Bystorm 'Lungsod...' Summer Edition.

Got some of these bad boys left for trade or to be given away. Send me a message or something. What you gonna do this Saturday night? Go to Binan, Laguna for the shirt convention/show? catch Anthrax/Death Angel at Pulp? Me, neither. Rehearsal time for both Bystorm and Rush IxDx as both will be hitting the recording studio pretty soon.

Currently listening to: Killing Time 'Brightside'

Review: Konspirazine No. 4 zine.

The new issue of Konspirazine should have been out by the Terror show last month but unfortunately the covers were not yet available. I got my copy during the zine con and I must say that I'm really impressed. Long, informative interviews with 90's bands (this is somewhat of a throwback issue) such as LOADS OF MOTHERHOOD, BULLDOZED (always a pleasure reading an interview with Mot), EMPTY (on why they chose to reunite, best interview for me as we get to read about the thoughts of other members), SKREWHEDS (who recently did a reunion show in Laguna) and COFFEEMUG zine. Reviews are exclusive for zines this issue. This also contains some writings from different writers including yours truly on why every band should record their songs which was featured in this blog. This is essential reading on those who lived the mid-late 90's era of the local hardcore scene and if you were too young then, so you might get a picture of that era. (Contact spiritofrebellion981@gmail.com)

Review: Real Tight Crew No. 4 zine.

More zines! yeah, it's true. Paper zines are making a comeback big time and this is one prime example! This is the 4th issue of RTC (I received my first three issues at the same time) and Joab changed the format from being full to a half-sized zine. This one contains interviews with Poor Choice from Chicago (good interview!), Rush IxDx (why do you keep interviewing these guys? haha) and Vex (really funny interview, Marcore does not disappoint). This issue also features writings (or ramblings) from Joab and Archi of Guerra Mundial, reviews of demos, zines, etc. Contact: mistakenfiction@yahoo.com.

Review: I Remember Halloween No. 6 zine

Consistency has been the name of the game for IRH the last couple of years. He has been pumping issues every four (4) months or so, I think. This issue is a bit thinner (28 pages, half-sized) and features all-local interviews this time with Isvarah, Rush IxDx and a lengthy one with Istukas Over Disneyland from Pampanga (one of the hardest working bands I know!). Good questions were asked and informative answers were delivered. Features Kaktus Karuka on the cover too. Awesome lay-out too. Also features some writings from Dane, a detailed Pampanga scene report, zine and music reviews and some pics. All in its black and white glory. Two thumbs up man! (Contact: irememberhalloween@gmail.com, and check out his blog on the reading list)

Plat 'Wall of Death' shirt.

Not really a new shirt but I recently got this during the zine con from Pidol. Awesome Vans rip and incorporating Wall of Death. Can you get thrashier than that?! Available in a variety of colorways. Can't go wrong with blue ink on athletic grey though.

Speaking of Play, if you haven't heard yet, the upcoming tape will be a certified thrash and circle pit-inducing mayhem. I've heard the previews and you will soon. Still Ill in 2011.

Currently listening: Title Fight 'Shed' while drinking coffee at 7:13 AM. Should be a good day.

Domino's.

Danj and me had the occasion of running into this Domino's pizza joint in Pasong Tamo, Makati City a couple of weeks ago. You may have noticed that the number of branches they have has dwindled over the last few years. It's a shame because they really have awesome pizza but their crew still sucks. Haha. How can you drink soda without ice? Pfft...

Currently listening to: Foundation 'At Your Mercy' (Awessommee Path cover!)

Sweeepp!

Brooms were present in Broadway tonight as the Green and White swept the Knicks 4-0 in their playoff series while Miami was denied a sweep by the boys from Philly. And while the C's swept NY, the Red Sox rode a terrific outing from John Lackey to sweep the Angels in their own field. Good morning!

Currently listening to: Rival Schools 'Pedals'

April 30, Binan, Laguna.

Check out this upcoming shirt convention/hardcore show this coming month-end at Amnesia Bar in Binan, Laguna. The Beauty of Doubt will be playing probably their last show as Ronald is once again leaving for work. Laguna-based bands will also be playing along with some visitors. Don't forget to check out the shirts in that show.

Currently listening to: Justice 'everything'

CWC.

Glad to finally be home after a three (3) day tour of Camarines Sur Water Complex - yep, that man-made water body with wakeboarding amenities and a big-a$$ lake with a lot of inflatable materials. Was finally able to relax after a very long month and more of work.

The place was really well-maintained, considering that it is owned and operated by the provincial government of Camarines Sur. Was also able to visit a relative residing in Pili and had a good time hanging out at Naga City last night. Awesome.

Good stuff: Red Sox rolling right now. Dice-K, Beckett and Lester throwing awesome starts. Now its up to Lackey to show what he can do. Also, the Celtics are up 3-0 against the Knickerbockers. Drinking coffee for the first time today and it's already 2:00 PM. Good sht.

