FOR MARAWI CITY

I posted a video of a folk punk band based in Davao City called EMPATHY at Bisikleta Productions Facebook page a couple months ago. I was so impressed by their brand of music that I got in touch with one of the guys of that band asking how can I get a hold of their album called We Want A Better World. Upon further talks I found out that this band really is a punk with a purpose. In this soulless and spiritless age they are a rare breed. One of their purpose is helping the displaced people of Marawi City.  Right now They are doing a donation drive to help those people over there.

Wanting to heIp Empathy's cause, I asked them if we can be of any assistance to them here in Manila by doing a benefit gig for the said city and to further promote their music and to get in touch with an NGO over there to consolidate the plan.

I got in touch with one of Empathy's contacts in Marawi City and as of writing a total of more than a thousand families are already in Saguiran's evacuation centers as well as home based evacuation centers. Most of them can no longer travel by foot towards Iligan City and needed immediate assistance.

There are reports that some internally displaced people that are in Saguiran right now are so desperate they resort on knocking on people's doors begging for food. What we can do to help out is to attend this donation drive for them. 

On June 30th Friday we are doing a fund raiser for those people who are in dire need of assistance. I urge you to please take part of this meaningful event. The NGO's namely Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro, United Youth of the Philippines - Women and Al Mujadilah Development Foundation is asking for Medicines and Hygiene Kits that will be given mostly to the women and children in the evacuation centers of Saguiran which is 5 kilometers away from Marawi City.

In order for us to contribute to their cause EMPATHY is selling their WE WANT A BETTER WORLD CD at KALAWAKAN SPACE TIME as well as KNF and SINGKOPADO SOUND SYSTEM CDs the profit as well as a percentage of the gate admission will be coursed directly to the Women's NGO group that I just mentioned.

Please do come and support this cause. Band's participating will be: SINGKOPADO SOUND SYSTEM, PROLETS, KNF, MAZEFITS, NO BRAKEFAST KID, COBRA KIDS, SKANK REPUBLIC and DEAD BRAINS plus in between DJ sets by X FATAL SOUND X.

A little bit of your help can alleviate their life over there. Kalawakan Spacetime is located at 1046, 2nd floor Quezon Avenue, corner Roces Avenue in front of Fisher Mall.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP NOW PLEASE CONTACT THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:

FATIMA SHALOM ALLIAN OF UNSA UI HAQQ - 0917 631 2060

ZAHRIA MAPANDI OF AL MUJADILAH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION - 0917 705 5628

NORAIDA ABO OF UNYPHIL WOMEN - 0917 623 5310

Please take note to indicate the actual amount or goods that you wish to send for recording purposes.

LOCK & LOAD PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS THE SKALAWAGS

Remember the group behind the recent Urban Bandits reunion that featured support bands spanning from the 80's up to the present? Well folks they are at it again. This time focusing on 2 Tone ska - a punky take on Jamaican R&B bringing in a short lived band called The Skalawags that will be held at B Side The Collective in Makati City on June 2, Friday 2017 featuring support acts Neighbors, Coffee Break Island, Dandimites, The Buzzer Beaters and Skaface with Par Satellite manning the decks. 

This band was a unicorn only the lucky few saw them live and only one of their songs was recorded under a compilation called Paalam Uncle Sam (getting a copy of the cassette tape is rare as a hen's teeth!) They are arguably one of the highly influential Philippine ska bands that was formed in the in 80's the other two bands were The Lost Boys and The Skavengers.

This band even tough their presence in the local underground music scene was short would leave an indelible mark on the Philippine ska scene that would later gave birth to Put3ska, Neighbors, Snubnose, Shuffle Union and a slew of ska acts to follow in the 90's up until today.

If you wanna know more about them I suggest you go to Jon Fishbone Gonzales' of the band Bad Omen as he is regularly posting some great stuff direct from the band members themselves or you can drop by his shop in Recto called Middle Finger for some TMZ style fun chatter.

MGA KAPITBAHAAAAAY!

While society has become ever more estranged from the great events of the past, music on the other hand is the one constant. And that constant one starts out with a barrage of guitars then a painful voice resonated with a guttural tone that once you hear it will instantly take you back to a moment in time like Deja Vu.

