SOA!

Favorite series currently. Also purchased a book entitled 'Angels of Death' for 50 bucks (1 USD) at National Bookstore. F'n biker rednecks. Awesome sht.

Back at Mexicali's...

Tried something new at Mexicali's other than the Garden Burger. Awesome Quesadillas with cheese, garlic and onion inside. There should be more Mexicali branches specially in Manila.

Coffee entree..

Cappuccino action at Mrs. Fields cookie shop. Surprisingly good stuff.

Red Hot Chili Peppers!!!

Listen to 'Soul to Squeeze' while eating fries at NYFD and use this Red Hot Chili Peppers Dip. Awesome sht.

Isvarah atheletic shorts

Isvarah athletic sorts, for the jock in you.

Tiger Pussy!

Tiger Pussy shirt

This is probably my last batch of posts for this year considering that I'll b going to Cavite later to hang out with my old folks for New Year's Eve. Thanks to everyone who read, shared a thought or two, requested stuff for this blog. It was fun doing it this year and expect more interviews and reviews next year. Be careful with the firecrackers and the booze this New Year's Eve. See you at the Discrimination Free (January 10, Ten02), Pisschrist (January 16, Sazi's?, January 17, Angeles, Pampanga), First Blood (Ten02, January 17, 1-5 PM, Sunday Matinee) tours this January. We have a lot in store for you in the coming months so stay tuned.

We got a Tiger Pussy shirt all the way from Cebu in this post. Not sure if their February tour is going to push through. Any news Jan Sunday?

Currently reading: 'The Runaway Jury' John Grisham, Pugad Baboy XII, Pol Medina

Good stuff: Plants vs. Zombies, Mafia Wars, Rival Mob, Merauder, upcoming tours this January

Top 10 - Emman of Delusion of Terror

Emman of Delusion of Terror checking out Ricecooker Shop in Kuala Lumpur.



1. PAINTBOX “TRIP, TRANCE AND TRAVELLING” LP
2. MAGNICIDE “RISE TO THE ANNIHILATION” CD AND LIVE SET!!
3. BURIAL “SPEED AT NIGHT” 12” / INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL “NORTH OF NOWHERE” CD
4. V/A “TRIBUTE TO REPULSION” LP / CRIPPLE BASTARDS “VARIANTE ALLA MORTE” LP
5. V/A “DEADLY RHYTHMS FROM THE PRODUCTION LINE” CD
6. EXTREME NOISE TERROR “LAW OF RETALIATION” CD / RAW NOISE “SCUM WILL
RISE TO THE TOP” EP
7. KYLESA “STATIC TENSIONS” LP/ FALL OF EFRAFA “INLE” CD
8. PAZAHORA PHILIPPINE TOUR ’09 / STRAIGHT JACKET NATION LIVE SET!!!!
9. DEATHCAGE “TOMORROW WE DIE” 7 EP / CROW/SEE YOU IN HELL SPLIT 7’EP
/ EXTORTION “TERMINAL CANCER” 7’EP
10. TORMENTRESS “THRASING DISORDER” EP AND LIVE SET!!

Good stuff: running, coffee, Celtics beating Orlando while the Cavs trash LA, The Beauty of Doubt 'everything', Strike Anywhere 'Dead FM'

Keep sending those tough tens at xstepforwardx@yahoo.com. Thanks.

Updated First Blood poster!

Thanks to Mot (Isvarah) for noticing that the previous flier had no date on it. Fck! So here's the updated flier for y'all.

First F'n Blood, Manila, January 17, 2010

Finally, we have the flier for the upcoming FIRST BLOOD show this January 17, 2010. Timeslots will be posted soon. Great line-up, great touring band. Sunday afternoon, what else do you need. You can also catch PISSCHRIST @ Angeles, Pampanga after this show. Help spread the word about this show. Post it in forums, websites, stores, etc. Thanks for helping out. This would be a great start for the year!

