don't look back in anger

More than a year after my last post, I decided to blog again. Why? Well, for one, I know that someday I would like to look back and reminisce of all the fun times I had. So here it goes...

HedgeZero my band for 3 years now, had lots of successes so far. I'll try to remember each one of them and post 'em here. We have a music video out, we played a gig at the Puerto Galera White Beach, our song Release me became the standout track of the week at NU107 and lots more. So many blessings to be thankful for. How I wish I blogged about them the time they were happening. Sheesh.

Anyway, we have lots of gigs lined up this month, tonight we'll be playing at Magnet Katips for Bandwagon Productions. Hope we get new listeners there.

'Til then!

chasing the dream

Thanks to my good friend Aline who posted a comment to this blog just now, I think I'm going to start writing again about my adventures as a struggling musician(naks!).

So many things happened to me this past year. If you were following my blog(naks ulit!) I think I ended my last post with me and noel forming an alternative rock band named "hedge".

Well, our band "hedge" is now called "hedgezero". And I could say that, man, we played a hell lot of gigs this past year. Small bars, big venues, popular places and not so popular places, we're really lucky to have played in all of them. But before I get into the details of our more memorable gigs, let me first introduce you to hedgezero.

Our current lineup is:

Aj Cayas - Vocals

Paulo Rodriguez - Guitar

Jp Reyes - Guitar

Mike Liwanagan - Drums

Noel San Felipe - Bass


We have an EP(4 track demo) out and we're planning to release an album next year. I'll tell you more about our songs and plans on my coming posts. Our band plays alternative rock and, honestly, we don't do it for the money. I'll tell you more about the band soon. Anyway, we'll be playing tonight at Saguijo(hell yeah!) Makati with Greyhoundz! Wish us luck! Till my next post. Rock on!

back in black

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since my last post. A lot has happened in my life since then. I'm not even sure where to start. Anyway, I'll do try to remember and jot down all the important ones.

My ska-punk band Green Leafy Veggies(GLV) is on hiatus now. I remember our last gig was around summer of 2006 at The Fort Car Show. Our guitarist, Richard, was not even with us anymore on that last gig. The band decided to take a long open-ended break when I guess everyone just got busy with their own thing. Our singer, Brian, went on to finish his Nursing studies and I believe he is now a graduate and is preparing for the National Board Exams. I think Richard went on to devote most of his time on his emo-band, "No Turning Back". Jonathan, our drummer, went on to form his new band "Pink Noodle".

Wow. It's really been awhile since I saw my band mates in GLV. Ska-Punk-Reggae songs will always remind me of our good old times. GLV will always be one of the best rock bands I've ever played in. To my band mates: Thank you and Rock On!!



Green Leafy Veggies(L-R): Jo, Brian, Me, Chard, Noel




By the way, as for me and Noel, we decided to form our own alternative-rock band "Hedge" last June 2006.

kick out the jams

Our band finally had it's first gig last Sept. 10, 2005 at Festival Mall in Alabang. It was the kickoff show of an eight-legged bar tour entitled "Kami Naman!". An event produced by Mr. Bob Gamboa(aka Papa Bear) of Sandbox band.

We were the first of the 7 bands that played for the gig. Since the hosts for the show were late, we were asked to play a few songs to keep the crowd interested. We opened the show at around 4pm with the song "Melt with you". We played 2 more songs "Badfish" and "Here in your bedroom" before the hosts arrived. After a brief introduction for the event, our band proceeded with our song lineup. We played "Pictures", "TimeBomb", "More today than yesterday" before playing our final song "Pass the duchie". The Event was a success! The other bands we played with are really good. A mix of different genres played by different bands really kept the show alive.

My girlfriend Kim, my office bud jen, together with my sister Kat and her friend Lex were my guests for the show. They took pictures and videos for us. Much love and a big thanks from our band goes to them.

The next gig for the tour will be Oct 8, 2005. We're all looking forward to it.

lie low and high hopes

Unfortunately due to some conflict with our schedules, our alternative band decided to lay low for now. The harsh realities of life...

But wait, all is not lost!

Right now, I'm focusing all my energies to my ska-punk band "Green Leafy Veggie". Here's a little background on us:

Green Leafy Veggie was formed by the brothers Jonathan(drummer) and Noel(bassist) San Felipe. Started way back in high school, the band was able to play gigs at Freedom Bar and Watering Hole and other bars. But of course, as with most bands, a lot of line-up changes occured. Green Leafy Veggie was already making a name for itself when Noel, the bassist, had to leave for a job abroad. The band was dormant 2 years.

Fast forward to 2005, Jo and Noel together with original guitar player Chard decided to regroup and play again. It was at this time that they invited their high school batch mate Brian(also our singer in our alternative band) to join the group. After a few jams, they decided they get another guitar player. This is where I came in. Brian asked me to try it out. I auditioned and luckily I passed. :)

I've been with the band since June 2005 and I'm really impressed with the pace our band is moving. We practice once a week usually on Sundays but there are also times we played on weekdays. Last August 16, 2005, we recorded our first demo at 6 underground in Makati. 9 songs in 50 mins. The joys of being a punk band hehehe!

Right now, our band is gearing up for an eight- legged bar tour. Kickoff is on Sept 10, 2005 at Festival Mall in Muntinlupa. I'm really excited with all of these happening in our band now. I've always dreamed of this ever since I was a kid. I owe this to God, my parents, Kim and to all my friends who believed in me. Thank you so much! :)

light up my fire

at last.....after a long break from playing in bands, i'm finally back. thank God!
wahooo! i've been playing guitar since 6th grade(year 1993 i guess..)
and it literally became my life. if given the chance, i would really
like to make my music career full time.. but since you gotta put food
on the table, i'm kinda forced to have a job. anyways, at least i have
a band again now and I would could use all the money I earn to buy and
upgrade my music stuff.

Our band consists of me and jino on guitars, gerard on bass, aug on
drums and brex on vocals. we play alternative rock music. our main goal
is to be able to play gigs and maybe release a record. last sunday was
our third practice as a band. that would make may 15, 2005 3-4pm our
first jam together(without jino..he was recruited by aug and joined us
on our second jam) in roaa(mandaluyong). we're currently working on three songs now:

1. King of New orleans - better than ezra
2. it's over now - neve
3. open your eyes - alter bridge

hopefully, we'd be able to perfect them by june or july 2005. we plan to cover around 7 songs before we start writing our own tunes. it's still a long way to go and our band doesn't even have a name yet!! hahaha! oh well..i'm sure we'll figure one out soon.. =)