And we have a winner! (cue Queen's "We are the Champions")

The Philips Bandwidth Virtual Battle of the Bands has come to the end of a very successful run, and has proven without a doubt that the local band scene is rich in young talent. At the finals night, all five finalists-- Acrasia, Barrio Morning Glory, Capo, Lysosome and Solid Camp Crew-- pulled all stops in giving the performances of their lives, making it a rock show for the ages.

It has truly been one heckuva ride, and we are very pleased to announce the winner of the Bandwidth competition-- Lysosome!!!

Congratulations guys, you wowed our esteemed judges/mentors Raimund, Francis and Cooky, as well as the audience! Enjoy your grand prize of P50,000 in cash and P25,000 worth of Philips Go Gear!

Of course, the rest of the finalists should be given much applause as well, as each of them gave a kick-ass showing during the finals night, not to mention throughout the course of this one-of-a-kind competition. To Capo, Barrio Morning Glory, Acrasia, and Solid Camp Crew, congratulations for a job well done, and keep on rockin'!

These guys did not go home empty handed as well, with the 1st runner up bagging P30,000 in cash and P10,000 worth of Go Gear, the 2nd runner-up receiving 20k cash and P5,000 in prizes, and the 3rd and 4th runners-up winning P5,000 worth of Go Gear.

Congratulations to all of you!

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Back With a Vengeance: the 2nd Philips Bandwidth Mentoring Session

The first mentoring session of the Philips Bandwidth finalists proved to be quite eventful, with the contestants getting valuable advice from the judges on what it takes to be a kick-ass band-- the mentors covered all the bases, discussing topics such as band dynamics, song arrangement, stage presence, and overall look.

Going into the 2nd mentoring session held yesterday at Mag:Net High Street, it was very exciting to see and hear how Acrasia, Capo, Lysosome, Barrio Morning Glory, and Solid Camp Crew would fare, and if they can successfully apply the lessons they learned from the judges-- and as it turns out, the mentors themselves declared that the finalists all stepped up in the 2nd mentoring session and delivered the goods.

The event itself was a high-profile affair, with many people from the media in attendance to cover the event. All the finalists were present, and although Francis Reyes was absent last time, the guitar hero was present the 2nd time around to share his wisdom.

Unfortunately, Raimund Marasigan couldn't make it, but he was ably replaced by Pinoy Rock guru Jing Garcia (who should be familiar to everyone who joined Bandwidth, as he was one of the judges during the preliminary round). Francis and Jing joined rock goddess Cooky Chua in the judges' table.

One by one, the bands performed, with the judges making their comments and observations after each one. Cooky, who was present in both sessions, noted how much the bands improved from last time-- she said that the finalists really listened to the mentors, and applied their lessons on the 2nd mentoring.

While the finalists were noticeably much improved (thanks to the mentors' bulls-eye tips and comments during the first outing), the judges continued to give fine-tuning tips, again emphasizing the merits of band dynamics, volume control, song arrangment, stage presence, soundchecking, and yes-- wardrobe (the mentors gave kudos to the musicians who dressed up in true rock star fashion).

Francis and Jing, who were seeing the bands live for the first time, were mightily impressed. In fact, Francis went on record to say that the Philips Bandwidth Battle of the Bands was the best band competition he ever judged, and his fellow mentors were quick to agree-- they are very happy to say that the talent that our young finalists have shown is clear proof that the future of the music scene is brighter than ever.

Congratulations to our five finalists; you guys passed Raimund, Francis, Cooky, and Jing's School of Rock with flying colors, and all of us are very much looking forward to seeing you perform at the finals night!

Pics and videos of the 2nd mentoring session coming soon! Read more!

more pics!

The boys from Lysosome pose with their idols:



The Solid Camp Crew siblings get wacky:

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More pics from the mentoring session!

Due to the pics' file size, we can only upload a couple at a time for each post. Don't worry, we'll be adding more pics in succeeding posts! (oh, and we've got videos too)

(click on the pics for the hi-res version)

The boys from Lysosome rock out:



Capo serves their own brand of jazzy funk-rock:

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Pics from the 1st mentoring session!

For those of you wishing to have been at Route 196 to witness the 1st mentoring session, we can tell you with absolute certainty that everyone-- most especially the bands and the judges-- had a blast! And we've got pics to prove it.

(click on the pics for the hi-res version)

Here's Capo with the mentors:


Acrasia and the mentors strike up a rockstar pose:



More pics on the next post! Read more!

School is now in session.

Earlier today, we wrapped up the first mentoring session of the Philips Bandwidth finalists. It was just like the first day of school: the bands came prepared and eager to learn, while the judges were ready to teach and share their rock n' roll wisdom.

True to the school-of-rock spirit, some were absent from class-- mentor/guitar hero Francis Reyes unfortunately could not make it, as he was still in Toronto attending a film festival, while one of the finalists (south-based Barrio Morning Glory) were unable to attend because one of their members fell sick.

Still, the first mentoring session proved to be very worthwhile for both the finalists and the judges. Our mentors were able to see just how well the finalists can perform in a live setting, while the finalists were able to show what they are made of-- and they are made of tough stuff indeed!

Performing in front of Raimund Marasigan and Cooky Chua is no easy task-- after all, they are two of the most respected icons in Pinoy Rock, so the finalists knew that even though the mentoring session had no bearing in their final scores, they still had to put on a kick-ass show. And all in all, we can say that all the bands performed pretty darn well-- hey, we told you these bands were good.

Each of the bands played a short set of two songs. After their sets, each band sat with the judges to hear their comments and opinions.

Raimund and Cooky played close attention to the bands, and all aspects of their performances-- their comments covered all aspects of being in a band, from song arrnagements, sound mixing, stage presence, even their wardrobe!

Needless to say, Raimund and Cooky left no stone unturned in ensuring that the finalists came out of the mentoring sessions as better musicians. You can bet that all five finalists will come to the Bandwidth Finals Night better than ever, and raring to put on the greatest show of their lives.

In the next posts, we will reveal some of the tips we picked up from our judges-- secrets of the pros that are a must-learn for all musicians. Stay tuned! Read more!

School of Rock.

While our 5 finalists are no doubt still giddy from being chosen to compete in the Philips Bandwidth Finals, they are in for the ride of their lives tomorrow, as the first round of mentoring with Raimund Marasigan, Cooky Chua, and Francis Reyes begins!

They will perform in front of our esteemed judges, and learn first-hand lessons from three of Pinoy Rock's most important icons. Going to school has never been more fun!

Although this is a closed door session (sorry folks, only the finalists and judges are allowed in), expect the 5 bands to come out of the mentoring sessions with guns blazin' as they head to the finals-- expect them to be playing better than ever.

Support our 5 finalists-- they are gonna rock like they've never rocked before. Stay tuned for more updates! Read more!