Top 10 - Danj (Bystorm)

Danj (vox) of Bystorm/Take-4 Collective/Graphic artist extraordinaire. Pic by Keith Dador

in no particular order:

A new job (which eventually dies on us)
Starting the new year as a couple (married)
Free fuckin WIFI
New found interest in photography
Bunch of TV series (i.e. dexter, lost, true blood, fringe)
Takefour davao/cebu tour and every places Bystorm visited
Trapped under ice - secrets of the world
Pulling Teeth "Paranoid Delusions..."
The Gaslight Anthem
Every foreign bands that visited our miserable country

Top 10 - Z

Zepol of Rush IxDx/Kill Ratio/Non-Compliant Issue rocking out an Isis hoodie.

- my healthy and carefree 7 year old
- his infinitely creative mum
- the release of Deadly Rhythms from the Production Line cd
- Eskapo Pilipinas tour/ Toxic Orgasm & Vampire State Luzon tour
- Mountain fuckin' Biking!
- Pazahora Philippine tour
- Rush IxDx re-activated
- diypinoyhcpunk.com anniversary show
- Krupskaya Philippine tour/forum yearend show
- the d.i.y. hardcore-punk network!

Just came back from Cavite so I missed out on some things. Happy holidays everyone!

Currently watching: Celtics v. Lakers game rerun

Bystorm @ Amici, Tomas Morato

Taking a break from a weekend of shows, Bystorm and Led MM checked out Amici located at Tomas Morato. Awesome pizzas, 4-cheese and a pesto pizza, coke and a camera. Good stuff. Happy holidays!

Currently listening: Buried Alive 'everything'

Currently reading: At Both Ends issue 9/10

Withdrawal shirt

All the way from the Great White North, a great looking Withdrawal shirt! Thanks Led.

Top 10 - Raymond / Omerta

BEST RECORD OF 2009

Fall of Efrafa-Inle
Isis-Wavering Radiant
Converge-Axe to Fall
Crippled Black Pheonix-200 tons of Bad Luck
Omega Massif-split with Mount Logan)
Gifts from Enola-From Fathoms

Local
Bystorm/Pulling Teeth
Deadly Rhythms from the Production Line
Half the Battle-What we Have
Rush xIDx
Legarda

Raymond/Omerta

Keep those 2009 top 10 lists coming!

Currently watching : Snapcase 1994 show on youtube c/o Killthatcat videos

Top 10 - Odessa KK/RxIxDx

Second Combat Show @ Ten02, Odessa in the middle egging Aleg to sing with SC. Pic by Keith Dador.

1. Cebu tour - Bantayan Island and meeting the energetic cebuanos with PLAY.
2. Second Combat show @ ten02 - need i say more?!
3. 1st Lakefest - chillin' breeze, killer show, beer and videoke. hihi!
4. 1st Anniversary show of www.diypinoyhcpunk.com - do we know how to party or what?!
5. ESKAPO in Lucena with Vampire State/Toxic Orgasm - a great show to start this year.6. RUSH IxDx
7. diypinoyhcpunk.com yearend parteeey!
8. new tattoos
9. green halo/mogwai moments
10. Asian Fest!

Odessa of Kaktus Karuka/Rush IxDx and www.diypinoyhcpunk.com

Top 10 - Jayme of Oh Man! Oh God!

OMOG pic by Selo of Flowergrave Collective (thanks!)

1. Oh Man! Oh God! New line up and New Release.
2. diypinoyhcpunk.com's anniv show
3. Foundation of Asterisk Collective and it's 1st show
4. 3 way Year Ender Party(T4, Asterisk, F-Grave)
5. Have Heart Philippine Tour
6. Converge - Axe to Fall
7. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
8. August Burns Red - Constallations
9. Isis - Wavering Radiant
10. Mono - Hymn to The Immortal Wind

Currently listening to: Blacklisted 'No One...'

