BITE magazine

words by Russ Raniel Ligtas

Suite 304 Rivergate Commercial Complex, General Maxilom Avenue, between Iglesia ni Kristo and USC Boys High. That’s where it is. The Chiye Mori Design library is the first of its kind in Cebu along with a number of firsts we’ve been recently having. A library however, doesn’t sound too exciting compared to a first “skyride” on the rooftop of the tallest building in Cebu, or the first 3D theatre, but for us who have suffered the glare of the computer monitor doing research in the internet of perpetual help, a decent library is such a breath of fresh air, more so because it specializes on our inclinations.

Where before one has to rely on the off-chance of reading impossible-to-acquire books in bookstores and facing eventual and sometimes inevitable disappointment with the unavailability of browsing copies (aka the dreaded plastic wrapping and a sticker that says: Please Don’t Tear The Plastic), one can now enjoy updated and choice design books in total reading frenzy without having to pay a hefty price.

The Chiye Mori Design library is the brainchild of the Cebu Design Education Foundation or CDEF, a group of design professionals and educators with a mission: to help Cebu become a vibrant and dynamic design destination by supporting sustainable development through design education- says so in their press kit. It’s quite a mouthful, but hey, it’s good to dream—especially in hard times. Although the abundance of design-related jobs in the city as it grows bigger and bigger—or at least more congested—has become quite apparent, the foundation and its library could not have come at a more perfect time. The high demand for design has given rise to a generous supply of design products, but unfortunately, of debatable quality. The library is one of the ways of which the Foundation deems to correct this, by providing efficient information and perhaps even inspiration to design students and individuals.

The library focuses on four major design disciplines: furniture and interior design, architecture, fashion, and multi-media. It is important to note and good to hear that most of the titles have been published in this era, and I don’t mean the 20th century. The library is also used to hold other initiatives of the foundation, such as Design Speak, a lecture series that happens every month. Slated every last Thursday of the month, the Design Speak lecture series allows students and other design-information-and-inspiration-hungry types a chance to listen to various designers who have succeeded, in one way or another, in their respective fields. This writer was fortunate to have been to all of the lectures (there have been 3 so far) and has found it to be very interesting to say the least and yes, the lectures usually come with free munchies.

The library is also open to hosting events by other organizations with similar intentions.

For one to have access to the library, one has to be at least registered with the Foundation as a member or be connected to a member institution. If you’re a design student, it’s likely your university is already in the list, if not, when there’s a will, there’s a way, right?

*The Design Speak Lecture Series for September features Interior Architectural Design. For inquiries, contact 255 2341, email info@cdef.org.ph or cebu.design@yahoo.com or check out  www.cdef.org.ph

words & photos by roylu

I am not a big Beatles fan. I like the Stones better. Still, it didn’t keep me from jumping on the chance to view the Imagine exhibit at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Montreal, which really doesn’t have to do much, if at all, with the Beatles.

But, it has all to do with John Lennon and Yoko Ono and their second bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, which this exhibit commemorates the 40th anniversary of.

My interest in this is part of my greater interest these days and of late: Performance art. By the time John met Yoko, she had already established herself as among the leading pioneers of performance and conceptual art.

And this has to be one of her biggest performance pieces, judging from the press attention it originally received at that time and crush people at the exhibit which was on its last weekend at the time of our visit.

With such pedigreed raw material, this exhibit has become an even bigger, more elaborate, though, strangely, less immediately compelling work of performance art.

I suppose the crush of people had much to do with it; more than half of them as clueless about the immediate context of the work as they were about the bigger history then and now, and thus happily noisy about their ignorance or nonchalance.

Still, It has grown into a huge, and hugely interesting interactive art machine: The 140 works on display include drawings, unpublished photographs, videos, films, artworks and interactive materials that convey the message of universal peace, including Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Tree’ where one can tie their own wishes to, stamp “Imagine Peace” on maps of the world, and read the works of certain Nobel Peace Prize winners in the Peace Library.

Yet, through all these, there is that residual power of performance art that springs from the initial absurdist, comic, tongue-in-cheek aesthetics yet feels confident enough to take on or challenge a big an issue as War or the War Machine that is bigger and more pervasive than ever.

Of course, there was John Lennon’s fame that helped it along, though it is apparent here that John is being less John the Beatle and simply being John the world-citizen, the human being.

And nothing exemplifies this better than the song Imagine. Of course, one could argue that it is vastly different sung by John Lennon – making it to the top of most influential song lists — and sung by Everyman.

