A look back at Slapshock and the world they made

 A look back at Slapshock and the world they made

By Rick Olivares

 

Four days after Linkin Park’s lead singer Chester Bennington committed suicide by hanging himself on July 20, 2017, Filipino metal band Slapshock was performing in Cavite when they decided (before the show) to pay tribute to the former.

 

Slapshock performed Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” to a pogoing crowd.

 

A few days after the show, I spoke with Slapshock’s vocalist and lyricist Jamir Garcia about the tribute. 

 

“That’s an interesting choice for a song to perform for a tribute given its sense of being on the edge,” I pointed out. 

 

Garcia grinned. “I know. Sometimes, expressing yourself in music isn’t enough.”

 

I didn’t press for him to elaborate.

 

Three years later, on the 26^th of November, Garcia, in an ironic twist of fate, took his own life by hanging. Just like Bennington did. And I couldn’t help but think of Slapshock’s song, “Get Down” from their third album Project 11-41 (that happens to be my favorite from their discography).

 

In the song opener, Garcia wrote, 

“Too many people, too many sequels repeated so many times.

But I still won't be able to put away my people's trouble.

I'm dealing with evils who think they're the kings and nobles.

To them we're like animals who get beat up.

How many times we gonna gamble?”

 

In the third verse, Garcia went on,

“So just glide and start reminiscin'

I'm so sick and tired of bein' a victim of everyone's criticism

So better listen, this generation has been infested

With a lot of wrong information.”

 

Eerily, it reminds me of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” that goes:

“I cannot take this anymore.

I'm saying everything I've said before.

All these words they make no sense.

I find bliss in ignorance.

Less I hear the less you'll say.

But you'll find that out anyway.

Just like before.

Everything you say to me

Takes me one step closer to the edge,

And I'm about to break.

I need a little room to breathe.

'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge,

And I'm about to break.”

 

Twenty-three years after Slapshock formed, the band has come to an unlikely end with internal turmoil and now Garcia’s death. Yet prior to all this, the band had not gone gently into the good night.

 

Over that span, they had put out seven full-length albums, two extended play singles, and three compilations. Their live shows continued to be packed with their popularity showing no signs of abating.

 

In fact, in December of 2017, Garcia remarked, “What is incredible about what is happening to us is we are performing for a second generation of fans; kids who weren’t even born when 4^th Degree Burn (the band’s debut album) was released in 1999. We look at the people moshing in the front row, and they are kids. We’re blessed.”

 

Like their fans, Slapshock had shown a remarkable ability to adapt. 

 

When rap and nu metal seized the alternative music scene by the jugular in the late 1990s and battered all opposition into submission by the late 1990s, the local music scene followed suit in the Philippines with bands like Cheese, Greyhoundz, and Slapshock at the forefront.

 

While Greyhoundz and Cheese (later Queso) were uncompromising in their sonic assault, Slapshock did not step off the gas pedal but took a different track.

 

Slapshock already had two best-selling albums to their name - - their debut, 4^th Degree Burn and Headtrip – when they performed with alt-rock heroes Rivermaya during their Live and Acoustic Show at the Music Museum in May of 2002. Slapshock appeared on Rivermaya’s album performing three tracks – “Slap vs. Freak,” “Agent Orange,” and "Madapaka.”

 

It is an unlikely pairing outside the now defunct NU Rock Awards. In fact, the only other time there was such a disparate live album was Soundcheck: The Live Recordings that featured Greyhoundz, Wolfgang, Razorback… and… comedy rock band, Da Pulis.

 

Even as the Live and Acoustic album was released on compact disc and video compact disc two months later, Slapshock went into Rivermaya drummer Mark Escueta’s home studio to record what would be the demos that would make up their third album, Project 11-41. 

 

“Ang Galing! The band recorded everything by heart even without Jamir (who was in the United States),” recalled Escueta. 

 

When Garcia returned, they recorded the album with Rivermaya’s Rico Blanco as album producer (with Escueta performing percussion on a couple of tracks). 

 

The result was a slick and melodic nu metal album titled Project 11-41, and arguably their best effort. The experimental album came out in August of 2002 with tracks that proved to be classics such as “Get Down,” “Queen Paranoia,” and “Numb” to name a few. 

 

The songwriting and over-all band performance was Slapshock taking their music to a higher level.

