Rock It, 2011!

Since I started actively blogging in Multiply, I forgot this piece of me here. Its about time, let's get this party started! Woooohoooo! Let's go 2011! And to start the year right, there are some things in need of some revision.

I've been thinking of my new year's resolution over the last long weekend of 2010, but didn't came up until now. Being a fan of The Simple Dollar blog, I pretty much wanted to make sure that my resolution is worthwhile and realistic.

I've tried to reflect on all the things that I wanted - did I get them all? Well, no. I thought deeply why, and after sometime, I found a word that pretty much describes it, that is, half-heartedness. Its that lack of will power that destroys everything. When you want something realized, its just you who would make it happen.

Half-heartedness. Why do it later if you can do it today. Being a kid, maybe even a brat sometimes would make everything better. Remember when you wanted to something and you just wouldn't take no as an answer. I think that is one trait that most of us need to relive. In focusing in that philosophy, I believe it would get you to wherever and whatever you want to. Do or die this year. Some good vibes are coming in, specially that this the year of rabbits. Its very favorable to us in terms of money, love and career. Hell yeah! We need some party! Let me kick it off with my cover of Just Dance by Lady Gaga. Oso and the Bozos (my band) was suppose to play it in our company's Christmas Party but some shit happenned. (oh well, no to bad energy!) Play it ba-beh!

Duet with Queency of Daughters 5 Band

I’ve been singing solo in a band since college but I never had a chance to have a decent duet with a girl. It just takes my breath away remembering that I just did last Thursday, and guess what, with my crush from Daughters 5 Band – Queency Villanueva. :D Happiness, hahaha! Came the 18th of November, the whole team went for a drink at Pier One, Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City. Buckets of beer came in with delicious food.  We drank a couple of beer when the waiter served another plate. I gave the waiter my request. Good thing he was a good messenger, he gave it straight to Jurilou, who read out the request right there and then. Soon, they called me. Wohoho! And there we had it, Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang with Queency and me singing. I felt a connection with her while singing, which I did not expect. Whenever I'm on stage, I always feel all the crap build up, until all the nerves sink in. That's why usually, I end up doing better on rehearsals. Haha! But this one is different, it felt believable - I was understanding all the words um letting out. I'll definitely come back for a reprise! Too bad, no video of this one, but I totally enjoyed it. They were friendly enough to let us rob them from their other fans to take a picture on our table. They are really really nice. :D I have a couple more photos of that night right here:

Katelyn Epperly - The Scientist

I've always loved ballads, and in fact, I grew up with a library of ballads. It does feel old but what makes it special is the how much each line means and how it is delivered through a song. Pure. That is how I would describe one freaking ballad! Just check this out!

This Katelyn Epperly singing Coldplay's The Scientist. For sure, not so many know about her, even though she is one hell of a singer. She got voted off American Idol right before people go forward the big Idol Stage. She really sings good, all the techniques are there - control, phrasing, to name a few. I really don't get it, why did they vote off this girl. She puts her own spin on a pop song, and what did she get? But all I can say is, this is how you do a great performance out of a ballad - and well, good looks to make everything more enticing... Fwahahhah!

I maybe singing pop rock lately, but given the chance, I would love to sing a romantic ballad for somebody I love. I will make sure that when I do that, it is pure... and honest.

A couple more videos of Katelyn Epperly here!

Road Kill?!?!

Just came from work, got my stuff from the condo, on my way to badminton. Its just that its to early to go to the court so here I am, on my spot, making a blogpost. After checking my mail and Facebook notifications, I decided to make this post.

Alright! Presenting..... ROAD KILL!! Nah... Hahaha! Nobody in the band approves of this name but Marvin San Juan, Oso as we call him. He is the one who made everything happen. It some kind of started in our room - yes, we are roommates in the Marvin Room. Soon, he thought of why not make a band. He started asking friends in the office and the rest was history. And we have:

Marvin a.k.a. OSO - 1st guitar

Rap B. - bass

Jerome - drums

Marie - 2nd guitar

Marvin a.k.a. Binog.net or simply binog - vocals

This video was taken last night during our practice somewhere in Libertad St. in Mandaluyong - our take on Third Eye Blind's Semi Charmed Life. We have Marie right here on guitars, next time, you'll see our grizzly secret weapon, wahahha!

We first hit the stage this Friday on the Foundation Day of the company we are working for. But what the hell, someone give us a decent band name, wahahah!

P.S.

Huhuhu, nobody comments or even writes on the chat box, huhuhu! :'(

Epic Fail

All right, the whole world knows I'm a frustrated singer, or front act. I can't seem to get out of my self-doubts. Nerves just eat me alive.

