Heartrock Pinoy Singapore, 27May2006

Images courtesy of Getty (j/k)! Tks. dude Ramir Lorich Araneta!

'Twas probably the only and the best Pinoy gig ever staged in Singapore. From start till the end, fantastic! The good mix of repertoire by all bands surely has given the crowd a great deal of satisfaction. And the crowd is wonderful, indeed a great experience performing. Our band, 'mesh potatoes,' provided rock tunes of Juan dela Cruz, Razorback, The Dawn, Black Crowes, Creed and Pearl Jam. Followed by the group 'Launchbox' rendered pop rock tunes of Eraserheads, Wolfgang, Cardigans, Barbie Almabis favourites. Next was the group 'Quiverpool' with incredible R&B and soul acoustic covers of the Mraz, also did a few originals. Last band was 'Mr. Brosnan,' oozing with college rock tunes of Live, Vertical Horizon, etc.

Mesh Potatoes Performance Vids:
Beep Beep
Balong Malalim
Giyang
Hard to Handle
Higher
Jeremy
Alive
Evenflow
Salamat

And was the surprise finale, all performing band members paid a tribute song 'Noypi' by Bamboo. We purposely started out the intro as U2's 'With or Without You" then segwayed into the song proper. At first the crowd was like"what the hell, a U2 song for encore? they must be kidding!". But as the transition intro goes and bamboo's song becomes apparent, suddenly everyone has gone wild up on their feet singing every line that goes "Hoy! Pinoy ako! Buo ang aking loob, may agimat ang dugo ko!" The gig was supposed to wrap up after that song but Anthony a.k.a 'Mr. Heartrock' (organizer) requested one more encore song and so for the last time, we did the 'Pinoy Ako'(Big Brother). This time was double the intensity. My videocam's battery went dead halfway to the 'Pinoy Ako'song. Will upload more links after a good rest, whew! this week's been physically draining for me (and for the group too), but sure was worth it.

Encore Pics (Pinoy Ako, Big Brother Song):
Encore_02
Encore_03
Encore_04

To all relatives and friends who supported, a big thank you from the bottom of our 'mesh potatoes' hearts!

Some related links:
Filunited (Pinoys in Singapore forum)
Pinoysg (Pinoys in Singapore forum)
Soft (Singapore Musicians forum)

Me, Lousy Swimmer

ok, how 'bout another swimming-related stuff. have you ever dreamt seing yourself in one of those marketing videos (condo dev't)? well, i had experienced being one. flattering? yes, coz i thought i was chosen for the role coz i have the looks or built of ian thorpe. guess what? no, coz after the shoot and all, seing myself from the footages, i feel like a dumb-stupid trying hard model. 'good my face was 99percent submerged in water so face value is not that important. or else my manager could have charged more talent fee (dreamer lor!). dig deep into our company's site (www.vmw.com.sg) under 'video' and you'll find a few links of the company's demoreels. promise not to laugh when you see me face-to-face hor!

tidbits on today's happenings:
- 'mesh potatoes' practice went well, with a few minor tweaking. i suppose thursday jam will be much cleaner takes on the songs, then all is set for coming saturday's gig.
- managed to catch replay halftime towards penalty shootout game of liverpool vs. west ham championship. 'was hoping for west ham but the key striker who was instrumental to them being in the final was the one who fumbled the chance for the throphy.
- wow! just as i was writing this, anna kournikova's being interviewed in espn. could be planning a comebock. she's still hot!

tomorrow, looking forward:
- jam with quiverpool, launchbox, mr. brosnan selected members for the encore number (saturday's gig). hope we can nail that one song fast so that i can go home early. i need to catch up with some sleep.
- new project to start with, another interesting resort somewhere in the marianas.

