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Editor’s Note
THINK TANK Mario Benipayo Publisher
Summer’s Attack! It was summer of 1995 when I first heard the song “214” from a relatively new band Rivermaya. Aside from its poignant guitar solo courtesy of Perf De Castro, the song itself was a fresh approach to OPM band songwriting dominated then by raunchy guitar power chords. The song‟s piano intro segueing into a bass ostinato was pure class. I didn‟t actually subscribe to some critics‟ dumb idea that the band lacked originality. Heck, give me a purely original OPM artist and I can show you where he derives his material. In this day and age, everyone is being inspired by someone else, and that is okay. But there was something about how this band incorporated bits and pieces of music and blended it into one distinct catchy tune. That takes talent. Several years after, the members have gone different routes and greater heights with their chief songwriter still much part of the music industry. He is this issue‟s cover story: Rico Blanco. See what he is busy with these days. Check out too this issue‟s Gear Geek, bassist Nino Avenido, plus our new profile on Solid Brown Studio. We have also added new columns like Producer‟s Corner with DJ Silverfilter as our first feature; Ministry In Focus where „STiG features the church ministers‟ side on making great music. For this issue, we highlight the Presence Team, the music ministry group of Jesus Our Good Shepherd Global Outreach. We are also bringing you a profile on Jim Ayson, the creator of Philmusic.com, and how things have changed since he founded the site years ago. As you already acquired this, you realized that „STiG magazine is free. Share us to your friends by having them visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/stigmagazine and liking the page. Thereafter, you may freely download any and all our upcoming issues, read on some news worthy events and be aware of good product reviews from our country‟s respected musicians as they test each buzz-worthy music product. And while you‟re reading „STiG, let me just sing “Am I real?♪♪...”
Bel Sayson Editor-in-Chief Jesso Montejo Staff Writer Paolo Memije Layout Artist Bong Aycocho Duane Fernandez Loren Tamayo Gear Coordinators Bert Aricheta Photographer Jerald Rabino Editorial Assistant Robert Dela Cruz Guest Contributor
For comments and suggestions Email us at: stigmagazine@gmail.com
Visit us at: facebook.com/ stigmagazine
Bel
Free download at issuu.com Copyright 2011 Philippines. All rights reserved. Gear product photos used with permission. For advertising inquiries, call (02) 925-25-97.
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PAMBANSANG MUZIKLABAN ATTRACTS 25,000 PHOTOS BY :
JUAN MIGUEL BERNAL BERT ARICHETA
The 2011 Pambansang Muziklaban Grand Finals was successfully held along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City last January that peaked at 25,000 attendees. The event, an annual amateur band contest that started in 1999, showcased some of the biggest names in rock music and the entertainment industry. No less than 8-division world boxing champion and pound-forpound king Manny Pacquiao graced the event and sang select songs from his own album. Journey frontman Arnel Pineda likewise drew big cheers from the crowd as he performed classic rock songs that ended with thousands singing the cover of “We are the Champions” in deference to the night‟s championship competition. This year‟s winner, Light of Luna, bested four other finalists with their effective use of rapid guitar delays and big sound despite being a 3-piece band. They won P500,000 prize money and musical instruments from The Music Source. Other awesome performers included Juan Dela Cruz, Slapshock, Greyhoundz, Wilabaliw, Kjwan, Even, Ozawa, and The Chongkeys. The Pambansang Muziklaban is annually presented by Red Horse Beer.
ATTRACTS 25,000
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Drummer Joseph “Otep” Concepcion (right) is now a Stagg cymbal ambassador. His new cymbal gear now includes the Stagg Classic Series 14” hi-hat, 20” ride and 18” crash cymbal. Otep, as he is widely known, has played for a number of international artists as John Ford Coley, Toto’s Bobby Kimball, Matt Monroe Jr., Workshy, Joe Lamount, among many others. He also played with a number of Philippine artists like Francis M, Gloc 9, Rico Blanco, Ely Buendia, Nina, Boy Katindig, and Ozawa. He recently won Drummer of the Year at the last Nu Rock Awards, validating his talent as one of the finest young drummers in the country today.