 

This was the band at their best. They had won back-to-back NU Rock Awards for Artist of the Year in 2001 and 2002. Project 11-41 was also nominated for the Awit Awards’ Album of the Year. 

 

And they released one hit album after another. Among all the local metal bands that came up in the late 1990s, they were the one with staying power.

 

From new metal, they switched to metalcore. By the time they recorded the Night Owls EP in the United States in 2014 with noted System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian and rock producer Terry Date, as well as John Greenham whose work on Billie Eilish, Ice Cube, and Katy Perry among others has made him one of the most sought after music mastering engineers in the world today.

 

Recalled Slapshock’s manager Kevin Arnedo, “Night Owls was our first US record deal. We were pressured to write songs because we had a deadline. Chi (Evora) worked on his drumming because we knew Terry Date and Shavo were going to be working with us. We arrived in the US with the songs not fully formed. Jamir used the storage room of our Los Angeles apartment to record his vocal tracks. This was the hardest record to make but it was the most fulfilling.”

 

And Night Owls is a milestone in Filipino rock music history as it pushed the envelope on production and collaboration. 

 

Arnedo also pointed out Garcia’s propensity for working under pressure. “During the Carino Brutal EP recording, Jamir spent a whole day writing the lyrics. Then in the evening, he was laying down his vocal tracks.”

 

The band was looking forward to the recording of their eighth album when their recent troubles hit a boiling point. 

 

“It’s a tough way to end,” lamented one fan who worked closely with the band and yet refused to be identified. “Hopefully, the good times will overshadow everything else.”

Online Tribute Concert to OPM icons Hotdog at iconic Manila institutions set this December

 

Online Tribute Concert to OPM icons Hotdog at iconic Manila institutions set this December

By Rick Olivares

 

This coming December 13, 2020, some of the top musicians in the country will perform songs from Original Pilipino Music icons, Hotdog, at some of Manila’s landmark institutions in a special online concert called “Hinahanaphanap Kita Manila.”

 

Some of the artists performing in this one-of-a-kind concert include Nicole Laurel Asensio (singing “Panaginip” at the Jones Bridge), Ray Marasigan and Yeng Constantino (performing Beh Buti Nga at the Museo Pambata), Armi Millare and Gary Valenciano (singing “Manila” at the Luneta Park), and Ebe Dancel and IV of Spades’ Blaster Silonga (singing “Ikaw Ang Miss Universe” at the Planetarium). 

 

Others artists include Bing Austria, Rubber Inc., Paolo Garcia, and Bea Lorenzo.

 

This started out after we heard a mix tape don by Paolo Garcia, the song of the late Dennis Garcia of Hotdog,” recounted director Juno Oebanda who initiated the project with Asensio and fellow director Alco Guerrero. 

 . 

“From there we wondered, ‘why don’t we do a Hotdog tribute since there was no proper such tribute done for the Garcia brothers (Rene and Dennis) who passed away all in the last two years?’” 

 

Once the Garcia family unequivocally gave their blessings for the project, the organizers asked Viva’s Vic del Rosario is he could provide access to Hotdog’s catalogue. Without any hesitation as well, the media mogul gave free use of the songs. 

 

“Initially, we wanted to do a show at the Luneta Park, but the National Parks Development Committee suggested we hold it instead at Paco Park which is celebrating its 200^th anniversary,” added Oebanda. “But then the other Manila institutions such as the Intramuros Administration, Nayong Pilipino Foundation, National Museum, and Museo Pambata, and the Planetarium among others asked if they could also participate.”

 

With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic shutting down many a business, park, and sports or entertainment venue, the organizers recalibrated their plans. “We felt that this is also a good opportunity to generate awareness – and possibly help – for these institutions that have been severely affected by the pandemic and lockdown,” pointed out Guerrero.

 

“Each song was assigned an artist or two and a director for the corresponding video at a certain Manila institution. I’d say we got sort of a who’s who in directing,” underscored Oebanda who is joined by Guerrero and RA Rivera, Quark Henares, Jason Tan, and Paolo Valenciano.

 

“When we shot the video for the song assigned to me, the Jones Bridge was closed down and I really felt the history of the place in the darkness and the silence,” related Asensio.

 

Each of the songs will be shown simultaneously in the evening of December 13 on the Facebook pages of the different Manila institutions.