Well, I guess, when you are inspired, some magic happens. That tiny bit of inspiration makes all the difference. Now I have reason for all the singing. Each song means more now, I dig the lyrics now. I find myself appreciating the song more, speaking each line like you meant it With this, the intense blood pumping is channeled to something good. It talks less of being conscious of myself, but more of getting a message across.

On the night before my cousin leaves for the US, we got ourselves a videoke machine out of desperation. Day  one of Joy's vacation, she insisted to have a karaoke night until her vacation is almost over. So here goes my mom with a bright idea, we had the singing in our house instead. We sang our hearts out the whole night until my sister punched one song she knew we really loved. She made me sing it. Before, I can't belt out those big notes, but this time, I thought of someone and all the mushy-ness in me came out. After that song, I just knew I have to record it. So here you have it. Its just that it turned out not so good, hahaha! I was all about worrying my camera not falling down from the tripod. People came back and forth, making me paranoid and flushing the mushy-ness away. So here, another fail recording. Plus, the camera was too near to the speakers of the machine, making the bass tones pound ears. Oh well, maybe when I'm in front of her, I would be able to sing this with all I have. ♥

Bozo & Binog - Your Love

Just made a cover with my roommate, Oso - who by the way is a Marvin also. We recorded our take on Your Love by Alamid. I would like to dedicate the singing to Pinakamaganda.net a.k.a. Joane Denise. :) Do take a peek!

I also had the guts to post this other video. Hahaha! I think it was back third or fourth year college, with my orgmates. We called our group, OCB.. I was so nervous before this set. To give me just the right attitude with it, I went for a can of beer. It seems like it didn't work out the way I thought it would, hahaha! Spot the jejemon in this video.

Desperate Over Videoke + Tuned In To James Morrison

I've always loved singing. Whenever I go out with friends on a karaoke night, my hands would be grabbing the microphone from whoever is holding it. Singing makes me feel good. Well, this past few days, I've been putting a lot of effort into saving, so goodbye karaoke nights. I found out a silly way to get over it - enjoy it ala YouTube way!! :))

Just go to YouTube.com and search your favorite song, then append something like "karaoke", "instrumental" or "acoustic". A lot of people do covers and your lucky if you get a decent one. Good songs always gave good search results. Let's say your going to sing somewhere, you can even  get a minus one without spending a single penny. Try http://www.video2mp3.net/! That's gonna be your baby. :D

Want to experience my hobby? Here's a taste. I recorded a video of one of my sessions, uploaded it too you tube (its, hidden, haha!) and then extracted the MP3 using http://www.video2mp3.net/. Cut a segment using http://www.mp3cut.net/, uploaded it to Google Sites, used Google Reader widget and here, click PLAY!



That's the demo, haha! Wonder why there is a weird cut? Pumiyok ako eh, haha! Going to the song, that's James Morrison's "This Boy". Its one of the not-so-famous songs of one of the multi-awarded artists abroad. He's been on repeat on my Ipod Shuffle for a time now, and I never get tired of it. Try downloading his songs or searching in YouTube and you'll find out why his the real deal!

Had It All

I've been listening to Kat Mcphee's "Had It All" for more than a day now. Its just that this is my song right now. I think I'm gonna save everyone the explanation, I've been crying out loud a lot lately. Hahah! The break up was like a million years ago already, but me not being able to talk about it with friends just tell me one thing. Well, add the fact that I was not able to court anybody after her. I was thinking that she raised the bars too high, or is it just that I am not yet over her. Shit! There! I let it out right there again, haha! But dig into the song, Katharine Mcphee owned the song a lot. She really sounds good with ballads that have a bluesy feel. Here is the lyrics too, just so you could sing along. Enjoy!




Why'd I have to go and be a fool again

Why'd I have to go and make a big thing out of nothing
I didn't know what I had 'til you were gone
It was right in front of me all along
And now those days of "same old story"
Are feeling more like faded glory

Had it all, I threw it all aside

Thinkin' there was more out there I needed to find
I had it all baby
'Til you went away
Blue skies, sunshine, and butterflies
Those were the conditions that I left behind
Why did I let it go to waste
I had it all

Where are all the fireworks I thought I'd see
I still haven't found the magic I was lookin' for that made me leave, no no
I traded in my comfort zone
For empty nights of bein' alone

I had it all, I threw it all aside
Thinkin' there was more out there I needed to find
I had it all baby
'Til you went away
Blue skies, sunshine, and butterflies
Those were the conditions that I left behind
Why did I let it go to waste
I had it all

Why did I believe that little voice that led me down the path to this bad choice

Why don't I listen to the angels when they sing
(I changed up this line and said: "Why don't I listen to my heart, when it says 'stay'", instead. It was a better "fit" in my mind.)

