Finals.

It was around 11:30 - 12:00 noon that I got a text message stating that Boston defeated Orlando in Game 6 of the East Finals. Made my day despite having to work on a Saturday. Currently watching a rerun of the game. Fck Howard and those Magic crybabies. Bring on those wimps from LA.

Currently listening to : Richard Collier 'For the Love of Death' (Happy b-day to the vox!)

Positive Newsletter No. 6.

Now here's a "positive" thing I found on the net. A rare copy of Positive N/L no. 6 with an interview of ONE AGAINST ALL - the band that preceded FORGIVENESS DENIED and SAUNA. Check out the lay-out. Can you say text-heavy? If I'm right, we had this riso-printed on red ink. Not really sure. It has been a decade (?) already. Thanks to Mr. Jep Peligro for this gem. Where's the other stuff???

Support your local scene.

Now that's a quote that's been thrown around quite often. The guys from San Pablo City take it up a notch and set up a show with all bands in the line-up hailing from the City of Seven Lakes. Great idea. Based on the flyer it's also the release date of the Chili Dogs. Grab one.

Currently listening to: Ground Zero 'Streets and Struggles' (Hey Dencio, send me the lyrics so that I can post a review!)

VA PTD No. 2: Play.

In keeping in line with my promise to tell you about the band participating in the Pilipinas Thrash Detonation compilation tape, I'm bringing to you a band who really needs to introduction, PLAY from Malolos, Bulacan. These guys have been at the forefront of fast hardcore music for a very long time now.

They have also been invited to contribute to the ill-fated Southeast Asian Thrash Detonation compilation and true enough, one of the songs they contributed here was for the said comp. and another one was taken from the classic "It's all in our hands" 3-way split with Feud and Half the Battle.

I sent Pidol a short interview for this blog which he failed to reply on time but hopefully we can still post it in the near future.

And by the way, the guys who play in PLAY (haha) are some of the nicest guys in our local scene No sht.

Vampirates (Australia).

After a week of great shows, the Philippines will be hosting The Vampirates who came all the way from Aussie. I haven't heard this band yet but someone told me they sound like Comeback Kid so I think they would be great. We'll see. Nice line-up too.

Finally had a break from work but the bad news is I'll be coming back to Lanao next week for the special elections. Bummer.

Good stuff: Finally getting a copy of Marites Vitug's 'Shadow of Doubt' which is an investigation or "probe" of sorts in the Supreme Court, Red Sox beating the Rays twice, Game 5 tomorrow between the Celtics and the Magic...

Currently listening to : Integrity 'The Blackest Curse' all day!

Best show?

I was not supposed to write a review for yesterday's show. I'm so f'n tired. 4 hours of measly sleep. Almost ten hours of work. Me vs. the sun (very low chance of winning...). But since I got no reply from the people I asked (ehem..), then I guess I should make it.

Went out of the house around 230PM. Headed to Greens. Still the best part of Sunday show. Eating a late lunch at Greens and stumbling to about a dozen of your friends hanging out there. Was at the venue before 4 PM. Show started about 30 minutes later than expected (beat that!) with LEGARDA kicking things off. Not really into their stuff but check them out if you're their sort of sound.

NOISE CONSPIRACY PROJECT was absent as usual so TOWARDS THE END from San Pablo City hit the stage. These guys are getting really good. Clear Breakdown influence in their songs, with more "hard" riffs thrown in. And guess what, they ended their set with a "Sick People" cover.

BYSTORM was up and we mixed some old and newer stuff. Crowd got into dancing and was becoming thicker by the minute. We should definitely hit the studio soon. The first "surprise" of the night was THE BEAUTY OF DOUBT who played their new materials from their Just Matter CDEP. Perfect set off for these guys. Can't wait to play with them again.

DEMOLITION OF FALSE PROGRESSION was up next and you know what to expect: more moshin for these guys. Good set. Was not able to catch ISVARAH's set because I was attending to some stuff but definitely these guys played great. RUSH IxDx was up next and we jumpstarted with G.I. and the Idiots' 'Broken Lineage' and went through an "almost" entire directory if not for our "aging"..oooopppss! RID shirt will be available soon!

PLAY was next and what else has been said about these guys that still needs to be said. Insane, fastcore from Malolos City that anyone should not miss out!