 

“It has been crazy given the limitations placed on us due to the pandemic, but it is rewarding,” pointed out Oebanda. “For one, we are paying tribute to Hotdog, an OPM icon; two, we are calling attention to the plight of these institutions; and three, it is great music that we are putting together. It’s a showcase of OPM talent that Manila sound that was co-pioneered by Hotdog along with those greats from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.”

 

Loving the Deftones' new album Ohms

 

The Crow on Devil's Night

 

The DVDs, the vinyl, the compact disc, the cassette, and the trade paperback.

A Baker, Nurse & Busker Reach for the Stars in PhilPop 2020

 

A Baker, Nurse & Busker Reach for the Stars in PhilPop 2020

By Rick Olivares

 

The ongoing 2020 PhilPop Songwriting Contest is for the first time showcasing the diversity of the competition.

 

The dialects with their gentle inflections and phrasing from the different regions take center stage. You’ll prominently hear Ilokano, Illongo, Bisaya to go with the usual Tagalog and English. The diversity has given music fans a smorgasbord of ear candy. 

 

However, it isn’t only the dialects that are a refreshing change. It’s also the backgrounds of the songwriters behind the entries that have made the PhilPop finals.

 

Kulas Basilonia hails from Dasmariñas, Cavite. His day job is working as a Karaoke Music Producer for a Japanese company. Kulas divides his free time by teaching financial literacy and busking around Makati and Intramuros. “It’s both fun and challenging,” he said of the latter.

 

Angelic Mateo is a registered nurse in her hometown of Laoag, Ilocos Norte. When she is done. When she doffs her PPEs, she writes music any time of the day or sings with her band at bars and cafes. 

 

By day, Puerto Princesa, Palawan native Kenn Germina is a pastry chef in her family run business. By night, she trades her apron for notes and musical instruments.

 

Aby Esteban, who also counts Laoag as her hometown, went to college at Ateneo de Manila University. Pre-pandemic, she worked as a human resources officer for a broadcasting network before deciding to pursue music full time.  

 

She isn’t the only fulltime musician. Olongapo City resident Lolito Go is a full time musician who also happens to handle the social media account of his city.

 

Their influences are as variegated as well. 

 

Kenn cites Yeng Constantino, Kitchie Nadal, Up Dharma Down, and Gloc 9 as her early influences, although she currently follows Moira dela Torre and Billie Eilish.

 

Kulas reaches way back to early OPM with Basil Valdez and Rey Valera but also likes Salbakuta, the Sex Bomb Dancers, and Britney Spears.

 

Mateo grew up in a home where Fran Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Marco Sison were on heavy rotation on her father’s turntable. But she discovered Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach that honed her piano skills. As for singing, she turned to Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Charice Pempengco. Nowadays, she is heavily into the music of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, dodie, Lizzy McAlpine, Billie Eilish, Regina Spektor, and local heroes Ben&Ben, Keiko Necesario, UDD, and Moira dela Torre. 

 

Aby points to Paramore, Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance, Imago, Sponge Cola, and Cueshe as her inspirations while Go loves the Eraserheads, Gary Granada, Noel Cabangon, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and the Carpenters.

 

For all their varied tastes and backgrounds, their music is distilled into something uniquely their own.

 

“I was going for a pop/folk sound with my song, ‘Para Kay Catriona,’” bared Basilonia who wrote it in Tagalog.

 

“’Paos’ is about feeling tired and yet, being such and helpless doesn’t make us weak,” underscored Angelic. “The song is about the need to rest and breathe. It also serves as a reminder that we must always try to understand what a person is going through because we don’t know what is happening.”

 

Germina’s entry, “Bitaw” is a soul and hiphop song written in Tagalog. “It’s about the art of letting go, accepting things, and making sacrifices,” she simply explained.

 

“Balikan” that was written by Go is a post-break-up song. “It hints about rekindled love but it is immediately negated in the succeeding lines of the song,” he laughed. “It is also about the pointlessness of closure that potentially offers more questions than answers.”

 

Esteban who co-wrote “Agsardeng” with her tag team partner (the Quezon City-based) TJ Paeldon, is an Ilokano-Tagalong song that tells about the story of a person stuck in a cycle of domestic abuse.” And yet one might not notice the darkness of the song as it is written to an electronic pop melody.

