CONCERNED UNDERGROUND MUSICIANS FOR RELIEF PRESENTS SONGS OF HOPE AND SURVIVAL

Third leg of the benefit show for typhoon Yolanda victims happening on the 23rd of November. Please keep on supporting these shows in aid for our countrymen that are affected by the killer typhoon.

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING

On behalf of the Philippine Ska, Hardcore and Reggae community please accept our heartfelt appreciation for your kindness that you had shown to our brothers and sisters in the Central Visayas region.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE FOLLOWING:

DIY Ska and Punk label

ASIAN MAN RECORDS for setting up a fund raiser.

HARDCORE HELP FOUNDATION for creating a special fund relief aid for my country.

PHILIPPINE REGGAE SCENE'S RESPONSE TO YOLANDA: BANGON VISAYAS! WARAY BAYAAY!

On November 29, Friday the Bacolodnons are doing a benefit show for the victims of typhoon Yolanda. 

The UNITED VOLUNTEERS OF BACOLOD will be staging the show at MuShu Bar located at 20th Street, Lacson, Bacolod City, Western Visayas, Philippines

The benefit show will showcase Visayan Reggae and Dub bands - BUDOY of the Cebu based reggae dub band JUNIOR KILAT and Bacolod's THE WICKED TARSIERS joining them are 2 of the best reggae band in Manila INDIO I and TROPICAL DEPRESSION.

Bacolod is part of Visayas, one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines which is Luzon, and Mindanao.

When super typhoon Haiyan (locally know as Yolanda) hit Philippines last November 8 The Kabisayaan or Visayas was greatly affected. One of the cities was Bacolod. The Bacolodnons suffered the wrath of typhoon Yolanda and according to initial reports there were 5,941 families or an estimated 35,646 individuals were displaced.

As of this writing Bacolod is declared under state of calamity. They along with the rest of the kabisayaan badly need your help. Please support this noble cause.

FIRST OF A SERIES OF MUSICAL EVENTS FOR THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON YOLANDA

The CONCERNED UNDERGROUND MUSICIANS FOR YOLANDA RELIEF will be doing a series of Benefit shows for our fellow Filipinos who is in dire need of help.

The first show will be held at IDB Bar tomorrow. Featuring BAD OMEN, BOBBY BALINGIT OF THE WUDS, AL DIMALANTA OF THROW, THE SLEEPYHEADS, VAGABONDS, ARNOLD MORALES OF URBAN BANDITS, BUDDY TRINIDAD of BETRAYED, DRIVEWAY TO DRIVEWAY, DEATH TO PUBERTY, SHOULDER STATE, CROWD DISPERSAL UNIT, TURNOVERS and MILEE NICART.

IDB Bar is located at the 3rd floor of Richland Building, Dr. Arcadio Santos Avenue, Paranaque City. Please do support this noble cause.

Upcoming events will be posted on their Facebook page. 

THE BAYANIHAN SPIRIT

Last month my country, Philippines experienced a deadly earthquake that shooked the whole Central Visayas partcularly Bohol that was hit hard. The magnitude was recorded at 7.2, the deadliest  quake recorded in the Philippine history. The energy of the quake was that of 32 Hiroshima bodmbs.

24 days had passed after the quake and Central Visayas had barely recovered from the calamity then came along typhoon Haiyan that hit Philippine shores on November 8 and ravaged down the region. 

Now Tacloban City once a vibrant coastal city is reduced to a vast corpse strewn wasteland after the onslaught of this super typhoon that is stronger than Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans in 2005. Typhoon Haiyan locally known as Yolanda left an estimated 9.8 people affected, 659.268 families displaced and 10,000+ are feared dead.

It is DAY 4 now and people are sleeping in makeshift tents and some are exposed to rains even lying to their dead loved ones. My countrymen is desperate for help. And being an Overseas Filipino Worker that i am this is one of the few ways that i can do to help my country by writing the sad fate my countrymen had endured on this blog.

As of today food and water supply is growing thin and desperation is growing strong. The level of losses inflicted on my fellow Filipino by Haiyan's earth shattering wake is grim.

Now, more than ever, the bayanihan spirit that is inherent in every Filipino must come to the fore.

I AM CALLING MY FELLOW OFW's, THE INTERNATIONAL PUNK AND HARDCORE COMMUNITY, SKA AND REGGAE COMMUNITY. THE PHILIPPINE VESPA CLUB FOR YOUR HELP.

As of this writing Mr. Al Dimalanta of Throw/Dead Ends and Mr. Arnold Morales of Urban Bandits/Put3ska had created CONCERNED UNDERGROUND MUSICIANS FOR YOLANDA RELIEF last month the people behind CUMFYR had organized a benefit gig for the victims of Central Visayas quake and plans for a similar effort is well underway for the aid to our fellow Filipinos who where displaced by typhoon Haiyan.  They will be staging a lighting quick series of events that will be held this week and probably up until Central Visayas can get back to its feet again.

This is a concentrated effort amongst the Filipino Punk and Hardcore community and if you want to help out please contact ALBERT ALLAN ASCONA of Bad Omen. The relief aid will be coursed through the PHILIPPINE RED CROSS. Rest assured that all pledges will be accounted for and will not fall into the hands of greedy politicians and bogus NGOs.

And to all punk rockers, skinheads and hardcore kids all around the world you can help by going to HARDCORE HELP FOUNDATION log on to http://hardcore-help.com/ 

And lastly the torch bearers of Bisikleta Productions - KONTRA KULTURA along with DIRTY SHOE COLLECTIVE will be staging a benefit gig on Saturday at THE SPOT please do attend the show and bring along bottled water and canned foods and if possible sacrifice a bit of your mobile phone load for our brothers and sister in need. A little goes along way as I always say.

