus then Back to it's original state... but we did add a twist to it by a show-band type 2 bar solo of each instrument then turning full-on ala "My Sherona" jamming session near the end before going back to the original arragement at the end...)
Eraseheads - Light Years (This one we kinda made it our own, incorporating indierock and shoegaze elements with a few grungey moments for good measure)
Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks (we added song Noisy Guitars to it)
4 Non Blondes - What's Up... (our approach to the instrumental aspect of the song is very much inspired by listening to bands like Slowdive, Fleeting Joys and Malory)...

There you have it... it's almost an albums worth i suppose...

That's that for now...

By the way, the My Bloody Valentine thing last Thursday (Feb. 14) was really a great gig but sadly we had to leave early... wish i could've stayed on just to see Skies of Ember and Sonnet

Candyaudioline At Club Dredd...

Hello Everyone...

It's a good thing that it isn't Valentines no more... I'm loveless you know... But i do have a new crush... It's been like years since i had a crush which almost resulted in my own crash landing... But she's not available anymore... Saw her yesterday again on my way to 711 with her new boy friend... what a sight that was... Oh well, i might as well "swallow the pill"...

Anyways it didn't take away the excitement of playing Club Dredd... as early as 6pm i was all raring to... But i had to wait...

It was at around 8pm when my band mates (Kel and Dennis) picked me up at a restaurant somewhere in San Juan and soon after we went to Fetch Selana, then Rene and Elaine... Upon arriving at the venue, i saw Romel and Along of SonnetLVIII... what a sight that was... Can't even remember how long it was when both Candyaudioline and SonnetLVIII were playing the same gig... Dott of Skies Of Ember who happened to be the events organizer came in at exactly 10:15pm... Hmmmm that was like 15 minutes late... Upon seeing Dott, i asked him if we could start playing because i had to be at UP by 11:30pm... He said yes and told us that we were to play 4 songs but i begged him to allow us 5 songs... He kindly agreed... So off we go... After a few twinkling of knobs and some more gadget adjustments we went full blast... well not actually full blast since "Flaming Walls" was the first song but by the time we stepped on our effects pedal and it was all noise everywhere, i suddenly felt that it was really Club Dredd again... Next song was the "All Smiles / Can't Sleep" combination... Funny because i was having a hard time singing it although i noticed that Elaine was very comfortable which somehow eased my anxiety... The My Bloody Valentine cover cane in next... i think this was the best version we did so far except for the lyrics... i can't really memorize the right sequence... then we did "An Empty You" wherein i was going to let Elaine do all the singing but she gave me a cheap shot to my lower left belly... hehehe, what can i do but sing with her... i wanted to do "Discarded Toy" or "Nearby Town" as our last song but Elaine declined so we did "My Silver Chair" instead... We went off the stage smiling... i think it was a good one for us... Kel and Rene was really tight, Me and Dennis i guess was inspired by the abundance of flesh both in and outside of the venue while Elaine seem to be much comfortable now... I really enjoy watching her trying to contain herself... Maybe if we get a chance to hang-out at a videoke bar i'll bring along with me my Videocam and try to get a video while she's ripping through some of her fave videoke classics...

...I miss Club Dredd... During my Aspirin days and early-Candy... it was the only bar-venue where we could really push the sound limit to the max... The only difference between the Club Dredd (The one at EDSA) of old and the new one is the Crowd outside... I kinda like this one... so many lovely faces by the Eastwood Fountain area... It made me and Dennis smile like a month old puppy discovering the wonders of sex... good thing that i was able to get a good sleep because my eyes was really on tip top shape... i could even spot a beauty from 50 meters away... Sadly, we had to cut the sight seeing short for we had to go to UP... The breaks...

That' that for now... Maybe we just have to stay this way while the sun is shining... Soon the rains will come and spoil the fun...

It's Valentines Day...

Hello Everyone...

Just because it's Valentines Day today doesn't mean that... Hmmmm, it's been like years since...

Can't wait for tonight's gig... I'm very excited to play this one... Too bad we didn't have enough time to prepare for this but nevertheless i think it'll be fun...

Last night we had practice in preparation for this Saturday's "Guilty Pleasures" gig... As usual... we didn't start on time. i think we were like 2 hours behind schedule (Thanks to Rene who as of late has become quite annoyingly erratic) which resulted in our not being able to practice our supposedly second cover for the "Guilty" gig... Instead, we'll be doing something else... a song that sprung out of my head thanks to hearing Bagetsafonik practicing from the other booth...

The Practice did go quite well but if i had my way i would've chosen a different song but time wasn't on our side last night... Elaine was singing almost the way i'd want her to sing, specially on "Flaming Walls" which she claims to be her least liked song to sing...

Hope we do get to make it this Saturday...

and again, since it's Valentines, i'm going to quote a line from a song that for me, best fits my current "feel" for this Valentines Day... Its from a band called Rocketship and it's from the song "Your New Boyfriend"...