 

All five songwriters are enthusiastic about the new direction of PhilPop that has showcased regional talent along with their respective dialects. 

 

“Me being Bikolano,” said Kulas, “Sobrang happy ako for Pinoy songwriters whose main speech isn’t Tagalog.”

 

Esteban concurred, “PhilPop is a well-known entity that would surely be a great stepping stone for most of these young artists to not only showcase their craft but also the culture of their regions. I am actually super excited and feel privileged because it is not every day that I get a chance to know talented Filipino artists from Luzon to Visayas to Mindanao.”

Got my Itchyworms stuff

 

Visayan, Mindanao songwriters showcasing their craft in PhilPop 2020

Visayan, Mindanao songwriters showcasing their craft in PhilPop 2020

By Rick Olivares

 

The song entries to the 2020 PhilPop Songwriting Contest from the Visayas and Mindanao region are either ballads, jazz, rhythm and blues, or even alternative.

 

However, that doesn’t begin to speak of its diversity. 

 

The songwriters hail from places like Leyte, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur, Cebu, and Koronodal. 

 

The songs are written in Bisaya, Illongo, and Tagalog. 

 

Even the words have nuances.

 

In the case of Christian Chiu who goes by the name “XT on the Sax” professionally, his song entry, “Kasadya” has multiple meanings. 

 

“The word ‘kasadya’ in Illongo has different usage,” explained Chiu. “It can be used as a pun, or a point of humor or even provocation. But real meaning is in a joyful context. In my song, I used it differently. I was developing it until bridge where it takes on a nostalgic feeling. Like reminiscing of what happened in the past. Mga nakakanis or ‘ugtas’ na yung almusal ng lola mo,' for example. But in the end, the character (in the song) missed all those moments.”

 

Agusan del Sur native, Sherwin Fugoso’s spiritual ballad, “Pahuway” was written intermittently in the past few years but was only finished in January of this year. “’Pahuway’ was inspired by a passage from Saint Augustine’s Confession where he writes, ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you,’” Fugoso explains. “It isn’t easy to write songs. Sometimes, you go for days, weeks with nothing. And as a result, I am restless. ‘Pahuway’ is about my longing for a cure for my daily dose of restlessness.”

 

If Fugoso is searching for meaning and a cure to his restlessness, for Cebuana songwriter/singer Jerika Teodorico, her song entry, “Ayaw Na Lang” is balm that heals a wound of rejection. “I had my eyes on somebody for a long time and we share the same feelings,” expounded the curly-haired Cebuana. “But for some reason ayaw niya. My song is about that frustration and dealing with it.”

 

Not every courtship though bears negative results. Sometimes, it’s a “yes” but it needs a lot of fine-tuning, polishing patience, and working to make it better.

 

That is the song written by the duo of Noah Alejandre and Reanne Borela who both are from Leyte. “'Suyo' is a song about two people in the midst of an argument and speaking in two dialects (Bisaya and Tagalog),” related Borela. “But even if they are arguing, you can still see the sweetness and love in the middle of the fight.”

 

From internal turmoil comes peace. Or contentment. 

 

Agusan del Sur native John Cadeliña’s entry, “Akong Bilhon” is a song about contentment. Said the one time Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2 finalist, “No matter how big or small the blessings you have or received, if you really appreciate its true value, then it’s more than enough for you to be happy. “This was something I reflected on during this pandemic. Simply, it is saying that despite the negativity and pessimism around that can be a little too much to take, we should still count our blessings.”

 

The song has an alternative feel as Cadeliña makes no bones of his 1990s rock influences. The song soars and has an infectious melody. 

 

For his part, Alejandre says his song with Borela was inspired by American indie pop artist Jeremy Zucker whose lush-soundtrack style soundscapes have garnered over 300 million streams on Spotify. “'Suyo,'” pointed out Alejandre, “has this pop beat then shifts to reggae for the chorus then goes back to a pop sound.”

 

“Zucker,” gushed Teodorico who also admitted to being a fan (as well as the Beatles, the Carpenters, ABBA, and Jim Croce to name a few. “But for my song, it has a more R&B sound.”

 

Fugoso admits to a wider and disparate range of influences from The Beatles and Elton John to One Republic and Rico Blanco. 