So there I was. Everyman, hunched over the white Baldwin piano that John used to compose ‘Imagine’ playing that song knowing that nothing and everything changes with imagination.

words by Kerwin Go

For the Chinese martial art of Kung-Fu, it is the Shongshan mountain range in Henan Province where the Shaolin monastery was built.  For Japanese Karate, it is the Ryuku islands of the Okinawa Prefecture.  For the Filipino fighting art of Eskrima / Kali / Arnis, it is Cebu in the Visayan Islands.

Although Eskrima is commonly perceived as a stickfighting art, it is a complete fighting system encompassing punching (suntukan), kicking (sikaran), locks and submissions (dumog), and the use of a variety of impact and bladed weapons. Eskrima knife fighting techniques are considered the best in the world.

Much of what is known about the origins of the art are shrouded in mystery.  Unlike Kung-Fu and Karate which were originated and practiced by monks and nobility, Eskrima was a peasant art. Its practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create written records and relied on oral traditions.

In the early days, each tribe or clan practiced its own system of Eskrima. These were closely guarded secrets which were passed on from one generation to the next.  Practice sessions were often held at night. These techniques would be brought out into the open when the community was under threat from rival clans, piratical raids, and foreign invaders.

Eskrima techniques were developed to fight opponents who possessed superior weaponry and numbers, such as during the fight for independence from the Spanish, the Americans, and later the Japanese.  Under these conditions, Eskrima would develop into one of the deadliest and most practical fighting systems in the world.

When there were no wars to fight or conflicts to settle, Eskrima masters would often engage in Juego Todo matches.  Juego Todo (to gamble all- in Spanish) were no-holds-barred, full-contact matches which often resulted in severe injuries or even death for its participants.  Filipino migrant workers brought this dueling tradition with them to the plantations of Hawaii and California in the 1920’s.

Juego Todo gained particular notoriety in the early 1950’s to 1960’s, in what was called “The Golden Age” of Eskrima.  Rival clubs such as the Doce Pares and Balintawak, pitted their best fighters against each other in Juego Todo.  Names such as Cacoy Canete, Anciong Bacon, Inting Carin, and Delfin Lopez  rose to prominence as the most feared duelists of their era.

In the late 70’s to 80’s, Eskrima emerged into the consciousness of the martial arts world when Bruce Lee and Filipino-American Dan Inosanto promoted the art through movies and seminars.  Interest soon brought Doce Pares members to the United States to conduct a series of demonstrations. That initial foray by Cebuano martial artists soon opened the floodgates, and Cebu became known as the Mecca of Eskrima / Kali / Arnis.

ESKRIMADORS, an upcoming independently produced documentary film provides us with a glimpse into the rich and fascinating world of the Filipino Martial Arts.  The film traces the development of the fighting art from its tribal warfare roots, its use in repelling foreign invaders, as an art of duellists, and its transformation into a sport practiced in over 25 countries.

The film features the legendary Eskrima Grandmasters of Cebu such as Ciriaco “Cacoy” Canete, GM Dionisio Canete, and GM Undo Caburnay.  Groups such as Doce Pares, Lapunti Arnis de Abanico, Teovel’s Balintawak, Nickelstick Balintawak, and Liborio Heyrosa Decuerdas, allow us a sneak peek into the deadly techniques which have made Cebuano Eskrima renowned the world over.

ESKRIMADORS is produced by Cebuano production company Pointsource Films.  It is currently in post-production and slated for release during the 4th quarter of 2009.  Teaser trailers of the film may be viewed on www.eskrimadorsdocu.com.

Local Artists’ Colony Draws International Acclaim
words and pictures by Michael Lesesne

They are not painters, sculptors, or poets. They are the quilters of Caohagan Island. Caohagan is a tiny island in the Olongo group, between Mactan and Bohol. Only ninety families live there, and most of the women are quilt makers. Fishing is the primary work for the men of the island, and there is one small primary school for the children.

A quilt is a handmade bed covering made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric and kept in place by lines of stitching, typically applied in a decorative design. These local artists use local scenes of the sea, the land, and the air to bring their quilts to life. They are vibrant and colorful.

How did quilting come to Caohagan?  Katsuhiko Sakiyama and his wife Junko, have lived on Caohagan for many years. Junko taught quilting in Japan before coming to the Philippines, and fourteen years ago she began to teach the local women how to quilt. The stitching part came quickly as most of the women knew how to sew. The artistic element is another story.