Top 10 - Dan of Tight End Zine

1. The Effort - From Our Mistakes EP
2. Have Heart Philippine tour
3. Second Combat/Motivation Tour
4. Tight End Fanzine issue #1
5. Staid T-shirt Collection
6. Starter/Champion Training shorts
7. Half The Battle "What We Have" Release show
8. DVD Market @ Quiapo
9. IRH#4, Incidental Afterthought#9,Wasted Days#0,Cutting Away #1-2, Times Still Here#1
10. Indiana Colts, Fantasy Football and the Straightedge

Dan
www.myspace.com/xtightendzinex

keep sending your top 10's for 2009 at xstepforwardx@yahoo.com

Currently listening to: Blankstare 2008 LP, Black SS

Top 10 - Led Major Malfunction

1. Staid - Demo I and II
2. Have Heart Philippine Tour
3. Half The Battle "What We Have"
4. Second Combat / Motivation Philippine Tour
5. Municipal Waste "Massive Aggressive"
6. Mastodon / Converge / Dethklok show in Edmonton, AB
7. Day of Mourning - Your Future's End LP
8. Fired Up - Doomed To Repeat 7"
9. Integrity - Walpurgisnacht CD
10. At Both Ends # 9 / 10


Major Malfunction Distro / Fanzine / Records
www.myspace.com/xmajormalfunctionx

A weekend of shows...

Curse/Gift photo by Keith Dador

Had a great weekend playing two shows. The first one was at Leprechaun during the MAIM X'mas show. Originally, it was only Rush IxDx who was supposed to play the show but since Staid couldn't make it and Bystorm was supposed to practice that same day with RxIxDx, we got on the bill at the last minute and opened a great show.

Bands that played that night include GOO, NUCLEAR PUNISHMENT, SDK, RxIxDx, TAME THE TIKBALANG and a couple of others I might be missing out. Thanks to the MAIM crew for an awesome night.

After a couple hours of sleep, it was time to play another show, the QC leg of the ongoing KRUPSKAYA tour @ Ten02. This was also the year end party for diypinoyhcpunk.com forum so you know it's gonna be wild.

SISTER BASTARD (filling up for the now-defunct Birds In Formation)opened the show and were awesome as usual. AU REVOIR played next and I was impressed with this band. 90's screamo with some modern influences. They should use more spoken parts in their songs, just a thought.

RUSH ID played next and I think we did a great short set (all our sets are short by the way..hehe). Thrashin mayhem ensued and we had a great time. REPUGNANT from Flowergrave Collective was up and this is the first time I saaw these guys and I was blown away. They had a demo available that night but I was not able to secure a copy, so paging anyone from Flowergrave, I need a copy of the REPUGNANT and the new VEX demos.

BYSTORM came up and we opened with an intro from one of our favorite bands plus we played some old songs. Too bad we were not able to practice the day before, we could have played some new songs that day. SHIRLEY STEINBERG from Bulacan played some Reversal of Man-esque tunes after BS and these guys are something to watch out for. Great set from these guys. A demo is on its way hopefully.

This is where it gets blurry. I think VEX played next and started the F-Grave styled party and were followed suit by Batangas' CURSE/GIFT. Another awesome set from CG but I think you better record your songs soon or you might fall in the category of great local bands who never got a proper release. Go!

GUERRA MUNDIAL followed CG and the crowd just went ape-shit for these guys. Ten02 was rocking from left to bottom during their set. Great job Archie and crew. After Guerra, KRUPSKAYA came up and absolutely destroyed the crowd with their Napalm Death (Scum) inspired grinding sounds. The crowd had a great time as well as the band. They were supposed to play another show yesterday, so if anyone can hook me up with a cool show review, hit me up.

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the Ten02 show. It was an awesome night. See you soon at the Discrimination Free show on January 10!

Good stuff: upcoming shows for 2010, Rise and Fall 'Our Circle is Vicious', Downpresser 'Age of Ignorance'

Top Ten for 2009!

