Greetings fellas. This is going to be my last post for the year 2004. It's been a good year to me right up to the end. I know there are a lot of other things going on in the world that are really bad (the Asian tsunami, war in the Middle East, etc.) but I on the other hand have to thank all the powers that be for keeping me, my family, and my friends safe and prosperous. Let's hope the run continues for the next year. So this is Frank signing off for the year 2004, wishing all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It may be delayed but as the old saying goes "better late than never". So here goes. Merry Christmas!

A bunch of Warner Music people saw Overtone playing at Yaku and invited us to play at their Christmas part. They apparently enjoyed our show so much that they bargained with Jay Server to let us play at their party before a Capone's gig. Who are we to turn Warner down. It could lead to big things.

The party went well and a lot of the execs seemed to like us. What we did get directly out of it was a gig for Chito Rono's Spirits cast party. Thanks to Lisa Nakpil who was watching. Hopefully though the Warner execs like us enough to be nice to us when we decide to come out with an album.

Overtone has been busy. We've been doing gigs almost everyday for the past few weeks. Mostly Christmas parties. One we attended was for the cast of Chito Rono's "Spirits". The cast of this show are mostly kids. In fact, I don't know any of them. This thing was booked by Lisa Nakpil for us. She saw us at the Warner gig and liked us enough to recommend us to "Direk" Chito.

It started of weird enough. We had to get ourselves all the way to Pansol. The party was going to be held in some not-so-famous resort that we had to find. A map was provided but was more of a puzzle to figure out. Of all the landmarks to put on the map, the genius who made it put in all the small and obscure places like "sari-sari" stores and "videoke" bars. Yet right next to those places were bigger and more easily spotted places like Mc Donald's or KFC. Geez!

Once at the venue we already knew something was up. Lisa warned us that the sound system provider would be local. The warning was justified as when we went to check the equipment out, the amps were smaller than what practice studios use. Waaay below what's needed for an open-air, live performance. But here's the kicker. NO DRUM KIT!!!

We freaked. Called Lisa and asked what to do? She immediately got on it and demanded a kit be brought in. We were told by the sound system that they'll get their kit in Calamba. Fine. 30 minutes later we could hear that they leased their kit out and had to find another one.

The programme started and was well within it's first hour when the drum kit finally arrived. It was in poor condition but what the hey? I could work with it. There were parts missing and parts missing of parts, you get the picture. Good thing I bring a lot of my own gear.

We did the show. What can I say? We pulled it off. Some of the cast jammed with us (with songs we're ashamed to even mention that we know), the crew was dancing. Chito Roño liked us enough to give us a little extra. He did say that he'd get us again for his other parties. Jay commented that it's a good thing it turned out that way. He hopes people realize they don't need a "show band" to enjoy at a party. Good playing and rock music is enough. Amazing!

I know. I've been delinquent. I haven't posted anything on my blog for quite some time. As my previous post stated, I have been lazy. To think, a lot of things have happened since then. First off, let me greet all of you a merry Christmas (even though I'm late by a week). I'll greet all of you a happy new year in a while though. As for the rest of my stories, I'll give them individual posts so hold on while I get busy writing them.

I've been so lazy these past few days. I don't feel like doing anything.
My blog is evidence to that. I haven't been posting in a while. It's not
that I have nothing to do, far from it in fact. I just seem to be in
"holiday mode".

Right now I can't wait for Friday morning. That's the day I can finally
give in to this mode and do nothing. No work, no gigs. Nothing. But even if I know Friday is so near, I still can't seem to help being lazy.

I'm sure a number of you are familiar with a TV show on GMA-7 called Bubble Gang. For those of you who aren't, it's basically a comedy show with different skits. Several of the biggest comediennes and actresses are alumni of this show. Last night was their Christmas party in which Overtone got to play. We were basically invited by Ara Mina who saw our gig in Yaku last Thursday. The venue, which belonged to Ara, was Ostuario along Timog.

The night didn't start so well. While we were somewhere on the way Ramon from Ear Candy (the sound system provider) called us up asking if we were playing full band. As far as we knew we weren't. Ara saw us playing acoustic and Jay Server (the one who booked the gig) didn't say otherwise. So we only brought our acoustic gear and headed for the venue. Later when the sound system arrived we noticed that they had a drum set in the truck. They were informed that there might be need for it. Ramon then called Jay Server. Jay said the gig was full band. He apologized he didn't tell us sooner and said that he'll just pass for our stuff. Of course the gig being in QC and our stuff being back in BF, Jay was going to take a while. We were an hour from show time. Eventually we had to play with or without our full band gear. We setup for acoustic and played a set that wasn't so well received (that's putting it lightly). It was obvious we were stalling. Somewhere mid-set Jay Server arrived.

