it's more than milk!

new Yahoo! Messenger account..

2008-09-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

im havong problems with my old account. please add me up using the_nong@yahoo.com.ph

thanks!
Arnold 'Nong' Guyjoco

THE BASS MAN HOLDS THE LINE: Buddy Zabala

2008-09-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

By Gang Badoy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

How’ve you been since Saturday?

Ang weird. It hasn’t even been a while since the reunion gig happened and I already find myself trying to play it down in my head. I’d say, “It was just a gig.” But I’m thinking maybe it wasn’t just that. In fact, I still wake up in the morning and I say, “Wow, it really happened.” I think I’m not done processing it yet. You see, I was expecting it to be an experience for me, for myself. Pero sobrang daming tao doon and people’s energies were so high na it became a shared experience, eventually. ’Di ba? That’s the equation right there, I mean, sure, I tried to calm myself before going onstage saying over and over, “It’s just a gig, just more people,” then all of a sudden when I found myself there and in front of me was this sea of people then I realized, gigs are supposed to be shared experiences.

Did you expect it to be any smaller than that?

No! Or wait… I don’t know. It’s something like, I expected it to be a certain way, and then it does turn out that way but I’m still overwhelmed anyway. It was amazing. From where I was I couldn’t even see where the people ended. Maybe it was the lights, I don’t know, but as far as my eyes could see, it was people. So it’s not easy for me to downplay it now. I mean, I try to feign nonchalance sometimes but my grin gives me away. I was grinning all night. Till now, in fact.

That night, who did you play for?

My family of course. Earnest, Veda, my Mom. You know, whenever I perform, I try to single out people in the audience kasi I usually don’t know people in the audience, I’m used to playing for strangers. But this time around, wow everywhere I looked—it was familiar faces. Someone I knew from a band, a former officemate, then my Mom! Hey, my Mom! Ang saya talaga. When I got onstage, it was different. Not just the size of the gig but the energy level. The vibe was indescribable.

Right after you walked off stage, where did you go?

I went straight to Ely’s tent to congratulate him and tell him that he did well and I wanted to ask how he was feeling. When I got there he was already lying down and he had an oxygen mask and the paramedics were already checking his blood pressure. Then next thing I knew they had to rush him to the hospital. It was all so fast.

Any regrets?

None. Zero. It was great.

Of course, people were asking, if everything falls into place. Will you do it again?

Yes. You see, I have this mantra that has worked pretty well for me, that I will play with anyone. So if I will play with anyone, then why not with old bandmates?

The proverbial question, do you see a possibility of getting back together, maybe record a new album?

I’m not too sure about that. But we never know, surprises come our way all the time. Malay mo.

Were the fluctuating plans stressing you too much? Or did you just let it whiz by you?

Stress? Yeah. Sobrang stressful. Going into a project, one has a lot of expectations, ‘di ba so you know that it’s going to be a really big show, a really killer gig, so and so number of people with all this equipment. Then all of a sudden they say they’re pulling the plug. How would you feel? Going into the whole project, ang taas ng expectations ko kasi mataas ang expectations ng mga tao. Even when I talked to Marcus or Raymund, even Ely, all of us were hyped, everybody was stoked to do this concert. Then all of a sudden right before the show it got cancelled then picked up by someone else. It was such a roller coaster.

So those details affected you?

Very much so. Can you imagine if it affected me, what more the people who were really engaged or involved in the planning? Maraming naghirap dito. The prod, si Raims, lahat. Si Ely rin. It really took its toll on him.

From what I’ve observed, it seems to me that you’re the peace guy in the bunch. The public airing of grievances was in full-swing at some point, that must’ve taken its toll on you.

When friends get hurt, everything gets personal. But…

Wait, did you just imply that the source of disagreement is mostly professional and it just became personal?

No, it was always personal. Kung professional ‘yon, napapag-usapan, there’s always a democratic way to solve things. Vote on it. If you get a tie, decide on who can vote to break the tie. Professional hitches are easier to resolve. But this has always been personal and that’s much more complex. Affected talaga ako noon, people were getting hurt. It was not as simple as a “can’t we all get along” type of moment. It’s not at all like that. It was more like a, “Wait, what’s his point? And what’s the other point?” Then all the points were getting lost. Things got out of hand and all of a sudden it got old. Napagod lang ako. And since I get bored easily…. I just let it go.

Good for you.

(laughs) I know, but if you’re asking me if I got affected badly… well, of course. I have friends who got hurt, my friends and family would ask me what was happening and I wouldn’t know what to say.

But isn’t it easier to play with a band you get along with?

Yeah, but even bands that don’t get along can still play really well together. Like I heard about the Police. They play incredibly well. People don’t go to watch the fighting, they come for the music, so you give the music. The fighting is supposed to be irrelevant.

Maybe it’s part of their creative process?

Maybe.

If the Eraserheads got back together, would it sound very different from before?

Better! If it sounds just like before then what’s the point? At least better than the last E-heads album, kasi that’s what we used to say, next song always better than the last. But then again, that’s just to our ears.

Now, let’s talk about the talked-about dead-air moments.

Oh, we were never the band that got the crowd on. If people really knew the ’Heads they’d know that’s how it is. And yes, we were never about engaging the audience. It was only about the music. That’s how we talked to the audience, I guess. That’s where the conversation was, through the songs talaga. I heard from someone that our concert was one big karaoke party. It looked that way from what I saw. People were singing along, on the tops of their voices. We were incredibly loud onstage and I was wearing earplugs, and I could still feel the audience singing. I even heard that some people were crying, literally, crying while singing. And wow, that was something else. That means something, right? The music meant so much to them that maybe the lack of talkies in between songs made up for it.

Bawing-bawi naman. I can bet that, at least 90 percent of people you know had the ’Heads album playing in their iPods the month or weeks before the gig.

(Laughs) Yeah, actually ako rin! I was listening to the ’Heads albums also.

Can you tell me about the “one big moment” for you that night?

For me it was really while the stage was being hoisted up, through the haze I was looking out and then saw all the people, all the faces cheering us on, I felt all that energy thrown my way. Wow. It was more than overwhelming.

THE GUITARIST HANGS LOOSE: Marcus Adoro

2008-09-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

By Gang Badoy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Maraming nag-assume na ’yung pinakamahirap sa reunion na ‘to ay ‘yung unang rehearsal.

Ah oo! Hindi ko rin alam what to expect, napa-yosi nga ako nung narinig ko, “Andyan na si Ely.” Tapos pagdating niya, alam mo, ang gaan lang. Ang gaan. “Pare, kumusta.” Tinanong niya kami lahat. ‘Yun.

So, na-realize mo ba na, “Wow, na-miss ko ‘to!”

Hindi pa nga rehearsals, bago pa lang nun, excited na ako. Kasi siyempre bago mag-rehearsal kinailangan kong mag-review ng chords ng mga kanta namin noon. Siyempre habang tinutugtog ko, nagpa-flashback talaga ako. Excited talaga ako na makita si Ely, kasi hindi pa talaga kami nagkikita. Once lang kami nagkita, sa MYX awards, pero lasing na siya, lasing na rin ako, so nag ganun lang kami. (Nods) Alam mo, ’yung first practice para sa akin, ’yung ice breaker namin ay nagtatanungan lang ng mga suot naming sapatos, T-shirt, ganun. Nag-uusap naman kami eh. Nagkikita kami palagi nina Raymund at Buddy. Mga binyag, special occasions. Kasi may ‘sang tropa kami mula college pa talaga. Kami ni Ely ang hindi talaga nagkita nung six years. Hindi kami pinagtagpo ng tadhana (laughs). Nung nag-umpisa na ang rehearsals mismo, kalmado kami lahat, nakatutok kami sa kailangang gawin. Bago nga nun, nagkita pa kami ni Buddy para mag-practice. ‘Yung tipong, “Buds, paano nga ‘yung chords nito, hindi ko makapa eh.” (Laughs)

Aah, so nagkita kayo ni Buddy?

Oo pinuntahan ko siya sa bahay, nag-practice kaming dalawa. Inisa-isa namin lahat.

Ang unang nalaman ko tungkol sa ‘yo ay nagtuturo ka daw ng surfing sa La Union.

Oo, limang taon ako nag immerse sa surfing culture. Nung latter part ng ‘Heads, nahumaling na ako sa surfing. Nung nagpalit na kami ng singer, nung naging si Kris Dancel na, nagpaalam na rin ako kay Raymund, sabi ko sa kanya surfing muna ako.

So hindi tama ‘yung impression ng marami na tinakbuhan mo ang music…

Hindi! Pero yung music ko nung time na ‘yon, para sa akin lang, gumawa ako ng para sa akin. ‘Yun yung laman ng album ko ngayon, ‘yung Markus Highway. Pinahinog ko, kung baga. Pinahinog ko nang matagal na matagal.

Di ba sa banda laging may tinginan at konting usap-usap sa stage para ma-coordinate yung tinutugtog, gaano kahirap para sa ‘yo yung hindi kayo masyadong nagtitinginan?

Personally, para sa akin para ngang walang nangyari eh. ‘Andun ulit, kabit lahat. Nung una may mga linyang naiiwan. Nagkakatinginan, ‘yung tipong, “Oy, meron dapat do’n ’di ba?” May konting sabit-sabit. Lalo na ako. (laughs)

So hindi pala kayo gaanong natisod kahit gano’n.

Oo, kasi syempre warm-up pa lang naman yung first set eh. Pinaghandaan talaga namin ’yung second and third set. Tataas pa dapat talaga ‘yung energy dun eh. Kahit lahat tataas after the first set, ‘yung technicals, ‘yung nasa video wall, hindi pa ‘yun eh, wala pa ‘yon! Marami pa dapat mangyayari, kahit ‘yung fireworks…actually lahat!

So, gaano ka-stressful para sa ‘yo yung change in plans?

Konti lang sa akin ‘yung part na ‘yon. Ang kailangan talaga naming i-deliver ‘yung performance eh.

May theory na mas okey ang banda kung nagkakasundo lahat…

Magkasundo kami lahat. (Smiles then moves his mouth closer to the voice recorder) Okey na banda kami.

Nakakatuwa na iba-iba kayong mga sagot sa pare-pareho kong tanong…

Wala akong problema sa kanila. Baka ‘yun ang gusto kong sabihin, kasundo ko sila. Si Ely dinalaw ko kagabi. Magkasundo kami. Magkasundo kami ni Buddy. Magkasundo kami ni Raymund. Ewan ko sila. (laughs) Pero, Gang, hindi eh… maganda talaga yung vibes eh.

Paano kaya na maganda pa rin ‘yung vibes despite the six years na hindi kayo nagkasama-sama?

Dahil sa kanta. Kasi naka-angkla kami sa kanta. Kasi kung bad vibes ka, sasabit ka. Para sa akin, pag nagpeperform ka tapos nag-iisip ka ng iba, doon ka sasabit. ‘Pag iniisip mo na masama kunwari ang ka-banda mo, doon ka magkakamali.

May mga taong hindi masyadong aware na hindi kayo ma-salita during gigs.

Ako ‘yung tahimik, usually. ’Yun ang trabaho ko, “Tumahimik ka dyan, Marcus.” (laughs) Ako madaldal ako ‘pag ako ‘yung frontman. So siguro si Ely ‘yon. Pero dati may instances na planado lahat. Dito ako magsasalita, tapos diyan si Buddy, tapos palitan kami ng sasabihin…meron din namang ganoon dati. Nagka-time…

Sinabi ko rin ‘to kay Raims eh, na halos lahat sa inyo may trademark na look sa respective bands ninyo kaya na-curious talaga ako kung nag-usap man lang ba kayo tungkol sa susuotin ninyo during the reunion.

Sinuggest ko actually na mag usap-usap ‘yung mga “stylist” namin. Siguro ‘yung mga girlfriends namin. Kami ni Buddy nag-coordinate naman kami kasi kami ‘yung magkabilaan sa stage eh. “Basta ‘wag ka magpuputi.” Sabi nya kasi magpuputi daw siya, so nag-pula ako at saka itim. So, may konti naman din kaming coordination. Hindi naman kami nagpakitaan ng wardrobe. (laughs)

Sabi ni Raimund kasi wala namang ganun-ganun sa ’Heads, ‘yung coordination ng wardrobe talaga. Show up as you are talaga.