It's time for the traditional year-ender top ten for the year. It's been a busy year for both hardcore and my personal life and I know as well as yours. So make that list, send it to me and let's publish it here.

1. Burning Fight (Brian Peterson) book/Anti-Matter (Norm Arenas) book
2. Non-Compliant Issue taking part in organizing a lot of touring bands : Have Heart, Eskapo, Second Combat, Motivation, Mouthful of Air and a lot more!
3. lacosanuestro.blogspot.com, diypinoyhcpunk.com
4. recording and releasing the Rush IxDx demo
5. Pulling Teeth "Paranoid Delusions..."/Trapped Under Ice "Secrets of the World"/Trash Talk "Shame"
6. Bystotm/Staid/HTB Davao/Cebu tour (not only playing the shows but hanging out with the cool people from Davao and Cebu)
7. Staid demos/Half the Battle 'What We Have'
8. Green Halo/Greens/Bodhi/other vegie restos
9. Forum Anniversary show
10. everything Southeast Asian Hardcore!

(no need to number : Damian growing up!)

Carlo's pizza @ Tagaytay

Cheese pizza @ Carlo's Pizza in Tagaytay. They have another name for this but its basically mozarella and garlic. How can you go wrong with that combination? Add coffee on a Friday afternoon and you got yourself a treat.

Roadtrip : Tagaytay

Tagaytay is a city which is very much near our place in Cavite (Indang), so I kinda grew up in the same environment as Tagaytay. Years passed and Tagaytay just became a non-important place to me so when I went there yesterday morning (I left at 4:30 AM in Manila) and encountered the Tagaytay fog again for the longest time. It was f'n freezing there. Unfortunately got a flat but some nice dudes helped out so it's all good. The wedding I attended was at Tagaytay Highlands and Midlands. Good stuff. Bad food. Expected.

Currently watching: Philly at Boston

Currently reading : Evidence by Riano

North 'Positive' shirt

North 'Positive' shirt. Euro Hardcore for y'all.

Richard Collier '2001-2009'

Now its time for some serious and devastating news. After eight (8) years, a couple of full-lengths, numerous demos, singles and acoustic sessions, RICHARD COLLIER has finally called it quits. I've been with this band from the start, left two (2) times to concentrate on other projects but this band is one of the closest to my heart. I started this band with my childhood buddy and best friend and I guess we accomplished a lot with this band except touring since during the later years of RC, I was no longer based in Cavite and we began pursuing different interests. Apparently, these different interests became sort of a conflict with the band members which eventually led to its demise. I'd like to thank everyone who was part of Richard Collier, one way or another. It was an awesome time. Through the years my friends...

Currently listening to: Everything Richard Collier recorded...

It's back, the Cavite Metal and Hardcore Fest!

Got some great news this week that this show will push thru on the 26th of December. Yeah, that's right, it's just after Christmas so you can shake off all those fats you got from overeating, drinking and partying the night before at this show. Plus, it's in my hometown, so I'm kinda psyched for this show. Good job Nuclear Punishment Crew!

Good stuff; finally having a good night's sleep after a very hectic week which includes migraine attacks, Dashboard Confessional 'After the Ending', The Cure 'Acoustic', playing two shows this weekend (one at the Leprechaun Bar later tonight courtesy of MAIM Collective and tomorrow at Ten02 for the www.diypinoyhcpunk.com year-end party which is highlighted by the ongoing KRUPSKAYA tour! see you at these shows!)

Rush IxDx @ MAIM X'mas show this Saturday!

Rush IxDx will be playing this Saturday at the MAIM Collective X'mas show. Come out and hang. Will probably be bringing some demos to those that still don't have a copy. Send me a message and I'll probably hook you up with one.

