Bandwidth Initial Screening Judges

The competition is fierce! Going through 50 bands and 100 songs is no mean feat, that is why our judges are still taking their time to go through all of the deserving entries. While we're waiting, let's take the time to get to know the 3 Judges who are doing the initial screening

JING GARCIA - musician, columnist - Manila Times

Sound artist and award-winning music producer. Jing Garcia, founded the Children of Cathode Ray back in 1989, one of the early experimental and sound art groups in the Philippines. He was then joined by now-established video artist Tad Ermitano, computer 3D animator Blums Borres, cinematographer Regiben Romana, graphic artist Magyar Tuazon, and professional photographer Peter Marquez. With autoceremony, Garcia continues to create audio hardware-based and computer-generated soundscapes and ambient noise through analog and digital audio synthesis manipulation. He also produced several award-winning music recording albums for different alternative music artists in the 90s, including that of Color It Red, KeltsCross, Siakol and the Numeric Sampler series. Recently, he co-wrote and published “Tikman ang Langit”: a bestselling book on popular Filipino pop rock band, the Eraserheads. He is currently the tech editor for The Manila Times and Speed Magazine. He also hosts a tech segment on TV5.

EDWIN SALLAN - columnist - Manila Bulletin

Edwin P. Sallan was only 19 when his first record review was published
by Jingle Chordbook Magazine in 1983. A Contributing Editor for the
seminal music rag for three years thereafter, he went on a five-year
hiatus before returning as a music columnist for the Manila Chronicle
in 1992. Since then, Edwin has written articles on his other interests
including comic books, videogames and information technology. He still
writes about music for the Manila Bulletin and is one of the authors of Tikman
Ang Langit: An Anthology On the Eraserheads, a popular Filipino rock band.

JEFFREY CHRISTOPHER CORTEZ - Regional Call Center Manager, Philips

Of course our panel wouldn't be complete without a representative from the company that made all this possible, Philips! Jeff plays percussions with bands like La CucaRasta, a reggae band, front acted for the MTV Reggae Fest
with Ziggy Marley at Hotel Sofitel, Mystical Machine Guns and Evil Kenievel Band

Watch our for the announcement of the TOP 20 SEMI-FINALISTS later this week! Read more!

Congratulations to Francisbrew Reyes

We would like to congratulate Bandwidth mentor Francisbrew Reyes for winning Best Original Musical Score, “Dinig Sana Kita.’’ a film by Mike Sandejas (who also helmed the Teddy Diaz biopic Tulad ng Dati) at the recently concluded Cinemalaya Film Festival. The film also won the Audience Choice Award.

Congratulations Francis! You are truly someone we look up to!

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 41-44

ENTRY # 41 - APPLESIDEUP

Original Song: Himbing




ENTRY # 42 - PROJECT AINAH

Original Song: Desperate Thinking



Cover Song: Nosi Balasi




ENTRY # 43 - PANCAKE 80

Original Song: Naghihintay



Cover Song: Aerosmith's Cryin




ENTRY # 44 - CRIS BAND

Cover Song: Gin Blossom's Hey Jealousy

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 37-40

ENTRY # 37 - PELIGRO

Original Song: Sirkulo




ENTRY # 38 - 5INCO

Original Song: Alimango



Cover Song: Pearl Jam's Animal




ENTRY # 39 - ISMAGOL

Original Song: Piring



Cover Song: Dicta License's Complex




ENTRY # 40 - SUITCASE OF MEMORIES

Original Song: A Broken of Family



Cover Song: Gin Blossom's Till I Hear It From You

Read more!

