I have finally fulfilled one of my New Year's resolution, which is to watch local acts live! Earlier this year, I couldn't make it to Juris and XLR8's shows since I had made previous commitments those nights - so finally, last night, I was free. So, I decided to hie off to Sazi's Bar in Spain and find out for myself if these bands that I like can actually play well - live!
Well, no surprise there. Eevee, Ajka, Letter Day Story and a host of other new bands like Kilos and Kaligta whose music I still have to familiarize myself with, all sounded solid and played with so much energy! It actually felt great being surrounded with these very talented musicians and singers who knew exactly how they want to sound and could clearly articulate through song what they wanted to say! I was also quite lucky to get to talk to them and engage them in smart banter, especially Angel del Pilar of Tanya Markova who had interesting views to share on lyric writing and K-Pop. All this while having a drink (I haven't drank Red Horse in ages, but Kicks of Tanya Markova offered me one, so how can I refuse! It did taste great - on the rocks, of course!)
To those who have lived under a rock, I am proud to say that today's OPM has not degenerated into Piolo Pascual, Jericho Rosales and Sarah Geronimo doing tired and bland renditions of hit ballads I grew up with. Well, they can bring in the crowds during their concerts and produce remade hits but they're obviously mass produced talent backed up by a huge studio. Big yawn!! If that's the only OPM you listen to then get a life and use Youtube to check out the music of Eevee, Ajka, Letter Day Story and many other great local acts (Pupil, Champ Lui Pio, Sandwich, Spongecola, among others). And that's only the rock genre. We also produce good OPM pop and R&B music too! But that's another article.
Eevee already has three hits so you can check out 'Gusto Ko Lang ng Girlfriend', 'Waiter' and their current hit, 'Larawan'. I was lucky to meet the band last night - Enzo, Craig, Jerrick and Paulo and got them to sign on their CD! Thanks guys! If you listen to their CD, it's like getting to know Enzo's love travails, he being their lead singer. It's actually quite a fresh and personal take on someone who's looking for love. At my age, I've already forgotten how humorous it was to look for love. They even have this song which is like a party ode to Davao! I wish someone would write something about Cebu, that way.
Among the three, I discovered Letter Day Story first, thanks to Sama-Sama. They also have two other hits Sulong and Paano, but it's their collaborations with Yeng Constantino (Kung Maibabalik) and Jaq Dionisio of Kiss Jane (Isang Umaga) which I actually like a lot. I'm not sure if the versions are in Youtube but you can always get their CD to hear it. Live, they play with so much energy they don't hesitate to jump from time to time when the song warrants it.
I discovered Ajka a few weeks ago through their song Tanong Lang, but what I can say is that their EP has more gems in it which in my opinion, actually sounds better to me than their carrier single. Sometimes it's a mystery to me as to how record companies choose which song to release, because in Ajka's case, Ako Naman and Denial would've attracted more of my age group - the group who actually buys CDs! It's a pity though that they only have an EP since I'm sure the band has so much to offer in new material, considering how solid the five songs in their EP is. I actually told Angel that they sound like a rockin' Swing Out Sister - a well-loved band among my peers.
Well, it's back to the foreign acts after last night with Kenny Loggins and Maroon 5 doing their shows in a week's time. As for the local acts, I only know of Miguel Escueta and XLR8 who have scheduled shows - or maybe, I'd have to do more research to find out who's singing where.