Traditionally, the artistic front piece of a quilt is carefully constructed with the aid of compass, ruler, and square. The women of Caohagan took a different path and went freehand. They cut and constructed scenes of tropical seas and fish, local flora and fauna, scenes of their daily lives. They used brightly colored fabric to enliven their work, and spurred each other to become better artists.

Each individual creates and sews her finished quilt. It takes up to six months for one quilt to go from start to finish. There are hours upon hours of sewing straight lines by hand. Most of the rest of the world uses specialized sewing machines to sew those quilting lines. That is not an option on Caohagan. Electricity is available there for only a few hours in the evenings and there are no machines available.

What started with just a few women grew over the years: more of the local women began quilting and slowly they began selling the quilts. For years, the only sales came from the few tourists that visited Caohagan, plus a small market in Japan. Then Yokohama happened.

In 1999, the Caohagan quilts were displayed at a quilt exhibition in Yokohama, Japan. Dozens of orders for these quilts were made and delivered. The appreciation of these quilts spread throughout Japan. The quilt world was opening to these unique pieces.

Earlier this year, this prestigious International Quilt Study Center & Museum in the United States accepted a Caohagan quilt into their permanent collection. It is the world’s largest museum dedicated to quilts. Their mission is to collect, preserve, study, and exhibit quilts from many cultures, countries, and times. The Caohagan is the only admission from the Philippines.

This October there will be an exhibition of fifty Caohagan quilts to be shown at the Peace Museum in Kyoto. This will be a grand coming out party for the quilters and their artifacts. The quilts will be hung on the walls of the museum and treated as works of art.

To see some of these beautiful quilts, you can visit Caohagan and meet the ladies who create these works of art. The quilt workshop is open daily until five in the afternoon. There is no ferry service, so private boat is the way to go. Captain Steve Browne offers charter service to Caohagan from the Cebu Yacht Club in Mactan. He can be reached by sending email to club.panga@gmail.com.

Take a day and enjoy this local treasure. You won’t be sorry.

Using the most humble of footwear as its name and symbol, an organization does what it aims to do: to provide comfort to children in need and ensure that their right to education is respected.
 
Tsinelas Association Inc. was formed in 2004 by Lorenzo “Insoy” Niñal together with some friends from his seminary days. After registering the group with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the first few members immediately went to work. Among the first things they did was to organize chapters and support groups in towns, colleges and universities in and around Cebu province.
 
Tsinelas now has chapters in Saint Theresa’s College, University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu Campus, Southwestern University, University of San Carlos, University of San Jose-Recoletos, Cebu State College of Science and Technology, while chapters in the University of Cebu, Cebu Normal University and Cebu Institute of Technology will be added this year. It also has support groups in Tuburan, Asturias, Sibonga, Pinamungajan and Cordova towns, and in the academe, religious and professional sectors in Cebu City. Tsinelas counts among its most precious assets its campus volunteers. The volunteers are the ones who deliver Tsinelas’ services to its beneficiaries and make sure the organization maintains its youthful idealism, passion and enthusiasm to make a difference in other people’s lives.
 
But what exactly do they do?
 
Tsinelas has 100 full-time scholars who receive basic educational assistance (school supplies, school fees, uniforms, allowance for projects, etc.). Most of the scholars are enrolled in schools located in remote mountain barangays in Cebu Province. The scholars are also given human development seminars, leadership training, recollections and retreats.
 
Tsinelas helps more kids by setting up libraries and reading centers in its areas of operation. To do this, the group collects books and other reading materials from donors. The latest library Tsinelas set up is in a school in a remote barangay in Tuburan, the Colonia Central Elementary School. Teachers there reported that the students now spend more time in the new library than in the playground.
 
Tsinelas also assists in the improvement of school facilities whenever possible. One of its projects was the construction of a stage for a school in Pinamungajan, Cebu. Other sub-programs of Tsinelas include holding medical missions in the mountains, and organizing art and literary groups among students.
 
As with other NGOs, Tsinelas accepts donations from individuals and private companies, and  links with other NGOs who share its cause. Its main fundraisers, however, are Tsinelas-organized events, like art and literary workshops, such as the songwriting workshop/seminar happening this month.
 
The three-day seminar will be held at the Sentro sa Katilingban Bldg. at the Saint Theresa’s College compound along Gen. Maxilom Ave., Cebu City on May 8, 9 and 10. Aside from being a fund-raising activity, the seminar is also aimed at contributing to the vibrant music scene in Cebu by providing the participants with the basics in songwriting and recording.
 