BANWIDTH ENTRIES 33-36

ENTRY # 33 - CHROMOSOM

Original Song: Inang Bayan



Cover Song: Metallica's Enter Sandman




ENTRY # 34 - DETNUOC BAND

Original Song: Pangako



Cover Song: Paramore's That's What You Get




ENTRY # 35 - SPEAKEASY

Original Song: Light A Cigarette



Cover Song: Kings of Leon's Use Somebody




ENTRY # 36 - ZAIKO BAND

Original Song: Back to School



Cover Song: Typecast's Bright Eyes

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 29-32

ENTRY # 29 - HUBO

Original Song: Swabe



Cover Song: The Doors' Roadhouse Blues




ENTRY # 30 - 10:59

Original Song: The Air I Breathe




ENTRY # 31 - FROLICNIGHT

Original Song: G.A.S.A



Cover Song: Alicia Keys' No One




ENTRY # 32 - LITTLE ODESSA

Original Song: Hinde



Cover Song: Rachel Loy's Big Sky

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 25-28

ENTRY # 25 - MONO

Original Song: Save Me



Cover Song: Velvet Revolver's Slither




ENTRY # 26 - FANCYCAKES

Original Song: Andar



Cover Song: Alanis Morisette's You Oughta Know




ENTRY # 27 - MAYO BALUYUT AND THE REVOLVING MARNIS

Original Song: Love Is Not Enough



Cover Song: John Lennon's I'm Losing You




ENTRY # 28 - ARCHDIOSEASE

Original Song: Musika



Cover Song: Aegis' Ang Buhay Ko

Read more!

WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BAND? (WIN PRIZES)

Join our Bandwidth Online Contest and get the chance to win Philips goodies (and yes, maybe we'll give away a Go Gear!)

The mechanics are as simple as using a Go Gear!

1. We'll be posting this in the blog, facebook, friendster, multiply, so choose which venue you want to post your answer
2. The question is: WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BAND AND WHY?
3. Post your answer in the comments section
4. Answer in 3-5 precise and concise sentences
5. Leave your name and email address after your comment
6. The best 5 answers from among all the social networks mentioned above will win Philips goodies and get the chance to win a brand new Philips Go Gear!
7. You can post your comments/answers starting today, July 14 until July 17
Winners will be announced on July 18 Read more!

BANDWIDTH DEADLINE EXTENDED!!!

To all amateur bands out there!

You still have one more week to send in your Bandwidth Virtual Battle of the Bands entries. The deadline has been extended to July 22, 2009, so time to send in your youtube performances!

If you have a band but don't have videos yet, you can contact us (09228169617) and let's see if we can video your practice session or your performance (depending on the venue of course)

If you have friends who are in bands, please let them know about this competition

What's at stake? P50,000 worth of cash and prizes, music video to be shown on MTV and the prestige of being the first ever Bandwidth winner!

To review, here are the mechanics...

1. Competition is open to all amateur alternative and rock bands with 4-7 members

2. All members must be 18 years old and above

3. Contestants must upload two videos on YouTube
- One cover song and one original song
- Videos must be of a live performance (not studio recorded)
- Videos should have been recorded within the period of June 2008 – June 2009

4. Contestants must leave link to the uploaded video at the comments section along with their name and contact number

5. Band should have no past or existing contract with any record label

6. Deadline for submission of entries is July 22, 2009 Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 21-24

ENTRY # 21 - URSA MINOR

Original Song: Alcoholic Me



Cover Song: Hum's Stars




ENTRY # 22 - BARRIO MORNING GLORY

Original Song: Langgam / Sa Aming Glory



Cover Song: Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Rascal King




ENTRY # 23 - WEEKEND PROJECT

Original Song: Steady Lang



Cover Song: Beatles' I Wanna Hold Your Hand




ENTRY # 24 - LYSOSOME

Original Song: Bahala Na



Cover Song: Friendly Fires' Skeleton Boy

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES 17-20

ENTRY # 17 - PLASTICBALOO

Original Song: Mr. Karate 250



Cover Song: Chimo Bayo's Xtasi Xtano




ENTRY # 18 - EZEKIEL BAND

Original Song: Malamig na Hot Coffee



Cover Song: Papuri's Ako'y Binago Niya

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ENTRY # 19 - PISENLAV

Original Song: Love



Cover Song: No Doubt's Underneath It All




ENTRY # 20 - ARTDRIVE

Original Song: Inuman Na



Cover Song: No Doubt's Spiderweb

Read more!