Hoooooo, siya nga yung pinaka-conscious diyan eh! (laughs) Nag-kulay pa ng buhok, nag-wig pa. Sabi nga niya sa ‘kin sa rehearsals mag-so-shorts lang daw siya saka hubad eh. (laughs) Pero, hindi…syempre si Raymund ‘yon eh.

Nung time na magulo noon, gaano ka ka-apektado?

Hindi ko pinatulan. During the past five years, nagka-chance din naman ako pumatol, pero ayokong sayangin ang energy ko doon. Hindi ko na ginatungan ‘yung apoy kumbaga. Hindi ako nag-labas sa Internet o press release. Okey lang sa ‘kin. Kasi chismis nila ‘yon dito eh. Nung nasa La Union ako, nasa surfing culture ako eh. May sarili kaming mundo doon eh, may sarili kaming superstars…

Ni minsan ba hindi ka nagkaroon ng need to explain things or at least air your side?

Isa yon sa rason kung bakit ako umalis dito. Marami akong rason, pero isa yon. Tuwing pupunta na lang ako ng bar, “Pare, bakit kayo naghiwalay?! Pare bakit ganito, bakit ganon.” Eh hindi ko naman masasagot ’yon nang ako lang eh. Apat kaming dapat sumagot nun.

So napagod ka rin.

Oo, so sabi ko mag su-surf na nga lang ako. Hanggang dun pa rin sa surfing minsan nga maski sa dagat, may mag-pa-paddle na surfer sa tabi ko (gestures paddling) tapos sasabihin, “Pare, ba’t kayo naghiwalay?!” Matatawa na lang ako tapos sasabihin ko sa kaniya, “Ayan na ’yung alon, o!”

Meron ka bang isang moment nung concert na hindi mo makakalimutan?

P**a, hindi lang isang moment. Lahat. ‘Yung crowd, ‘yung turn-out. ‘Yung suporta sa Internet. ‘Yung tao na kung saan-saang lupalop pa nanggaling para lang manood. ‘Yung production, ‘yung stage design, ’yung logistics ng lahat. Parang, ang galing. ‘Yun ang concert.

Wala ka gaanong moment-memory na nag stand-out talaga?

Actually, ‘yung anak ko. (laughs) Umiiyak siya, buong concert! Masayang moment ’yon, basta. Cute ‘yung moment. May mga picture kasi siya nguma-ngawa. Ano ba ‘yung sagot ni Raymund?

’Yung countdown.

Ay, siguro sa akin isang moment doon, ‘yung moment ni Ely. Nung ano… ‘yon. Siguro sa akin, ‘yun ‘yon.

Nasaan ka nung nalaman mo na na-ospital na sya?

Nasa dressing room ako, nag re-ready na ako for next set, palit ng costume. Kausap ko ’yung tech kasi sabay nagloko ’yung mga digital effects namin ni Buddy. Apparently may pumutok na something sa baba.

So, imposible nga ba talaga na magbalikan?

Napaka-aga pa para matanong ‘yan. Ang focus ngayon ‘yung health ni Ely. Kasi nag reconnect kami as friends. Gusto ko siyang tulungan sa aspetong yon.

Sa recovery?

Oo. Natuwa ako kasi nag reconnect talaga kami. Nung binisita ko nga siya, maski sa vibe, sa tinginan. Basta, basta, Masaya ako.

Teka, so tingin mo ba gumaling kayo?

Oo, gumaling. Ako gumaling konti. (laughs)

Marami sa musicians na nakakasama natin sa Rock Ed maingat na maingat magtanong tungkol sa ’Heads.

Halos ayaw pag-usapan nga eh tuwing nagtatanong ako dati.

Meron mga unspoken things na hindi na siguro kailangang pag usapan ulit. ’Yung nangyari nung huli… wala na ‘yon. Normal naman ‘yon sa banda eh. Sabi nga ni Ely, normal ‘yung nangyari sa ‘min eh…. Normal lang ‘yon.

So, was it “just a concert” to you?

Of course hindi ‘no! Yung magnitude nung event, siyempre alam namin kung gaano kalaki ‘yon. Ganoon kalaki ‘yung stage, ‘yung laki nung screen, sabi ko, ‘ba! totohanan na ‘to ah. Iba, iba talaga.

So that night, who did you play for?

Well, that night, siyempre nakikita ko ermats ko do’n, so ayokong sumabit as much as possible. Siyempre para din sa… kanino man… (laughs) Actually, gusto kong mapasaya si Ely.

Did it feel like old times?

Oo, pero mas kalmado na kami ngayon. Madaming bull**it na nawala. Mga maliliit na bagay wala na. Dati ang daming iniintindi eh. Ngayon, music lang ang focus.

Na o-offend ka ba pag may nagsasabi na ginawa ninyo lang to “for the money”?

O eh ano ngayon! (laughs) Well, there’s money. More money, more art. (laughs)

Ha ha, ngayon ko lang narinig yun ah.

That’s from me. Original.

May nagsabi na nung tumugtog kayo sa Saguijo after ng concert insensitive daw ’yon kay Ely dahil nga nasa ospital na siya...

Hindi! Hindi… ako kasi, hindi ako juma-jam sa Cambio, kahit noon pa. My reason being, two ’Heads and three guitarists should be enough, man, hindi mo na ako kailangan doon. Plus pumunta ako doon kasi ang taas ng energy ko, tapos nalaman na namin na okey na si Ely, hindi rin ako makakatulog. Ayoko rin bumalik sa hotel, ang boring naman, ano’ng gagawin ko doon? So naghanap kami ng matatambayan. Nalaman namin na maraming nandun, so pumunta kami. Tapos tumutugtog ‘yung Cambio, tapos maya-maya may tatlong tao nang sumundo sa ‘kin, pinapatawag daw ako ni Raymund, jam daw. So tumugtog ako, masaya naman. Hindi yon dahil insensitive kami. Hindi yon ganon.

So, when Ely bounces back to a steady health state, basta may medical clearance na, reunion ulit?

Oo, ba’t hindi? Pag umo-o ’yung tatlo, bakit ako hihindi?

Oo nga naman.

Saka bitin din ako eh.

THE DRUMMER WILL DRUM: Raymund Marasigan

2008-09-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

By Gang Badoy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

After the reunion gig, did you realize that you missed each other?

No.

Is it really impossible for you to get back together as a band?

Right now? I think that’s impossible because I think we’re very happy and satisfied with our respective bands. And also because the Eraserheads is too big, too difficult to handle, plus we’re all having fun with our respective bands. Speaking for myself, I am extremely pleased with all my bands, there’s no room to take care of a big band like the ‘Heads. It’s a lot of responsibility. One gig nga lang, sobrang daming makikialam, kokontra. And it’s great that I can do anything in Sandwich, Cambio, and Pedicab. Financially, we’re successful. Artistically, we’re free and musically, it’s very satisfying. The relationship is tight, more (like a) family than bandmates, actually. This is exactly how I wanted it after the ‘Heads. The ‘Heads is one big lesson, for me. I don’t mind playing Eraserhead shows, now that we’ve played together. Maybe just not on a regular basis. I don’t think I can handle it. Physically, emotionally and psychologically.

Was it too stressful for you, the dramatic last few weeks before the reunion gig—with all the changes in the plans, production and promoters?

The most stressful part about that was that I couldn’t announce to friends and family details about the concert. They were asking questions mostly directions—on how to get the tickets, etc. That was what mattered to majority of the people. Many didn’t care if it was to be produced by Marlboro or the DOH or whoever, the original promoters relayed that by Aug. 1 all details would be set. So I promised everyone I’d keep them posted. Eh Aug. 25 na, wala pa ring final plans. So I was getting stressed with that, I got sick, even got a fever because of that. Otherwise, everything was ready. The band was prepared, the production was ready but none of us could send any details if it was pushing through or not. But at the back of my head I was thinking, everyone should relax, it’s just a concert. The country has bigger problems like the peace in Mindanao, ‘di ba? But that was just me and I don’t like worrying about the technicalities and etc. I’ll worry about the music but not the mechanics of a concert, so that stressed me out. I guess when Sony BMG took over and “saved the day,” I really wasn’t interested in the legal-speak, I just wanted to know details so I had something to tell my friends and my family at that point because this was a few days before the playdate.

You keep saying that “it’s just a concert” but obviously it’s not just a concert to many people. And you know that it’s not just that to many of us in the audience.

Yeah I know, I know. (laughs)
But you know, during those few days, that’s also when I heard about Ely’s mom passing away. After that, I surrendered na. I knew that this was as far as our control goes. If Ely decides not to play, no one will question him. None of us will. So at that time, I knew that I just had to go with the flow. The passing of Tita Lizette trumps everything. In fact, at that time all the stress I was feeling about the arrangements and everything else disappeared at that point.

Of course, because there was a higher order to follow.

Oo nga! Suko na ako. We will all respect Ely’s decision, I know I will. In my experience, when my dad got sick, I dropped out of the last leg of the Eraserheads’ US tour and they all respected that. Whatever happens, at that point, will happen. And I knew I had no control over anything anymore. We visited her in the hospital and then the next day she passed away. So Buddy and I paid our respects, we went to the wake. We had known Tita Lizette for over 20 years. Not just in the context of the E-heads career but even since our college days. And then it was taking its toll on Ely, who hadn’t slept in weeks, weeks! But he never tells anybody. I don’t think any of the band members asked him if he was going to play. I didn’t think it was right at all to ask him that. He just showed up during our sound check and we finished it and then showed up the next day. But he had every reason and right to decide otherwise. I’d respect that, of course.

As we all would’ve.

Oo, dapat lahat naman eh. Basta I decided, I will be the drummer and I will show up when required. And if Ely decided not to show up, then I would follow that direction. No explanations necessary.

During performances, there’s usually one band member who will give cues when to start. How was this performance managed among you since the relationship isn’t exactly smooth?

As the drummer, I usually give the cues, I count off. Most of the time I need to look at every band member before I count off. For some reason, Ely wasn’t giving me a signal per song if he was ready or not. I wasn’t sure if it was an act or because he was laboring or the pressure or the now-famous chant, which I later on found out was “group hug.”

Oh no, kami ‘yon! We started it during the end of the first countdown.

Yeah, I know! Later on I found out it was you, guys, my friends nga, but from my vantage point I couldn’t understand it. I kept looking at the set list if it was a title of a song. And I was trying to figure it out. Until I asked someone and I was told it was “group hug.” Maybe it was that. I didn’t need to figure it out because after every song I just counted the beats per minute in my head and worried about the next song. By that time, Ely wasn’t giving me cues so I thought maybe he was already having a tough time just handling his physical feeling. So I just looked at his body language and whenever he looked ready from the back, I counted off. I didn’t rush nor slow down.

I was telling my friend that it was so interesting to see four guys “head-on dead-pan” thousands of people, since no one onstage was reacting to the chant. Libo-libo kaming halos hindi ninyo pinansin!

(laughs) The Eraserheads was never really into the “talk to the audience” type. We never did that. That was never part of our act, really. Ever since. Even in college. If you remember, we didn’t have audience rapport. In UP, during our E-heads career, never, never did we do that.

No talkies, you mean? No spiels?

None, purposely. No. Never. Ely’s wit was always sarcastic and the way you saw us in Kamia (a UP Diliman dorm) back then, that was it. That’s how we’ve been. We were never “hi, hello!” You know? Even Sandwich is not like that. We just play. Eraserheads is like that. We just play.

Did you even notice some dead air? What was going on in the stands, did that even have an impact on you during the gig?

I did pay attention! In fact, it was great to see the faces in the crowd. But you see, preparing immediately for the next song, that’s just my “auto-pilot.” That night I kept reminding myself to “Get the groove steady, Raymund, gotta relax.… you’re too excited, you’re hitting the drums too hard…”

Wait! If you were excited, then that means being there was a very good thing for you!

Of yeah! It was good, it is good. And besides, there’s a Sandwich rule that whenever I play, I give it 110 percent or Diego (Castillo) will kick my a**.

But that’s Sandwich!

But I’m Sandwich!

Oo nga naman. But this is E-heads!

Yes! But even in Pedicab, he will still give it to me if I don’t give it my all. So when I signed that contract, I said yes, I will give 110 percent—and I did. And I will give the people watching what they deserve. Everything. Except the show biz part. I don’t do that. I don’t think any of the Eraserheads does that. Nobody has done that. I’d give the music and the performance my all—but not the show biz part.

Anyway, I know that you switch roles in a lot of bands. When you were onstage that night, did you say to yourself, “Ah, now this is E-heads.”