By joining the seminar, the participants don’t only learn basic skills in songwriting and recording, they also get the chance to help poor children stay in school. Proceeds of the seminar will be used to buy school supplies, uniforms and other educational materials for Tsinelas beneficiaries.
 
The seminar will cover four major topics and will be handled respectively by the following award-winning Cebuano musicians: Ian Zafra (musical arrangement), Jude Gitamondoc (melody writing), Cattski Espina (lyric writing) and Brian Sacro (recording). Participants will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration fee covers honorarium for speakers, venue rental, workshop kit and snacks, and most importantly, school supplies for Tsinelas beneficiaries.
 
For reservations and more info, contact the Secretariat at 0926 7325355 and 0922 8243800, or visit www.insoymada.com and www.tsinelasdiaries.wordpress.com

by Gang Badoy
Ever since the Rock Ed film team finished its short documentaries on Philippine jails, I unwittingly found myself convicted to a life sentence of being mindful of the plight of the inmates.

What started out as a film project that became a one-time weekend creative writing workshop– ROCK THE REHAS is now a full-blown multi-dimensional series of sustained projects.  I go to Muntinlupa-the Maximum Security Prison- every Wednesday teaching 50 or so inmates a ‘creativity class’ of sorts.  We anchor, of course, in the writing of poetry because that is the subject that I was trained to teach.  Sometimes we end up discussing what they watch on TV, sometimes it’s gender sensitivity, sometimes we discuss the mysteries of memory, and the  vastness of human experience. And their homework always consisted of writing verses about what we talked about that afternoon.  Today (Jan 30) was a little different. A Rock Ed volunteer who nurtures a career in teaching yoga (at PulseYoga studios in Greenhills) went with me to teach the men hatha (or calming and restorative) yoga.  For now, I want to tell you about one inmate they call “Bunso.” I don’t ask for their stories anymore.  I used to pry a lot because I had a film to finish and a script to form. Last year found me more focused on the “so, what got you in here” line of queries.  Now that I just teach creative writing, I allow them to talk about other things and ideas so that their minds can roam free. Wander outside the prison walls for a few hours.  Bunso’s story was already mentioned to me before and I heard that he’s been in for some time now.  In fact, there was a time that he was the youngest in the compound, hence his nickname.  They say that even he, himself, doesn’t know when he’s due for parole and doesn’t exactly bother to ask or follow up his papers. 

On the day after Christmas in 2007, Rock Ed volunteers went to Munti again to play basketball with the inmates. He sidles up quietly beside me, taps my arm and turns around pointing to the base of his bald skull.  There it was ROCK THE REHAS tattooed on his nape.

I wasn’t sure how to react. Talk about shock and awe.  So there I was, mumbling an indistinct, “oh wow”  (okay, what do I say next…)  “ang ganda”  (okay go on, go on, he’s still pointing it out and even if I can’t see his face, I could feel his puffy-chested expectation) “masakit ba yun?”  He finally faces me again and says “hindi Ate! gusto ko naman eh.” All I could do was photograph his noggin for the next 20 minutes, while talking through the side of my mouth (partly covered by the camera) for the other people to take a load of my subject.  “Les! Mike! tignan nyo o….” click* click* He kept turning around to smile at me while I kept circling him to get a better focused shot of the tat. We looked like a very strange tango duo, me squawking for back-up attention, him smiling and trying to face me or maybe trying to squarely see my reaction.  I wasn’t sure what he was expecting, actually. But I do hope I didn’t disappoint him.  We do have a tendency to understate our reactions –especially when we are truly awed.  Typical.

So.  That was then. Dec 2007.

Today was a bit different. He came up to me, tapped my arm again, he turned around and lifted his shorts to expose the rear of his left thigh.  And voila.  There it was. A simple illustration of a girl’s face (nope, didn’t look like me at all) and my full name underneath it.  (now this time, I really had no prepared reaction –so I resorted to my reliable “oh wow” card) “oh wow” (oh wow) “pangalan ko yun ah” (uh huh, oh wow) “ay! ako ba dapat yun?” (error coming up) “ang ganda wow.” And so, my camera protects me again from having to show him my entire face.  I hide half of it behind the black SLR casing, and the other half squints and squawks sideways again to my friend as I say “tignan nyo o”  It was so weird that I wasn’t equipped with the appropriate reaction for something like this so…click* click* click*  and once again we do our strange tango. Me clicking, clucking, and him turning, alternately looking at his tat, while looking at me, while lifting his shorts, while I take the photo while trying to wave at someone to look at my name tattooed on this man’s left leg.  What a sight we must’ve been.