Are you tired from just reading the first half? Well, there's more!

STAID was next and these guys just kill it every time. No wasted time when you watch these guys. Fast, powerful straightedge hardcore with that unmistakable youth crew crunch.

The first of the reunion sets was up next as it was Cavite's RICHARD COLLIER who took the stage. Darwin asked me if I wanted to play in last night's show so that it will be the original line-up who will reunite and how could I say no? This band will always have a special place in my heart. We played some classic songs from the different eras of RC, including 'Somewhere in Time' up to 'In Hell We'll Reunite' so you have a pretty good idea. We also did a "Killin Moon" cover from Echo and the Bunnymen. At this time,sweat was burning my eyes and exhaustion is nearly taking over, but can you rest?

Cavite's bastard sons NUCLEAR PUNISHMENT played another brutal set but I just listened outside because of the f'n heat and exhaustion plus one needs to reserve energy for the other reunion bands.

The next hour was the prime of Batangas hardcore. SAUNA played first and the crowd just went APESHIT. Similar to the FIRST BLOOD show, I thought the stage would collapse when they tore through their set. The guys never missed a step. Play more shows, you fools.

The second half of the Batangas contingent was FORGIVENESS DENIED. It has been 3 or 4 years since their last show so you know that it would be just awesome. They opened with 'Welcome to the Harsh Reality' and the place just exploded. More so when they did 'Epicure'and 'Casa de Caboclo'. Fck yes. Just so good. Thanks for coming back John, you were the spark this time for this great show.

It was around this time that Ron from TBOD unveiled his master plan of having Feud play a surprise set to end the night. Selfish prick just wanted us to play because he won't be able to see us in June. But who are we to turn down a friend's request? The guy even announced it on stage so we couldn't say no.

So as a teaser for the upcoming PILIPINAS FAST FEST, FEUD ripped through 3 songs, 'Direction', 'For the sake' and 'Unschooling'. It was great to see that people still appreciated us and it was a treat to hear that they enjoyed the night because they have never seen Feud their entire lives and finally they did.

Well, hope to see you guys in the PILIPINAS FAST FEST and we'll be playing an entire set, sorry for the very short set last night!

Body aches, muscle pain, short sleep, worked for 10 hours. And all I could think of was the great show last night while listening to Unbroken. Oh yeah, THIS IS HARDCORE!

Review: Konspirazine No. 3

Everyone knows how much I love paper zines so I was pretty stoked that another one was just released by Jep Peligro. This is actually a resurrection issue of sorts since the last issue was released almost a decade ago.

To start off, this issue is pretty thick and stacked with interviews with 350.org (a lengthy one which discusses the past and future projects being undertaken by the group as well as their background and of course the environment), Insane Bazooka (Alvin Resurrected who' currently busy organizing shows and touring bands), a really good interview with The Beauty of Doubt, a profile on Bound By Fury (where re you guys right now, play more shows or record your demo!), a very lengthy interview with Hongkong's King Ly Chee (it's amazing of Riz' knowledge of the Philippines), Lipslide (pinoy hardcore kids based in Dubai, who are also featured in the upcoming Pilipinas Thrash Detonation comp) and my favorite, the BIOFEEDBACK interview wherein Jep picks the brains of the three remaining members of one of the greatest bands to come out of the Philippine hardcore punk community. The BFK tribute should definitely come out soon, it's been almost 7 years (?) in the works but this band deserves it.

There's also a couple of articles and columns done by the editor and some contributos plus a poll. Great job Jeff, and thanks for the copy!

For a copy, send an e-mail to : spiritofrebellion981@gmail.com

Currently watching: Orlando @ Boston. Game 3.

Later this afternoon: Forgiveness Denied reunion show (also reunions of Sauna and Richard Collier!). Come early!

More Verse.

Barkada pic during the Bane show last Wednesday. With John of FD for the reunion show tomorrow. Great stuff. While we're on the topic, don't miss out on the Forgiveness Denied reunion show tomorrow at Ten02. Doors open at 3:00 PM. Show kicks off with Legarda at 4:00 PM with or without people.

By the way, The Beauty of Doubt will also be playing tomorrow at 5:50 to 6:10 PM taking the slot of Sauna who will be playing before FD. They won't be playing for another six months so go out and hang.

