midweek invites "guests" to blog about local music.

i introduced an old and close friend to another close friend last tuesday. it was a meeting of minds, a brainstorm of an idea, the penultimate coming together of minds that would rival that day that dumbledore met grindelwald. or something like that.

midweek welcomes a new writer -- a sort of music journalist, as it were. n.m. cabangbang will be helping develop feature stories and blog posts about the local music scene and about music in general.

this meeting, in east,west's upper smoking room, opened two possibilities for building content about cebu's thriving music scene, and help the promotion of local artists and musicians be recognized for the brilliant work they're creating.

the first possibility is of inviting guest blog writers, as it were, to midweek, where they may share their thoughts and voice opinions (dissenting or otherwise) about local music, about the bands, the movers and shakers, who make up the local "scene." ultimately, the plan is to develop a steady thread of blog posts and articles that would help document the local scene's journey to becoming a thriving independent counterpoint and alternative for musicians to develop and promote their music. hopefully, this blog will be able to support this objective through words and images, capturing how each local artist and musician contributed to the development of the cebuano music scene.

the second possibility is a little more selfish. as a partner of ian in developing content for midweek, it is my task to gather ideas and information for the blog. while i don't have a single iota of a clue as to where to start, i know quite a few people who may be able to contribute guest blogs, as a start. this meeting is midweek's launching of guest blog writers -- which is, in fact, very analogous to midweek sessions: every last wednesday of the month features a different roster of bands playing their original music. the idea is to develop the blog along this vein. (the selfish part comes as i can now develop my own lokal reggae blog -- expanding its scope not just about local reggae bands, but about the local music as well. nyahahahaha!)

be sure to expect new material in midweek in the next few posts, as we start building our "guest bloggers' pool." we hope you'll be dropping by every now and then, to sample and hear these local artists and musicians blog about their music, and their thoughts about cebu's local music scene.




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Bisrock and Lokal Reggae

When Bisrock took to the airwaves five, six years ago, they introduced local audiences to a new and catchy experience: Bisaya songs were no longer corny. Eventually, Bisrock is rightfully esconced into its niche in the local music scene.

Thinking back to that Bisrock burst makes me wonder: Was Lokal Reggae ever considered by the media, by the appreciating public, as a part of Bisrock?

Could Jr Kilat be considered a similar, albeit earlier, effort to kicking off the popularity of Bisrock, when it launched "Original Sigbin," or "Agta?" (All released before the Bisrock boom)?

About six years ago, I had gotten into a coffeeshop conversation with Budoy and Arcy Mon about reggae music. I asked them about the viability of writing Lokal Reggae music. Budoy's eyes were alight -- and not by some magical circumstance. He looks me in the eye and breathes: "Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, ug uban pa." The idea that Lokal Reggae was growing in so many places is really exciting -- and this is no sudden, out-of-the-blue trend -- I've written about this, several times, as a blogger and correspondent for the local dailies. From my point of view, things have reached critical mass. And the Bisaya language was the key to it all.

I posed the same question to the now-defunct The Herbs, and they pointed me to three new Lokal Reggae hotbeds where the musicians were coming up with original material and developing their own sound -- Cebu Institute of Technology, Southwestern University, and AMA Computer College. Off-Cebu, they also pointed to the cities of Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro and Davao. "Init kaayo ang reggae anang mga lugara," say the former Herbs-men, now the Microphone Commanders.

And this was all before Bisrock. It seems to me like Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, and rocksteady all over again. You know, when Clapton covered, "I shot the sheriff" and it became so popular that they just had to bring in the real thing to the States. Now, I may be wrong, but there's something Jungian and Zafra-esque to all this. It begs the question of how instrumental Lokal Reggae was in setting the acceptance of Cebuano and Bisaya original compositions.

Was it?

Or was it just a case of simultaneous growth --- Jung? Ian Z.? Theories, anyone?

But I do miss those days, when Bajuyo's Shrub would take the stage, crooning about of the girl that got away... in Binisaya.





Penumbra: Thanks to Ian Z., James of CDMC, Budoy, Arcie Mon and a host of other reggae musicians and enthusiasts that i engaged into conversation about this most interesting "what if" topic.

See you all at the festival!








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See you all soon!!! :)


CEBU REGGAE FESTIVAL









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J-Ska and the Pussycats

C M introduced me to J-Ska and ever since then, I've been blown away. Who would have known that big band ska and punk ska were big hits in Japan? Not me. At least, before.