Currently listening: Extortion 'Terminal Cancer', Iron Lung 'Life. Iron Lung. Death', Wolf Whistle 'Demos'

NCI No. 30: Discrimination Free @ Ten02

Discrimination Free is a band from Borneo who will be crashing to our shores this January. They will be playing a show c/o the Asterisk Collective as well as the 2nd Annual Lakefest @ San Pablo before doing this farewell show @ Ten02 in Quezon City.

We put in a diverse line-up of bands this time since some bands will be playing the Friday and Saturday shows. So instead of doing it with the same bands, we tried putting up bands who won't be playing the other shows such as Aunt Audrey or Sister Bastard. Plus two bands from Baguio City will also be playing this show (Bear the Scars and Prayer of Endurance) so i guess that's a lot of reasons for you to catch this show.

The line-up for the First Blood show this January is almost done and hopefully it will be out this week. Thanks to everyone who supported this project!

Good stuff: Celtics 10-game winning streak and the Lakers ending theirs, Mafia Wars, Rise and Fall, In Cold Blood 'Hell on Earth'

Carlito's Way...

Great movie. Tough as nails too.

Palabok and Burger?

Rare sighting of Vegie Palabok and Burger from Likha Diwa. Something new aside from pasta and/or rice at dinner.

Currently listening to: Shipwreck A.D. 'Abyss', Tear it Up 'The First Four Months'

Minor Threat 'Bottled Violence'

Minor Threat 'Bottled Violence' shirt (sorry for the shitty pic)

Fazoli's...

One of the best Italian restaurants has only one branch. Fazoli's at Libis. They have it all. Good food, pasta, pizza. Good price. Unlimited garlic bread. The only gripe is that they have shut down all of their branches except the one at Eastwood so in case you're living in Manila, you'll face the gruesome traffic that is C-5. But in the end its' worth it. So GO!

Currently listening: Pulling Teeth 'Paranoid Delusions/Paradise Illusions', Righteous Jams 'Rage of Discipline'

Holiday Season!

It's that time of the year again. The weather is cold. People are going everywhere and there's the HEAVY traffic. The KRUPSKAYA tour will be happening next week so make sure to come out and hang. There's also a show in Laguna tonight so if you're not doing anything, come out and support.

Currently watching: Big Bang Theory Season 1

Good stuff: Celtics 9-0 streak, Blacklisted 'No one deserves to be here more than me', The Rival Mob 'Raw Life'

Krupskaya (UK) Manila, Bulacan and Laguna leg...

Here are the flyers for the upcoming Krupskaya tour aside from the year-end party to be held at Ten02. You lazy suburban kids better check out the Bulacan and Laguna leg of this tour. Plus, the Laguna leg is also a celebration of twenty (20) years of one of Laguna's pioneers AGRESSIVE DOG ATTACK. Twenty years, gotta respect that. Hope they have a discography release or something for that date.

Currently listening to: Soul Control 'Cycles', Unbroken 'Life. Love. Regret.'

SOCIAL PRISON zine Issue no. 1 Review

If you were around in the late 90’s, you might have encountered a zine done by a young punk rocker from Singapore named Shaiful and his zine was called Zerox. It had a nice run and was well-read especially by the international zine community. It is now 2009 and Shaiful is back with his new zine. Bordering more on personal rantings, thoughts, shit-talking than your usual zince content. Most interesting to read was his rant on sexism wherein he asks ‘Are you sexist? Am I sexist? Or are we both equally exist?’. Punk rock has always been about questioning the established order and Shaiful does that again in a few pages of his new zine. (Prohibited Projects c/o Shaiful Bedok Central Post Office PO Box530 Singapore 914605 Singapore, prohibitedprojects@gmail.com)

INCIDENTAL AFTERTHOUGHT zine Issue no. 9 Review

I thought this zine has already died since I did not encounter a new issue for some time already. I saw Joseph (the editor) last week at an NCI event so I asked him about it and turns out he has a copy of the latest issue. I bought it and here I am reviewing it right now. The thing I enjoy most about this zine is Joseph’s endless rhetoric about his life and everything that revolves around in it, from soundtracks to shitty people, public commute and everything in between. This issue does not disappoint since there’s a healthy dose of personal input from the editor including his devotion to Dunkin Donuts coffee and a whole bunch of other stuff.