future, looking forward:
- my sister grace's delivery due sometime next month. hope everything goes well, God bless!
- praying for mom's shoulder problem goes back to normal. God bless!
- excited on a new project by a famous australian architect, waiting to be activated
- hopefully be able to watch nba' remaining season games
- hoping to recuperate my sore right shoulder, hurt a week ago. i should do more slice first-serves than aiming for flat. it seems that my backhand tweaking experiment is giving good results, i should be winning more games if i can maintain that consistency as last time. hope to be back in tennis action next week.
- coldplay (july 10), indoor stadium
- great singapore sale (hoping for a good deal for an acoustic drumkit)
- stefi's starting a new workroup term in a new school next month. hoping she gets adjusted easily.
- 1st 'the woohoos gig', this group should be ready very soon! it's gonna damn rock your f_ckn' world!

the week and months ahead will be very hectic yet fun! yeah, keep it coming!!!

rock and r...z z z z z z z z

JM's Birthday

missed Braun Awt's (George's Band) rockin' Esplanade gig yesterday...went to Kuya Edwin's place for his younger son's (JM) birthday. the last time we went there Stefi was too eager to take a plunge to the pool but we didn't bring along her swimsuit. this time we made it sure Stefi won't be disappointed.

too eager but not willing to jump in at first. maybe the water's a bit colder than the usual day swims. she can feel it on her feet standing by the edge of the pool, i'm already immersed waiting for her to jump in. she was taking too long i guessed she will not do it at all so i thought of a way how to bring her into the water. Stefi would prob'ly want some activity going on rather than just dipped into it so i figured i can use some sort of a toy, like a cup to attract her in. asked wifey to pass me a plastic cup, demoed how she can toy with it, placed it near the edge of the pool as a bait. as she gets near, got hold of the cup, immediately i grabbed her and before she knew it, she's already enjoying the swim with daddy.

The Future Card

Funny...

The multi-purpose Future Card will be the version of our NRIC in the near future. With an embedded smart chip, it can also be used as a passport, store our medical history, driver's license, act as an ATM card, serve as an electronic purse and even be used at the National Library... what ever you do with the card... you will be tracked!

It may also be a tracking device via GPS (Good or Bad, depending on the situation). However, a recent debate has brought to light the questionable control on access, potential information abuse and privacy infringement. As the debate rages on, a likely scenario when ordering pizzas in the near future might look something like this...

Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. May I have your…

Haloh! Pisar Hut-ah? Can I order-ah?

Can I have your Future Card number, sir?

It’s arh… hold on prease… arh… it’s 790230-88-5551.

Thank you, Mr. Tan Ah Beng. You’re calling from Block 345, Teck Whye Ave, #41-1522. Your home number is 6788988, your office number is 6912788 and your mobile is 96788688. Which number are you calling from?

Home-lah, wah, where you get all my phone numbers-ah?

We are connected to the Future Card system, sir.

OK-lah, OK-lah, can I order your seafood pisar?

That’s not a good idea, sir.

Why cannot-ah?

According to your latest medical records, you have high blood pressure and high cholestrol level, sir.

What? Wah-lau-eh… medical records also you know. So what you lecomend?

Try our low fat Hokkien mee pizza, I’m sure you’ll like it, sir.

Wah, how you know I like Hokkien mee-ah?

You borrowed a book titled ‘Popular Hokkien Dishes’ from the National Library last week, sir.

OK, OK, beh-ta-han. Give me three family size pisar. How much-ah?

That should be enough for your family of 10. The total is $45. How would you like to pay?

I pay by Future Card, can or not?

I’m afraid you have to pay us cash, sir.

Why?!

Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank $6,720.55 since October last year, sir.

Ka-nee-nah… everything also know, chia-lat!

That’s not including the late charges of your housing loan, sir.

OK-lah, I run to ATM to take cash before you come to my house-loh.

You can’t sir, based on the records, you’ve reached the daily limit on machine withdrawal today.

What?!

The latest withdrawal is $150 for 4D and Toto at 4:56pm, sir.

Never mind, just send the pisar. I borrow money from my Ah Mah. How long-ah?

45 minutes, sir. But if you can’t wait you can collect it with your motorcycle. You are only 5 minutes away.

Where got transport?

According to your Future Card, you own a Honda scooter, registration number FE 3288…

Ka-nee-nah!

Better watch your language, sir.

Why should I?

Remember on 15th July 1987 you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman…

*[ugh}*

Is there anything else, sir?