Color It Red: Still Strong Twenty Years On

Talking Shop With Color It Red's Cooky Chua and Barbi Cristi



Cooky Chua has been a mainstay in the local rock scene for over two decades now. When she was still a high school student, she founded Color It Red in 1989, together with guitarist/ keyboardist/singer/songwriter/vocalist Barbi Cristi and keyboardist/vocalist Maricar Florendo, picking out their name from a crossword puzzle. A rotating cast of great musicians have joined Color It Red through the years, with Cooky and Barbi the constant fixtures in the band.

Color It Red released their debut album “Hand Painted Sky” in 1994, and it went on to achieve great critical and commercial success. They followed with a couple more acclaimed albums over the following decade, establishing themselves as one of the most beloved bands in contemporary Pinoy rock.

Before an intimate late-night set at Conspiracy bar, Cooky and Barbi sat down to talk with us about being in Color It Red for the past twenty years and about how the new technology available for young bands looking to achieve the same kind of success they did.

Color It Red is celebrating its 20th year this year. Any plans to enter the studio and celebrate the occasion with a new album?

Cooky: In the past, it’s always taken us quite a bit of time between albums. We don’t write songs that fast. But considering that it’s been three years since our last album came out, the answer to that is yes— we’re looking to put together an album this year. We haven’t started any recording work so far though, but the seeds of the songs are there.

Has the creative process changed in the last 20 years?

Cooky: Well, the way it usually is, just like when we started is, Barbie writes the lyrics or the sketches of the songs, I make some vocal melodies, and we get together and jam and hammer the songs out. But with all the lineup changes we’ve had since we started, it’s natural that new ideas are brought to the table. Each of our individual influences finds its way into the songs we write.

Have you started playing new songs at gigs?

Barbi: No, we haven’t been playing any new songs out yet. We’d like to though. Once we get everything nice and polished in the studio, we’ll start playing them live.

Any specific details on what the new songs will sound like?

Cooky: It’s really hard to say at this point. We’re sort of at the stage where we really won’t be making drastic changes in terms of the kind of music we play. We know what we like to listen to and play, and we know what we’re good at. You sort of expect what we’ll sound like. That said, there are bound to be differences between our new and old work thematically, because we’ve grown so much in our time together as a band and as individual people. And our new experiences always forms a large part of our songs.

Barbi: Yes, many of now have families. We were very young when we started out. Now we have different things going on in our lives, so there are a lot of new things we can talk about in our songs.

How has the local music scene changed from the time you were first starting out to now?

Cooky: Nakakainggit din yung sa mga banda ngayon. There’s all sorts of technology available for them to use, not just for making and recording music, but also with sharing their work with others. It was very hard for us starting out. Today, a band can very easily put together a great recording in a cheap home studio, record mp3 and upload them to the Internet. That’s why you have all these great bands coming out now…

Barbi: Yeah, when we first started recording, we had to borrow a lot of equipment or scrape together cash to go into the studio to record. Then you had to take your demo to the different labels. It was tough. Luckily for younger musicians today, all the tools are there for them to break out into the music scene.

Cooky: I really don’t get to go to gigs as much as I’d like, but from what I’ve heard, there really are a lot of good young bands. I really like Sino Sikat and Up Dharma Down. I hope I get to hear more new bands at Bandwidth.

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES # 13 - # 16

ENTRY # 13 - ELMO BAND

Original Song: Wala Ka Na



Cover Song: Yellowcard's Only One and The Killer's Mr. Brightside




ENTRY # 14 - KELBASA

Original Song: Suddenly



Cover Song: Mike Hanopol's No Touch




ENTRY # 15 - LANDMINE VALENTINE

Original Song: Revenge of Oseisan



Cover Song: Emarosa's I Am Waves




ENTRY # 16 - CAPO

Original Song: W8 Lang



Cover Song: Rivermaya's Ulan

Read more!