Of course. When I’m on the drums for E-heads, I’M THE DRUMMER OF THE E-HEADS. That’s it.

No cross over?

None. Actually at the first part, I put on the wig to celebrate my look during the first years of the E-heads. The day before, Mary Lou (Malig) and R.A (Rivera, Pedicab) dyed my hair green to celebrate the era of “Sticker Happy.” I didn’t dye my hair two days before the gig because I didn’t want to go to the wake of Ely’s mom with green hair, I didn’t think it was respectful. So we did it the day before the gig. That’s to celebrate ’97 “Sticker Happy” years. Then Mads of Furball lent me a wig to celebrate naman ’93 Heads. You have to write all of this down, Gang, because this is important. So I was up there as ’Heads, no doubt. Yeah, I was the drummer of Eraserheads.

So, you were paying tribute to the ’Heads…

Yes.

With your hair…?

Exactly.

How much of your present-day bands did you bring with you guys onstage? Did you guys at least talked about what to wear on the night of the gig?

Ay no, we don’t talk—the ’Heads don’t talk.

You don’t talk about even those details?

Sa Sandwich, we can talk about hats and shoes all day, coordinating etc. Sandwich will talk about everything . . . but the ’Heads? No. We don’t talk. We just play.

Was it always like this? Let’s say, from day one or did this happen slowly?

I think from day one. We don’t talk a lot. But we gelled together because we played music, especially when we play music. For example, our first rehearsal recently, after six years, if I’m not mistaken, we ran through more than 20 songs. And I didn’t practice any of the songs. I physically practiced the drums but I didn’t rehearse the songs. I had to work on it, on my method. I knew it was very different playing for an arena compared to Saguijo. That’s like the difference between a marathon and a sprint. Different muscle groups. So I worked on that. The technique, stamina, breathing, all the technical aspects of drumming, but not the E-heads songs. But when rehearsal day came, and there were some song changes and Ely would call songs and Buddy and I would just play it. I was laughing most of the time. Hopefully no one took offense to that. I only laughed because I realized after six years I could still play the songs.

People generally have a belief that a band plays well because of a certain chemistry among its members.

Eraserheads has chemistry, no doubt.

And its chemistry lies in…?

I remember listening to the recording of our rehearsals, it was a bit eerie because no one was talking but playing was definitely good. I’m not sure, but there’s a different chemistry for every band. Kami, we have it when we play.

That particular night, who did you play for?

That night? My friends. I saw everyone in front. And I was really looking for you guys and then I see familiar faces and they’re singing along with us… That’s it! And my friends are my family, you know me, Gang, you know me well enough that my friends and bandmates are my family, too. And when I see a familiar face having fun with our music, that’s it. Tanggal pagod. For that night, yeah, that was it. I played for friends. I play for the fans too, make no mistake, but for that night… or any night, it was family and friends talaga.

Did you seriously think that this was just going to be a gig, and that you were gonna walk away from it unchanged?

Let me backtrack to the beginning. Remember this “reunion” was years in the making. Negotiations started way back. And put it on record, that in my case, it was Darwin and Marlboro who succeeded in convincing me. I never had the inclination to do a reunion gig. I always asked, “What for?” Everything I want to do in my life I’m doing in Sandwich, Pedicab, and Cambio. Why mess with a good thing? I knew if I said yes to the ’Heads it would be more than just a yes.

Too many consequences?

Of course.

But this couldn’t have been just a gig. There must’ve been something different. Something must’ve changed in you after Aug. 30.

What do you mean by change?

Inside you. Surely something cramping inside you clicked back into place.

No. Nothing changed.

Oh okay.

But you see, when I signed up in Eraserheads, I knew I’d be part of the ’Heads forever. I knew what I signed up for. As Sandwich, I can walk in the mall, walang pumapansin. When I signed onto this, I was Eraserheads again. People would stop me sometimes and ask me, “Kailan ang reunion? Kailan ang concert? Saan?” Pero okey lang ‘yon, I knew that was part of it. At okey lang talaga ‘yon, kasama ‘yon.

How come even musicians in the scene, mostly Rock Ed volunteer musicians, are very careful when they ask about the reunion? Seems like everyone tiptoed around me saying, “Gang, ask Raims naman kung tuloy ang reunion gig.” Pabulong pa minsan. (laughs)

Because Ely and I were very vocal about the split-up. And many of them know that Ely and I haven’t communicated in six years. We had personal differences.

And those personal differences were over, under, and beyond ‘being in the band?’

Yes, they are personal. Exactly that. And I will still not talk about it in public.

Good. Now, is it fair to say that you all gave equal share to make this reunion happen?

For this show? I think the four of us gave all that we could. I even think Ely gave more than anybody else, given the circumstance. I think he gave more than what was asked of him. Hindi kasali ‘yung tyempo ng pagkawala ni Tita Lizette sa kontrata, ‘yung health din niya. But he gave it his all, too.

This is not exactly a question for you, but I’m wondering why he didn’t decide on postponing the concert? I mean, his Mom just passed…

I think, in my opinion, he did it for his Mom. Because his Mom was always in the shows. She produced many of our shows. Tita Lizette was really into the ’Heads, more than all of our moms. But she really produced shows, she was really involved. So yeah, he probably went on with it to honor his Mom.

So, if by some miracle you reunite and produce another album, do you think it will sound the same or different?

I think it will be a lot different, but I don’t think we can stand each other for that long period of time, enough to record an album.

Did it ever cross your mind to include your present-day bands as front acts to this gig?

No. Personally, no. The people came for the ’Heads. If they wanted to see the rest of our bands, they could see us wherever else we play. We’re all still around anyway.

Anything else you want to say?

Yes, I want to give credit to a group. They took in a lot of pressure and bad raps, they took a lot of sanctimonious raps, so I want to credit Marlboro/Phillip Morris for getting all four of us together. You see, Eraserheads is not a single entity, it’s four individuals plus plus. I hope you don’t edit this out, this is the truth. Even if they gave into pressure in the final hour, they still got us together, they worked for this and they pushed this together. It was as simple as the DOH not giving them the permit because of a law. I really think the fans, regardless of their stand on the tobacco law, should really thank Marlboro for making this possible. I mean, really. Please don’t edit this out, we really have them to thank. Just as much as we thank Sony-BMG, MTV or Radiohead Productions. It was never about advertising cigarettes, I think. It was a lot more than that, alam nila maraming mapapasaya, kasama na kami doon! And I think it was proven last Saturday.

Seems like there are so many people crucial to this event. Like you said, it was four individuals plus plus...

Ah wait! No, make that five! Alam mo, we used to have a session keyboardist, the late Noel Garcia. So for this one, when we were all asked—separately, ha—who we wanted to work with us onstage, we all chose Jazz Nicolas (the drummer of Itchyworms). He’s brilliant. Many people thought we sequenced music playback but that’s not true. Everything we couldn’t cover, Jazz took over. Keyboards, back-up vocals, back-up guitar and the tambourine—sometimes he’d play all those sabay-sabay! Ang galing talaga. The first time he sat in, he just knew all the parts. It was a joy to play with him on our side, really.

Do you think it’s because Jazz is a ’Heads fan himself?

Maybe it’s that, but I think fan or not, he’s a musical genius. I worked with him in Project 1 and many other collaborations and I’m a fan. I’m a fan of his work. So is Buddy, he’s worked with Jazz, too. He is amazing and crucial to the whole event. People should know that.

What was the moment you remember most from that night?

When the crowd started counting down and we were under the stage. I actually banged the drums when it got to one. I wasn’t supposed to, but I just had to, I had to release the energy. I could feel the love, it was pure love, nothing negative. I could feel it in every pore, I knew there was going to be a video thing first and other things going on, but I just had to crash on it. In my head it was, “Let’s do this!” You know, and If I didn’t do that, kakailanganin kong tumambling, kung hindi sasabog ako. I couldn’t contain it.

If all factors fall into place, Ely back health-wise, you’d do this again, right?

Definitely. Me, personally? When he’s ready, I’d probably talk him into doing it again. I’m sure he wants to finish what he started. I mean, finish the full show, he’d want that. Because Ely worked so hard, as much as everybody did in this show, ‘di ba? I’m sure he set aside feelings about everybody also, we really all worked hard to get this together. So yeah, for as long as health-wise he’s clear, I’d like to do this again. I want to finish what we started. I want Ely to fully recover soon and talk him into finishing it. We don’t talk a lot but I want to talk him into finishing it. I’m sure that’s what Ely wants to do, too.

A music writer texted me just now, “What was the real reason you broke up? Are the stories going around even remotely close to the real reason?”

May kanta kami diyan, “’Wag Mo Nang Itanong.

Ely gets better after angioplasty..

2008-09-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

By: Shirley Matias-Pizarro

Before we visited Ely Buendia at the Philippine Heart Center Monday night, we knew that he was already preparing to be transferred to a regular room because he was progressing well in his recovery that day.

But when we got there at past 9 p.m. Monday, we were surprised to find out that he had to stay at the CCU unit of the Philippine Heart Center for another two days at least because he just had angioplasty that same morning.

It turned out that his doctors found another blocked artery that same morning when his preparatory ECG test showed that. "He was all sprightly and enthusiastic when he came for a supposed stress test that morning. But the doctors recommended angioplasty right away instead," Day told us.

When we saw him, he was already stable and was being administered medicine to pull up his blood pressure which was a bit low due to the procedure that morning. We asked him how he was feeling when we saw his blood pressure reading was only 89/45 and he said, "sa akin, okay lang yan kasi low blood talaga ako," he told us. The nurses were explaining to Ely the medicines they were giving him.

Although still looking pale, Ely smiles warmly to his visitors. My heart truly went out t for him. We told him he gave everyone the scare of their lives again and he replied by just smiling back and pressing our hand. He gave us the thumbs up sign when we inquired how he was feeling.

Ely was conversing with everyone and even expressed desire to go home for the wake of his mom. He was asking questions about the show, about the recording done by SonyBMG and even narrated how he actually felt that fateful Saturday night.

He said, "Towards the last song of the first set, I was already feeling chest pains. Nung matapos, parang hindi na ako makahinga. Kaya umupo ako. When we reached backstage, I was asking for oxygen already kasi nahirapan na talaga ako huminga."

Ely said the chest pain he felt Saturday night was the same pain he felt one year ago when he had his heart attack in January.

With Ely that night were his ever so loyal manager Day Cabuhat and his sister Lira. His wife Diane was talking to some visitors from Philip Morris outside. It looked to me like there was an endless stream of visitors for the Eraserheads vocalist. Sony BMG bosses Rudy Tee and Vic Valenciano also came shortly. Then Pupil’s Yam and Doc arrived, too, along with Twinky Lagdameo who told us Gary Valenciano visited a bit earlier to pray with Ely that day, too. Ely said Marcus Adoro was there too, earlier.

He gives all of us a grateful smile when we speak with him and when we said our goodbyes so he can sleep and rest already, he shook hands with the boys and kissed our hand and thanked us all for being there.

Why not part 2?

Everyone’s hoping that there will be Part 2 of the Eraserheads’ reunion concert. And the possibility is big.

We’ve spoken with some people from in and around the concert production, including those very close to the band members and they all have the same high hopes for a repeat of part 2.

The band members were quite receptive to the possibility, having been evidently buoyed up by the amazing reception that the public gave them during the momentous one night music event at The Fort’s open field. We were told that Raymund Marasigan, after speaking with Pupil manager Day Cabuhat and was assured that Ely was in a stable and far better condition Sunday night, sort of made a promise to their followers that the reunion will see its ultimate fruition soon, or something to that effect.

Buddy Zabala, who went to visit Ely at the hospital Sunday night (with his wife Earnest Mangulabnan and good friend Rommel Sanchez), reportedly shares the same excitement reminiscing those marvelous moments on stage again.

The organizers are hopeful, too, including Sony BMG executives who recorded the gig for DVD release as an excellent alternative for those who failed to get there that night when the history of local rock music charted a milestone with the reunion that nobody believed was ever possible.

Breaking social barriers

Eraserheads’ supporters, clearly transcending social classes, are once again united for this purpose. Looks like the heavens are responding as Ely gets better and better even while we were writing this column.

Day told us in a phone conversation Monday morning, "his doctors were very careful because all the triggering factors of a heart attack were present at his condition and being a cardiac patient, they just couldn’t take chances."

She said all Ely wanted is "to get out of his hospital bed already. He wanted to go back to the wake of his Mom and we’re really hoping he will be strong enough. We’re just waiting for the doctor’s recommendations."