Your techy tablets want
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‘STIG NEWS
Tutti Caringal, owner of Blue Light Studios, uses The Kelly Shu kick drum microphone mount on his studio drumsets. It is the first portable, permanent isolation mount for an internal kick-drum microphone. It looks like a horseshoe (hence the name Shu) suspended in the middle of the drum bungee cords. Tutti, more popularly known as the drummer/vocalist of 6 Cycle Mind, believes the Kelly Shu is a true isolation mount as the mic holder is literally suspended by elastic cords. The Kelly Shu is currently available at The Music Source.
Rico Blanco (right) receives his Artist Platinum Card (APC) from The Music Source. The card, given to select musicians and official music endorsers, entitles the holder to exceptional purchase discount plus additional privileges from The Music Source.
PRODUCER’S CORNER
SILVERFILTER Words by Duane Fernandez
Known for his versatility and styles ranging from banging techno, to funky house, to aggressive drum and bass, to lounge and chillout, Silverfilter has been around the Philippine electronica scene since the early 2000‟s. He is also a founder of Electronica Manila, a collective of electronic artists in the country. I caught up with him and he happily discussed his „Stig gear.
How did you start into music, particularly electronic? I got into music fully head on when I was 12 and started playing in bands since. I've been heavily into the grunge scene then but later on got introduced to the sounds of The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, and Fatboy Slim. Once I learned music software and the power to write music on my own, electronic music got the best of me. I got into live electronic performances as early as 1998-1999 but started doing it regularly by 2001 onwards. Then on, I focus on house, tech-house, techno, as well as drum and bass.
What were your gear history and the current set-up and software that you use? I started with an MC307 paired up with a Pioneer EFX500 and Kaoss Pad. I later added an SP808 and updated the KP's to the newer versions. Later on I added Electribes EM1 and ES1 to the mix. Then I went the software route with Ableton Live with a Novation Remote SL but still kept my FX boxes. I then moved on to Live with an APC40 and then later on Maschine running inside Live. These days, I think I want to change into running Maschine standalone clocked to Reason+Record controlled by a Novation X Station. I believe it will help me add more to the live aspect of it. Of course, I will still use my FX boxes EF500 and KP3. I just found myself a NOS Korg ER1 mk1 and I inherited a pair of ES1's and an EA1 and will be getting back my ESX soon, so I'm also planning on making an all-hardware set once again. But I'm thinking more on saving up to get a Machinedrum UW mk2 hopefully soon. I think I need to develop my Maschine and Reason live set just so it can also be easy to transport since I need to take my live set on the road.
For production, I'm mostly software running Propellerhead Reason inside Record controlled by an Akai MPK49 for the main studio and an Akai LPK for mobile productions. I guess controllers help me more on the live aspect now that I have switched to live laptop sets because it has made the software more tangible. With products like the Akai APC40 and Native Instruments' Maschine, I've been able to get my eyes off the computer and interact more with the gear and the people rather than end up looking like I was checking my email, haha.
What is your take on how technology has affected how people create and produce music? Well, the good thing is you don't need tons of money these days to make music. All you need is a computer and its basic software for you to create and release ready materials. The bad thing is tied up with it. Since it's pretty easy to get the gear to make music, a lot of half-baked stuff gets out there without some people realizing that there should still be a basic understanding of arrangement, mixing, and polishing tracks by the artists or their producer.
What’s next for Silverfilter? A few of my tracks have been signed recently by labels from the UK, US, and Romania. I have already been asked to do a few remixes for the labels too so it's good that, aside from the releases, I also get to remix other foreign acts as well. I'm also releasing stuff with Deeper Manila Records as well as Electronica Manila Records for an album release, hopefully, this 2011. For more inquiry, just contact me through my website, http://silverfilter.com.
But for now, the Live, Maschine, APC, EFX500, and KP3 is a good set-up so far.
How does technology influence your live performances and production? How do you maximize the utilization of software controllers? Technology has drastically changed it. I mean, I've started out strictly with hardware synths and boxes with my live performances then when Ableton came and technology caught up with stability, it made me go the software route.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS MASCHINE GROOVE STUDIO
PROFILE
JI M AYSO N Words by Bel Sayson One of the pioneers of internet advocacy in the Philippines, I first met Jim Ayson when I was a newbie music product manager in the mid 1990â€&#x;s while he was doing our companyâ€&#x;s website. A cool drummer, Jim and his Philmusic booth were often present at trade shows and music events at that time and I had the benefit of jamming with him on some of these occasions. With thousands of active posters and years of being the default music forum site, it is only befitting to profile the creator of Philmusic.com: Jim Ayson. What inspired you with the idea of creating the Philmusic site?
qualified based on their maturity and their knowledge of the area topic (i.e. guitar, bass, drums etc).
