Gig logos courtesy of tunogtimog.tk

At late, I’ve been sort of a drifter in the so-called local  music “scene”, partly because having to go to all the gigs and listening to the same people and the same songs over and over can eventually grow tiring, (not to mention being coaxed in to yet another drinking session, which I have already outgrown) even though it’s totally hip to support the local music scene. A part of me still thinks that showing up to these things is helpful in mobilizing gigs, and as a result you’ve got a healthy music sub/culture. (Note: In fact, this was exactly what Paolo Castillo and the early Kaibans have envisioned. Making music gigs a habit in order for musicians to habitually create and play music.)

Years later I realized that in Davao, the music culture has met some difficulty in departing from the “gig” machinery.  On one hand, you have got to admire how the locals have finally warmed up to the idea of recording their original music, also home recording at that.  However, recording became an alibi to go out and support yet another gig.   I know I’ll divide the discussion on this but I daresay that music distribution hasn’t outgrown selling CDs to friends (even giving them away for free – as alternative interpretations of “indie” permit).   And so it comes as no surprise that you have a handful of very talented musicians and even music producers that have a day job. Unless you’re the likes of Noel Cabangon, Gauss Obenza, Bayang Barrios, Popong Landero…you know…the MTS people.

In a “scene” where music is appreciated but not necessarily “sold” (not to be confused with “sold out” as that requires a more complex qualification), being a musician  is just not a career option around these parts.  And so Davao has made it possible to have a music scene without a music industry.  Because the latter for me is manifested by the proliferation of artists who have records people go out of their way to buy in order to listen to.  When artists have a listener-ship with demand high enough to “inspire” more music, then tautologically, you’ve got yourself a market.  But unlike this ideal scenario you notice that in Mindanao, the artist is lax on the business side of music.  Which is fine but it’s symptomatic of obscurantism and a low appreciation of independent music.  Independent music is a musical process or genre that is, more often than not, commercially relaxed or devoid of formulaic musicality that the only way to give it artistic justice is for it to be appreciated by as wide an audience as possible.

This is the predominant trend in Mindanao.  We could make an exception of this period in time in Cagayan de Oro, when they were at their most abundant musical days thanks to the emergence of music powerhouses from the city, like Nuncyspungen.   Before even knowing that the band was from CDO, I was able to acquire a copy of their music off Manila racks.  It’s just an example of the potential for artists to enjoy wider circulation than most Mindanaoans.  Although in this case, they had a little help coming from the “South” music industry, which is actually Cebu (it’s strange that they call it South when Mindanao is a lot more…southern).  But I digress.

Digression #2: Wait a minute, what about Myxtreme?  Or Sidecrash?  Aren’t they widely proliferated? Well, I’m only talking about Indie here, get with the program.

Digression #3: What’s Indie by the way? Let’s keep these ideas at bay for now.

I categorically exclude mainstream artists from Mindanao who’ve been absorbed by “big” recording companies because there’s really no point in calling them independent.  And recording companies tend to hegemonize sound such that they become commercial and formulaic – creative impositions that Indie culture resists.  I’d like to think that aside from independence from companies, it can also be said that it’s a culture that resist creative conformity.

And so the point of this article is: Yes, Davao has an existing independent music culture but with some internal issues that need to be addressed in order to grow.  Your thoughts?

Eric Calilan on his mobile electronic sound factory. Photo by Andi Baldonado.

All of music comes from sound.  Music has no place without it.

Chi’s brainchild is a stark illumination of noise and sound.  With the exhibition of “Golden Noises” last Saturday, sound was marvelously deconstructed by several electronic gadgets and makeshift instruments.

Eric Calilan fuses electronic vibrations and crude midi to give his sound set some serious teeth.  He severs conventional music bars and devices new time signatures.  It’s remarkable what a few twists and buttons can create and express.  His renderings are neither crude nor delicate.  It is purely alien.