Fateful night at The Fort

Ely was transferred to the Philippine Heart Center at about 1 a.m. last Sunday after getting initial treatments from the Makati Medical Center where he was rushed from the concert venue Saturday night (at around 9:30 p.m.) during the 20-minute concert break. The organizers took care of his bills at the Makati Medical Center.

The band just finished the first 15 songs (the last one being "Light Years" from the internationally-released "Aloha Milkyway" album).

Ely was seen, just before the lights went out, sitting down at a platform props with his head turned towards his guitar signaling something to the technical guy.

Unknown to the expectant crowd, some of whom are even betting on what the final song will be, Ely almost collapsed already when he reached his dressing room, ashen-faced, cold, and profusedly sweating.

"It was then that we decided to stop the concert and rushed Ely to the hospital. He was not really talking but he kept pointing towards his chest. If you see his very pale face, cold and clammy, you will really decide to stop the show and just seek medical attention right away," Day said telling us that although she was bravely taking hold of the situation, she was really scared when she rode with him in the ambulance in what could be the longest short distance ride she ever took with him.

While Ely was being wheeled out of the venue, Diane, his wife, was breaking down already and his sisters were all crying that’s why it was decided that they stay behind and just follow Ely to Makati Medical Center. The scariest thing happened on the way, Day said, when Ely’s blood pressure dropped to 90/60. Later on, it was noted that it was due to sheer exhaustion, hypotension and dehydration (because he didn’t drink water during the entire first set of the show) and thankfully not another heart attack that caused it.

Ely is so brave

Day told us that Ely was obviously in pain but he was trying his best to keep a brave front for the sake of his family. His family is sort of depending on him for strength being the unofficial "captain of the ship" at this very difficult time of their mother’s passing.

But what was really heartbreaking to see was his son Eon crying beside his dad while at the Makati Med emergency room. "When he asked his Dad what was happening to him, I saw Ely really go out of his way to give his son a smile and assured him that he is fine and that he just needed to rest a little bit," Day said citing the fact that the father and son are so close.

He told us that although the guys were sort of "uncomfortable" around each other during the very first meeting, that feeling vanished totally when the rehearsals proceeded.

"They had gimmicks for some of those songs. The band had a fun time doing video recordings to complement some of the songs. Too bad, the public didn’t get to see that last Saturday," we were told.

But then again, who said the reunion concert is already finished?

http://www.mb.com.ph/archive_pages.php?url=http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2008/09/03/ENTR20080903134119.html

Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or totally obstructed blood vessel; typically as a result of atherosclerosis. Tightly folded balloons are passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size using water pressures some 75 to 500 times normal blood pressure (6 to 20 atmospheres).

The word is composed of the medical combining forms of the Greek words αγγειος aggeîos meaning "vessel" and πλαστός plastós meaning "formed" or "moulded". Angioplasty has come to include all manner of vascular interventions typically performed in a minimally invasive or percutaneous method.

A coronary angiogram (an X-ray with radio-opaque contrast in the coronary arteries) that shows the left coronary circulation. The distal left main coronary artery (LMCA) is in the left upper quadrant of the image. Its main branches (also visible) are the left circumflex artery (LCX), which courses top-to-bottom initially and then toward the centre-bottom, and the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, which courses from left-to-right on the image and then courses down the middle of the image to project underneath the distal LCX. The LAD, as is usual, has two large diagonal branches, which arise at the centre-top of the image and course toward the centre-right of the image.

PHONEBOOK UPDATE:

2008-08-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

the emotional ERASERHEADS reunion concert

2008-08-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

as most of my friends know that i work in ABS-CBN, and most of my shows are MYX programs. my client/friend/segment producer was doing a story of the ERASERHEADS for MYXposed. both of us being an E-HEADS fan, we always stop and ask "will they play music together?", and always end up sayin "nah..." not until it was the 'talk of the town' that there will be a REUNION concert, and thus, it is true!!! as we all know, it was almost cancelled due to the department of hell, este, heat, este, health's issue regarding its sponsor. now it had pushed thru, my wife was able to get a hold of SVIP tickets! damn' it was getting exciting!

aug 30, 2008. the big night. we went to Bonifacio Global City around 4pm. gates were open at 3pm and show will start at 8pm. my wife and two of her officemates were with us to watch the concert. by 7pm we were at the gates but for our dismay, studded belts, wallets with chain, perfume bottles and lighters were not allowed so we had to go back around a kilometer to the parking lot and keep our things in the car. now, inside the venue, i saw old and new friends. college barkadas, people from work and some celebrity friends. (by the way, nice to see you again Johnny Alegre after 12 years!)

the concert started around 8:20pm and as the ERASERHEADS rose from the stage and played 'ALAPAAP' as thier first song, people were so excited and full of amazement because of the unbelievable reunion of the guys. they played i think around 10 songs, sorry i lost count because i was enjoying the moment, hehehe, memories of fun. i was so elated that i wouldn't blame myself if i'd shed a tear of thinking these guys were together in the early 90's, hit it big and became famous, they disbanded and had their own bands after. to cut the long story short: after all of these, they were back together again even for just one night (so i hope you understand how 'emotional' i got when i saw them together..).

another emotional thing happend. as the last song finished, i saw ELI sat on the floor where he was playing, and he walked towards the backstage looking tired after playing the set. so i got a little worried that maybe something wrong might happen.. during the whole concert, beside me was my college classmate (such a small world) which happens to be the brother or RAYMUND. now, during the break, i saw him over the mobile phone and looked serious. after getting a drink (which was free from our end), he was gone. i told my wife, i sense that there is something wrong.

true enough, after more than 30mins, BUDDY, RAYMUND, MARCUS, the concert's sponsors and ELI's sister LALI went up to the stage to break the sad news as the rest of the guys were still in shock.

"We regret to inform you that we have to cut the concert short. My brother had to be rushed to hospital because of emotional and physical stress he is experiencing,"

Francis Lumen of MTV, requested to say a minute of prayer for ELI. and everybody did.

ELI, our prayer are with you man.. GET WELL SOON!

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION: Depression During and After Pregnancy

2008-07-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Friends, espcecially the married guys, if you aer expiencing difficulty in understanding your 'other half', well, maybe it's because of this.. if she's becoming 'narrow-minded', querks at you most of the time of petty stuff, and feels so insecure and hopeless.. well it this "postpartum syndrome/depression". i hope, otherwise she's making this a reason.. so, if symptoms persists, consult you doctor.

ma, i'm sorry if you feel that way. i assure you that i am always here for you and i love you. everything follows..

What is depression?

Depression can be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. But true clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended time. Depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. The degree of depression, which your doctor can determine, influences how you are treated.

How common is depression during and after pregnancy?

Depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year after delivery is called perinatal depression. The exact number of women with depression during this time is unknown. But researchers believe that depression is one of the most common complications during and after pregnancy. Often, the depression is not recognized or treated, because some normal pregnancy changes cause similar symptoms and are happening at the same time. Tiredness, problems sleeping, stronger emotional reactions, and changes in body weight may occur during pregnancy and after pregnancy. But these symptoms may also be signs of depression.

What causes depression?

There may be a number of reasons why a woman gets depressed. Hormone changes or a stressful life event, such as a death in the family, can cause chemical changes in the brain that lead to depression. Depression is also an illness that runs in some families. Other times, it’s not clear what causes depression.

During Pregnancy
During pregnancy, these factors may increase a woman’s chance of depression:

History of depression or substance abuse
Family history of mental illness
Little support from family and friends
Anxiety about the fetus
Problems with previous pregnancy or birth
Marital or financial problems
Young age (of mother)

After Pregnancy
Depression after pregnancy is called postpartum depression or peripartum depression. After pregnancy, hormonal changes in a woman's body may trigger symptoms of depression. During pregnancy, the amount of two female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, in a woman's body increases greatly. In the first 24 hours after childbirth, the amount of these hormones rapidly drops back down to their normal non-pregnant levels. Researchers think the fast change in hormone levels may lead to depression, just as smaller changes in hormones can affect a woman's moods before she gets her menstrual period.

Occasionally, levels of thyroid hormones may also drop after giving birth. The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that helps to regulate your metabolism (how your body uses and stores energy from food). Low thyroid levels can cause symptoms of depression including depressed mood, decreased interest in things, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, and weight gain. A simple blood test can tell if this condition is causing a woman's depression. If so, thyroid medicine can be prescribed by a doctor.

Other factors that may contribute to postpartum depression include:

Feeling tired after delivery, broken sleep patterns, and not enough rest often keeps a new mother from regaining her full strength for weeks.
Feeling overwhelmed with a new, or another, baby to take care of and doubting your ability to be a good mother.
Feeling stress from changes in work and home routines. Sometimes, women think they have to be "super mom" or perfect, which is not realistic and can add stress.
Having feelings of loss — loss of identity of who you are, or were, before having the baby, loss of control, loss of your pre-pregnancy figure, and feeling less attractive.
Having less free time and less control over time. Having to stay home indoors for longer periods of time and having less time to spend with the your partner and loved ones.

What are symptoms of depression?

Any of these symptoms during and after pregnancy that last longer than two weeks are signs of depression:

Feeling restless or irritable
Feeling sad, hopeless, and overwhelmed
Crying a lot
Having no energy or motivation
Eating too little or too much
Sleeping too little or too much
Trouble focusing, remembering, or making decisions
Feeling worthless and guilty
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
Withdrawal from friends and family
Having headaches, chest pains, heart palpitations (the heart beating fast and feeling like it is skipping beats), or hyperventilation (fast and shallow breathing)

After pregnancy, signs of depression may also include being afraid of hurting the baby or oneself and not having any interest in the baby.

What is the difference between “baby blues,”postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis?

The baby blues can happen in the days right after childbirth and normally go away within a few days to a week. A new mother can have sudden mood swings, sadness, crying spells, loss of appetite, sleeping problems, and feel irritable, restless, anxious, and lonely. Symptoms are not severe and treatment isn’t needed. But there are things you can do to feel better. Nap when the baby does. Ask for help from your spouse, family members, and friends. Join a support group of new moms or talk with other moms.

Postpartum depression can happen anytime within the first year after childbirth. A woman may have a number of symptoms such as sadness, lack of energy, trouble concentrating, anxiety, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The difference between postpartum depression and the baby blues is that postpartum depression often affects a woman’s well-being and keeps her from functioning well for a longer period of time. Postpartum depression needs to be treated by a doctor. Counseling, support groups, and medicines are things that can help.

Postpartum psychosis is rare. It occurs in 1 or 2 out of every 1000 births and usually begins in the first 6 weeks postpartum. Women who have bipolar disorder or another psychiatric problem called schizoaffective disorder have a higher risk for developing postpartum psychosis. Symptoms may include delusions, hallucinations, sleep disturbances, and obsessive thoughts about the baby. A woman may have rapid mood swings, from depression to irritability to euphoria.

What steps can I take if I have symptoms of depression during pregnancy or after childbirth?

Some women don’t tell anyone about their symptoms because they feel embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about feeling depressed when they are supposed to be happy. They worry that they will be viewed as unfit parents. Perinatal depression can happen to any woman. It does not mean you are a bad or “not together” mom. You and your baby don’t have to suffer. There is help.

There are different types of individual and group “talk therapies” that can help a woman with perinatal depression feel better and do better as a mom and as a person. Limited research suggests that many women with perinatal depression improve when treated with anti-depressant medicine. Your doctor can help you learn more about these options and decide which approach is best for you and your baby. The next section contains more detailed information about available treatments.

Speak to your doctor or midwife if you are having symptoms of depression while you are pregnant or after you deliver your baby. Your doctor or midwife can give you a questionnaire to test for depression and can also refer you to a mental health professional who specializes in treating depression.

Here are some other helpful tips:

Try to get as much rest as you can. Try to nap when the baby naps.
Stop putting pressure on yourself to do everything. Do as much as you can and leave the rest!
Ask for help with household chores and nighttime feedings. Ask your husband or partner to bring the baby to you so you can breastfeed. If you can, have a friend, family member, or professional support person help you in the home for part of the day.
Talk to your husband, partner, family, and friends about how you are feeling.
Do not spend a lot of time alone. Get dressed and leave the house. Run an errand or take a short walk.
Spend time alone with your husband or partner.
Talk with other mothers, so you can learn from their experiences.
Join a support group for women with depression. Call a local hotline or look in your telephone book for information and services.
Don’t make any major life changes during pregnancy. Major changes can cause unneeded stress. Sometimes big changes cannot be avoided. When that happens, try to arrange support and help in your new situation ahead of time.