STILL ILL UPDATE – 4-21-11 (Maundy Thursday)

Finally have some down time to do an update about Still Ill. To those not keeping tab, Still Ill was started sometime last year by the guys behind Non-Compliant Issue (who brought you some really awesome shows) as well as some other individuals who have shared their talent in helping release some crucial hardcore punk music.

We recently pressed another hundred copies of Still Ill 03: Bystorm ‘Lungsod ng mga Patay na Buhay’ CD-R dubbed ‘Summer Edition 2011’ which as you can see from the picture above differs from the “dark” cover of the original release. We chose funky colors for the summer, what else? We still have some copies of this CD-R for trade. Hand-numbered and limited to 100 copies. Just send a message and tell us what you got. We’re also looking for people in the far-flung provinces to have this distributed in your area.

For some upcoming projects, we’re pleased to announce that PLAY will be releasing their new recorded materials with Still Ill. I have heard the new tracks and it is ridiculously awesome! Recording and mixing should be finished in May and will probably be available at the next Pilipinas Fast Fest (ooopss!) along with another surprise release!

Another long-overdue project will see the light of the day as the BIOFEEDBACK Tribute CD will finally see the light of day. Some of the songs for this tribute were recorded 6 – 7 years ago but will finally get the treatment they deserve. Bands included will be The Beauty of Doubt, Piledriver, Feud, Chokecocoi, Prayer of Endurance and Play among others. This will be a joint project with DELUSION OF TERROR and LOVE FROM HATE. If there are any other labels who would like to help out, do contact us.

RUSH IxDx will start recording materials for their upcoming tape and compilations this May and will probably bear fruit some time soon. Expect more fast and hard thrashin this time!

The last update will be with regard to BYSTORM ‘Sumalangitnawa’ CD. Recording will commence this June at POSITIVITY studios and will probably be done in a month’s time. It’s going to be LEGEN…wait for ittt..DARY!

For shows, the Still Ill Crew will be present at the Dead (Aussie) Tour this coming May and the Lipslide one-off show at Malolos City, also this May. Heard about some shows happening in Baguio and Quezon City but more on that later. Keep checkin!

- Mic on a Maundy Thursday writing binge.

Currently listening to: Dead End Pat 'Death Walks Beside Us', Tame The Tikbalang 'Forever Shall Be'

FIRR. Me.

Finally got this shirt with a trade from FIRR. If you don't know him, he's the thin-ass vox of Sauna, Forgiveness Denied and the more recent Curse/Gift. I must say that he really found his niche in design. I think this is called 'Black Rose' or something. Plus I think the design is already sold out according to Felix. Just wait for his new design. And bug him about that lost Curse/Gift demo. What the hell man?! Haha.

Good stuff: Celtics up 2-0 against NY, Red Sox beating the A's with Buccholz on the mound.

Currently watching: Rio (awesome movie!)

Review: No 'No Means No!' CD

I got this CD from Francis of IxOxDx as he was selling this in one of the shows here in Manila. I meant to review this a couple of months ago but somehow it got misplaced and finally found it. No! is a female fronted hardcore punk band from Cebu City. They play short and fast crazy hardcore punk in the vein of Kid Dynamite and Lifetime (that Jersey sound we all so love...). This CD includes ten (10) short songs with really catchy and at the same time meaningful lyrics. Good packaging to boot. Too bad they haven't cruised down to Manila yet but we had the honor of playing with them when Bystorm went to Cebu City and we were blown away by the intensity of this band. This CD should either be released or distributed here. This is just way too awesome to be kept in the dark. (Released by SRA and OVAR). (www.myspace.com/bandnameisno)

Allen beats NY.

Ray Allen hits a winning three to beat NY in game one of their playoff series and gives a feel of a Celtic game. Hopes of another title is still alive. And the Red Sox won back to back games for the first time this season. Good day.

I'll be posting some stuff I got from the zine con later this week. Going to a vacation soon to get rid of work-related stress. Finally.

Zine Con.

A photo taken during the zine convention yesterday at Kalye Art Gallery. The zine con itself was a big success with zinemakers coming from all over to talk about the past, present and future of paper zines. Awesome effort = awesome output.

Could have a better night though. Went to the first show of Non-Entities and the venue was surprisingly small, even smaller than Mayric's plus tables abound so there was no room to move or hang out except downstairs where you will be showered by people singing along with Aegis songs (nothing against Aegis though...) and literally with people from all over. Spotted some sketchy dudes and douches too.

So me and Danj just went to a surprising Domino's pizza joint in Pasong Tamo. A box of pizza and 1.5 L of soda. Guess who won?

All in all, there were good and bad points of the night. We'll see where we go from here.

Currently listening to: Lipslide XXIV LV CD (nice cover of 'Bro Hymn' by Pennywise!)