We cut the set short to setup. In the meantime Micheal V. and Oggie Alcasid hosted the program. Man were they funny. We couldn't help but crack up at all their wisecracks. Ara on the other hand was making sure we were all ok. They're raffle had all sorts of stuff from the stupid, Mitsuboshi electric fans; to the grand, trip for two to Hong Kong. An iPod was given somewhere in the middle. As they wrapped the show up we prepared for our set.

The set turned out to be a giant jam, with all the performers in the room it was inevitable. Tito used to back Oggie up so his material was easy. However, most of Oggie's ballads we turned into punk (that's Oggie's doing). I must say they sound better. We did everything: pop, opm, rock, alternative, reggae, you name it. Everyone taking their turns. Even Amanda Paige sang. She's been hanging out with us a lot so she knew our repertoire.

All in all not a bad turn of events. Though it started really really crappy, it ended on a pretty high note. Ara was commenting that that's the rowdiest they've ever got. Dang were good!

I came back yesterday from Batangas. Overtone had a beach gig the night before for our friend Bats. It was her birthday celebration. Again we were at La Luz which is owned by another friend. The resort for that weekend was closed just for friends which made the whole place very relaxing. No crowds, very little noise, your own personal space. That's what I needed.

Although we got there late, sometime at around five in the afternoon, there was still much to do. We placed our things in our room and changed into beach attire. We basically hung out at the beach (that's a lot to do?) getting sand between our toes. There are cabanas there by the shore in which you can lay down and relax so that's just what we did. Bats and Johanna (pronounced Yohana, she's Swedish) arrived. Talked to them for a bit before it was time for dinner. Dinner was also at the beach. There were tables lined up on shore, all candle lamp lit, torches all around. Nice.

We were wondering why the stage hadn't been setup. Apparently there was no tech. We did the setup ourselves after dinner. Running back and forth from the stage to the mixer. By the way, the stage was also on the beach. We had the sea as the backdrop, with a very clear and starry night sky. The stage was lit with different colored candle lamps, giving a soft colorful hue.

The gig came out wonderfully. The audience was receptive and they were jumping up and down as we played. Bats had requested that we play some songs that she could sing. So we did. She was up on stage for quite some time. She wasn't too bad. Her friends loved it. We on the other hand had a first. We did an original. Yup. Tito and I had no idea what we were doing. We were just following Jay. He started the song and we followed. The song doesn't even have a title yet. We told ourselves afterwards that we'll work on it when we get back to Manila.

After the gig the two guys went back to the room and slept! They left me all alone. So naturally, I went out and socialized. I ended up with Bats and Johanna again. We were on the beach just looking at the stars (drinking of course). What a sky! Shooting stars were abundant. You'd just have to wait and one would just streak off towards a direction. They say if you see on you should make a wish. Funny how nobody does because they're just excited they saw one. The two with me ended up falling asleep on the beach. I on the other hand was fully awake. I didn't feel right just leaving two women on the beach so I waited for them to get up. Good thing I didn't have to wake too long (well, an hour). It was freezing. Though we had a blanket (we were camped out with a mat, pillows and the said blanket). They took the blanket. I was in shorts and a thin polo shirt. So I told them to head in and go to sleep. I went back to the room to do the same.

Next day Jay was the latest to get up. So much for his having to sleep early to enjoy the sun. Bah! I had two breakfasts. La Luz has a pretty good complement of cereal which i went through. Their corned beef wasn't too good so I stuck basically to the cereal. Healthy.

I pulled out a book and sat at the terrace of our room. I was able to finally catch up on some reading. We had lunch, then we packed and left. Can't wait to go back there or to another beach for that matter. The way home seemed quick. We had a side trip to Sta. Rosa (where I couldn't help buy another Adidas bag) for dinner, then home.

I realize that I like the beach. Not to swim or roll around in the sand but to simply kick back and relax. Even better with friends.

I have to admit that my other band doesn't get much gigs but, when we do get gigs they're big. Last December 1, 7 Foot Jr. was invited to perform at the annual MTV Music Summit. This concert was an AIDS awareness concert held at the Fort open grounds.