How is depression treated?

There are two common types of treatment for depression.

Talk therapy. This involves talking to a therapist, psychologist, or social worker to learn to change how depression makes you think, feel, and act.
Medicine. Your doctor can give you an antidepressant medicine to help you. These medicines can help relieve the symptoms of depression.

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should talk with their doctors about the advantages and risks of taking antidepressant medicines. Some women are concerned that taking these medicines may harm the baby. A mother’s depression can affect her baby’s development, so getting treatment is important for both mother and baby. The risks of taking medicine have to be weighed against the risks of depression. It is a decision that women need to discuss carefully with their doctors. Women who decide to take antidepressant medicines should talk to their doctors about which antidepressant medicines are safer to take while pregnant or breastfeeding.

What effects can untreated depression have?

Depression not only hurts the mother, but also affects her family. Some researchers have found that depression during pregnancy can raise the risk of delivering an underweight baby or a premature infant. Some women with depression have difficulty caring for themselves during pregnancy. They may have trouble eating and won’t gain enough weight during the pregnancy; have trouble sleeping; may miss prenatal visits; may not follow medical instructions; have a poor diet; or may use harmful substances, like tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs.

Postpartum depression can affect a mother’s ability to parent. She may lack energy, have trouble concentrating, be irritable, and not be able to meet her child’s needs for love and affection. As a result, she may feel guilty and lose confidence in herself as a mother, which can worsen the depression. Researchers believe that postpartum depression can affect the infant by causing delays in language development, problems with emotional bonding to others, behavioral problems, lower activity levels, sleep problems, and distress. It helps if the father or another caregiver can assist in meeting the needs of the baby and other children in the family while mom is depressed.

All children deserve the chance to have a healthy mom. All moms deserve the chance to enjoy their life and their children. Don’t suffer alone. If you are experiencing symptoms of depression during pregnancy or after having a baby, please tell a loved one and call you doctor or midwife right away.

"Hiding in my Shade"

2008-07-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

STANZA 1:
Hey there,
How have you been?
I think two years had past
Since I last seen

A friend
Who lost somewhere
Between love and hate
A pain we can't bear

CHORUS:
And I'm Sorry
For all of the mistakes I made
I never really wanted it to happen
Now I'm hiding in my shade..
For all of the pain I've Caused
And that had put me into shame
Now for whatever it is worth
There's only one thing i can say..

STANZA 2:
And now,
We;re here again
to mend things that are broken and
to continue what we began

My son,
Your father is here to stay
So many things I've missed with you
I promise I will not go away

CHORUS:
And I'm Sorry
For all of the mistakes I made
I never really wanted it to happen
Now I'm hiding in my shade..
For all of the pain I've Caused
And that had put me into shame
Now for whatever it is worth
There's only one thing i can say..

I'm Sorry..

a song written by: Arnold B. Guyjoco

on Foo Fighters by Kyle Swenson

2008-06-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

After an intense but worthwhile experience making their previous album -- 
where frontperson Dave Grohl learned the true meaning of spot-on recording -- 
the Foo Fighters opted for a messier approach on their latest effort, There's 
Nothing Left to Lose [RCA]. Instead of taking days to get a sound and 
enduring 30 takes for one guitar track, Grohl and producer Adam Kasper went 
for a slightly unkempt, but nonetheless dynamic, melodic, and tonally diverse 
record that emphasized feel over precision. 

In addition, Grohl -- who played all the guitar parts on Nothing Left -- 
abandoned the "razor-blade distortion" that has characterized much of '90s 
rock. Most of the album's overdrive tones were produced the old-fashioned way 
-- by selecting a good guitar/amp combo and cranking up the volume. Three 
albums since vaulting from Nirvana's drum set to his role as singer and 
guitarist for the Foo Fighters, Grohl has absorbed two distinct recording 
philosophies, and has established himself as an impassioned songwriter and an 
innovative player. 

The easy-going sessions for There's Nothing Left to Lose were certainly less 
stressful than recent life outside the studio. First, Grohl and bandmates 
Nate Mendel (bass) and Taylor Hawkins (drums) had to find a replacement to 
fill the co-guitarist spot vacated first by Pat Smear, and then by Franz 
Stahl. Before going on tour to support the new record, the band had to 
audition 35 players, with ex-No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Shiflett 
ultimately winning the gig. 

vacated first by Pat Smear, and then by Franz Stahl. Before going on tour to 
support the new record, the band auditioned 35 players, with ex-No Use for a 
Name guitarist Chris Shiflett ultimately winning the gig. 

Then, Grohl endured a hellish bus ride from Toronto to New York during 
Hurricane Floyd, while simultaneously trying to be interviewed by GP. Nature 
won that battle, however, as the storm knocked out his cellular phone 
connection four times. Grohl finally settled down a couple of weeks later in 
a Sydney, Australia, hotel room to finish the interview. 



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


What was the fundamental guitar-sound recipe for the new album? 

We focused on not using too many distortion pedals, and went for a cleaner, 
fatter, more natural overdrive. We used a Vox AC30 for pretty much everything 
on the record, tweaking the sound so that it broke up nicely when played 
loud. Sometimes we'd double a track using an old Pro Co Rat, and then 
hard-pan the parts so that a super-distorted guitar was in the left channel 
and a grindy guitar was in the right. Then we'd sprinkle in lots of clean 
guitar overdubs. 

Why did you decide to avoid fuzz boxes? 

It seems the current definition of big and heavy is really bright, tinny, 
razor-blade distortion. Big and heavy used to be, like, Sunn amps and a 
guitar set to the rhythm pickup so that the sustain held on for two minutes. 
We wanted to move back to that huge, warm, sludgy sound and get something a 
little more garagey -- not something so well-produced and pristine. So rather 
than play through a distortion pedal and an amp with its volume at 5, we 
wouldn't use a pedal at all. We cranked up the amp to 10 so that it sounded 
like the speakers were screwed up. I enjoy the sound of a guitar breaking up 
because the speaker is getting its ass kicked. I even like listening to music 
in my truck because my car speakers are ruined -- everything sounds a little 
bit distorted, and I love it. If I listen to the same album on a good stereo 
system, it doesn't sound as good to me. 

Is there any trick to recording good, natural guitar sounds? 

The best way to get a natural guitar sound is to eliminate all pedals and 
find an amp that has a lot of range. With an AC30, for example, you can go 
clean, dirty, bright, or fat. It's just the amplifier and the guitar -- the 
most basic combination. I know the [Gibson] Trini Lopez and the Vox is going 
to have one sound, and the Telecaster and the Twin Reverb is going to have 
another. Getting basic guitar sounds should be that easy. As far as miking 
the amps, we used a Shure SM57. That's usually the mic they use on the amps 
when you play live, so why not use it in the studio as well? 

Do you spend a lot of time dialing in guitar tones in the studio? 

For the most part, Adam and I didn't spend more than ten minutes getting a 
sound. We'd just plug in and say, "Throw up a mic, and let's do it!" Adam is 
so good and quick that he doesn't need to do any measuring, calculating, or 
science -- he can just hear it. But he has worked with producers who spend 
three days getting a rhythm guitar sound, and that would make me go postal. 

The whole idea with this record was to put up the mics and record, record, 
record. We didn't want to spend hours and hours laboring over where the knobs 
were set on the last take and things like that. We'd do a take and walk away, 
bump into the mic, turn the amp off, bump into the knobs, come back to finish 
the guitar track, and not even really worry about it. In fact, if you listen 
closely, you'll hear that every song starts with a guitar riff that has this 
jangly tube rattling in the background. That's the Vox AC30. We kept 
promising we'd replace the tube, but we never did. And now I like that sound 
a lot. 

How would you typically set the AC30's tone knobs? 

We had the bass at 8 and the treble at 6 or 7. I don't know enough about amps 
and guitars to come up with any solid recipe. I just tweak it until it sounds 
good. 

Were you out in the studio when you tracked your parts? 

No, I played guitar in the control room -- not next to my amp. I think the 
best way to get a sound is when the producer and the guitarist are working 
together to hear what's really going down on tape. 

Is it harder getting guitar tones or drum sounds in the studio? 

I'm pretty laid back about recording guitar. I get a good amp, find a decent 
sound, put up a decent microphone, and I'm halfway there. It's pretty easy to 
translate a good guitar sound to tape. I had more problems getting great drum 
sounds because of the resonances and rings. 

How has your approach to recording guitars changed since the Foo Fighters' 
first album? 

On the self-titled first album, we didn't do more than two takes for 
anything! Things went the opposite direction on The Colour and the Shape 
because we tried to lock in all the guitar parts as tight as we could. On 
Nothing Left, we kind of returned to the spirit of the first record, and a 
lot of the scratch-guitar parts wound up on the final mixes. It just sounded 
fuller when there were lots of little imperfections going on here and there 
-- pick scratches and things like the guitar on the left channel being a 
little lazier than the one on the right. 

Was it difficult shifting gears from the freer process of the first album to 
the more intense process of the second? 

I learned more from Gil Norton -- who produced The Colour and the Shape -- 
than anyone else. That recording session was a lesson in patience. We wanted 
to make a tight, hard-rock record, and I always thought my guitar playing was 
pretty tight, but Gil taught me the meaning of "spot-on." He tuned my ear a 
little bit, so now I can tell when a guitar part is really, really on. 

What was it about the process that helped tune your ear? 

Doing 30 takes in a row, trying to get things perfectly in sync. That was 
work, man! I had never experienced that level of precision before. It was a 
great lesson. 

But did having to record 30 takes impact the feel of the tracks? 

Somewhat. The object of that kind of recording is trying to get things 
perfectly placed. We wanted every strum to lock perfectly with the kick and 
snare. Everything was supposed to be as in-your-face as it could get. But on 
There's Nothing Left to Lose, we weren't concerned with that at all. 

Are you still playing a Gibson RD Artist? 

I didn't use it much on the record, but I pull it out live. RDs are awesome. 
It's like holding a kitchen table over your chest and having it scream like a 
jet airplane. I like that they're really heavy and can sound fat or bright. 
They're kind of nasty guitars -- played through a Boogie Rectifier, they 
sound completely insane. 

Has your drumming influenced your guitar playing? 

Definitely. Every guitar player should understand the drums, and every 
drummer should understand the guitar. If you're playing music that's based on 
guitar riffs, it's especially important to know where the kick and snare 
should land to complement your riffs. And drummers should learn everything 
they can about songwriting, so they can effectively move a song from one 
place to another -- whether it's from the verse to the chorus, or from an 
intro to a verse. 

Did you learn anything about guitar from Kurt Cobain? 

The biggest thing I've learned from working with other people is how to get 
interesting sounds, which pedals do what, and other really basic stuff. I 
can't pinpoint any one influence that has formed the way I play guitar. My 
biggest influence was probably my guitar teacher when I was ten years old -- 
which is kind of weird because I only took lessons for a year, and I quit 
because they were so boring. 

Did you use any alternate tunings on There's Nothing Left to Lose? 

On "Stacked Actors," the low-E string is tuned all the way down to A. 
"Headwires" is in dropped-D tuning, and "MIA" is dropped-D tuning with the B 
string tuned down to A. I came up with the "Stacked Actors" riff when I was 
asked to write some songs for Ozzy Osbourne six or eight months ago. I was 
trying to come up with riffs that I thought would sound cool -- Ozzy circa 
his "Crazy Train" era -- and I was just fooling around when I tuned the E 
down to A. But I loved how sludge-heavy the guitar sounded, and I decided to 
keep the riffs for myself. 

How did you get the undulating tone on "Breakout"? 

That's the Memory Man through the Vox. We tried to set the wave of the phase 
so that it was in sync with the rhythm of the song. I used the Trini Lopez 
for that -- the world's most beautiful guitar. The Trini sounds wonderful 
clean, and it sounds wonderful dirty. It's my favorite guitar -- it's next to 
me in my bed right now. I've never played a guitar as good. It's nice and 
punchy, and it breaks up beautifully when you plug into an AC30. 

Is there an ideal tone setup for the Trini? 

I usually just flip to the treble pickup and tweak the amp. 

What about that shimmering clean tone on "Next Year"? 

That's the Vox and the Trini Lopez. We tried to get a pretty nice clean sound 
on that, so we boosted the treble on the amp and kept the volume down so it 
wouldn't break up too much. To me, that song illustrates the classic sound of 
the Trini Lopez -- it's clean with just a slight touch of distortion. 