"you and your new boyfriend walk hand in hand along the streets the way we used too... you said I Love You... Forever and Ever..."

Happy Hearts Day!!!

Fair Enough

Hello Everyone,

This week is UP Fair week... a week long series of gigs happening in UP Sunken Garden... During the past few years, i've always look forward to such an event but this year is a bit different... in fact, i don't feel like playing there anymore... Last year was a bit of a traumatic experience for me... The crowd really turns me off... I remember last year when i almost started a mini-brawl somewhere near the left side of the stage because i really got pissed at some guy who kept annoying me while we where playing on stage... Other reasons why i don't like playing there anymore is because of the way most orgs handle the event... Security is so poor, time slots aren't always followed, sequences always gets messed up during the latter part of every gig, so many bands are lined up, the sound system gets worse as years goes by... but the one that i don't like most is the chaos inside the artist area... the person to area ratio inside the artist area is always greater than that of the audience area... it's almost like a refugee camp there...

Sadly, even if don't let my band play there, i'm still obligated to go there since all of the bands we handle have been booked in almost all dates... so rather than just being there... i decided to play there also...

So tomorrow February 11, we will be playing... Our slot is sometime around 6:20pm... i doubt if that would be the exact time we'll be playing... probably it'll be late as usual... Elaine can't be with us tomorrow cause she'll be attending to her clinic's anniversary celebration... in preparation for tomorrow's gig, we Candy-boys had a quick run through of songs that we might do tomorrow... Some covers only although if i feel that the sound system sucked, then we won't be doing any of these song and would just do some really safe Candyaudioline songs just to avoid embarrassment...

It was Dennis' Birthday just a while, so after our practice session, we immediately went to Iceberg's Timog for a quick meal... Ex-Candy bassists Joel and ArJay plus a friend joined us in celebrating Dennis' 27th birthday... as usual, Dennis was effortlessly the life of the party with Rene tagging in a close second... Joel was drunk as hell while me, Kel, Deanna and Elaine religiously watched Dennis being hammered away by Joel's alcohol induced wordiness and Rene's Malicious glances as ArJay acted as referee painstakingly trying his best to mediate and put things into order using his China Eyes and newly trimmed hair... Stupid of me not to film the entire proceedings coz i forgot that i had my Super-Camera with me... Nevertheless, we settled with a simple Pictorial Session near Iceberg's parking area...

Here we are...



That's all for now, hope we all have fun tomorrow...

Quiet Is The New Loud...

Hello Everyone...

Nothing original about the title of this post but it is what we're in right now... I really hate it when we're in this sort of situation but what can i do... not much activity for us during the past week... Just one gig last Monday, Feb. 4 and that's that... we can't practice because of Kel's present situation... in spite of my being free during the past couple of days... Most of the work gigs i had this week ended up between 10pm the earliest and about 11pm the latest... even the one we had yesterday at Angeles didn't reach the 10:45 mark... During this week, i realized that i've spent most of the time loitering the dark alleys of the Quezon City district with my current view watching buddy Rene... a succession of almost 3 non-productive nights spent on talking nonsense, eating, dissing and subconscious dreaming about what lies ahead for us...

speaking of what lies ahead, honestly i haven't have the slightest idea of where all of this is headed... although we're not really aiming to go somewhere or someplace... just the company of friends/bandmates is good enough for me... but look at what time has done to us... i miss the days when almost everyone was virtually "just there"...

a single phone call would eventually result in an unplanned gimmick of sorts... be it in a nearby Starbucks, a sleazy strip joint, an Pares station or even at the place of a far away house full of food that you can get without any hesitation all... hmmm, "hesitation" is what's bugging me during that past week... will i or won't i. do we or don't we... when the clock strikes 9, i'm pestered with the question "should i" which always result in a "we shouldn't have not"... which brings me to my next and final recollection...

so why is it always like this... is this some sort of a burn out thing... just no one to talk to really... Now i'm beginning to feel very sleepy... so i'll be off to bed in a while... i'll continue dreaming on and just wait for something good to come out of this very deafening silence...

bye for now but first i'll quote a line or two from a song that best describes what i feel at the moment... it's from a band called Gene and i goes like this... "and i'm at my lowest ebb and it doesn't feel like home and i still can't find the phone..."

i'll post something again very soon...

70's Bistro... A Fever... A Fire And My Lovely Neighbor

Hello Everyone...