WHO IS MS. AQUINO?

 “It aims to break through the social barriers and create a culture free of discrimination.” - Cindy Aquino

Whether we like it or not, our memory will fade. Details will become fuzzy and we will think that we remember all of the details of a time and place, however, our memory will build those details as it wishes not as it really was.

Last month I promised one of my lady friend back in the Philippines that i will do a piece on a person that we both knew that recently won in an international photography contest. But due to my busy schedule at work it took me almost a couple of weeks to start writing about her.

The person i was referring to is CINDY AQUINO. Cindy or to some friends who knew her by monicker as Inday, used to document most of the Bisikleta Production events from the time Bisikleta held court at Sazi's Bar and Ten 02 up to the time this production outfit landed at The Spot in Caloocan City.

One thing i could say is that most of the pictures that she has taken during those times were very intimate. I was struck by the wealth of images captured in black and white. Her images evoke almost immediate emotional responses among viewers, those pictures that she took created a tremendous impact. It has seized the moment.

Her black and whites are so raw and powerful it kinda reminded me of the early days of punk rock and hardcore zines where punk rockers decided to bring along an SLR or a cheap ass camera and just randomly click away. Those amateur photographers helped document the events that changed the face of popular music. Photography has done many things in our society and has opened so many eyes to much of what we use to take for granted. Those amateur photographers who eloquently documented the birth of punk music, fashion, art and lifestyle the likes of Toni Tye, Pennie Smith and Edward Colver are now famous worldwide.

It is great to hear that Cindy Aquino had earned worldwide recognition for her work from PRIDE PHOTO AWARD an organization on gender issues based in Amsterdam. Her winning entry is titled BOND. When i saw that winning entry of hers it immediately showed me that her craft holds a mirror up to humanity and shows us what is real, what is true and how unique we all are, and how much we really have in common.

BOND has a visual message that educate, entertain and persuade. To some viewers BOND can offend and shock. And that is what for me the beauty of it. It is not just a picture of something random it can show something that is happening all over the world. This write up for Cindy has long been overdue and my apologies Inday.

Congratulations on your achievement you add another laurel to our nation of winners. I hope you will be the next Alan Lomax or one day following those famous photographers footsteps that i had mentioned.

Her works are now on display at KANTO at The Collective, 7274 Malugay St., Brgy. San Antonio Village, Makati City from the 5th up to the 10th of November. 

The title of her exhibit is called DOS-ESPIRITU: ISANG QUADRO TRIANGULO SA SULOK NG MUNDO the exhibit tackles gender-related issues faced by LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS and TRANSGENDER Community in a culturally conservative Filipino society. 

If you happen to be in Makati City please do drop by and view her award winning work up close and personal.

59 DAYS LEFT

October has already come to a close and November had just begun 2014 is just around the corner and as usual for every new year we expect something new coming in. And upon hearing news for Neighbors call for monetary support on their planned new album for a Filipino expat like me this is a sign of a brighter day ahead.

This is positive news and something to look forward to in 2014. But this may not come to fruition if all of you ska music loving maniacs out there in the Philippines would not support their financial needs to record new material. Neighbors are one of the surviving ska acts next to Put3ska in the 90s. They are the main proponents of Eastern Town Ska. These Angono rude boys are planning to record their new material with Mr Rhanny Torres of The Lost Boys, Ethnic Faces, Ocean Zoo and Brown Beat All Stars fame.

The Ska scene in the Philippines is up to now still minute compared to other parts of the world like Spain, Japan and America where labels like Liquidator, Jump Up and Stubborn Records had flourished due to their rabid supporters who happily shelve out their monthly worth of wages for every records these labels had put out hence their scene is so vibrant and healthy. And to add to that longevity are the tireless music promoters. You maybe wondering why the country I have mentioned can invite Jamaican greats as well as well known 3rd wave ska acts (when i said 3rd wave i don't mean that it is ska with trashing guitars and blaring horns, that is not fucking ska) in their shows is that they as well as the audience are willing to pay for it.

Unfortunately on our case, some of you are proudly trying to hide behind that misinterpreted punk ethos of "punk not profit" shite that we resort to downloading records that Neighbors, Shuffle Union, Coffee Break Island and along of a dozen local hardcore and punk bands had put out with their own money from their day jobs and forced nightly music prostitution gigs that you often accused them of selling out. (Hey ya dumb fucks! they have to put food on the table.)

The problem I had noticed is that some of the people who supported the underground scene, be it from ska to punk rock is that they always wanted the shows to be free. The reality of the matter is that these bands who often played for free for us and you...yes you - the audience in attendance is that they would go to these gigs using their own money to pay for transportation often riding unsecured on a thief prone vehicle the likes of jeepneys and buses and worst they pay for their own beer. While you on the other hand can not even pay for a measly sum equivalent to a days worth of mobile phone load and sometimes resort to haggling or worst begging to get in.

Now my point is if we really love the scene then we should start using money to pay for the entertainment these bands are doing for you. And if you like the bands music being showcased in an event then please avoid downloading their album. Support them by buying their records so they can put out more and more records for our listening pleasure.

And now on the subject matter of NEIGHBORS plan to release new material its 59 days to go please devote a bit of cash to their needs. They will need P100,000 for the cost of the entire recording. Let us try to fill up the gap (as of this writing they had collected close to half of the target amount).

Please donate a bit of your hard earned or in some cases stolen money from your parents wallet, and borrowed money to Indian launderers to them. Just go to www.artistconnect.com for more information and type in N E I G H BO R S.

Let us hope that next year we can expect new recorded material from them. Meanwhile enjoy this video of them playing with Eddie Ocampo of Stubborn All Stars and Korey Kingston Horn of Hepcat, Suedehead and Aggrolite fame during Bisikleta Productions shows.