"Headwires" is filled up with so many guitar parts, yet the mix doesn't sound 
cluttered. 

Oh yeah -- Adam's good with that stuff. The main riff is an Explorer playing 
through the Memory Man and the Vox, and the harmonics were done with the same 
setup. The choruses are the Duo Jet running through a Rat and the Vox. The 
high, picking part in the middle eight is an SG through the Memory Man. 

I'm always afraid someone is going to miss a part, but Adam knows where to 
place the parts in the mix. He has turned me into a huge fan of panning 
guitars hard left and hard right to avoid turning a song into one big fat 
wash. Also, when things are panned so that they seem to be wrapped around 
your head, all of a sudden it doesn't sound like the music is being performed 
in front of you -- it sounds like it's all around you. The expanded stereo 
dimension makes the song sound bigger. 

Did digital editing play much of a role in building song arrangements and 
constructing sounds? 

No, and I think that the struggle for perfection is the biggest problem with 
recording today. So much music lacks character, charisma, and personality 
because people are too concerned with making things as glossy and glittery as 
they can get. For example, Pro Tools and digital editing have almost 
destroyed the things that I loved about drummers from the '60s and '70s. The 
legendary drummers -- whether you're talking about Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, 
John Bonham, or Keith Moon -- were famous for having their own feel, which 
meant they weren't perfect metronomes. It was nice to hear John Bonham's 
laziness or Keith Moon's sloppy aggression -- or even their drunken drum 
fills. That stuff sounded cool. The current focus on perfect metronomic time 
really detracts from the overall feel of a song. 


DAVE GROHL ON CATTLE CALLS 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

"We had never auditioned a guitar player before," says Grohl. "The other 
guitarists that were in the band, Pat Smear and Franz Stahl, were just 
friends we asked to come play. We had the candidates learn four songs from an 
audition tape. "Off the Ground" and "Everlong" are pretty basic rockers, but 
"A320" and "Aurora" have lots of guitar parts going at the same time, so it 
was interesting to see which parts each guitarist would choose to play. Some 
people just learned one of the three parts, and others expected me to play 
everything. But Chris [Shiflett] learned all of the parts and figured out -- 
without me telling him -- which parts worked best in which places, since all 
the parts can't be played at once. Chris proved that he was good at knowing 
which spaces to fill and which to leave open -- that got him the gig. 

"Now it's clear that Chris can do almost anything. He can be just as dirty 
and sloppy as Pat, or he can be as precise as Franz. He definitely plays 
really tight, but because of his hard-core, punk rock background, he also 
knows when things should be messed up. He really gets into it when he plays, 
and you can tell when something's building to a climax -- he kind of goes 
off." 
 


FIGHTIN' GEAR 

DAVE GROHL
Guitars: Fender Telecaster, Gretsch Duo Jet, Gibson Les Paul, Explorer, Trini 
Lopez, SG, and RD Artist.
Amps: Vox AC30, Mesa/Boogie Maverick and Heartbreaker, Fender Twin.
Effects: Electro-Harmonix Memory Man and Q-Tron, Dunlop Heil Talkbox, Pro Co 
Rat, Boss Delay. 
Strings & Things: Dean Markley (light top/heavy bottom), cigarette lighter 
for slide.

Rockin’ Grohl Hoochie Foo (Guitar One 1999)

2008-06-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share what I found over the web (http://www.fooarchive.com/features/guitarone99.htm).. the Foo Fighters have inspired me (seconded by John Mayer) in my band performance (except the drop D) and have always opend my eyes that band playing is fun. It kept me searching for Foo topics, made me download Music Videos, even live performances and also photos.The following is something I just wanted to share:

Don’t get Dave Grohl started on the state of rock 'n' roll today. "Lately," says Grohl, "so many people are talking about the need to save rock 'n' roll. But all the talk is about fashion, awards shows, and everything but the music," The Foo Fighters frontman won't have any of it. For Grohl, the focus hasn't shifted one bit. "We recorded our new album our own way. We did it in my basement, without a record label, and without anyone telling us what to do. It's exactly what we wanted to do, and it's exactly what we sound like."
From day one, Dave Grohl has done it the old-fashioned way. He's made a career based solely on the merits of what matters to him most: his music. After grooving his way into the rock history books as the drummer for Nirvana in the early 90's. Multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl took his guitar/vocal/drum talents and founded the Foo Fighters---a band that initially consisted of only Grohl himself. Several years and personnel changes later, Dave is watching his creation take shape.

Today, the Foo Fighters have a new guitarist, a new album about to hit the streets, and a new label, RCA. With all the uncertainty of the past two years behind him, Dave Grohl was more than happy to sit down with GuitarOne and retrace the creative steps that helped forge the Foos' latest hard-rock offering.

You've been Involved In some Interesting projects since the last Foo Fighters record, The Colour and the shape, for Instance, you played on the remix of "All About the Benjamins' with Puff Daddy and contributed to the Godzilla soundtrack. What were those projects like?
Well, the Puffy thing was interesting because I had heard the original version of that song and thought it was cool. It was probably my favorite song of his because it was all his music--there weren't any samples of songs from the '80s in there. He called and asked if I would do a remix, but I had never done a remix and didn't know what one was. I didn't know if I should go in and "remix" it, or if I should add instrumentation to it, I had no idea what to do. So they sent me another rock remix they had done with Tommy Stinson from the Replacements] and some other people, and I listened to that--it had "real" drums, guitars, and bass. I guess he just wanted to take another stab at it and have someone else do one, too. It's hard to write a new-sounding song to a song that's already been written. So I just went in and did something that I thought wound up sounding like Rage Against the Machine, in a weird way. It just took one night, and it went pretty well. Puffy wound up using my remix and Tommy Stinson's in the same song; he kind of put it together. My thing comes in towards the end when Biggie Smalls and Li'l Kim start rapping. It was a really wild thing; I'd never done anything like it. And Puffy was really nice. He was super-professional and just wanted to make something that was going to be accepted by a lot of people, which, as a producer, he's proven himself to be pretty successful at.

As far as the Godzilla thing,we'd been asked to do that soundtrack and the X-Files soundtrack at the same time. For the X-Files soundtrack, we did a remake of a song that was on The Colour and the Shape called "Walking After You." We just went in and re-recorded it. And for the Godzilla soundtrack, we were writing the song 'A320" at soundchecks while we were on tour--in Japan, ironically enough. And at every soundcheck, the song just got bigger and weirder. It's one of my favorite things we've ever recorded, just because it's so off-the-wall. We never really performed it live much, but we did give it to the guitarists who were auditioning for us [after Franz Stahl's departure]. We gave them "A320" because it's kind of tricky--it has a lot weird chords, and there are four guitar parts going on at the same time. I wanted to see who was capable of creating some sort of composite arrangement to compensate for all of the parts. So, instead of just choosing one part and playing it all the way through, I wanted to see which guitar players would pick out the most significant guitar parts and meld them. It was interesting.

Enter Chris Shiflett, your new "touring" guitarist. What was he doing before you guys hooked up?
He was in a band called No Use For A Name. Before that, he was also in 22 Jacks, and Me First & The Gimme Gimmes. In fact, back in 1987, the first time I ever went on tour, his band actually opened for my band, Scream, in Santa Barbara. Plus we have a lot of mutual friends, so it's funny that we've been running in the same circles for a long time but haven't bumped into each other.

Nirvana went through something like seven drummers before you entered the picture right before Nevermind. Nave you ever felt like you're going through the same thing, only with guitar players?
Kind of, and we'd been talking about that. In all the press that we've been doing lately, people ask Chris Shiflett, "Well, don't you feel disposable?" Or "Do you feel like you're a member of the band?" Or "Do you feel like you've assimilated?" And 'Are you comfortable?" And he's only been in the band for about three weeks now! In his defense, I always say, "You know, the whole time I was in Nirvana I really thought that I was going to be fired or replaced because of the long line of drummers before me." And it's a weird feeling when you come into a situation like ours, where Taylor [Hawkins, drums], Nate [Mendel, bass], and I are best friends; we're very, very close. It's hard to immediately make your way into that tight of a relationship, and it's twice as hard when you feel like there have been two people before you who have done the same thing. But the thing about Chris is that--and this is no lie---he is the best guitarist and the best vocalist that we've had in the band yet. He's enthusiastic, excited, and genuinely stoked to be in the band. Last night we played in a place that holds about 10,000 people, and I don't know if he'd ever done that before. He just seemed really, really excited, and it's great. It makes us all excited; it makes us all feel like we're starting over again. We expect a lot from each member of the band, and we've all devoted our lives to this thing, so we want someone that will do the same.

There are tons of guitars on your new record. It's no wonder that having a second guitarist is so important to the Foo Fighters' lineup--especially live.
Yeah, there are a lot of guitar parts on this record--each song has three or four different things going on with the guitars, and there are effects all over the place. That's one of the reasons we needed to find someone who could not only pull all of those guitar parts off but sing background vocals as well. It makes everything sound fuller. There's nothing worse than recording a song you think is the most beautiful thing you've ever done in your life and then trying to perform it and realizing that you'd outdone yourself in the studio.

What's it like being on RCA now?
RCA is great. We were fortunate enough to have been in the position to release ourselves from our contract with Capitol Records if we wanted to: We had a "key man" clause. Gary Gersh, who was the guy responsible for signing Nirvana to Geffen, was the president of Capitol at the time. So we signed to Capitol because of him, but we put this clause in our contract that said if he left, we were free to go, too. The record [The Colour and the Shape had been out for a year and a half, and it had done everything it was going to do, and Gary decided to split. So we thought, "Okay. Well, why don't we just get out of our contract, build a studio, and make a record ourselves. Once we're done making the record, we'll go shopping for another label." So we went shopping for a label as if we were a new band, and it was great.

It was a little scary, though, because of the state of disrepair that the music industry is in today. A lot of the labels that we went to were in some sort of corporate turmoil because of the whole [Unigram] merger thing. When we were talking to labels, one of the first questions we would usually ask was, "Okay How fucked up is your label now?" Because everybody's label was going through a massive reworking--hiring and firing staff, dropping 20 bands, or they had just been bought by some huge fucking tobacco company. Everyone seemed a little shaky. There were many labels that had been solid and doing the same thing for years and years, and there were a lot of new labels that were trying to make their way up. Then there were labels that had huge rock rosters, with many of the biggest bands in rock. And it would've made the most sense for us to say, "Well, since we're a rock band in the age of hip-hop, hip-hop/metal, and hip-hop/rock, maybe we should probably go to the place that has the biggest 'rock department'".

But then we looked over at RCA, which didn't have much of a rock roster, and they were telling us, "We really want to work with you guys. We really need you guys to come here." And what better place to be than somewhere we can go and work with them? I don't believe in bands that just make records and hand 'em to a record company to do all the work. I don't think that's right. I don’t think a record company should take the tapes from the band, put them in a machine, and distribute it like fuckin' machine-gun shrapnel all over the place. I think that the band should have just as much to do with the marketing and the planning of the release of a record as the label does. So that's why we chose RCA. We knew that they would want to work with us and we would want to work with them.

So you could be more "hands on"?
Yeah, which is important, so you don't end up doing things like the "MTV Hot Tub Party" or some TV commercial promoting jeans, cars, or something like that. It's just trying to protect yourself from what rock music is becoming: more of a "commodity," more of a product than music. So much focus has been placed on celebrity, glamour, and commerce that you're getting a lot more rock stars and glamorous rock life--the point is starting to blur. I thought the point was the music, not the way you cut your hair or the product that you endorse. I'm not against promoting a band, but the focus seems to have shifted from the music to something else--to the fucking cartoon. And that's the one thing that you can protect yourself from, if you're "hands on" with the people that you're working with. All you have to do is say, "No."

I don't need any more attention. I don't need any more money. I just need to be able to play music. I feel so fortunate that people like our band. I feel blessed. I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world--that we can make an album and go out and play in front of a couple thousand people who know the words to our songs and sing them while I'm singing them. It's the best feeling in the world.

But that has so much to do with this album--like going back to Virginia, not being on a record label, going into my basement, and not having anyone tell us what to do. And, at the end of the day, I think our record is cool.

That must have given you a lot of freedom, recording the entire record at your home studio.
Yeah, man. There was no clock ticking, no phone ringing off the hook, nothing. It was just us living in the same house in Virginia for four months. It was great. We could do as many versions of a song as we wanted. It was absolutely glorious.