Last night we played at 70's Bistro... It was supposed to be a comeback thing for this band since we haven't played at this venue for quite sometime now... But from the start it was already a doomed thing... Kel won't be able to make it because his dad suffered a mild stroke last Sunday which made him not attend our usual Sunday thing... I called Roel (ex-candyaudioline drummer)early Monday morning and asked him to session for us... he instantly agreed... Well everyone was a bit hesitant with Roel, including me but this has always been one of this band's favorite thing - impromtu sessions... upon waking up yesterday, i got a message from Elaine telling me that she won't be making it since she had a prior commitment which she forgot to inform us... well, at this point, i was a bit unsure whether to push through with the gig but the urge of playing after a very stressful weekend was too tempting for me... Plus the fact that i already committed Roel... Elaine did say that she'll try to get to the gig but come 5pm, she confirmed that she can't... i tried getting Selena but she had a meeting somewhere in Makati and was unsure whether she'll get there on time... Now i was really on a backslide of sorts but i still wanted to play... and after consulting with both Rene and Dennis, i decided to push through with it...

I went to 70's at around 8pm and gave my ipod to Roel so that he could review that songs again... Seeing him again as a band mate was a very weird experience that time around... after a few listens he assured me that he still knows most of the songs... a welcome thing indeed... so during the waiting period, i hoped for a miracle wishing that by some weird situation, Elaine would show up or even Selena but it was never meant to be... instead my original candy bassist - Obie called me up and told me that she and Cheng (Original Candyaudioline vocalist) was going to 70's Bistro to watch the Parokya Ni Edgar gig... this got me really happy and excited because i have missed being with these guys... then I got a call from Cheng asking me instructions on how to get to the venue and after an hour's wait, Cheng was there... Wala pa ring pinagbago, magandang maganda parin kahit 30 years old na... promdi na promding sosyal pa rin talaga and after being almost everywhere in the world ganun pa rin... hehehe... i told her that Candyaudioline was playing and asked her if she still knew the songs but she told me that she can't hardly remember the lyrics to most of the songs pero kinulit ko sya ang after a bribe of sigig, beer and yosi eh pumayag din sya to sing two songs "Flaming Walls" and "Nearby Town"... i let her listen to it through my ipod and then we were set... Obie (Maganda pa rin kahit tumaba ng konti) arrived before i went onstage... everything was looking good when all of a sudden, i realized that iba ang pitch during Cheng's time compared to now... naisip ko bahala na... So candyaudioline started playing... the plan was, i was to do 2 songs alone "Discarded Toy" and "An Empty You" and Cheng would go up by the third song... we did the first two song with ease thanks to Roel's steady beats... i even think that i was singing quite well based on the crowd's response to the songs...

So now it was Cheng's turn but she "chickened out"... i was a bit disappointed that she didn't went on stage but i understood her... so i did the last two song alone... i guess we came through with flying colors specially during "Nearby Town"... i even had the confidence to look at the crowd for 2 straight song while singing which i never did in my entire career... i went down stage and proceeded to where Cheng and Obie was seated... Cheng told me that she should've gone on stage since she realized that she still knew the songs... well if only... i wanted to mingle with them but by this time i felt that i was running a fever... so i told them that i was going home... both didn't like me to leave but after convincing them that i was really sick, they allowed me to...

by the time i got home, my fever was running really high... i asked Rene to stay with me for a while because i felt that i had to rush myself to the hospital but decided to let Rene buy me noodles instead... i told Rene to go home... the noodles did help in someways... but still i was feeling really dizzy and started to have chills... when i was about to get some sleep, firetruck sirens were everywhere... One of the rooms from school in front of our compound was on fire... this got me all sweaty and really nervous... i went out of our house to check then i saw my favorite neighbor... she knows my name i still don't know her's and she is really very pretty (parang combinasyon ng indiepop, shoegaze at twee ang beauty nya)that time with the nervous smile on her face as we were talking to each other... she asked me if i was alright and i said i was running a fever... sabi nya, ay kawawa ka naman gusto alagaan kita... i smiled at her and said "nakatingin si kuya mo sa atin oh" she smiled back and gave me a mild pinch on my right cheek... hmmm... Maybe i should date her sometime... isama ko sa mga gigs kaya lang baka pagkaguluhan eh...

Thanks Rene... Thanks Roel... Sorry Cheng and Obie... Sayang i wasn't able to take a video or even take pictures... Dream Dream and Dream...

Candyaudioline At Purple Haze...

Hello Everyone...

Last night we played a gig at Purple Haze somewhere in T. Morato... We played last so wala na talagang tao aside from 3 waiters and a PA guy plus our friend Joel from Random Knobs and i guess a few blokes downstairs... Matagal ko nang iniiwasan tumugtog sa lugar na yun kasi akala ko parangh lumang Freedom Bar sya na sobrang nakakabingi sa loob... but i was proven wrong last night... masarap pala tumugtog dun yung nga lang medyo mahina yung PA system... di tuloy gaanong madinig yung mga nag-gagandahang mga boses namin... at least nag enjoy talaga kami enough reason for us to proceed to Colasas and have some healthy servings of Bulalo, Inihaw na Pusit, Inihaw na Liempo and of course some super large Longganisas...

Eto kami kagabi, mukang masaya...