One of us asked him, “ba’t mo tinattoo ang pangalan ni Gang sa katawan mo?”  And he shrugged first and said, “kasi gusto ko magpasalamat sa mga concerts dito, sa mga klase, sa pagbisita, sa pagbalik balik dito…. wala lang, parang thank you ko talaga yan…alam niyo ilang taon din ako hindi naka nood ng concert, pag andito ang Rock Ed para na rin akong malaya, kasi naka upo kami, tapos may bagong bandang tumutugtog, para kaming nasa laya. Ang saya…so..ayun, salamat talaga. Pina-tattoo ko.” A simple answer to a simple question and what an elaborate way of doing so!

Talk about the human being’s wide range of ways.  The world doesn’t cease to surprise me.  I don’t exactly understand why or what, or whoaaaa, I mean, really….whaaat the f* (trail thought away) — but, no doubt, I am moved by the permanency of it. I suppose we all have our language of gratitude, and this –is his.  And how. I’m not sure who is more grateful. Bunso, for the time and effort we offer them; or me for this story of undeserved gratitude that I can tell for the rest of my life.

Tonight, I think I am. It’s good to be alive.

Carry on. -Gang Badoy
30 January 2008
Katipunan Road

To screen the films in your school, office, etc; to donate used clothes, magazines, books, hobby kits, old guitars, chess sets, poetry exercise books, art materials, load for the coordinators, to train to be a paralegal, to volunteer your time (if you’re a lawyer to advice inmates on their cases) to teach whatever you want to teach the inmates, PLEASE EMAIL: rehas@rockedphilippines.org  —

interrogated by mona polo
 
Sometimes, that ordinary looking guy you see on the jeep, sidewalk or gig is not so ordinary after all. Having met Mark on several occasions, something told me there was more to this guy, though being the instrumental dude to bringing electronica act Drip to Cebu last year was a better hint. His cv reads like a version of contemporary Pinoy music history, having worked with the likes of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, The Dawn, Christian Bautista, Radioactive Sago Project, Greyhounds, The Eraserheads, and being involved in the likes of sound design, live film scoring, talent management, and more. 
 
 
how does one jump from a degree in AB interdisciplinary studies to being a recording & sound engineer?
I’ve always loved music. When I was in high school, I loved to tinker with gadgets and electronics. . At that time 93-94 I was already working with The Eraserheads as a tour engineer, running their shows for their sound needs. I wanted a course that would set me on track towards what I wanted to do after college. So I took up AB Interdisciplinary Studies, because it’s a multi-discipline course aside from general academics. It dealt with basically making me think of my direction in life. But then sound engineering was taking up most of my time coz I had a job with it already and it put me through college literally. Basically it’s by default, but I really love what I was doing and it stuck eventually.
 
when did you realize that you could make a living out of your involvement with music?
In college while I was working, I was paying for my tuition already through my earnings. It wasn’t cheap—I went to an exclusive school. But I was encouraged to think that I could earn a living through music, even if older people would say that there was no money in music, no money in the arts. I realized that that was where my passion was, my interest, and that I could grow and eventually put my life, my business, into it.
 
having worked with diverse musical genres, which would you say is the most complicated to engineer, and why?
Not really complicated but difficult, and the most difficult to engineer and fix is music that is lousily written or lousily arranged. And lousily performed, whether live performance or studio recordings. As I always say, it always comes from the sound source. So garbage in, garbage out.
 
the eraserheads are doing their reunion concert this month. what did you think of them when you were working with them?
They knew what they wanted out of their career. To me it looked like they were really, really passionate about what they were doing. Especially the early days. They really wanted to get somewhere. And I guess they got to where they’re at now because of their perseverance and persistence to reach their goals and reach their dreams that time. After 99, early 2000, I resigned as their tour engineer and I don’t know what happened after—why they split up. There are a lot of stories. A lot of speculation.
 
from who/what you have heard, witnessed and worked with, what makes a good musician?
The greatest musicians I’ve worked with are musicians that persevered in their craft. They really pushed themselves to the limit and persevered in that musicianship, the goal of being the best musician they can be. Perseverance is the key in every aspect of it. Your interest in it, your dedication to practice, dedication to learn more, research. It comes in a whole package.
 
can you give us a brief description of what the creative commons license is, and is it the way to go for our local artists?
The creative commons license first of all, is a license given by the copyright owner, releasing some rights of the work, to the audience who wants to use it or who wants to build on the idea or the work for non-commercial purposes. This movement started basically because of   the dilemma of the copyright law in the application of the internet. It’s about us as an internet generation, who has an internet-based audience. How we as creators, how we can post it and how we can freely spread it to our audience without it being stolen or plagiarized.
 