Nothing. By the way, please remember to give me the 3 bottles of free Coke as advertised?

We would, sir. But based on the records, you are also diabetic…

I’m going to the hawker centre to tah-pao. Pisar no stock.

5:01 Band (Circa 1997)

tks Chris for inspiring me to dig up my former band's videos. it feels good to once again reminisce the good o'l days. the following video links were from a 3-night gig at Lucena city, (1997) a mardigras festival in conjunction with the city fiesta. to give you an idea, about 6 streets (abt. 200meters in length) in parallel were setup with a stage on both ends (so that's abt. 12 stages). people can roam from one stage to another. each stage is sponsored and ours was under the Asia Brewery banners. we only had 2-days rest after this gig then we had to fly to Roxas City for a 1-nite fiesta gig.

we call ourselves '5:01' a time reading (pm) that signals us to knock-off from work and head to the studio or gig. perpetual members are raffy, joji, eric, bituin, ariel and me. alternate members are myra and olan.

pardon for the amateurish videos as we only have our driver to entrust the videocam to. he was a chainsmoker and never got to cover even one song in full.

5:01 Band Sighting (On The Road)

5:01 Band Sighting (Hotel Report)

Somebody

More Than You'll Ever Know

Its You (All Of My Life)

Till They Take My Heart Away

Its Too Late & Foolish Heart

Dont Know What To Do

Missing You

Don't Speak

Friends, Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Easy Lover

Give It Up & Easy Lover

Jump

Jump_2

Billy Joel Medley

My Sharona

Awitin Mo't Isasayaw Ko

can't wait for this...

Stefi Spotlight: 'The Artist_1'

Stefi Spotlight: 'The Singer'

heartrock pinoy @ marine cove
among the four featured bands, MESH POTATOES' was conceived by architects/3d professionals who met each other in a 3d visualization-related web forum. 'mesh' is a 3d-model or virtual objects that we create that when rendered, creates realistic images or animations. as 'couch potatoes' are tv bums, 'MESH POTATOES' are we (the band members) in analogy.

the mp's are:
chris, edgie, alan, celes, norman, ryan, glenn

Venue:
@ marine cove mcdonalds
East Coast Park, Singapore
27 May 2006, 6-10pm
masaya to!!!

Rafa Wins!

A few related links:

Nadal Claims Clay History After Winning Rome Title

By the Numbers: The Nadal Clay Court Winning Streak

Happy Happy Mother's Day!!!

Prelude to Roland Garros

An interestng rivalry is brewing. Tennis buffs like me has something to look forward to when French Open (Roland Garros) begins the matches at the end of this month. At the time this is being written, ATP Masters Rome semi-final matches are in progress. Roger Federer playing against David Nalbandian (6-3, 3-6, 1-2), earlier on Rafael Nadal astounded Gael Monfils. Inevitable to say, it's prob'ly gonna be another Federer vs Nadal in the Finals. If it does, its gonna be another interesting hyperbattle as it was just about a month ago when both gentlemen played against each other in Montecarlo, where Nadal gloriously emerged against Federer. Whoever turns victor, i'd bet my cards on him for the Roland Garros crown.

Roland Garros (RG) is so far the only grand slam event that has eluded Federer. Even the great and retired Pete Sampras never had a chance to lift the RG trophy. Experts say Federer's game is perfect for any type of court (grass, hardcourt) including clay but yet why he's never won RG? Perhaps its because of the existence of much better claycourt players. Nadal for one is the best claycourt player today, being the RG defending champion is a testament to that. Nadal's getting better and better while Federer, already considered as one of the greatest players is too hungry for the RG crown. It will be an interesting battle should they meet in the finals at the current ATP Masters Rome, a prelude to Roland Garros.

Enjoy your bali trip, colleagues!

Last year's VMW trip to HK was fun.




I was hoping the company's admin chosed Taiwan, but they eventually decided on Bali. Much as I wanted to join today's trip, due to the risk, SM advised me not to go. I'll be on 'Working Holiday' anyway so beach bums, enjoy the trip!

The Coolest Drum Solo