Up also is a Verse 'Providence' shirt on Red. One of my fave shirts. Listen to Verse everyone.

Currently watching: The 40 Year-Old Virgin (this movie never fails to crack me up!)

Count Me Out.

Great video I found of last Wednesday's show. I can still count the ways. Video by Ace Antolin.

Mongolian.

Recently discovered that there's a Mongolian Quick-Stop at Gateway. Just discovered that they don't have the vegetarian bowl anymore but you can go with the "Green and Light" wherein you can choose the ingredients. Great stuff. This was too hot though. Flamin stuff.

Currently watching: Friends Season 4.

Review: TBOD 'Just Matter'

Back to the reviews section. Right now, we've got The Beauty of Doubt's third release, a three (3) song CDEP entitled 'Just Matter'. Honestly, when Ronald told me about this project, I thought that a 3 song CD is just impractical because its too short and about a year after our conversation, finally comes this new recorded output from TBOD.

The 3 songs on this CD are different takes on the concept of 'Just Matter'. The first song starts off as one of the more aggressive riffs written by this band. Fast and hard hitting but with the Ronald-trademarked vox, wherein he asks 'Are we just matter floating?', searching for our true meaning in this world, questioning the lack of substance in our lives.

The next song entitled '(We Should) Just Matter' starts off with an As Friends Rust-iesque melodic riff with a promise that "I will not turn away, my eyes will not be shut", giving a more positive spin on the first song.

The last track on this matter is arguably the most important TBOD song written which tackles the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances committed against students/activists. When the spoken word came during the middle of the song, it gave me goosebumps, more so when some of the names of the victims of these enforced disappearances were recited on this song.

The artwork on this CD was done by the brother of one of the victims of these disappearances which just adds to the urgency of this subject.

All in all, these 3-song CD is one of the most crucial releases in our hardcore punk community. Do yourself a favor and grab this one.

By the way, they will be playing a set on Sunday's Forgiveness Denied reunion show. Go watch them before they disappear again!:D

Rise and Fall.

One of my recent fave shirts is this Rise and Fall 'Crushed by the weight of the world' shirt' with gold ink on white shirt. Check out the artwork on the front. That's just f'n hard. Except that some people might mistake this for an Affliction shirt. Sheesshhh...

Bad stuff: working on an election protest under a stressful environment.

Currently listening to: Richard Collier 'For the Love of Death' (in preparation for Sunday's show...)

When Armageddon's been lock and loaded...

Bane pic courtesy of Mel Towards The End

Fck yes. Words can't seem to describe the one hour or so of singing along, diving, dancing and partying with BANE last night. Still gives me goosebumps when I played 'Swan Song' earlier, which they did an extended version of last night. They played all the classics together with a couple of their new songs. It sucks that they got ripped off by some unscrupulous guys in the media.

Aaron Bedard said it best that at the end of the day it's not the financial considerations that make a tour successful but experiencing the friendship and music that is being shared by the hardcore kids in the places they play. Amen to that.

My body still hurts like hell. I got a bunch of pleadings to finish. Stuff for review that I got last night. So the blog will have a lot to carry these days.

Gold.

Gold. Vancouver Gold that is. This is a shirt of one of the best bands to come out of Canada in the recent years: GO IT ALONE. This is a Bold 'Rev' rip-off shirt with Rivalry Records in the back with a classic image of GIA.

Tonight will finally be the Bane show at Sta. Rosa City. Going to make a road trip with the Bystorm crew to the venue. Should be fun.

Currently watching: Boston @ Orlando Game 2.

Forgiveness Denied Reunion show line-up!

Vegie embutido @ Greens Resto.

After a couple of weeks pondering about this line-up and how everything would fit, here's the final line-up and timeslot for Sunday's show happening at Ten02:

3:00 - 4:00 PM (soundchek, set-up)
4:01 - 4:30 - Legarda
4:35 - 4:55 - Noise Conspiracy Project
5:00 - 5:20 -Towards The End
5:25 - 5:45 - Bystorm
5:50 - 6:20 - Sauna
6:25 - 6:45 - Demolition of False Progression
6:50 - 7:10 - Isvarah
7:15 - 7:35 - Rush IxDx
7:40 - 8:00 - Play
8:05 - 8:35 - Richard Collier
8:40 - 9:00 - Staid
9:05 - 9:30 - Prayer of Endurance
9:35 - 9:55 - Nuclear Punishment
10:00 - 11:00 - Forgiveness Denied

Please inform your friends about this and tell them to come early because of the "heavy (re: fully-packed) line-up". Show will definitely start on time so go early and don't miss out on the early bands playing.