So as with Drip, we released it (the 2nd album) to an attribution, non-commercial and share-alike license, wherein the audience who listens to it can freely post it on the net. But surely you’re supposed to attribute it to the original artist. Also the license allows you to remake or remix the songs of Drip and use it, if you’re a dj, freely on your set, without writing to us or saying to us that you posted it on your website or used it on your set, as long as its non-commercial and as long as you attribute it to the original artist—in this case, the original drum track or that original scratch or bass track or even vocal track is from Drip.
 
Yes I think people should research on it. It’s a case to case basis but I encourage people to look into it at www.creativecommons.org. Most local artists now advertise on the web, blog on the web, take pictures, post videos, post music on the web—you’re trying to gain an international audience, and I encourage local artists (musicians, visual artists, writers, photographers, poets…) of this internet generation to use the creative commons license in order to share on the web to generate a visual or auditory audience.
 
are you familiar with the cebuano music scene? what do you think are its perceived strengths & weaknesses?
Cebuano contemporary music scene, more or less yes. I can remember from the time of Abyss and The Roots when they were signing up with the Sony label at the lobby of a hotel. I was listening to Cebu music during those days. And of course the early days of Backyard, Tiki Sound. I even bought a couple of cds. And of course the first album of Urbandub… The Ambassadors, Smooth Friction. Those bands. So more or less familiar.
 
As it is, the music scene in Cebu has been very progressive. It has gone a long way. The musical tastes are very diverse. The strength, I would say, is having to research and conceptualize their music. Cebu is a tourism destination of sorts. It think it’s a strength that Cebu is wide open to the world and has their identity at the same time. Having to know their identity and having to know their music and building on several influences, that’s a big strength that I can see in the Cebu music scene, and having the courage to play it. It inspires me to see them playing their originals on stage more, rather than covers. Weakness, maybe as with all musicians, they tend to get boxed into one type of music, in one style.
 
is there room for real electronica in cebu?

There’s room for electronic music everywhere. It just takes a bunch of talented creators of electronic music to build an audience in Cebu for the appreciation of electronic music. I think it should start from the creators themselves. If they persevere and hone their craft in doing and creating electronic music, I think the audience of electronic music in Cebu will grow and not just keep importing electronic musicians and music from other countries. I think electronic music a place in Cebu, has an audience in Cebu. It just takes a little time for it to grow.

Words by Paul Dean
Photo from the wires and Nicko Real
We’d mention the name of the band she co-created (hint, it starts with “River”), but that is giving too much away and at the same time not enough. As the line of questioning reveals, there’s more to this lady than what you think you know. If you’ve never heard of Lizza G. Nakpil, we seriously have to ask you about which rock you have been hiding under for the last 15 years.

How did you become involved in the Music Business? In one of my previous lives, I was an economist/financial analyst and formed the theory that the Philippines’ competitive advantage would have to be in a low-capital/low-technology enterprise that would harness the country’s vast resources of raw talent. Yawning out loud yet?
 
Well, all that means is, I figured that (that) would be in music, where all you need would be a guy plus a guitar and probably not even anything else other than a great spirit and great voice.
 
Chito Rono, who was an old friend, from when I was wandering around working on film co-production deals in Europe agreed and we decided to look for talent and form a band. That ended up being Rivermaya, and as they say, the rest is history.
 
Do artists approach you for management, or do you carry out your own talent spotting? With Rivermaya, we built that band from the ground up…three times over, if memory serves me right. (The last time with an overblown nationwide search that I have lived to regret.) With Powerspoonz, a friend of mine from Cebu, Randy Pages, prevailed on me to listen to a couple of tracks, when we were working on another project in the studio of Louie Talan. I had heard of them before when they were more of a reggae act, but I was blown away by “Barrio.”
 
