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Written by Skarlet Romero
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Tuesday, 06 January 2009 |
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Annabel Bosch ANNABEL Bosch was the front person of the late 90s rock band, ELEKTRIKOOLAID . She also started her singing career as one of the female singers of Tropical Depression and at one time became the front person for Indio I. She was operated a couple of days ago due to aneurysm and is still in the ICU of Makati Med. There are simultaneous gigs and fund-raising efforts right now to raise the 1M that she needs.
On Jan 9, this coming Friday at TEN 02, friends of Anabel from the jazz/blues community will come together to help raise whatever we can. The bands/artists featured that night will be:
Tags: Annabel Bosch Skarlet Noel Cabangon Color it Red Ten 02 |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 January 2009 )
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Written by News Desk
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Monday, 05 January 2009 |
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Raf Toledo of The Speaks NEW YORK– One of the most prominent Fil-Am bands, The Speaks, have called it a day.
In a newsletter sent by the band's management, the Washington DC-based hard rock group announced it's final show on January 10 at the 9:30 Club in DC.
The statement did not elaborate further on the reasons why the band will split up, however, it did mention "changes in individual priorities" as a primary cause.
The statement read in part:
Tags: The Speaks Poptimes Magazine Fil Am music Fil- Am band |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 January 2009 )
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Read more...
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Written by The Editor
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Monday, 29 December 2008 |
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THE year 2008 is almost over and a New Year is fast approaching. This year, 2008, posted one of the biggest threats to the stability of the community. Perhaps the global economic downturn has something to do with it, or perhaps just plain crab mentality. The scene here in NY and NJ was plagued with several issues about the community as well as the scene in Chicago. These things are all part of the game, and as we often say: “Doubts are embedded in the fabric of a surging cultural movement for it is the mother of belief and belief gives birth to success.” The issue in Chicago is particularly frustrating. There the CPMS (Chicago Pinoy Music Scene) decided to take the scene to new heights by producing a compilation album made up of Local Windy City Fil-Am bands– a fantastic idea. However, some groups saw this in a negative way and decided to pull the whole thing down. Apparently, these groups could not bear the fact that a new breed of leaders represented by the CPMS would “step over’ them in producing a compilation album. These groups are allegedly pushing a campaign against the coming CPMS compilation because according to these peoplevthey had the idea first. Now, CPMS leaders are trying their best to hold it all together and it appears that they will see this crisis through. We here on Poptimes are in solidarity with CPMS and vehemently cry foul over these crab mentality tactics.
We told one of the prime movers of the Chicago scene that these problems are ‘birth pangs’ that must be endured. What is important is for a core group of dedicated community heads to go on and overcome setbacks. The Poptimes community had several of these unfortunate incidents with local players. These altercations did not hinder us from pursuing our goals. From the outside, it all looks like everything in the scene is smooth and in order, however on the contrary, we are battered, bruised yet determined. We have to learn from mistakes and step forward with caution. We have no idea what’s in store for the scene in 2009, however, we are pretty sure it will be different, and will still be teeming with life and promise as always. The coming New Year will not however take us out of the range of future problems. In fact, it is almost an assurance that it will come again. Throughout the years, we have learned how to make use of negative things to our advantage. We welcome people’s doubts to strengthen our beliefs. We savor these challenges to fortify our resolve. We must not fail.
The other day, We were conversing with some scene leaders from LA and we were taken aback by the whole experience of just conversing with them. The mere fact that we know each other is proof enough of how healthy the scene is. It shows that there already exists a circuit in the US for Filipino-American artists to play– From Boston to Florida, to New York to Chicago to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The groundwork is already laid and all that is left is for Fil- Am artists to trek this circuit and preach the gospel of our music and culture. It will be such a tragic waste if we all let this thing pass. More so, it is a sin if we even attempt to contribute to its demise.
Happy New Year. Long live the Filipino-American music scene.
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Written by The Editor
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Wednesday, 24 December 2008 |
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Written by Ted Reyes
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Tuesday, 16 December 2008 |
IN the late 80’s and early 90s, the British music scene burst into the world scene once again. In a time when the charts were being dominated by American grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, a handful of British artists took it upon themselves to counter the American grunge assault and invented, Britpop.
While the term Britpop was not coined by any of the founding British artists but rather by the British tabloids, it would become the name that would define a movement that had far reaching influence.
Fed-up by the grunge invasion British alternative rock bands decided to shun the “Yankee music” from across the Atlantic and came up with a counter-assault. The music, first and foremost did not tackle any of the prevalent grunge themes of alienation and despair, instead, it was all about being a Brit. In other words, it was British music for British people.
Bands like Blur, Suede, Pulp, St. Etienne, and later on, Oasis wrote and sang songs about what is important in the Britain the they were living in. Most of these bands even employed thick cockney accents to expound the fact that music can be as British as the Queen. Their subjects are often small town British stories or anything common in their culture. It was “Nationalist Rock” at its rockiest form.
Damon Albarn of Blur once said that their music is anti-Grunge. It was everything that Kurt Cobain was not. It was about their “British-ness.”
All Brits young and old admired these Britpop bands’ adherence to their national identities. Perhaps they realized how rich their musical tradition is. After all, their musical heroes are equal, if not, greater than their American counterparts: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath–these are not lightweight artists but generation defining groups that happen to be British.
Most appealing, however, is Britpop’s resolve to sing about what they really are, instead of abstract and heavy emotions as perpetuated by grunge. It is appealing because it makes sense for Filipino-American artists as well. Filipino-American artists should represent and bring forth their “Filipino-ness” to the American audience. Like the Britpop bands, we as a people have a lot to tell, and if we put these stories to words and music, it would introduce Filipino culture to foreign ears more than any medium there is.
Nothing is too mundane and too trivial in representing our heritage. Yes, we could sing in English, but with Filipino concepts. In the rock scene, The Kuwagos did this in their debut album back in 2007 and it is a marvel to behold. Chicago’s Bagwis did this too when they released Imulat Mo.
Now, my band the Happy Analogues will follow suit with our new album, School Tales, which will tackle school life in the Philippines. I know there are many Fil-Am rap artists like Deep Foundation and Apl De Ap, who propagate Filipino ideas through their music and we should all emulate them. If we write music that comes from what we really are, then everything will fall into place and we will be recognized and not be seen and judged as just a bunch of brown-skinned Asians trying to be American or British.
Tags: britpop grunge nirvana pearl jam blur suede oasis the kuwagos bagwis the happy analogues |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 December 2008 )
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