I think it was 1996, I was just a newbie on the Internet and I became part of an Internet usenet group called soc.culture.filipino. A lot of people based in the US were asking questions about the Philippine music scene so I started answering them. Later in I learned HTML (coded by hand!) and some of us were thinking about putting more Philippine content online - so I started posting about music. PhilMusic started as a mailing list on a local ISP called iPhil put by Miguel Paraz. From the active discussions on the maiing list, it spun off into a website and the domain was registered in late 1996. I paid $75 a year with Network Solutions for the domain.
I remember when the Eraserheads reunion was one of the periods when Philmusic was most active with various readers and commentators visiting the site. What were your fondest memories in Philmusic?
Philmusic was also the recipient of a number of online awards. Can you enumerate them? During those early times, was it a conscious effort for you as the creator for the site to be nominated and earn some credibility? I think it won those awards because it was the only site out there putting up that type of content. I would describe it as a music blog before the term "blog" was invented. If I can recall, the awards were in the Philippine Web Awards (aka the local Webbies): as Website of the Year and Best Music Site (1997); Best Music Site and People's Choice Music category (1998 -2002); Hall of Fame Award - 2002 or was it 2003? After that, I then retired the site from competition, LOL.
Presently, Philmusic is the default forum site for anyone in the Philippines who is in the market for music gear, audio recording equipment, among other related topics. How does one maintain such a heavy traffic site? It's not easy, the site always go down because the forum software buckles down due to the traffic. The solution is probably better software and hosting. Maybe we should try Amazon S3 next. Chette Soriano is the overall site administrator and she has done a pretty amazing job so far.
How does one become a moderator? How many moderators are currently active? I believe there are 10 moderators. I must check. Moderators are volunteers; they send me a message and I gauge if they are
I guess my favorite moments were the live chat events where we would invite music artists to go online and have them answer questions online. My favorite guests were Joey Ayala, Parokya ni Edgar, Rivermaya, and Kulay.
You are also an avid music event photographer. Any local artist who was fun to shoot at in the events that you covered? The jazz musicians are my favorite subjects, because I love jazz, haha!
Working now for Smart Communications, do you see any developing new media or technology that can compliment Philmusic in the future? Maybe music apps for smartphones - like Last.FM, Spotify and Pandora. But the copyright issues for those apps are daunting. Best to stick to indie music, I say. This eliminates the whole copyright dilemma.
Where do you see our Philippine music evolve next? Where do you hope it would be? We all hope to have a distinct sound that can be identifiable around the world - like Brazillan Bossa, Jamaican reggae, American Blues or African rhythms. Although I don't know what is a Filipino sound just yet except for a few ethnic influences. Likewise, our pop songs are more melodic than our American counterparts, so I hope those are good starts on us finding our own sound.
Ni単o Avenido Bassist Photographer Audio Engineer Gear Geek
1. Apple iPad 16GB WiFi - I was never a big fan of the Mac but Apple is the first company to get the touch-screen and tablet technologies right! It's such a versatile device that I think I'm just starting to scratch the surface on what it can do. But for now, I use it mainly for reading (PDFs, magazines, news, websites, etc) and general media consumption. I would probably get myself another one once the iPad 2 hits the local market.
2. iMate Jasjar (aka. HTC Universal / O2 XDA Executive) With today's standards having BBMs, iOS and Androids scattered in the market; this Windows-Mobile-based device is severely outclassed and outdated. But it doesn't matter. It does the few things that I intended it to do anyway, particularly MS Outlook integration. In my opinion, no other class of smart-phones integrates with Outlook as well as this model. Despite the fact that there are now more far advanced smart-phones around, this unique device still turns heads and begs to be asked, "What is that?!"
3. Plantronics Voyager 510S - The Voyager 510S is one of the best Bluetooth headsets I've ever used (next to the Voyager Pro, which I lost). Aside from the convenience of being able to talk hands-free, this headset has a couple of tricks that few other headsets could actually do. Its multi-point technology allows this headset to connect to 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously, without the need to pair, disconnect and reconnect every time you'd need to use it with another phone or device. With A2DP support, I also could stream music from my phone, via Bluetooth, to the Voyager. Very nice!