As for Wolfgang, well, let’s just say, the stars aligned just right and it was pure serendipity that Basti, Manuel, Mon and I were all in the right state of mind, the right place at the right time. I had seen them in a small walk-up bar, when we were just putting together Rivermaya and I knew they were special, but at the time, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
 
I do listen to all the demo cds I receive and have signed quite a few new talents the old-fashioned way. D-Coy, for example, turned up in my office one day and I ended up listening to his entire album, as he talked me through each song.
 
What are the most important things and crucial elements that attract you to managing a specific artist? Management is an art form just like any other. I like to call it the 8th art. It’s also midway between constant warfare and an incessant dream state. Draw your own conclusions. I am drawn to originality, ferocity and the right chemistry.
 
What are the biggest and most common problems you encounter with artists you manage?The problem WITH ME is that I am easily bored, so if the artist does not engage my imagination, isn’t eager to try new, out-of-the-box things, I would say THEY would encounter the problems.
 
What is your definition of a good manager?Like any form of government, you get the manager you deserve. There are no absolutes in this business.
 
What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a woman in this business?Hmmm, the thought had never occurred. Manila is pretty open-minded and people over here do think that men are just as good as women. (laughs.)
 
We once did a show in Mindanao and our producer was a real card, she was a plump, motherly figure in a floral housecoat and toting an AK-47. She said she needed it to keep the men in line.
 
Seriously, all Asians are gentlemen and I have gotten away with a LOT, because I suppose I am (as my mother would say), ‘woman enough.’
 
What are the main highlights of your management career to date?Putting aside the platinum awards, sro arena shows, yadayada… my personal favorite remains the MTV Asia Awards 2006. It was the first time that they featured a Filipino artist in a solo spot, doing original Filipino music. Before that, it was all production numbers (Regine with Mandy Moore, Kyla with that boyband), doing other people’s music, so I thought that was a major moment, treated as equals to the like of Korn, Kelly Rowland, and Daniel Powter. Of course, the second best part was that the MTV Asia Awards people thought I did such a bang-up job that they had an extra trophy made just for me.
 
Ten years earlier, in 1996, I produced a commemorative album called “1896” to celebrate the centennial of the Philippine Revolution, which was the first nationalist movement that led the way for the rest of Asia, so there’s a nice symmetry to these two moments. It was also one of the rare, if not the first times that Filipino recording companies united to come up with a compilation album. 1896 featured the biggest names in OPM rock at the time. I’m pretty proud of that, too.
 
Omitting your own stable, who are your favorite artists worldwide and why? That varies from day to day. At the moment, I am totally obsessed with a couple of Thai artists—Dandee of Silksound and Thaitanium, who I got to watch at the Asian Hiphop Summit in Bangkok this year. Totally kick-ass.
I think more Filipinos should listen to other Asian artists than taking their cues from the United States and Europe. All the action is in Asia.
 
Why do you think there are so few highly successful Filipino artists in the real International music arena? It has been suggested by some that the international major record companies in the Philippines are more interested in bringing foreign product in than giving Filipino artists the support necessary to make it worldwide. It has also been suggested that many in the music business here are more interested in the ‘fast buck’ rather than the long term investment necessary to launch an artist internationally. What are your views? Whoa! Let’s take your arguments, one at a time. It is not true that there have been “so few” successful Filipino artists who have broken internationally. Freddie Aguilar did it with “Anak” and Vicor, and more recently Christian Bautista is a certified regional star.  ‘In fairness’ (don’t you love that phrase?), I do know of several record executives who have worked hard at putting Filipino acts out there : Hungry Young Poets, for example was set to launch in Japan and Kulay actually made it to No.5 on the UK dance charts and to No.1 with a Fatboy Slim re-mix. Rivermaya scored No.1 hits in Indonesia and Singapore with “You’ll be Safe Here.” What snatched defeat from the jaws of victory? Putting personal agendas ahead of a common goal.
 
What is your biggest frustration with the Music Business in the Philippines at the moment? What changes would you like to see in the way the Music Industry is run here? I believe that if more people could think of music as an avenue to do their country proud, that would be a great starting point.
 
What advice would you give artists, who are just starting out on the road to becoming professional? Believe in your music and others will believe in you. Take some risks, you only live once.

What are your views on the piracy issue?
I have always thought that the solution to piracy isn’t in legislation nor in police power. It’s strictly a question of economics and technology. Wolfgang has brought their “Villains” album straight to digital on the Smart mymusic platform, and we’re watching closely to see if making it easy for people to get the music helps solve the piracy issue.
 