Once you wrote the songs, how did you, Taylor, and Nate flesh them out for the record?
I wrote all the songs on an acoustic guitar, like the last record. I'd sit around with an acoustic guitar and come up with a melody, and then they'd wind up sounding like train wrecks [laughs]! Then, the three of us would sit down with the basic structure of the song and say, "Okay, which way are we going to fuck this song up?" We wanted to see how far away from our original notion we could get. The most obvious and natural thing for us to do would be to put down a distortion pedal, have the pedal off during the verses, click it on during the choruses, play a little bit faster, and really bash it out. But we thought, "What happens if we have a song where the dynamics don't go from quiet to loud? What happens if the riff in the verse is the same as the chorus, but we just turn it into something else when it hits the chorus? Tom Petty does it all the time, and it seems to work for him." So maybe we would try to create contrast between a verse and a chorus by adding another guitar that complements the riff that runs through the whole song. "Learn to Fly" is a good example of that: From the verse to the chorus, it's sort of the same thing. Or maybe Nate would come up with a bass line that would change the sound of the part--Nate's so good with bass lines that he can turn an ordinary riff into something far more beautiful and unexpected.

And I never sing the songs for the guys before we learn them, so they always begin as instrumentals. I can hear what I'm gonna sing in my head, but they have no idea--they're trusting me to be able to throw it together towards the end. Once we get a song together, Taylor and I will come up with a good drum arrangement. After we put the drums down, I'll put down a couple rhythm guitars. After that, Nate records his bass, and I start doing a couple guitar overdubs here and there. Then, I'll start on the vocals. Once I get a vocal track done, then I'll sort of "pepper" it with a few other little doodads---maybe a little percussion or another guitar overdub. And then it's done. It really only takes us about a day and a half to record a song, once we've got everything together. And we had four months, so you can imagine how many times we re-recorded songs. We would record a song and think, "Wow! That's kind of cool!" Then, a month later, we would think, "Let's take another stab at it; I wanna change this one part," and do it again. Or, we'd go in to mix it and think, "You know what? Let's just record this one more time," and then spend another day and a half re-recording and mixing it.

Do you find, being a drummer and a guitar player, that the guitar parts you create are often more percussive in nature?
Definitely. One of the problems that we've had in trying to find guitar players is that the timing of the strumming is a little different than just your regular 4/4 "chop" kind of thing. It's not terribly difficult, but it's a little more syncopated. And I think every drummer should know how to play guitar, and vice versa, because the relationship has to be so close. If you're playing rock music, and you're coming up with riffs, you have to have some understanding of rhythm. And as a drummer, you have to have some understanding of riffs in order to complement them. Listen to someone like Dave Matthews. He's got good rhythm when it comes to strumming, man. He's pretty quick with his hand. And that's one of the big hooks to their songs: Everything is percussive, whether it's the bass or the acoustic guitars. It's really rhythmic.

I heard you were actually able to play Kurt Cobain's left Handed guitars by flipping it over and playing them right handed, How did you manage that?
Yeah (laughs). Well, all the guitars in the house were left-handed, so I had to learn. It's not that difficult; you get used to it after the first 15 minutes. It's like going to England and learning to drive on the left side of the road.

What kinds of things did you pick up from playing with Kurt for so long?
Just the simplicity of writing, and how the challenge is to strip it down so it's as bare as it can be while still being interesting and challenging. That's what always blew me away about Kurt: He wasn't the most accomplished guitarist in the world. He played chords that everyone else had played a thousand times, over and over again. But somehow, he did it differently without making it any more complicated. It had more to do with his heart and his soul than it did his fingers. It was cool.

I understand New Line Cinema Is putting together some kind of Kurt Cobain or Nirvana documentary called A Leonard Cohen Afterworld--a film that you, Krist Novoselic [Nirvana's bassist], and Kurt Cobain's estate do not endorse.
Right. They're making a movie about two kids who drive up to Seattle for the memorial at the Seattle Center after Kurt died. And to see someone try to reenact something like that takes away from the beauty and the meaning of the real memorial. Because that was something that kids wanted to do and felt like they had to do--it wasn't choreographed or contrived. It was a completely beautiful, real, spontaneous, organic gathering. Maybe it means something different to me than it does to other people. Maybe other people just see it as something like the Kennedy assassination or just another event along the timeline. But, to me, it's more than that. It feels strange to see the death of your friend being reenacted. It makes you feel a little weird.

Can you talk a bit about some of the gear you used on this new record?
Most of the record was done with a Vox AC-30, with effects pedals like a Uni-Vibe or a Memory Man, or old BOSS delay pedals, Rat distortion pedals, Electro-Harmonix pedals, or Octave Fuzzes. I used a Talk Box on "Generator." Guitar-wise, I used my Gibson Trini Lopez, a Fender Telecaster, a Gretsch Duo-Jet, some Les Pauls, Explorers, and RD Artists. We used a Fender twin and a Marshall JCM 900 for some stuff. We also used a MESA/Boogie Maverick--it's a little head. But we tried to stay away from the MESA/Boogie Dual or Triple Rectifier sound because we did that on the last record a lot.

Are you playing the main riff in 'Stacked Actors' with a distorted bass, or are you using your Octave Fuzz?
No. I actually tuned my low E string down to A, so it was flopping all over the place. That's the Rat pedal through the Vox. [Engineer} Adam Kaspar recorded the last Soundgarden record, and he had worked with R.E.M., so he was good with those Vox and Maverick amps--I had never used them before. So we were all really into the Vox AC-30 with the Rat pedal because it sounded badass. It sounded warm and kind of fucked up, not like the razor-sharp distortion of a Rectifier. It was something a little fatter, a little warmer, and a little more believable.

The main riff in riff in "Live-in Skin" kills me. It almost has a Genesis-type, progressive rock vibe.
(Laughs) Thanks. I guess it does kind of have that "Abacab" sort of vibe to it. That one was weird. We were already finished recording and had a couple days off before mixing, and I came up with this riff. I just thought, "Fuck it. Let's record this." So we recorded it in a day and a half while we were mixing. I guess that's just an example of my love for "the riff." I love guitar riffs because they're fun to play, and they remind me of drum rolls, or drum riffs: They begin in one place (e.g., snare drum), go all the way down the neck (e.g., floor tom), and then come back to the beginning.

Are you using Drop D tuning on that track?
Yep.

Where did you first learn of Drop D tuning?
That's a good question. I don't know, but probably from the Melvins. The first Melvins LP, Gluey Porch Treatments, changed my life. For drums and guitar, and just music in general, that album completely flipped my whole understanding of music on its side, and I just fell in love with it. I thought, "This is the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life!" So I suppose that's probably where I got it from, but I don't really remember.

Most rock composers write musical sections in their songs with a duration that is a multiple of four measures. Three or four tunas on this disc have repeating sections that are three bars in length, Are you conscious of things tike that?
Not really. I think it's a little more important to have a section that begins and ends naturally. If it feels okay, then you can do it. One of my favorite songwriters is Frank Black (Pixies frontman), and he's famous for doing that. Rarely will his sections go four bars, four bars, four bars, four bars. They're all over the place. But it works because the song moves. And I think that's important when writing and arranging a song: that it goes from one point to the next without making any U-turns. I think it's important to make songs that have direction. Things don't necessarily have to be chopped up in four-measure increments for people to understand them. And as long as it's a catchy melody or a strong hook, sometimes it's even more interesting when it's not in groups of four. It's almost more memorable when things are moving in an unconventional fashion.

In "Ain't It the Life," are you playing a guitar equipped with a Bigsby tremolo during the intro?
It's the Gretsch Duo-let. That's the first time I've ever used one of those in my life.

A whammy bar?
Yeah. I never knew what to do with it, but that song just seemed like it had to have it.

There's a great guitar solo on that track--you're playing the chord changes with pentatonics, almost like Joe Walsh.
That one was pretty funny. I'd sing it to Taylor, and he'd go, "Oh man! That's gonna be great! It's gonna sound like the Eagles!" And I'd be like, "Fuck it! I hate the Eagles!" But I like Joe Walsh and the James Gang shit; I thought that stuff was really cool. We wanted to take that one as far as we could go with it. We said, "Let's make it sound as 'old-school' as we can." I split the lead in it--I played slide on a Tele for the first half of the lead, and then the acoustic finishes it off. It turns into some Jimmy Buffet song (laughs). We were laughing hysterically, just because it's so cliche, in a way. But it worked.

When you're playing over chord changes, ore you playing strictly by ear, or do you hove · music theory background?
I just go by ear. I don't know how to read music at all, so I just kind of listen to hear what works. I don't know scales--I know what the notes are called, but I don't know how they work in relation to other scales. I don't know any of that stuff. I just go by what I think sounds good. It's just like writing a vocal line, to me: It's just another way of adding to the melody of the song. Whatever works, works.

How do you develop your lead chops?
Oh, I don't have any lead chops, man.

I beg to differ.
I beg to differ you (laughs)! I mean, lead guitar is something that I've never really been too concerned with because we don't really have leads in our songs. But there are some places where it can work in our songs. There's a lead in "Stacked Actors," but it's so hack-4t's supposed to sound like some garage band from the '60s. 'Ain't It the Life" contains another lead on the record, and it's kind of funny. I mean, it's almost tongue-in-cheek just because it's the kind of song where you say, "Oh. Here's the 'lead' section. This is where I should do a 'lead.'"

I don't have fast fingers at all, man. But that, to me, is the least important thing when doing a guitar lead. Perfect, blazing guitarar leads don't really do much for me although I do have a lot of favorite guitar players who can play amazing stuff. Warren Haynes (of Gov't Mule) is my favorite guitar player right now. He's totally amazing. I love Gov't Mule. What he's doing with guitars, I don't hear much from anyone else right now. Stevie Ray Vaughan was fuckin' great. His heart was in his guitar, man. That guy was living and breathing through his guitar man; it was amazing. And I think Warren Haynes is doing the same thing: that guy is a guitar hero. then there's Jimmy Page. I love him too, but it's not something I'd ever be able to do (laughs).

Words: Dale Turner

discriminate you say?

2008-04-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

one night, coming from a thursday work schedule, i was told by emerson, my co-editor, his takes on what the scope of my work is going to be.. puzzled i felt, i said that i have a regular work schedule coming up this friday which will be 6pm to 4am.. emerson said no, there was a change of sched. so went to check from our list and to my surprise, there was a change of sched! in my confusion i called the OIC of our boss, unfortunately there was no answer, maybe so it was around midnight and he's asleep. so i just sent a txt msg:
"Dong, ang gulo ng sched mo? May regular sched ako ng myx bukas 6-4am. Marami ako gagawin kasi nasa bora sila. May mga d ako tapos na edit na kailangan ta pusin bukas."