The set was followed by Chuck Fournier’s more melodious but playful sonic renderings.  It is truly a sound trip that blows the mind when one follows its unpredictable current and abrupt punctuations.  The beat he utilizes toward the end was misleading.  There is no rhythm but your heartbeat.  Sound has no rhythmic base only fluidity.

Lastly, Toshiyuki Seido has a very direct message.  His is an upfront barbaric display.  He strikes me as a very sadistic artist, forcing his audiences to painful noise.  The volume explodes and reverberates beyond one’s noise threshold.  It escalates the body to a shock so great it is only escapable with silence.  My interpretation is that he uses his instrument as a torture device, piercing you in strategic points while you are threatened with the knowledge that you can no longer escape.  If you stayed and listened, you are secretly a masochist.  To some, masochism is a legitimate form of pleasure.  And that is probably why I walked out.

Truly, every bit of sound is striking and exhilarating.  The concert was both an artistic and emotional exploration.

And so was I.

You can’t blame me for loving the month of July. This month has been packed with so many things I hardly have time to go online and type one of ‘em posts for the birthday of this brainchild.  Anyway, brief history:  Southisms used to be and was supposed to be (exclusively) a music blog.  The rise of the niche blogging hype had called this space for that purpose initially.  However, the writer has transformed over time from the booze-guzzling musicionado to the tube-whirring, film-powered “student” of life, the universe and everything.  So now this must be a blog about the universe and everything, as far as my media brain cell is concerned.  But can’t help drifting back to music-related events since it’s still pretty much part of my nature.

Say for instance, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about the upcoming Muzika del Sur Music Awards 2008 for August.  Unfortunately I had an ear infection so I wasn’t able to cover their preliminary events. 

I’ve heard the nominations have closed and that’s where the fun usually starts.

In my experience working for the Research Team before, the awards features a range of categories namely: Best Music Video, Rock, Ragga, Metal, Pop, Hip-Hop, and The Mindanawon Award.  Each band in the final roster goes through a nomination process and goes through an extensive review by a panel of jurors.  Last year, we incorporated an SMS system which allowed fans to vote for their favorite artists to be awarded the People’s Choice.  Unfortunately, the process was inevitably problematic and faced a slight amount of controversy when misinformation about the texting information was proliferated.  Thankfully, the bands were such sports about it.

This year’s music awards event had also its own set of problems this year such as the controversy surrounding an Idol Grill (Davao) gig.  My friend Shieka, who was part of the production of the said event had this to rant on the Friendster bulletins:

IMAGINE IF THIS WILL HAPPEN TO YOU:

** YOU HAVE THIS EVENT THAT YOU PREPARED FOR ALMOST A MONTH PROMOTING AND DOING ALL THE STUFF JUST TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

YOU INVITED LOCAL ARTISTS FROM CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY ( GASULINA) AND TAGUM CITY(KEYK) TO PERFORM JUST TO PRESENT UNITY AMONG MINDANAO ARTISTS, NOT TO MENTION SOME LOCAL DAVAO BANDS WHO ALSO EAGERLY PARTICIPATED JUST TO SHOW SUPPORT ON THE VISION OF MUZIKA DEL SUR.

** MOST OF THE LOCAL ARTIST ORGANIZATONS FLOCKED DURING THE EVENT JUST TO SHOW SUPPORT ON THE DRIVE OF PROMOTING THE MUSIC SCENE OF MINDANAO.

**FRIENDS,FAMILIES,TRI-MEDIA WENT TO WITNESS THE FIRST PRE-EVENT ACTIVITY OF THE UPCOMING MUSIC AWARDS 2008. THEN HERE COMES OUR HERO!