4. Sans Amp Bass Driver DI - Amongst my bass/music related gear, I'd say that this deserves the medal-of-honor in my book. This is already the third BDDI I've owned, all of them serving me well all these years. I always bring this along whenever I need to play bass, and especially with Audie's heavy and really loud guitar sound, I can't play with Greyhoundz without it! If a cranked bass amp and a pretty cranked Sans Amp are not enough to match the heaviness of the entire band's sound, I could also use this DI‟s parallel output to jack it up to another amp or use the XLR output to hook it up straight to the board. Sometimes (especially with „Houndz), tone is only secondary to POWER and this truly provides the capabilities to get the job done, not to mention it sounds awesome too!
5. Cannon Powershot SX201S – It's not a DSLR and not your typical point and shoot too. But with such a feature packed camera, I just had to get one for myself! It has the features that really mattered to me: The flip/tilt LCD view finder changes the game on how you could shoot with such interesting perspectives. It can shoot HD (720P and stereo audio) and has a dedicated video-recordingon-demand-button, which allows you to shoot video semi-instantly regardless of the shooting mode you are in. It runs on 4x AA battery and provides a pretty long battery life. The 28mm - 580mm (20X) zoom/focal range just speaks for itself. It may be a little noisy at 800 ISO and up, but a noisy shot is still better than no shot at all, right? It's not a DSLR, so it slips past the "No DSLR Allowed" rule during big concerts that simply leaves the organizers scratching their heads when they check it out! It may not be as sharp as a DSLR with an L lens, or as "colorfully-attractive" as say, an LX3, but with everything mentioned above, I think this is a winner!
Nino Avenido is best known as one of the founders of Greyhoundz, a Filipino metal band that is one of the most recognizable rock bands in the country. He also plays for other groups, most notably Out of Body Special, for whom he won Bassist of the Year in the 2008 NU Rock Awards. Nino also won previous Bassist of the Year honors for Greyhoundz, in 2002 and 2005, making him the only three-time recipient of the recognition.
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Solid Brown Studio is a sound-proof acoustically designed rehearsal and recording studio located in Quezon City. It is a good answer to artists who are looking for a number of recordings: from simple voice over, live demo, to a multitrack recording of your band's work. Guests can likewise avail of a free Wifi internet access while waiting for for their studio slot. Some of the bands who record and rehearse at Solid Brown are Pentavia, Kabaong Ni Kamatayan, Coffee Cream Island, Talata, among others. They also sell high-quality music T-shirts and offer tattoo services through their "Skin and Ink" brand.
Equipment Listing: *Stagg GAR60 Amps *Ashdown 515 Bass Amp *JTS Microphones *Hotwire Microphone cables *Stagg XLR Cables *Stagg Drum Sticks *Stagg Cymbals - SH Series - Furia Series - DH Series Address:
165 Molave corner Batino Project 3, Quezon City
Contact them via:
http://facebook.com/solidbrownstudio
MINISTRY IN FOCUS
Jesus Our Good Sheperd The Presence Team — Praise and Worship
Members: Pastor Brian Acosta - keyboard, Robbie Miranda - drums, Jofet Villaflor - drums, Jumanie Padua - percussion, Migo Santos - guitars, Shahram Bastani - bass, Pastor Biboy Payawal - worship leader, Lutha James Li - acoustic guitar, and Gabriel Payawal - bongo and chimes
How does a regular church member join the Presence Team? There is an open invitation for any regular church attendee to join our team. Inasmuch as musical skill is important in one’s admission, we make more effort to know their desire to freely serve the church. Praise and worship membership is a calling and a commitment that will take up a considerable amount of time from anyone. The desire to serve has to be present and evident. We also require them to be an apprentice for 3 months in order for us to properly assess this prerequisite. How do you choose which songs to play? The worship leader initiates the choice of songs to play. Pastor Biboy usually sends SMS text to the members regarding the playlist days before our usual Saturday practice. If the song choice is a new one, we make it a point to inform everyone in advance so that they can better prepare before the jam.