 

Chiu’s song though is more 1980s Manila pop and soul. “While I love jazz and modern artists like Norah Jones and Raechel Yamagata, I felt that going back to roots music in terms of OPM was the way to go for me.”

 

All these songwriter’s entries are now available on streaming and digital platforms worldwide via PhilPop and Warner Music Philippines.

 

 

Fil-Brit beabadoobee’s debut album is a love letter to 90s alt rock

 

Fil-Brit beabadoobee’s debut album is a love letter to 90s alt rock

By Rick Olivares

 

“Care, care, care (yeah)”, sings Filipina-British indie rock artist Beabadoobee. And she channels the teen spirit of late American grunge band, Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins in her brand of lo-fi bedroom pop rock in the opening song, “Care” and much of her debut album, Fake It Flowers.

 

You can say that the young and talented lady who had an epiphany with the music of Kimya Dawson in the soundtrack to the 2007 coming of age film, Juno, has grown up. Even the video for “Worth It” finds beabadoobee in her underwear at the end.

 

If the first four extended play singles of Beatrice Laus (aka known as beabadoobee) were characterized by lo-fi bedroom pop laced shoegaze musings, her debut album, cranks up the crunch that now separates her from fellow Londoner Kero Kero Bonito, Texas’ mysteriously named fuvk, and other similar artists. 

 

Beabadoobee was selected by British music critics as one of the breakout stars this 2020 along with fellow United Kingdom artists Arlo Parks, Celeste, Easy Life, Georgia, Inhaler, Josef, Joy Crookes, Squid, and Yungblud. 

 

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic struck. While it has shut down live performances and tours, it hasn’t stopped beabadoobee from releasing Fake It Flowers this past October 16. 

 

Laus teased of this upbeat sound, with “If You Want It To” on her debut extended play single, Patched Up, as well as “You Lie All the Time” from her last EP, Loveworm.

 

Whether a love letter to Nirvana and 1990s aggro or just a young woman spreading her wings, Fake It Flowers finds beabadoobee with her best outing yet (via England-based indie label Dirty Hit Records that was founded among others by former professional football player Ugo Ehiogu). It’s great that she has taken the next step instead of rehashing the music on her EPs. 

 

Make no mistake, we love her lo-fi work. It even makes a brief cameo in “How Was Your Day?” But we love her 1990s indie rock sound right down to the loud-soft dynamics even more.

 

In “Charlie Brown,” the hardest rocking track on the album, beabadoobee rages, “Throw it away! Throw it away!” Kurt Cobain would.

 

If Side A had Seattle rock all over its riffs and vibe, Side B goes mid-western to the art rock musings of the Smashing Pumpkins complete with pensive rockers and strings.  

 

Laus sings about everyday things such as coffee, love, and the complexities of relationships. Adding a full band instead of acoustic strumming has given her music a different dimension. And I love it. 

 

When I first saw beabadoobee, she was rocking her red-dyed hair and I thought back to Miki Berenyi, the similar red head of shoegaze pioneers Lush in the 1990s. Berenyi’s choice of hair color along with her striking Asian features (she’s half-Japanese, half-Hungarian but from England) was so attractive. 

 

Laus is the same but with a saccharine and black coffee side. 

 

Fake It Flowers features a young and bright talent that has started to tap into her potential. And now the world is for beabadoobee to take.

 

 

A poster of the Beatles that I saved all these years.

 

A Taste of Japan & lo-fi hip-hop from Naga

 

A Taste of Japan & lo-fi hip-hop from Naga

By Rick Olivares

 

The music of Naga City-based electronic artist ビクタ MKII are like tasty morsels of lo-fi hip-hop. They are snippets of conversations and electronica to go with soul nuggets for beats. They are then wrapped around Japanese manga art that complete this delectable pop confectionary.

 

Welcome to MKII’s world where Japanese themes and album art have everything to do with the music.

 

MKII also known as Viktor says that his brand of lo-fi hip-hop has always been tied to that Japanese aesthetic and anime culture. “That and my long time fascination for Japanese culture drives me to put a bit of it into my music,” explained the prolific electronic musician who has put out five albums in the past three years. 

 

Under the foreign Insert Tapes, ビクタ MKII put out three albums – Ame, Omoide, and Kimi to Boku on Swedish cassette label, Insert Tapes. With Naga City-based Demohauz, he added another two – Itterasshai and Kimi no Machi.