It’s time to hear that song again! The quintessential Filipino punk rock band, Urban Bandits is doing a special celebration of their amazing Independence Day album on March 31, Friday at B Side The Collective in Makati City together with Wuds and G.I. & The Idiots, Goo and PinkCow and will be hosted by Carlos Palanca Awardee Erwin Romulo and Social Satirist Jun Sabayton of The Sabaytones plus audio ammunition will be provided by Par Satellite of NU 107’s Pirate Satellite program. 

This event is organized by Lock & Load Productions.

OPEN TURNTABLE NIGHT AT TUCKERS

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SKA PUNK?

DIY Label and Distro based out of Orange County, California called NO TIME RECORDS have put out massive 134 song compilation of some of the finest ska punk bands from all over the globe.

One band that caught the ear of this label is the up and coming ska punk band from the Philippines non other than SINGKOPADO SOUND SYSTEM and ONE LAST MEAL. Also included on this compilation is France' acoustic ska punkers Beng Beng Cocktail, The Hempsteadys from the US, Manchester's' The Autonomads, The politically charged dub band from UK - Conscious Youth, New York's' The Pandemics, London's' punky roots rockers Smiley and The Underclass and many more.

Just so you know after the 2Tone movement came into prominence in the 80's a bunch of forward thinking punky rebels caught ear and later Third Wave Ska came into fruition in the 90s' and reared it's ugly head giving birth to a more aggressive form of sound incorporating, dub, reggae, ska and hardcore elements into the mix only a few bands can perfectly achieve the sound but most band failed miserably (too many third wave ska bands to mention here folks).

One perfect example of a great sounding ska punk band is The Mighty Mighty Bosstones whose singer Dicky Barrett came from the hardcore band Impact Unit and bassist Joe Gittleman of Gang Green.

To find out more about this massive compilation released by No Time Records please go to www.whatdoyouknowaboutskapunk.bandcamp.com and ready your credit or debit card to purchase the record.

KNF VS SSS

This coming Saturday, Quezon City punk rockers KNF will be releasing their second EP entitled Hoy Kolokoy alongside Singkopado Sound System who also happen to be releasing their EP. I got the chance to listen to both of their EPs firsthand before it hit the underground market and I must say that both EP demanded playback.

KNF, as I mentioned a few days back at my personal FaceBook page is that their songs are short and sharp like punk should be - no complicated Steve Vai riffs and songs about unicorns and dragons. These boys pounded out three chords as if their lives depended on it, Now I'm not going to do an EP review on both of the bands i just mentioned here because I'm too damn lazy to describe their sound so I'll just make it simpler by comparing their sounds to some of the music I've heard before so that maybe just maybe all of you dear readers can easily get what I'm trying to say here so here it goes...

...KNF's music is equal parts Yano and Grin Department. One song in particular is "Miss Kita" it's short, fast and injected with humor. As for SINGKOPADO SOUND SYSTEM song "Forward Thinking" on the other hand is a mix of dub, reggae and punk that kinda reminded me of the band Destroy Babylon. If you wanna hear them live then do drop by at TOMATO KICK this Saturday. The EP launching is organized by SUS PETSA with the help of BISIKLETA PRODUCTIONS and supported by Angono's finest ska band NEIGHBORS (watch out for their upcoming album), hardcore band COBRA KIDS, 2tone skankers STEADY MOVIN' BEAT, melodic punk rockers GIVE CHANCE TO RUN and sociopolitical blues rockers THE GENERAL STRIKE.

This event is free of charge but i strongly advise to bring your tolerance with you. If you wanna hear one of their songs do click on the soundcloud icon below.

RPM: AN OPEN TURNTABLE NIGHT

This coming Saturday Bisikleta Productions is having an open turntable night event at Tuckers. This event will coincide with their 4th year anniversary. If you're a vinyl record collector please drop by and spin some records with us.

For an added extra bonus Tuckers will be bringing in ska punkers PinkCow for an intimate acoustic set if you're in luck they might carry with them their No Boundaries LP so please do carry with you some extra cash to get a copy of that great record.