I had it all, I threw it all aside
Thinkin' there was more out there I needed to find
I had it all baby
'Til you went away
Blue skies, sunshine, and butterflies
Those were the conditions that I left behind
Why did I let it go to waste
I had it all

Kat McPhee's 1st Single Out - Had It All

Check out the track in her MySpace Music - > http://www.myspace.com/katharinemcphee

Some behind the scenes @ Rickey.org.

Whole album will be out on October 6. Let's watch out for Kat's "UNBROKEN"! I hope Allison Iraheta releases her 1st single too!

Katharine McPhee Is Blonde

It has always been a fact that Katharine McPhee is oh so sexy, be it the looks or the voice, she really has it (well, at least for me, haha). She really deserved to win over Taylor Hicks back in American Idol Season 5. Just a fan right here, crying out loud again. And it seems that producers sees through that too, because she will be releasing a new album on October 6 - that is entitled "Unbroken." And guess what, she's blonde for the album. PEOPLE puts it as "long brown locks" to a "sexy platinum shag." Look at the picture.

*Kat on PEOPLE's Website*


*Kat was brunette. Well, not anymore.*

*Kat's Profile Pic in Facebook

Here is an excerpt from PEOPLE:

"Katharine McPhee is a born brunette, but for the cover shoot for her new album Unbroken, which hits stores October 6, the singer is trading her long brown locks for a sexy platinum shag — and she’s sharing the look exclusively with PEOPLE. “My music is a little more edgy so that inspired me to be adventurous,” she explains of taking the leap to blonde with stylist Peter Savic. “I’ve never dyed my hair before so this was a pretty drastic change. I’ve always been known as a brunette but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and it kind of just fit with all of the searching with the music and experimenting that I would do the same thing with my look.” And she’s been noticing other effects of the new style as well. “The look has affected the way I dress, it’s inspired me to be more adventurous with what I decide to wear. It’s silly that something so simple as changing your hair could have such a big effect,” she muses. “I’m just having fun with it. This is a great time for me to do something different. I’m young — I always try to have a good time.”"

More of the release on the real mag, haha!

---------
Check it out @ PEOPLE -> http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2009/08/05/exclusive-first-look-katharine-mcphee-goes-blonde-for-her-new-album/

Anoop and Megan in Paula's Treat and Rehearsals

I'm smelling something fishy here. Hahaha! (Grabe lang kaadikan sa AI, hahaha!) Well, alright,
they look good together. This shot was taken after American Idol Season 8 Top 10 a night out treat by Paula Abdul. Got this scoop from Rickey.org

http://www.rickey.org/?p=18780

And here is another, hahaha!

http://www.rickey.org/?p=18653

Rehearsals for “Don’t Stop Believing” for the American Idols Live! 2009 Tour over here. I also love this group number. Here is the lyrics of the song:

Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit
He took the midnight train goin anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

(chorus)

Dont stop believin
Hold on to the feelin
Streetlight people

***

Who would say there isn't anything going on, haha! Oh so close! Why not, given the chance! Haha! (infected by CVG 9.6.3 banats!)

Allison Iraheta Is Doing Jive Records!!

How can I miss this!? Tsktsk! Its been all over the net. Allison Iraheta signed a record with Jive Records. It is the same record label that did David Archuleta. Guess what, Archie is bigger than Cook right now according to blog posts I read. Hahaha! Anyways, here it is, see for yourself! Allison will really make it big for sure!!

Here is the spill verbatim from 96.5 KISS FM in Cleveland (malamang sa US, hehe!).

"Allison Iraheta seemed like an early favorite on American Idol season 8, but she came in 4th like Idol alum Chris Daughtry. He’s had massive success - so Allison probably has a bright future ahead of her. She recently signed with Jive Records - following in the footsteps of previous Idol loser David Archuleta."

SOURCE: http://www.kisscleveland.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=180157

Iraheta fans are just so excited! Count me in! I even felt really, really bad by her exiting the American Idol at 4th place. I wept for weeks, hahaha! There was no sense at it after all. They were right, as Adam said, they know the show is just a platform, not a singing competition. Check fan comments from a post in MJ's Big Blog.

Oceana says:

"I would think that Jive doesn’t give a crap about what position an Idol finished in, or even if they are an Idol. Idol is over and done with. Jive wants Allison apparently. She looks to have one of the most top notch teams you can have. Their concern is only going to be Allison. When her album is ready, and when they think it should come out is when I think it will come out. I know some fans are under the impression that she is already working on her album - ahead of Kris and Adam. Kelly Pickler’s came out first. Archie had a single out before Cook. I think it’s a possibility we’ll have an October Allison record. I’m thrilled it will be pop rock. She’s going to be huge. All over TV and radio. So, in that regards she’ll be bigger than Daughtry."