How do you rate Filipino audiences? Do they vary from region to region? How do they compare with international audiences? Filipino audiences are the toughest to please, mainly because everyone and his brother can either sing or play a musical instrument. At the same time, we are highly social creatures and like fitting in, so we tend to have homogeneous tastes, unlike other countries in Asia, who are up for anything new and different. But that’s changing very quickly with the internet, because we are the most adaptable people in the world.
 
What gives you the biggest ‘buzz’ or ‘adrenalin rush’ in your work? The live shows. For some reason, I get my best ‘eureka’ moments at concerts, the more hell-raising, the better.
 
Are you yourself a musician/vocalist? Well, my parents believed that I should learn one Western instrument (the piano) and one Filipino instrument, so I can play Beethoven as well as the kulintang, but no, it would be a stretch to call me a musician.
 
Do you ever have the time/chance to turn off the management switch and if you do, how do you spend your time? I love movies and will watch anything on a flickering screen. In fact, I routinely go on benders and watch 50 dvds in an entire weekend. It’s a horrible vice. I also collect books and photographs of the Philippine-American War. Hmm, neither is particularly soothing, is it?
 
Who/What has been the biggest influence on you in your adult life? Madame Curie and Antonio Luna. Don’t ask.
 
You have already achieved much, do you still have an ultimate goal?Marry Sumner Redstone and get this show on the road!
www.myspace.com/pauldeansite
www.friendster.com/pauldeanmusic

One of the best things ever to be born out of Cebu is this thing called the Carrera Habagat, created by homegrown brand Habagat which caters to all needs related to the broad spectrum of the outdoors and outdoor recreational equipment.

The race attracts outdoors & sports-oriented humans of all shapes and sizes, though the minimum age to join the race is still 18 years old (read: legally old enough to sign your own waiver). Many veterans gun for the podium posts, but it never stopped neophytes from testing their mettle against the seasoned robots. Did I say robots? Indeed, the in-race joke is that if these guys tear skin en route, oil, not blood, will seep out. It IS the country’s breeding ground for the toughest all-around athletes.

It’s been going for 8 years and the Carrera Habagat is still the Philippines’ toughest outdoor adventure race, arguably Asia’s as well. Subtitled “Isang Linggo sa Sto. Domingo” it was held for the first time in Luzon (outside the usual Visayas & Mindanao islands). Generously supported by the coastal municipality of Sto. Domingo in Albay province, the race was flanked by Mayon volcano’s perfect conical shape on one side and on the other, by the fine black sands that line the Albay Gulf’s coastline.

Enduring a start to finish length of almost 270 kilometers with a 4-day limit, non-stop (i.e. the race continues round the clock from day 1 to day 4, barring inclement weather or security issues, you stop when you want or need to), you have got to be some kind of crazy, not just to subject your body to the rigors of the race, but to actually train your body to withstand the rigors of the race.

Dunked at sea for a quick swim followed by a palo sebo (greased pole) challenge for good measure, the real race started with trekking up the foot of Mt. Mayon, biking forty degree gradients, and then to swim-trek-rappel-bike-trek-swim-paddle all the while navigating with basic tools and old maps to hit all 20 control points in sequence, rain or shine, from sunrise to moonrise several times over.

Joining the race was never cheap, with transport required to and from the race venue (which could be any set of islands in our island-studded country) and meals for the duration of the event (4 race days plus travel days) for six persons (4 racers and 2 support crew). Not to mention uniforms, gear and other technical necessities that were ideally individually owned so you had no one else to blame if it fails or suffers the course of the race.

Small specimens of gemstones such rubies and sapphires were said to be found amongst the black sands, but what surely did await the teams who finished at first, second and third place were cash prizes amounting to a total Php 200,000 (two hundred thousand pesos, at 100k, 60k & 4k respectively).

For the Carrera crazy however, it was never really about the cash prize. The original 2008 pot of 100k (which was doubled on opening night, thanks to the generosity of the local government) was the biggest in the Carrera’s history, as all these years the teams have put the token cash prize aside and considered “bragging rights” as the best prize ever.  

For all else who saw the race through, dry, clean feet, a cup of hot noodles, and a serving of Bicol express were all one could ask for.

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1st place, Paolo & Keith of Team Davao-Mulatto set a record for being the first racers to hit the top spot two years in a row

2nd place, the return of the comeback, Team Merrel, returning to the race after a two-year absence with Team Everesters as support crew

3rd place, what’s in a name? Team Iligan Pride takes a podium finish after last year’s disastrous DNFs (did not finish) 

other info at www.habagat.com