 

You might want to add a sense of mystery to the music. 

 

“When I started making beats, for some reason, I wanted a name that’s not easy to find or search on social media that’s why I translated my actual name Victor into katakana, “ビクタ” and put the MKII (or mark two) which means a second version of something and now second version of myself.”

 

The second version of Victor is because he previously played on various bands with an altogether different sound. “This is like the alter ego of those previous journeys,” he clarified. 

 

“I have quite a few music influences in general but on the beat making side I’ve always admired the likes of J Dilla, Madlib, Nujabes, and Pete Rock as well as new OG’s like Flying Lotus, Mndsgn, Knxwledge. I’ve always listened to these artists and try to take in their energy and vibe. Listening to these musicians made me realize there are no rules when it comes to beat making. If it’s vibin’ and it makes you feel good; that’s good enough.”

 

Part of the enticing package is the artwork by Marikina-based Zom Kashwak that features the female of the species although you never see her face. 

 

Explained ビクタ MKII “The faceless girl is not really based on someone but instead it loosely represents the whole feel of the album, or maybe an ideal or a minor suggestion on how these short beats will make you feel. I’ve always described my music as instrumental short stories. The great thing about this type of music is the instrumental nature of it. There’s no fixed idea attached or message and listeners can interpret it however they like. Small nuances like background noise, the melody itself or the little bits of barely audible conversation samples are just suggestion.”

 

The response and demand to ビクタ MKII’s music has been strong that Demohauz has had to go through another batch of releases. 

 

“I think the response has been amazing, enthused, ビクタ MKII who is now making music full time. “Until now I still can’t really describe it. I’m always thankful to the fans who always support my music be it buying the tapes and vinyl or just playing my music. This year in particular is amazing with vinyl and tapes selling out so fast.  As an indie musician who doesn’t have any connections, to make it on my own is a revelation. So I am always grateful to the listeners and supporters.”

Sumaya, Sumigaw, Huminga sa One Click Straight.

 

Sumaya, Sumigaw, Huminga sa One Click Straight.

By Rick Olivares

 

One Click Straight’s debut EP under Island Records Philippines, “Sumaya. Sumigaw. Huminga.” Is a nod to the synth pop of OPM music of the late 1980s with the band’s modern sensibilities thrown in.

 

There’s tunefulness to the songs, soaring and emotive vocals that take you back to Dingdong Avanzado, Rannie Raymundo, and the like, and yet, there’s traces of rumbling New Order basslines and heavy synths with the funk of Jamiroquai thrown in. 

 

And that’s no surprise to the four-piece band of Toffer Marquez (vocalist, bassist), Sam Marquez (guitarist, songwriter), Tim Marquez (drummer, songwriter), and Joel Cartera (guitarist, percussionist). “We like the music of our parents which is the 1980s’ New Wave and 1990s alt-rock,” offer Toffer. “But we too have our own tastes.”

 

“The beauty of OCS’ music is we don’t have a specific influence we want to squeeze out as inspiration,” chimed in Sam. “It changes where we are at. Today, it’s Jamiroquai and the Prodigy. Before it was New Order and Oasis. Who knows what it is tomorrow?”

 

“We only got into OPM when we were older,” clarified Tim of the band’s conscious decision to go back to Filipino music roots. “I think it is only natural to back track.”

 

“We felt the messier the music the more it resonated with us,” Sam summed up. 

 

And that fine mess is the EP that features three tracks – the bouncy title track that serves as an antidote to hopelessness, “SSH,” the urgent “Wag Natin Sayangin” which is about making the most out of one’s time, and the Oasis-like “Minsan” that reminds one of those who are special in our life.

 

Conceived during the ongoing lockdown, the band, like everyone else on the planet, had to look deep inside themselves for reflection and inspiration.

 

“We just released an EP in February and we were looking forward to the things we do when we have new releases – tour, gig here and there,” bared Sam. But instead, we found ourselves in a different situation and we were at a loss of what to do. But as we wondered about what was going to happen next, we went back to basics and began making music, which is what we do best.”

 

As a result, “SSH” is – to crib Macca’s song title – hope of deliverance from this frightful and challenging time. 

 

“Think of it as our way of cheering not only ourselves up but others as well,” gleefully offered Toffer.