All in all there were more than 30 bands playing that night including several foreign acts. Among them were The Barbs and Duncan Sheik. For those of you who don't know The Barbs, they're a UK punk group who have been endorsing Pony here in the Philippines. Man they rocked! They played three songs with the crowd going nuts on everyone. Imagine the poor schmucks that had to come after them. Those guys happened to be us.

It wasn't too bad. A last minute change of the set list (just two songs) was in order; mainly to keep the energy high. We rocked as hard as we could. That was fun. Even the audience didn't seem to mind that we were a bunch of unknowns. Right after my forearms were numb. I guess I played too hard. Knowing we were only doing two songs I didn't hold back. The MTV guys did a great job of covering the band. Can't wait for the broadcast (if we make the cut).

Duncan Shiek was rather a disappointing. He choose a very, I mean a very melancholic set. The crowds energy dipped badly. He noticed and resorted to doing covers. Even his band,except for the guitarist (who is David Bowie's guitarist), was disappointing. I'd even dare to say that Overtone plays "Barely Breathing" and "On a High" better. At least I did get to meet Duncan (on a first name basis are we?). He's cool. He felt pretty disappointed that the crowd wasn't too into it but he did enjoy his stay. He was backstage the whole night listening to the other bands. We have pictures with him somewhere.

Out of the local bands Razorback and Kjwan are worth of mentioning. Kjwan singlhandedly picked the entire show up after Duncan. The crown was frenzied with their performance.

Hopefully next year would be as good. I just heard from the people at MTV that the Bare Naked Ladies wanted to play but they got the invitation late. Too bad.

I've been on a writing vacation for the past few weeks. Not by choice mind you. I just can't seem to get anything written down (imagine the difficulty trying to make my review deadline for T3). Too bad too since I've been quite busy since the start of December with my bands, friends, and work. Lot's to say so I'll start slowly.

Waiting at a client's foyer, I realize there are a lot of people who tick me off. These people are the "in" people: inept, inefficient, indecisive and so on.

One must ask why we have so many of those? Debbie had a post that was all about patience. Though she was refering to a different type of person (insensitive perhaps) patience still still must be applied here.

As one who deals with clients, you just have to put on a straight face and be nice. Hopefuly karma goes around and pays off.

An interesting question I ask a lot of friends is "What are your top 10 movies?" A simple but actually difficult question to answer. I ask this mainly because you can tell a lot about a person based on his/her taste in movies. It's also useful for those times when a friend goes "you should watch this movie, it's really good". Now if the guy happens to like Iron Eagle 4, you should take his recommendation with a little caution. Anyway, here are my top 10 movies.

Please note that multi-part movies such as trilogies, sagas, etc., count as one. Unless it really is just one particular one that you like.

1. Star Wars
2. Indiana Jones
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Jaws - Just the first one. The fourth in the series is my worst film of all time!
5. The Matrix - Again just the first one. The other two blew dog!
6. Jurassic Park - Just the first.
7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
8. Pulp Fiction
9. Fast Times at Ridgemount High
10. Joe Versus the Volcano - I know it's stupid but I can't help watching it whenever it's on.

If I had to arrange the list in a particular order that would have been it. For some reason the last three titles go in and out of the top ten list depending on whether I remember something else later on.

Want to look up any of the films I mentioned? Check out www.imdb.com.

Last Sunday was part of a long weekend so I decided to invite friends over to my place for a little get together. It was the excuse I was looking for to use the upstairs of my place. You see, my house has a roof deck. Since we moved in some few months ago, the roof deck has been rather unused. We set it up like another sala and is perfect for entertaining. So finally my friends and I decided to use it.

It was sort of a potluck. Art brought the beer, I gave the pizza (Brooklyn Pizza, to those out of BF you don't know what you're missing), Tito brought the barbecue from Phase 1, Angel brought Vodka, my sister gave Shakers and Nordic Ice, my mom corned beef balls, James the soft drinks for the weak. That was enough food and drinks for everyone. It was nice to be part of conversations where the topics were deep (you know Friendster questions?) but everyone was intoxicated and giving really funny answers (even if they were trying to be serious). But because they were drunk, you know they were being truthful. Tito seemed like a genius that night. Jay on the other hand was giving all safe answers. I guess it was because Val was right beside him.

All in all a fun night. One by one we staggered down the steps. Some crawling into their cars. Not realizing it was five in the morning. This "party" was long overdue. Maybe I'll use it as my birthday party for this year that never was. Make sense? Now to come up with another excuse.