Now, I know better. The heavies in Japan's ska scene include Ore Ska, Ryo the Skywalker, Natsumen, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Listening to their music is pure and utter ska heaven -- Or is it nirvana? Does anyone know what's Shinto for "I'm in heaven right now and all I really need a frosty bottle of SMB Pilsen?"

Then, he drops Island Joe, Crown Royale, Skunky Muggles, and Skankin' Brews, and a virtual who's who of local ska bands on my lap.

It just makes the heart grow fonder to know that ska -- in all its wonderful pussycat flavors -- is alive in the Lokal Reggae scene.



I miss Who's Next? ... *Sigh*






Penumbra:
Big, Bad Bassman Joe --- Thanks for introducing me to 311 and Mighty Mighty Bosstones in high school. I love you, man.
C M --- No matter how much you'll hate me, I'm giving you a bearhug.

Tracing the Land Bridges of Lokal Reggae

Public perception of Lokal Reggae (Cebuano reggae music), identifies it as the poor man's imitation to Bob Marley. Because of this, local audiences are rife with misconceived notions and perceptions. To the consternation of musicians, they often get the flack. They've been called one-dimensional and even ludicrous for their freaky aping of the Jamaican patois.

In defense of the Cebuano reggae musician, my dear listening public -- you could not be closer to the truth.

Ian Z. and I were discussing the merits of the local music scene and its multitude of talent, yet no industry. We drifted, into why Lokal Reggae is often so misunderstood. "It's because, a musician, by virtue of his art, would find clarifying or educating audiences too difficult," says Ian. There's that stigma of being branded self-serving and vain, the Z-Man adds. And it's true; it's easier to open a bottle of San Mig Pilsen, than ask a musician to open up.

But there was no shyness when Raw Belief and Last Leaf started the stirrings of Lokal Reggae. They were not bashful about picking up Yellow Man (now King Yellowman), Steel Pulse and Shabba Ranks, much like how Jamaicans picked up bebop, blues, and jazz music drifting in from Miami radio stations and taking those influences and giving rise to ska and rocksteady, and later, reggae and dancehall. More importantly, these forerunnners of Lokal Reggae, were not shamefaced or reluctant about their roots in Jamaican music. They dared to move away from doing covers to making original compositions. Around these bands grew the erstwhile Jah People Society, which was on the right track when they embraced and educated neophytes and appreciative audiences about reggae music. Lokal reggae was the subculture in the 1990s, when grunge and punk were on a roll. Now, it's one of the most progressive in the local music scene.



Incidentally, did you know that dancehall reggae, developed and adapted in the late '60s and early '70s by pioneers like Sugar Minott, Henry Lawes, and Tristan Palmer, as well as Gregory Isaacs and Bunny Wailer, was the most popular genre of reggae in Cebu in the early 2000s? Dancehall has developed since the '60s much like metal music has changed, adapted and grown over the years. It later on gave way to ragga (digital dancehall reggae music), and to the more modern bashment, and dubbing.

Dub, or Dubbing, a sub-genre of dancehall that's acknowledged as one of the roots of rap and hip-hop, is rising as a local favorite. With Lokal Reggae stalwarts Jr Kilat and CDMC at the forefront, dubbing has become readily accepted not only in our island-cosmopolitan, but recognized across the major cities in the country, as well.

I am often at odds when friends ask what music I like, and then they start humming to Bob Marley. But there's no denying it -- without him reggae would've been a Caribbean curiosity. It was this breakout of massive proportions that brought reggae to the world stage. But rocksteady is just one sub-genre of reggae. It's like that old Filipino joke: Once of these days, you just have start learning to order more than just egg sandwiches.

Tracing the land bridges of Lokal Reggae is an exciting adventure. It would be inspiring to trace the history of how Raw belief and Last Leaf gave way to Bajuyo's Shrub, and then on to Urbal, to the Herbs, to Jr. Kilat, to CDMC, to Enchi, Pasakanin, and Skunky Muggles, and to a far-reaching and growing scene of Lokal Reggae musicians and bands that continue to give life to that connection established in the last two decades, and making it their own.

And maybe then, we can dispel the public misconception that Lokal Reggae is a pathetic imitation of the real thing. IT IS reggae -- it's Lokal Reggae.









penumbra: thanks to Jr Kilat, CDMC, Skunky Muggles and Enchi for the use of their photos! :)