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROGRAM OUR IDOL COMMAND AND HIS JUSTICE LEAGUE DECIDED TO PULL OUT OUR EVENT BACK DROP STREAMER BECAUSE HIS IDOL LOGO WILL NOT BE SEEN (A. BY THE CAMERA, B. BY THE PEOPLE, C. BY HIS EMPLOYEES, D. BY HIS DRINKING BUDDIES, OR E. ALL OF THE ABOVE). AND WHEN WE ASKED HIS HIGHNESS TO JUST RECONSIDER OUR EVENT BECAUSE SOMEHOW WE PAID HIM TO HAVE OUR EVENT IN HIS KINGDOM… WHOOOOSHHHHHH!!!! OUR IDOL WITH ALL HIS MIGHT POINTED HIS MAGIC WAND TO HIS “CLOWNS” AND ORDERED ONCE AGAIN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN …ONCE AGAIN WITH(DRUM ROLL PLEASE..) ” I COMMAND YOU TO STOP YOUR EVENT! BY THE POWER OF MY MAGIC WAND MAGSITIGIL KAYOO MGA MAHADERA!! KEVERRR KUNG SINO PA YANG MGA MEDIA AT SPONSORS AT BISITA AT BANDANG NANDIYAN, WIZH KO EL! MAGDUSA KAYO MGA BRUHA! ” SO WITH ALL THE SHAME AND DEGRADATION WE PACK OUR THINGS,OUR PRIDE,OURSELVES, AND OUR HATRED HOME.

WE SOUGHT OUR REFUGE AT THE DURIAN BAR (THANKS PAOLO).

Being a musician and part of the media myself, that is NOT an ethical way to treat people from the media and music industry.  The fact that the event organizers have already paid for the place secures their discretion to manage the setting and materials to be used for the event.  Moreover, once the place is paid for, the event organizer and the outlet comes into an agreement that cannot be revoked under any circumstance.  The adage the show must go on is a practical truth because it’s too expensive to flush out the production when it is happening and it insults the professional integrity of all people involved in the production just because one person had a little problem.

Moreover Idol Grill never apologized to the production team and the bands for this horrible treatment.  Publicly or otherwise.

Anyways, I hate how there should always be politics in these events. Why can’t people be fun-loving and just listen to some friggin music?

March 13-16, 2008
KONSYERTOS ’08 @ Madrazo Compound (Durian Bar)
Night time (Depends on you)

March 15, 2008
Mix-a-tune Gig @ Juan Luna St. (Next to Better Components)
8:00 PM

That’s all for now. I think I’ll be showing up for the Mix-a-tune gig as well as the March 16 gig, since it’s like a yearly thing for me. Wow, I remember a couple of years ago I was just behind the scenes and now (since I pretend to have a life) I haven’t been to a single gig since this year began. Hmm… I must admit that I’ve had a very dramatic change in lifestyle…

In other news, Muzika del Sur has already made a courtesy call to all Mindanao Bands about the sophomore year of Muzika del Sur Music Awards. If you’re up for grabs, just contact the Alchemy of Vision and Light Office through 225-FILM.

I guess at this point, you might be asking why?

Call me weird but I have a strange philosophy about music which suggests that the music you listen to is directly proportional to your temperament. Of course, this formula suggests that altering your choice of music can likewise alter your mood. See, before I’ve decided to admit myself to Rock Rehab, I have been listening to immensely poppy tunes and loads of sleepy songs. It’s time for me to get off my ass and kick out procrastination because I’ve got tons of work to do! (Which reminds me, the company I work for AVL Film and TV Productions, is planning to launch a Mindanao-based Music awards – more details later.) Anyway, more to the point that rock is exactly the kind of music I need right now, especially, happy-sounding-rock, I’ve noticed I’ve turned soft lately and I blame it all on the music I’ve been feeding myself for the past few months. It’s time to bring back some of my sarcasm and regain my steel guts. Because yeah, some people can be tough even if they listen to softer tunes, but nothing gears up your mood that way better than some orgasmic Hendrix solo. And yes, rock is orgasmic. Nothing gets me at a better mood than music that’s as good as sex; topped only by sex itself.