 

The striking cover to “SSH” shows torn pictures of the band members held together by scotch tape; a metaphor for holding on and how the album was recorded (without the benefit of a proper studio and the lack of gear. 

 

And yet, One Click Straight passes with flying colors.

 

“We give a lot of importance to visuals. It’s like a complete package,” pointed out Cartera. “We want to convey what we sound like.”  

 

And that is a big and refreshing sound with a cinematic feel which is what One Click Straight strives for. 

 

“We think that is the way music should be... the words and music paint pictures in your mind,” summed up Sam Marquez. 

 

And when it does, then it’s time… para sumaya, sumigaw, at huminga. One Click Straight-style.

 

Tweet chat with the BMX Bandtis' Duglas Stewart! So cool!

The BMX Bandits' Duglas Stewart engaged me in convo this morning (after he liked me post; no I didn't tag him like some click baiters). And cool beans... he's following me now.

Listening to the Machines compilation from those New Wave days

One if the first new wave compilations released locally was this one... Machines. It was hauntingly cold and oddly beautiful. I was drawn to it.... but only for a while. Within a few years, I disliked anything with synths.

That was then.

Am actually enjoying this again.

6 Memorable Eddie Van Halen guitar solos

                        6 Memorable Eddie Van Halen guitar solos

By Rick Olivares

 

Rock and roll music has its share of guitar gods whose riffs and solos are the stuff of legend and male fantasy. Jimi Hendrix showed everyone the potential of the guitar while Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to name a few added a bluesy if not epic edge to the instrument.

 

When Van Halen’s self-titled debut was released right before Valentine’s Day in 1980, the album grabbed the rock music world that was blues-laden or had classic and progressive trappings. Yes, punk and new wave were making serious noises then, but Van Halen brought a crunch and melodic sheen to heavy metal. Theirs was a polished but heavy sound that was swiped by Mutt Lange who later gave Australian band AC/DC the same vibe.

 

Just when rock was becoming overly rebellious with the punk movement or too serious as with the case of the Brit Rock of that era, Van Halen brought the F-U-N back into rock ‘n’ roll. 

 

And Eddie Van Halen – including vocalist David Lee Roth – was a star. 

 

Eddie and his band inspired many an axeman from Joe Satriani to Steve Vai to Nuno Bettencourt to Kiss’ Bruce Kulick Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland to the hair metal bands of the late 1980s to Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo. Slayer’s Kerry King even said that he didn’t know what heavy was until he heard Eddie. Bands such as Lamb of God, Megadeath, Triuvm, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, and Pearl Jam opened credited Eddie and his band as influences. 

 

While Eddie did not invent finger-tapping, he popularized it, tweaked it big time, and gave the method its name. His dizzying guitar solos were always a highlight and a treat. He did things to an electric guitar that no one else ever did or even after. His understanding of high and low dynamics that was massive for the grunge era that would hit a generation later was incredible. Their last massive hit of the 1980s – “Humans Being” from the Twister soundtrack was a cinematic piece of work that melody to the frightening beauty of Mother Nature.

 

Unfortunately, Eddie Van Halen passed away on Tuesday, October 6 after a long battle with lung cancer.

 

With the music, entertainment world – including the sports world (check out French football team Olympique Marseille’s tribute to the American musician in their social media) – offering tributes, we would be remiss, if we did not give him props. 

 

Here in our opinion are five Eddie Van Halen guitar solos that changed the world.

 

“Eruption” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” from “Van Halen”

The first and second tracks of Van Halen’s sterling debut. “Eruption” is right – a phantasmagorical delight of finger-tapping that announced Van Halen was here to kick serious butt.

 

Then the buzz saw licks of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” meandered in a heavy rock music would not be the same again.

 

“Jump” from the album “1984”

As Eddie once told it, he wrote “Jump” that featured some serious synthesizer melodies outside New Wave. The rest of Van Halen was not interested. “You’re a guitar god,” protested Roth. 

 

In trademark stubbornness, Eddie wrote one of the coolest synthesizer melodies ever but also played one of his best and tightest guitar solos. 

 

And Van Halen had its only number one song in music chart history. The song is a staple in every sports arena including Olympique Marseille’s that plays the song when introducing their starting eleven.

 

“Humans Being” from Twister

The hint of the danger to come before the madness rolls in. Just like its natural brethren, the tornado. 