Currently listening to: Echo and the Bunnymen 'The Killing Moon' on repeat.

Holding This Moment.

In celebration of Bane coming in two day's time, here's Bane's classic shirt 'Holding this Moment'. Great design for a great band. Can't wait to get up the stage and sing-along to all those songs we grew up with. No excuse for you not to be at their show in Sta. Rosa City on Wednesday.

Currently listening: Bane all day. And Just Matter by TBOD.

Good stuff: Boston surprising Orlando with a shocker in Game 1. There's trouble in Florida. Hell yes.

Good Burger.

This is something I chanced upon going to Greenhills yesterday. A sign that says "good burger, chicken or vegie patty". I was curious enough to pull over the Caltex station beside it and give it a shot. To my surprise, this is definitely the vegie burger to end all vegie burgers. The "burger patty" is thick and flame-grilled with mushrooms. Awesome sht. Really. So if you're feelin generous, make sure to pass by this store and give me some. Ha!

Currently watching: Anne Curtis and Aga Muhlach on PBO. What the hell? Cheesy movie on a hot Monday afternoon. Motherfckr.

Just Matter.

The release party of The Beauty of Doubt last Saturday was a success. Although three of the bands lined up for the night were not able to make it. Condolence to the family of Al Dimalanta of Throw.

Play kicked off the festivities late in the evening. It was Pidol's birthday and it was an awesome treat to hear them play. Great but really short set from the guys from Malolos, Bulacan. Bystorm was up next and I think we did a good job mixing old and new stuff and delivering it to the crowd.

Staid played next and you know that these guys do not disappoint. I also got a copy of the Staid tape from Led which will also be featured here in the next couple of posts. Up next was a "rare" appearance from Kill Ratio which showed no ring rust at all and was quick to deliver the goods.

After going out, we realized we missed the set of Tame the Tikbalang (bummer!) and it was now TBOD's set! Boyet of T3 is now playing guitars for them and did a great job as expected. TBOD kicked off the jams with the 3 songs featured in their 'Just Matter' CDEP. All three songs were great. Faster and more energetic than their previous songs. The last song which was about the enforced disappearances of activists from all over the Philippines was crucial as hell. F'n goosebumps while Ronald was reciting the names of among those who just disappeared for airing their grievances against the government.

Make sure to get a copy of this 3-song masterpiece. We won't be seeing TBOD again until December but for sure it will be worth the wait.

On repeat: TBOD 'Just Matter'

VA PTD No. 1: Feud.

Right now, we're gonna start the series with bands featured on the PILIPINAS THRASH DETONATION compilation. Just a little background on the compilation, it started with the songs supposed to be released on the SOUTHEAST ASIAN THRASH DETONATION under 625 but for some reason or another, never got to see the light of day.

First band on the compilation is Feud with the song 'Terror Inc.' which was supposed to be released on the above-named comp. Only chance you've heard this song would be on a sampler release by T4, so this is your chance to get it on an 'official' release. The song's more in lie with the songs from the 3-way split with Half the Battle and Play released eons ago. If you like the songs on the split, you'll definitely dig this which coincidentally is the last song ever recorded by Feud.

Moreover, we will be having a reunion show on the release party of this comp. A one-shot reunion show, the flyer will be up soon. Come out and party with us, we also got some touring bands from Malaysia. Should be an awesome time.

Currently watching: The Sopranos Season 2

Climate of Fear.

One of those bands that just went off the radar the past year. One of the best things out of Texas since Die Young. This is a Bitter End 'Climate of Fear' 2007 Tour shirt. Ice gray too. Nice color scheme.

Climate of Fear for Clevo fans as Boston defeated "The King" and sent him packing once again. New York bound? Up next for the Celtics: revenge on the Magic.