BANDWIDTH ENTRIES - #9 - #12

ENTRY # 9 - HALMISTA

Original Song: Man and God



Cover Song: Iron Maiden's The Trooper




ENTRY # 10 - KALACHUCHIE

Original Song: Pangarap



Cover Song: Freddie Aguilar's Anak




ENTRY # 11 - FUZION

Original Song: Stand Out




ENTRY # 12 - W.A.N.T.W.A.R

Original Song: Discriminated By The Ones We Love



Cover Song: Kamikaze's Ung Tagalog

Read more!

Bandwidth Entries #5 - #8

Here are entries #5 - #8 for the Bandwidth Virtual Battle of the Bands. Please visit this blog regularly for daily updates on the entries and the latest gig and artist features. Keep those entries coming!!!


ENTRY # 5 - SOLIDCAMPCREW

Original Song: Estupidyante



Cover Song: Paramore's My Heart




ENTRY # 6 - SOULKITCHEN

Original Song: Marupok



Cover Song: The Wuds' At Nakalimutan ang Diyos




ENTRY # 7 - FAINTLIGHT

Original Song: Play Pause




ENTRY # 8 - ACRASIA

Original Song: Circle



Cover Song: Paramore's Crush Crush Crush

Read more!

First Four Entries for Bandwidth

Presenting the first four entries for the Bandwidth Battle of the Bands. Please feel free to leave your comments and show your support for the bands. Watch out for the posting of more entries! And it's not too late yet to join the competition. Just click on the Battle of the Bands button on the right and leave your contact details and youtube link in the comments section. If you don't have videos yet, you can invite us to your practice session or one of your gigs and we'll take the videos for you. Just contact 09209026542 for further details

ENTRY # 1 - JESTER'S BIDDING

Original Song: Disguise



Cover song: RATM's Killing in the Name



ENTRY # 2 - SOUNDSREAL BAND

Original Songs



Cover Song: Sampaguita's Ang Buhay Ko




ENTRY # 3 - LOSE YOUR BEER BELLY

Original Song: Otherside



Cover Song: Dishwalla's Counting Blue Cars




ENTRY # 4 - PANORAMA

Original Song: Our Last Chance



Cover Song: Urbandub's The Fight Is Over

Read more!

Light It Up with Bands that Inspire

The website says its “Light it Up: Christian Musicians Night” last Thursday at the Conspiracy Bar along Visayas Avenue. And automatically, it conjured up an ambiance of a prayer meeting with praise songs by clean-cut bands with their hands up in the air glorifying their faith. Not our idea of spending a night to de-stress ourselves.

But as we discovered, it was a parteeeeee!!!!

Iking Tan and his inspiring music

A form of indie music finds a niche among a crowd of fun-loving, party-going, gig-hopping young set who enjoys positive message without losing the rhythm and beat that rock bands are known for.

“It’s gospel music actually. We like to feature indie bands who sing more positive songs. Songs that inspire. Songs that bring hope to the people”, said Jordan Escusa, organizer of this regular event. “We have been doing this 2001 in several bars until two years ago we decided to have it here at Conspiracy.”

Julianne

So why is he doing this?

“I don’t know. Maybe I am crazy?” He smiled. “We don’t earn anything from organizing this event, oftentimes we have to shell out from our own pockets. But we feel it is important to provide this kind of music to the world today, and it is our way of supporting bands that choose to play gospel music.”

Julianne and some guests

Indeed, Conspiracy, a music bar and restaurant owned by musical luminaries such as Noel Cabangon, Bayang Barrios and Cynthia Alexander, has a different feel to it – fun, artsy but clean. The crowd is friendly, as warm as the music that the bands dished out.

Light It Up happens every second to the last Thursday of the month. For schedule, please visit conspi.net.

*Photo courtesy of Ida Torres

Read more!

Raimund Invites Amateur Bands to Join

Read more!