The records don’t come out in order of how they finished on the program. Just last year, DA’s came out before DC’s. Kellie’s came out whenever because she was doing country and Kat’s record had nothing to do with hers. People need to understand that Idol is a tv show. When it ends, the top 10 are in the real world. The real world doesn’t operate according to Idol rules. The real marketplace has its own logic and its own rules.

I’m thrilled, but not surprised, that Allison is being signed and will have top-notch support. I expected no less. I feel that she and Adam were the most talented from the season, followed by Kris. Allison is my favorite, I love her voice, and her personality and attitude, she’s going to be a big, big star, she’s incredible. Can’t wait.

Just do it Allison!! Yay!

Is Adam Lambert The Deal Or Not?

The world is conspiring in attaching the sexual orientation issue into the career of Adam Lambert, but I don't think he gives a damn at it all. He is just all about giving good music. I mean, he rules in giving good music, include a pinch of surprise at the side. They can brand him as the "guy-liner", but that won't take away the craziness in his range and interpretation. Here is one of my favorites from him. Try googling this song. It has a lot of history, wikipedia can be comprehensive enough I think. Check the article here. It was released in 1964 by Sam Cooke and was rendered by a lot of famous artists, watch Seal right here for a taste of it. And finally, the coolest version ever, of course, from Adam Lambert. He gives his own spin on the song and his rock wail definitely works for the interpretation. Enjoy and leave a note about what you think ? 

SAM COOKE A change is gonna come
Uploaded by tuzow - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Sorry for the crappy visualization right there. Will try to find a decent mp3 player. I look forward to Adam's Solo Album! He's gonna rock it! He really didn't need to win it at all, because he is gonna make it big whatever happens.

Cool Megan And Liz on YouTube

American Idol really got into my system. I've been spending much time on the internet browsing through stuff about guys who stepped on the Idol Stage. It started from my amazement to Allison Iraheta and now, I am even digging into previous contestants. A lot of them spends time on Twitter and there I went, hahah!

I was checking my Twitter earlier when I saw a post by Jordin Sparks about girls making cool music for YouTube. Click here to check out Sparks' tweet. Get a taste of it right here. They did a cover of Jordin Sparks' new single, "Battlefield." Enjoy!

What do you think? Nice harmonies right there from  cute girls. Find more of their covers. Really really nice. Did a little stalking and I found them in MySpace. See their page right here. Megan and Liz are 16-year-old twins who grew up with music (maybe like Allison, heheh!). Aside from singing, Megan plays the guitar while Liz writes lyrics for their own songs. They make their own music besides the songs they cover. Check them out too in their MySpace page.

More of my personal picks right here - I'm Yours by Jason Mraz and an oldie Ain't No Mountain High Enough (did when they were 10 years old). Are they big already?

MUSIC

In its 30^th anniversary, UP Circle of Industrial Engineering Majors (CIEM) hosted “Jam in Time,” last November 17 (Friday, 7pm), at the Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman. The concert featured 6 Cycle Mind, Updharmadown, Giniling Festival, Fuse, Bluecheese and other bands about the campus.

The event really sounds like something big, 97.1 DJ’s were even there, and were emcees of the program. The concert was also aired in their radio station at around 9:00pm and 12:00am.

Guess what, I got in for free!! Haha! Minutes before the concert, my roommate Ramil rushed in our room and flushed in front of me two free tickets! Haha! I was kinda lazy then, but I started putting on some decent clothes as soon as “6 Cycle Mind” caught my eye on the ticket. We hurried to the dormitory lobby to sign our late permits. After minutes of Ramil’s disgust on a student leader, we arrived at the venue. There’s no competition on the view at all. Hehehe! Ramil was even picking on the blemishes of the vocalists on their faces. I got to see BLUECHEESE! Hahaha! I really enjoyed the voice of their female singer, so round and so powerful! And of course, the bands that I look up to, Up Dharma Down and 6 Cycle Mind, really made it.

It’s one of my frustrations, singing. Back in high school, there are many people who sing better than I do, chaining me in the background. But that doesn’t keep me from loving music. Now, even my academic load won’t hinder me from enjoying what I really want to do. I like music as it is, and not what it brings, all else is just a bonus.

One hour from now, I’m gonna be one year older, but before this day would end, Happy Birthday to my buddy, MARC MILAN PEREZ!!