This time he’s got interviews with local stoner/doom outfit Eyes of Fire, Makati’s Santelmo (not to be confused with the band from Davao), Unearthly Trance (boring interview), Rwake (Arkansas) (another boring one), Kaktus Karuka (now you’re talking!), who rose from the ashes of Chokecocoi to deliver in your face thrashin mayhem! Pick up their demo CD-R if you can. Awesome shit. There’s also an interview with F-Grave, D-Beat, party monsters Guerra Mundial. Average interviews but as I said earlier, the thing I love about this band is the write-ups from the editor. Kinda like how I love Rallye’s Scrawlshop zine. (incidentalafterthought@yahoo.com)


Currently listening to: Abraxis “s/t”

I Remember Halloween zine Issue No. 3

One of my favorite zines today. Dane has been consistently putting out IRH the last couple of years and so far his work has not yet disappointed me. This time we have interviews with Kae-Roe-Shi (Kuala Lumpur political hardcore), Thou (Louisiana) – the interview was done with Zepol so it was a fresh read, Staid (local straightedge group with members from Feud, Chokecocoi, Half the Battle – quite an all-star cast!:)) , quite simply the best interview of this issue, Omerta (Bulacan sludge-masters), Fight Amputation (New Jersey), Protestant (Milwaukee) and Requiem (North Carolina)- a reprint from an issue of Interpretation Fanzine no. 2 from 2007 (the interviewer asks very interesting questions to Brian D. of Catharsis fame), another great read from one of the hardest working guys in hardcore right now. And that’s just the interviews section. The questions were all well-thought out and gives the readers quite and interesting time in getting to know the background of the aforementioned bands.

IRH also features a couple of write-ups from the editor, some zine and record reviews, pics, flyers among other stuff. Make sure to pick this up. This is essential zine reading for all you internet geeks out there. (Dane Cortes, PO Box 1504, Quezon City CPO, 1155 Quezon City, Philippines)

Currently listening to: Civ ‘The Complete Discography), Chuck Ragan ‘Los Feliz’

Tight End zine Issue No. 1 Review

Here’s the debut issue of this zine from Laguna and to his credit, his debut issue was an awesome. It features lengthy interviews with Bystorm (Manila), Easy (Half the Battle) and The Effort from Massachusetts. The interviews were not your usual run-off-the-mill questions but shows that the interviewer took his time in asking questions which is always appreciated by the interviewees since it gives them a chance to talk about not your usual topics. The editor also put up some show reviews and other write-ups. An old friend from the Netherlands also put up an article on why the vinyl had continually survived the different mediums that came after it such as cassettes, CDs and now, the digital revolution. A great start for this zine and I hope he continues the good work.

It’s a good thing print zine are being published regularly this past year. Hope to see more of them in the future so continue supporting these zines! (www.youthcrewrevival.blogspot.com)

Light and Green @ Mongolian Quick Stop

Right now we have y own version of a Vegetarian Bowl from Mongolian Quick Stop as an alternative to their usual vegetarian bowl which has tofu, bean sprouts, pechay baguio and rice. To mix it up, I added some nooles, more veggies and good news: I made it too spicy. All of you should definitely check this out.

For news on this blog: I started reviewing stuff again for this blog so if you're interested in having your stuff reviewed here, then by all means, send me a message and the stuff you want reviewed. For starters, I reviewed a couple of zines you might want to check out.

Currently watching: Bulls vs. Cavs, The Practice Season 1 (just started this week, from what I've seen, should be a good series), Big Bang Theory Season 1 and 2

Good stuff: jogging around U.P. while listening to everything Mental (Boston) recorded. Awesome sht., coffee, teetilldeath.com...