Until the next day he replied and the exchange went on:
ARVIN: ang regular sked mo sa myx? Nagpak up sila ng mga sked e. Hinati lang namin sked ni luna para nxt wk yan na ang regular sked mo 4 myx. Kung meron m an patawagn m sakin ang sp or ep nyan.
- i was surprised to see that my regular sched for almost a year will be changed..
ME: F u can check my weekly sched makikita mo ang flow ng trabaho. Kahit sp ko d alam na wala kaming sched. U could have at least txtd and told me na nabago sched but u didnt. Yan na regular sched ko? Talaga lang ha?
ARVIN: Ur sked last nyt was until 11p, u cud hv check it urself. I u know d myx sked other than d actual booking, u can sit down later and do d scheduling ur self.
- this is where he loses it.. his professionalism.. so i think maybe a comment like this deserves another..
ME: Thats nt my job 2 do. All i knw is thats nt my reg sked. Kung na pack up man, ngayn lang un. Salamat.
- i because for the pas months, my work schedule has been regular. plus i have 2 committed programs to edit with this friday work sched.
ARVIN: E mas magaling kp ata sakin e. Mas alam mo ang sked mo.
- i think he's being sarcastic, to see, i have been saying for the past minutes that this wasn't my regular sched, and now he's saying that i know my sched? if something is regular, i think it i should know it.. i suppose..
ME: Wala nang mas gagaling sayo! ang alam ko regular shed ko un. Kahit si charlie alam un.
- i give him that. he's really good, but not at this point. he was joking sarcastically, so i just joked back, if he took it seriously, he shouldn't have been giving comments like this if he can't take it ..

this is the worst part, the texts lead to him calling me and started cursing like: “’tang-na Nong anong problema mo? Bakit mas marunong ka pa sakin?...” then he explained what happened and while I was trying to explain my understanding with the situation he began to say: “tang-ina mo ah! ‘kinang-ina mo! Tang-ina ka talaga! ‘kinang-ina mo hayop ka! ‘tang-ina ka..” I said: “wag mo akong mumurahin di mo ako palamon..” he continued and i said: tang-ina mo mo rin kung ganon.. he finally continued by saying: “tang-na ka IJM ka lang, putang-na ka!” I continued: “eh ano ngayon kung IJM lang ako?”, finally he said: “sige, mag-pahinga ka na.. mag-pahinga ka na..” - click –

so far until now i haven't had any work sched obviously because of this incident.. why? is he power tripping? yes. to him we IJMs are just a spec of dust. we really don't matter. if we did, would he say that? say what? check the highlighted-enlarged sentence up there..

my point in blogging this incident, is: i am hoping that this will not happen again to anyone. we are both working in a very prestigious network and with superiors like him, it brings shame to the company.. kapamilya kamo? doesn't apply. i think, 'ka-away' is what he's looking for.. he's not getting away with this, one day it will all come back at him..

i just also hope that his colleagues wont take the situation as a 'one sided' story.. justice and fairness is we all ask for..

now if you ask me, DISCRIMINATION you say? i'd say YES.

my Fender '62ri Stratocaster

2008-03-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

this '62ri Fender Stratocaster is in Surf Green, made in Japan. got this from my officemate George, this was for sale for some time now and finally i got a good deal with the SD-1 chancellor. as usual, i brought this to mang Jun Castro for change of 10/46' strings also for intonation, truss rod adjustment and pup tuning.. i think it is about time for me to use a Fender, after holding and playing one, it is true that there is a difference!

this will now be my main axe!

my Squier Standard Telecaster

2008-02-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

unfortunately, the SG didn't work, even i had one before. the night after our jam, i posted it on the web for sale.. well, fortunately, i had a kind hearted person to offer me this Telecaster. i realized that my feel and comfort of playing was on a Strat or a Tele, and like it was a blessing, i found this.. but at first i was supposed to get the butterscotch blonde Affinity Tele, but after some reviews and write-ups, my thing is for this one, Agathis body, Maple neck & Rosewood fingerboard, 22 med-jumbo frets, 6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Bridge, 3-switch, 4-Ply Tortoise Shell on Vintage Sunburst, 2 Alnico Magnet Single-Coil Pickups and it's also handcrafted in Indonesia like my Fatstrat. so this is like a brother to it.. i just had it tuned-up by mang Jun Castro, now it is well intonated and everything is ok..

and i guess this baby is here to stay.

my Epiphone G-400 SG deluxe

2008-02-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

jus got his from a forumer from Philmusic.com, we traded with mt Ibanez JetKing2. i have always been facinated with an SG, now that i got an Epiphone, i brought it to mang Jun Castro right away and had the following jobs done: FRETLEVELING, ACTIONSETUP, TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT and INTONATION. he also adjusted the poles of the Pick-Ups. now, it sounds great than ever!! now i thought of parking my Squier Standard FatStrat and utilize this baby..

here i how she looks.. no name yet.. hehehe..

my Squier Standard Fat Stratocaster

2008-01-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

Just got it from mang Jun Castro for 'Tune-ups' (as usual) and it was a lucky catch! the machine heads are in-tact and tight. the bridge has great saddles, the neck is now better, the back plate is two-ply and the strings are now equipped with SIT 10's. I just have to change the Pick-ups for better sound..i think i can survive a gig with this one.. heheheh! anyway.. here she is..

Avoiding Gear Acquisition Syndrome

2008-01-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

By Brett Ratner

You've all seen the commercials where some celeb sportin' a white mustache says "Got Milk?"

Among my musically-inclined cohorts, we've modified that phrase to read "Got GAS?" Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) is a common disease found particularly among, but not limited to, guitar players. A loose definition of GAS would be the obsessive and irrational horse trading or purchasing of musical related equipment.

GAS is NOT the same thing as collecting. In fact, many people find that the collecting of instruments is as much a joy as playing them (particularly if you have the financial means to collect).

GAS differs in that the compulsive need to "tweak your rig" supersedes the desire to improve as a player, compose music, record, (and if you have aspirations of playing professionally) seek gigs. Another common trait of a GAS-inflicted individual is the tendency to impulsively trade in a perfectly good piece of equipment for a seemingly more desirable piece of equipment (often at a loss of money) and later regret the transaction.

The purpose of "Avoiding Gear Acquisition Syndrome" is to pass along knowledge that this journalist learned the hard way (I too had GAS). In other words, hopefully this column can eliminate "trial and error" purchases and save you money and hassle by helping you make lasting, educated purchases (and make them on the FIRST TRY). The goal here is to get stuff that you're happy with and makes you sound good... not stuff you'll wanna unload in six months.

Another benefit of educated purchasing is that you achieve a solid foundation for your instrument setup. This frees you up to buy additional gear just for the fun of it (versus an urgent need to get your tone up to par). For example, when I finally settled on a single guitar and a single amp that I liked, I didn't "need" to get anything new. Thus I was liberated to the point where I could just have fun collecting pedals (cuz I "wanted" to). Someone else, on the other hand, may discover a particular amp and pedal arrangement that works, thus freeing him or her to collect guitars. The more crucial point is that the sooner you figure out what works for you and stick with it, the quicker you can move on to becoming a better player.

Another Year..

2008-01-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

as we welcome 2008, many things have changed and many things have remained. what's important is: the forget the past, live the future & prepare for the future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

losing enthusiasm...

2007-12-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

i have just came across the usual forum site i usually log onto. and visited my VW group thread, it was so nice to see that friends go on and enjoy their hobby. how unfortunate of me that i have to wait for a long time for Friday to be completely done. it's hard to be in a situation like this. been waiting for Friday in a very long time. and i just don't understand what's keeping it so long?

i have plans for her, even out-of-this world projects to be completed. and it is so just freakin' frustrating to hear from friends recommending that i should be doing a certain modification that another friend had made. little do they know that those modifications were originally planned for Friday. and it's so freakin' frustrating to know that it was done in the same shop where Friday is for the past almost-three months now.

it didn't even make it to the 2007 car show which i was hoping to join.. now my friend do you think i am happy?

this is one of the reason why this passion that i have for the volkswagen world seem to fade... in short "NAWAWALAN NAKO NANG GANA". now, christmas is just around the block.. will Friday reach that corner or will she just stay in one place 'till new year? i'm too old for this shit.. (as Danny Glover from the Lethal Weapon saga would say) and will Friday turn out the way it should be?

now friends, what should i do, how should i feel, when will i know & where will i be found?

let's wait and see..

what's happening?

2007-12-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

if you noticed the last post i had here was what? more than 2 months ago?

lately, i have been thinking about matters. matters that would concern Friday. once i got a final thought, i'll get back on this thread and share whatever sentiments that may arise.

she's moving!!

2007-10-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

a couple of months ago, i left Friday at Panay. jon then thought of lending me pendong for the meantime as my service and at the same time to lessen the number of v-dubs parked around his place (which the barangay peeps complain about). Pendong is a MONSTER! he can go fast more than 120kph! i tried it after a sentra overtook me and stayed in front of pendong when i was driving him. hehehehe.. goodbye sentra! hehehehe.

anyway, the other day, i went to panay as i usually do and hung-out. when i was about to go to work (since work is just a block away), pendong had no gas left! not my fault! the gas guage is busted plus i just fill him up with 500bucks worth of unleaded fuel! then my topic starts here:

i had to buy gasoline fo Pendong. and i thought of driving Friday, since she's just there and most of the accesories are already there. so i did! without the plate numbers!! hehehe, she's still quite high and bouncy with the "new seats" hehe. i was having a hard time shifting, they need to check on the transmission or the shifter. but she runs!! so i went to shell gasoline station and back to panay. and that was quite an excerpt!

UPDATE!!!

2007-10-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

electrical by "andy".. you know? "andito lang buhok"!

another look.

2007-10-08T01:58:00.000-07:00

i really can't wait!

a little closer..

2007-10-07T00:14:00.000-07:00

getting there!

the developments..

2007-10-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

she's on her way. we have changed the steering wheel back to its stock, and we have also installed a gear shifter of a VW Kombi.. noticed the height?

here are the seats that was ripped-off last week. now, what a beauty!

take a seat... but don't take it home!

2007-09-30T02:07:00.001-07:00

it was torn, ripped and heated! but it'll transform to a new bloody seat!

to the "Porto General Hospital" a.k.a PGH!!

2007-09-30T01:51:00.001-07:00

my sweet red 1200 engine:

her tank is as red as porche red!!

windows are getting ready, one piece yah say?

and the quarter!

here she goes..

2007-09-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

from the Auto Repair shop..

new comers!

2007-09-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

here is an addition to my VW family: hehehehe..

still in tha shop..

2007-09-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Friday is still in the kamias suto repair shop. no space available for her, we're all excited. but fortunately, jon lend me Pendong so i have something to use while Friday is still in limbo. at the same time, momma is four months pregnant, it will be easy for her to go and from work..

thanks jon!

thanks Pendong!!

on her way....

2007-09-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

she's going to be lowered, cleaned & pimped! watch out!!

new shoes for a new look

2007-09-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

there she is.. Friday's wheels. it is 6" wide for the rear.. beautiful!!!

thank God it's Friday!

2007-08-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

my family and i slept over my mom's place which was next to the car repair shop where Friday is confined. and there she was, still not done. well, 10% and she's done! she is black as ever,but i think the beauty improvements will be done by Jon of PortoFormance.

anyway, HOT ROD FRIDAY is on her way! thank God it's Friday-my BUG!

one of a kind RIMS

2007-07-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

just got back from Panay ave, where Jon's shop is. we picked-up the rims at a machine shop where we had them fixed. and oh boy!!! it was great!! we had the face of the two VW stock rims mounted to a couple of stock toyota innova rims, and to tell you man, those are a couple of wide rims for Friday's rear! i'll be going to the auto repair shop where my beetle is and visit Friday, check on the developments..

i wanted to post pics of the new rims but i thought it would be better if it was all done with the paint..

'till next time! ROCK N' ROLL!!

my first expensive shifter is now for sale...

2007-07-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

i got this when i had Boks. a nifty shifter. responsive-short throw gadget. too bad it wont fit the look of Friday and i had to sell it.. so now, i'm writing this blog to give thanks for the service this shifter has given me. to the next owner, you'll enjoy the convinience..

limited shirt design by: gustomogatas

2007-07-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

this will be a limited shirt design by gustomogatas and will produce only 6 pcs. for those who want to order, e-mail us.

a sweet surprise

2007-07-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

just got home from kamias (my mom's house) and finished taking a bath. just relaxing and surfing.. later on, my wife just gave me a bnew (of course a classic) 1959 VW beetle for my birthday!! she was anticipating the eve of it.. well, this one is almost like some of the specs of Friday!! i was so surprised! we were i little tired but mine went off after seeing this beauty!! thank you momma! i love you..

check it out!

Friday now..

2007-07-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

here's friday before:

here's friday now (not yet done though)

my family's first Beetle ride

2007-07-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

it was the night after our club's sub group's anniversary party in quezon city. we went at the venue around 4pm and brought pork barbeque and 'sapin-sapin' as pot-luck. my son was kinda freaked out with the pool (since he just woke up from the cab ride), i took a dip and momma just sit and watched us swim. later on as most of the kids are going home, i decided to bring my family home but i have to i have to be back for the club meeting. so 'sultanbarurot' handed me his car keys and we took a spin!

we took a ride in a '72 superbeetle, momma was surprised that the air-con was so cool that her cs stitches became painful! hehehe.. my son was so happy to ride in a "bok!" as he would call it.. he was so cute sitting on her yaya "shi" and holding both the edge of the front seats smiling!! if could just capture that moment with my camphone but i was driving...

oh well...

getting there!

2007-07-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

i dropped by this evening at the shop.

i saw Friday in black!! damn! he looks good!! after all of these, i just need to figure out a way how to move him from kamias to panay..

Friday still at the shop

2007-05-27T23:46:00.002-07:00

it has been around a month now and Friday is still on his way to beauty.

i have sold the mini-lite mags and now hoping to get stock rims. i have just bought innova rims and plan to mount them with the face of the stock rims for the rear end and paint all four RED! by the way, Friday will be painted Flat black.. just imagine..