Currently listening to: I've been on a Verse trip the whole day while driving around the metro. What's your fave Verse album? I think 'Agression' takes the cake just because of the epic 'Story of a Free Man' but there's something about 'From Anger and Rage' that strikes a chord within me.

Mango.

This summer has been far too long. You need to cool down every time. Drink this mango juice at that famous coffee shop. Read the paper. Relax. Summer will end.

Currently watching: Game 6 in Boston where the Celts try to close out Lebron and the Cavs. Coffee. Friday morning.

Outlive.

Just arrived in Manila yesterday. Fortunately we managed to get a plane ride home at the last minute. It's good to be back after a week in Lanao.

Right now we have a Guns Up! 'Outlive' shirt. Definitely text heavy but you got to love that side print.

Good stuff: The Celtics handing a severe beating to the Cavs in Game 5 of the East semis. Lebron sucked all the way and may have played his last home game as a Cav. New York?

Currently listening to: Bane 'everything'

ps. Don't forget the upcoming release party of The Beauty of Doubt this Saturday at Ten02. Good band. New release. Great line-up!

Election Day.

It's election day. Go out and vote (if you believe in voting), at least for your local leaders, as this is where I think change can happen. Still stuck in Lanao. Fck.

On the brighter side of things, Rajon Rondo annihilated the Cavs with a 29 point, 18 rebound and 13 assist performance. Lebron who? Two more wins and the Cavs get frustrated again while the Celts get a chance for redemption against the Magic.

Currently reading: Gotti 'Rise and Fall'

Wao.

Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. F'n Wao, Lanao del Sur. In the middle of the mountains with nowhere to go. Waiting for the elections on Monday (if it's not postponed, that is). Bored to death.

Got some great news regarding the PILIPINAS THRASH DETONATION compilation tape though. The mastering is finished and was sent already to Kuala Lumpur for pressing. I'll be posting some info about the bands later to shed more light on this monster. 200 copies will be pressed. A portion will go to the bands so this will really be a limited thing. Available on June at Thrashfest/Feud reunion show. Keep your ears peeled.

STILL ILL.

Back to Quan Yin Chay.

Been some time since I've been to Quan Yin Chay Vegie Resto at Binondo. Always a great time to eat there. Even during the motherf'n heat of the summer. Dumplings, Sweet and sour stuff, vegie fish with tausi. Hell yes.


Curretly listening to: Guns Up! 'All this was', Dead Prez 'Let's Get Free'

Lots-A-Pizza.

Enough of the Italian-pizza kind. Let's take it Pinoy-style! Lots-A-Pizza Garden Fresh styled pizza. Awesome. So cheesy.

As it turns out, I'm still headed to Mindanao for the elections after getting info that my trip won't push through. Jeez...

Currently watching: Boston Legal Season 3

Good stuff: Cleveland choking on Game 2 and getting roughed up by the Celtics. Red Sox winning two in a row. Finally receiving a package that's been due for some time now. Finally getting a copy of Chuck Palahniuk's 'Fight Club' book. Hell yes.

Joey Pepperoni.

I'm not sure if I got the name of the resto right now. A little confused. We've got Margherita pizza (old styled basil-cheese-tomato pizza!) and Aglio o Olio pasta (olive oil and garlic). They got some promos and stuff so you can check it out if you're there.

Currently watching: Yahoo Sports! Baseball Nightly.

Cool down.

Terrible heat. Although there's been hints of rain, the heat is still terrible. So cool down with this Sago/Gulaman concoction at Max's.

TBOD.

The Beauty of Doubt on athletic gray shirt. Always a great combination. Shirt also has a TBOD quote at the back. Make sure to be at Ten02 for the release of their 'Just Matter' CDEP. Should be a great night.

We had the first Feud practice for the reunion show yesterday an it's always a great time to hang out with those guys. I think we did a good job practicing almost 3/4 of the set list and we're scheduled for a few more so it should be awesome.

V/A PILIPINAS THRASH DETONATION news: the files are with Pao for mastering and stuff and it should be sent for pressing this week. Great stuff.

I'll be going to Mindanao for the elections and hopefully they have wi-fi or something where I'll be staying. Gonna stay there for at least a week or so.

Bad stuff: Celts losing to Clevo in Game 1 (but it's good to see Lebron and the Cavs sweat and labor for that win. Ha!)