 

Then vocalist Sammy Hagar does a semi-rap as Eddie tears into a Twister of a solo that is both beautiful and frightening at the same time. 

 

“Beat It” on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” 

This crossover pre-dated Run DMC’s collaboration with Aerosmith in 1986’s “Walk This Way” that laid the groundwork for rap metal.

 

When Eddie wrote the riff that made Jackson’s “Beat It.”

 

1in 1982, heavy metal and pop music were genres that did not go together. But Jackson penned “Beat It” with a rock bent in mind. He asked Toto’s Steve Lukather to lay it down but Jackson was looking for something else.

 

Eddie re-wrote everything in an hour and Jackson was so ecstatic. The Prince of Pop said, “Thank you so much for not only coming in to do this but also to actually care about the song and make it better.”

 

“The Darth Vader Song” from the film “Back to the Future”

Eddie did not only change music history with his guitar playing, he also preventing history from changing.

 

Confusing? 

 

Let’s go Back to the Future.

 

Remember the scene in the Robert Zemeckis film where Marty McFly puts on a hazmat suit and pretends to be an alien from the planet Vulcan who commanded his father, George McFly, to take Lorraine Baines out.

 

Marty slipped in a cassette tape clearly marked “Edward Van Halen” to batter a 1950s George McFly into submission. The riffs were discordant and were like a sledgehammer to the brain. After being subjected to Van Halen’s riffs several times, George consented to take Lorraine Baines out. 

 

And the rest… is history.

 

Thanks, Eddie. You were marvelous.

 

Now, to crib the lyrics from “Humans Being”…. “shine on.”

 

On my love for British Sea Power

I was browsing through the new releases on the indie racks when I spotted this album with its golden cover with the name British Sea Power. It was kind of a pretentious name but intriguing at the same time. 

 

Consider the title of their debut… The Decline of British Sea Power.

 

Well, they do know how to poke fun at themselves, I thought. 

 

The hype sticker got me… “Like a shipwrecked Echo and the Bunnymen.” 

That was all I needed to know.

 

I purchased the cd right away. When I played it at home, I was blown away by the power and majesty of British Sea Power’s music. The Bunnymen parallelisms were the buzzsaw guitars but other than that, the band was chartering new waters. They had a cinematic feel to their music Like a grand plan.

 

And it turned out the band was going to tour American soon and I caught their first performance in New York at the Irving Theater. It was a good-sized crowd and though we didn’t fully know the songs, I guess, everyone in attendance knew we were seeing a great talent in the making.

 

And what a sight they were… dressed up in British Army World War I uniforms and some battlefield props. I thought of Scottish band Big Country with their militant and patriotic theme and feel of their songs. 

 

Two years later, they released their second album, Open Season. I was a fan from their debut but this is where I swore that this was the best band in the world… at least for me in 2005. 

 

Open Season was more melodic and highly textured. The music was majestic, nostalgic, and expansive at once. It evoked a band in tune with their roots as well as home and heart. The last band I felt that was about was Iceland’s Sigur Ros. Except British Sea Power touched an Anglophile part of me that I never knew existed. 

 

With every album, Do You Like Rock Music and the surprisingly lovely Man of Aran, my belief that BSP was the best and underrated grew.

 

Do You Like Rock Music was like the past of BSP with a nod towards a more symphonic future. 

 

Only a band like BSP can do a detour and switch it up from straight forward rock to orchestral music. Sure, U2 did that as The Passengers, but they changed their name so as not to dilute their brand. No such qualms about BSP. Queen did it for Flash Gordon while Well Mogwai did the same for Les Revenants. 

 

Man of Aran was a stirring and inspiring soundtrack laid to the 1934 film of the same name.

 

I have no doubt that led to them scoring the film From the Sea to the Land Beyond that featured symphonic versions of some old songs of their as well as new instrumentals. I love how they also integrated brass and strings that gave their already powerful songs a wholly different dimension. 

 

Man of Aran and From the Sea to The Land Beyond is the band’s communion with nature, history, and wildlife. And I guess, since BSP hails from rural Cumbria in Northern England with the Irish sea to the west, this explains the band’s predilection for nature and the sea. 

 

This is, of course not to say, that I don’t enjoy their new release Let the Dancers Inherit the Party. I do. After all, I have been a fan of this band since 2003. And whatever style they are comfortable with, I just enjoy it.