So I’m going to snub artists like Feist, Explosions in the sky, Jose Gonzales, Emily Haines and Deerhunter for the meantime. I absolutely love shoegazer like music but I’m not really in the mood for that. So if you are, you might as well check out those artists and let’s be each other’s contrast and tell me about it!

Rock rehab begins. Woo!

***

We’ve already reserved the website for our upcoming Music Awards, hopefully I can plug it on this site as soon as the launching is in order. Meanwhile, watch out for it some time in the middle of August. Nominations will begin by next week. Support your favorite Mindanao-based band! Be part of Muzika del Sur Music Awards 2007. More details later on this week. Adios!

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Davao Cuisine is an ambiguous idea. But when I began to listen to myself (and my gut), the first place I could think of was the eatery nearest to the hearts of a Davaoenyo’s POCKET. There’s a quaint little eatery somewhere between corner Anda (Now, F. Inigo) and Bonifacio Street, where I have my “starving artist” lunch times. Starving artists have starving pockets too! And there’s no place like “Faye’s eatery” to turn my world around to the happier side. Here’s my friend Chico who understands as well as I do what the feeling is like.

Here are my other entries for the Davao Cuisine photo contest:

Entry 2 – http://sickled-compass.livejournal.com
Entry 3 – http://coffeegurl.multiply.com
Entry 4 – http://blog.myspace.com/kofigurl

Happy eating!

Success.

And we’ll have another an encore this Friday at Paseo de Roxas. On Saturday, it’ll be at Fountain place, Agdao. You can’t miss the part 2. See y’all!

Which is kind of ironic really. Consider that they have to audition bands before they get to play in Taboan. Consider that they mesh out the bands that are NOT “patok sa masa” or whose music is too un-mainstream for normal people to appreciate. Consider that a lot of bands in Davao are really not up for un-mainstreaming themselves. There isn’t that much freedom there after all.

Going along the vision to come up with a successful gig in spite of scarce incentives as well as problems on actually finding a venue, Davao indie productions Don’t Record Records and Red hat are teaming up for an Octoberfest gig. I say kudos to that, realizing how it’s hard enough to keep indie bands from staying together because of the lack of avenues and more so, making sure that the integrity of the kind of music they play do not sway to the masses or for venues that require underground bands to turn a leaf for the showbandish just so they can get a gig (i.e. Taboan or even San Miguel).

Reality tells us that Davao may have all the musical talent it requires to warm up a mature music scene, but there isn’t enough production force to keep the scene intact.

***

Listening to a lot of Jeff Buckley lately. Personally, my take on Jamie Cullum‘s jazz cover of Buckley’s Lover, you should have come over is more on the no no. Nothing can beat Buckley when he makes the most heartbreaking ballads I’ve ever heard. If you can call it a ballad.

Narda‘s out in Davao by the way. CDs are available in the nearest Oddysey record stores near you.

***

More announcements! I have gig with my band Tramonto at Myx-a-tune (Juan Luna St.) 7-ish up this October 14. Please support!

Last night, they had party punk acts and some electronica. The only band whose name I caught was the one my friend Pink was with, Gravity 404. Loved their set (or at least half of it, because that was all I caught up with). In any case, it’s actually peculiar that I suddenly had the urge to text Jaenor (this guy who has been asking me to session for their band, who I’ve never met in my life) to ask if the offer was still up. And the next day he replied and told me that it was still open. The weirder part is, he was actually in Moonstomp the night I was there and he was with the band I just mentioned. Whoohoo. So at least I know I’m with the right people. (Smiles.) Can’t wait for Wednesday’s jam session.

I really want to start a shoegazer band, but I don’t think anyone’s in to that here. Which reminds me, I miss my bandmates! One’s in Cebu, another’s in US, and then another’s in Manila. Come on, give me a break kids. Davao’s the place to be at this point. We ought to warm up on the scene here.