April 16, Zine-Convention.

Big day this coming Saturday as there will be an upcoming zine convention at Kalye Art Gallery, Estrada St., Malate, Manila, which will also serve as the closing of the month-long gallery of punk rock artists. So if by any chance, you missed the first three weeks, this is your last chance to do so. Good bands will also be playing. Go here before we see each other at Makati City for the show organized by Non-Entities. Looking forward to playing and hanging out this Saturday because of this nagging dental surgery.

Currently listening to: Fire and Ice 'Collection'

April 16, Non-Entities.

This will be the first show for the people behind Non-Entities and they intend to start it with a bang with a sure-fire line-up. Let's see what the new venue holds, since CFA is closed and Ten02 is closed for hardcore shows and I heard even Headstock. So we'll see.

Before you go to this show, head out to the closing of the Kalye Art Gallery exhibit where Shirley Steinberg will be playing their last show along with other bands (more on this later).

Currently watching: Yankees @ Boston (really terrible start of the season for the Red Sox but things will pick up as Beckett is currently mowing down Yankee hitters)

Pino Part 2.

I've talked about Pino earlier in this blog and it was just an average visit to a new vegie restaurant. Well, from average it went to very poor. I mean the stuff I ate during my second visit just plain sucks. The vegie maki is the worst stuff you can imagine, the rice is very hard and bland. Just uneatable if there is such a word. And the mushroom salpicao looks like adobo but tastes like, I don't know how to describe it. Euw. And the vegan lasagna is at best below average. Avoid.

What sucks more: I just had an impacted wisdom tooth taken out yesterday and my face is still swollen from the two-hour operation. Was not able to play at Kalye Art Galery yesterday. Hopefully, we can make it up this coming Saturday which is also the closing of the show before we hit the first Non-Entities show in Makati City.

Currently listening to: 7 Seconds 'Scream Real Loud'

Review: Real Tight Crew No. 3.

This review has been delayed for a long time. Got the three (3) issues of RTC from Joab at one of the shows, I think last year. This latest installment has interviews with Guerra Mundial, Staid and Sister Bastard, the latter of which took the cake when it came to the best interview of the issue. Some funny sht. Also includes some columns, reviews and some outtakes about powerviolence, quotes, interviews, et. al. Really good zine, can't wait for the new issue.

Currently watching: How I Met Your Mother Season 5

April 9, Lakefest 3. San Pablo City.

San Pablo City will be hosting the third annual Lakefest tomorrow at the old venue. Lots of bands from all over Luzon and a bunch of local flava will be present so go out on a road trip and be there. Or if you can't, just go over to Kalye Art Gallery for a mini-show with Play, Strongwill and a bunch of others for a laid back Saturday afternoon.

Bad stuff: Red Sox starting the season 0-6, Celtics sputtering near the playoffs and a dental surgery tomorrow. FTW.

Good stuff: Pidol of PLAY sent me a raw mix of their upcoming tape under Still Ill and it blew my mind! Can't wait to have this finalized and released!

The Beauty of Doubt.

I just saw TBOD last Sunday for a long time and they never skipped a beat. Awesome set including the three (3) song set from their newest CD. They'll be playing at the annual Lakefest at San Pablo City on Saturday so if you haven't seen them for some time, catch them on Saturday or next Saturday at the first Non-Entities show.

What we got here is a TBOD shirt from Ronald himself. Light blue ink on black shirt. I believe these are no longer available. Thanks Ron.

Currently watching: How I Met Your Mother Season 4

April 9 @ Kalye Art Gallery

Graff artists from Pilipinas Street Plan will be present at the third week of the series of presentations at the Kalye Art Gallery. Was there for the last two weeks and it was awesome. Couldn't find pics in the web of the second week but more on that later. And also more about PLAY later who will be releasing their new album under STILL ILL. Oooppss.

Bad stuff; muthfckn toothache all f'n day! i'd rather be sick than have this mind numbing pain. and yes, the dentist is out.

Soundtrack to a real shtty day: Burn - everything

Malolos Gig tonight.

Just stumbled upon this flyer and apparently, it will be happening tonight somewhere in Malolos City. Lots of Bulacan bands playing so you know it would be awesome. Play, Shirley Steinberg, among others. Check it.

Pipino Vegetarian Restaurant.

Pipino Vegetarian Restaurant located at Malingap St. in Teacher's Village, QC. Thought I found a gold mine of vegetarian food near QC Hall but so far it has failed my expectations. These two concoctions (tofu/eggplant with white sauce and kare-kare are just, neh..instead of being really good). A bit pricey and a very limited menu. The place has a nice ambiance though and there's always room for improvement.

Currently watching: I've been on a high 'How I Met Your Mother' kick lately, watching Seasons 1 - 3 in a breeze. Fck yes.