What are the typical “trials” praise and worship teams face? For us where many are students, there are times that a particular member cannot play due to study obligations. Others are also busy with their jobs making them unavailable. These are valid reasons that the team understands. We make up for it by having alternate musicians who are willing to rotate the playing schedule. How do you choose your gear for the church? Some of us are brand conscious, meaning, we believe that some brands have the reputation of being good, reliable, and carry a certain amount of prestige. But we also take into consideration a number of factors in purchasing our musical instruments and audio equipment. The products also have to sound good, especially for wooden instruments where two instruments of the same model can be tonally different from one another. We need to play and test them first to see if it fits our criteria. Of course, pricing also plays an important factor. It may be the best branded instrument but we end up not buying it because the tone does not reflect what we are looking for or the price is way beyond our budget. Our credo is get the best if the provision calls for it – otherwise be content with what God provides you. Are there other local music ministries who inspire you? We are inspired to excel by some ministers as Pastors Rommel Guevara, Boy Baldomaro, and Franklin Benitez with Otep Concepcion of Musicians On Fire. How about secular local musicians? Regardless of their religious beliefs, we also acknowledge the musical influences of such artists as Juan Dela Cruz, The Dawn, Razorback, Julianne, and Yosha. Believe it or not, your EIC Bel Sayson is also really good! (Ed’s note: false humility is a sin so I’ll just be thankful for the nod!) Who are the international artists whom you look up to? For gospel artists, there are United, Lakewood, Israel and New Breed, Hillsong, Abraham Laboriel, and Lincoln Brewster. For secular, we are inspired by the skills of Dave Weckl, James Jamerson, John Bonham, Steward Copeland, and Jimi Hendrix. If your budget permits, what are the best musical instruments that the Presence Team wishes for? Many! For guitars, we wish for a Taylor 300 Series acoustic electric, Fender US Stratocaster, and an Ibanez Prestige Soundgear 6-string electric bass. For amps, the Ampeg SVT450 bass amp is simply awesome. For drums, we are eyeing the Tama 7-piece Starclassic Bubinga set. Others include Roland XP30, B3 powered speakers, LP percussions and a full supply of Vater drumsticks. That’s a good wish list! Now, what do you currently do to improve your music skills to serve the church better? Always practice and pray.
Band Set-Up: Aria electric bass Hartke bass amp combo Medeli electronic drums Stagg cymbals Marshall instrument amps LP Aspire conga
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Guest Reviewer: Robert Dela Cruz
STAGG MYRA SERIES Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Verdict: This cymbal series encourages you to be radically aggressive
I’m a hard hitter and in pursuing the right cymbals for my many needs, I look for these important qualities: Cast Loud and Brilliant Powerful Thick and Durable Value for money The Myra cymbal series from Stagg caught my attention 6 years ago when I was looking for a set that can meet most of my requirements. It gives me the right amount of quality I expect on cymbals without really burning my pocket. As many of us Filipinos are well aware, price is always a big consideration in purchasing our instruments: they have to be worth our every buck especially on something that will eventually break as is the case for all cymbals. After all these years, the Myra set serves me well, well enough for me to play them on 3 bands with different music genres: Rico Blanco (pop/alternative), Skychurch (metal), and Wilabaliw (new metal). They play comfortably even in long intense sets and in venues, such as provincial stadiums, where loudness really counts. Its sound appeals to a number of things I currently play on. Myra‟s bright, loud, and sustainable characteristics cater to Rock and Metal genres. Equally, the dynamic it gives me easily cuts through any type of venue, be it on a huge coliseum or a small bar. Further, this cymbal‟s throw is so flexible, from medium loud to very loud, that it walks the fine line of volume and musicality. I know this as I have tried other cymbals that sounded monotonous: either they only sound good playing hard or soft and not possible to be both on the same cymbal. On an added note, its mirror-like finish adds glamour to my kit‟s set up. Many cymbal brands seem generally durable at first buy, a fact I experienced as I‟ve bought and used them all. I‟ve actually cracked many cymbals over the years, so I‟m quite familiar with their durability. But some of them are easily broken after just a few months despite being expensive. The Myra series, on the other hand, possesses the same high quality present in many branded cast cymbals. The good thing about it is that the Myra cymbals are a lot cheaper (as in a lot!) but still maintain the pro sound we are looking for. It is categorized as a “B20” cast cymbal, a general term used for any cymbal accepted as a Pro Series Cymbal. I give this a rocking thumbs up!
Pros: Affordable, Cast, Pro Sound, Pro Cymbal Cons: Hand crafted. A hand is never consistent as a machine thereby producing different types of sound from one cymbal to another - ultimately becomes a matter of taste for the buying drummer