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Posts from the ‘Gigs’ Category

Nov 17

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A Dose Of The Cure

To cover more songs from The Cure has been a desire long overdue. So when the opportunity presented itself, we were more than happy to indulge. The pop sensibility of the 80’s icon has influenced my songwriting for more than a decade – in doses big and small – but not as heavily as The Smiths and The Beatles.

It was an awesome event.  The place was packed and everyone was looking forward to each band’s rendition of a Cure classic. We were favored to cover “Just Like Heaven” while I personally chose “A Letter To Elise” – one of my all time favorite Cure single. Here is a clip our friend Antonette manage to acquire with her digital camera. Please excuse the audio and video quality. First time we ever jammed “A Letter To Elise.”

I read in wiki that Letters to Felice by Kafka was a huge influence when Robert Smith wrote the lyrics of the track. Franz Kafka is a Jewish-Bohemian major fiction writer and “Letters To Felice” is a book collecting some of Kafka’s letters to Felice Bauer from 1912 to 1917. During the correspondence they were engaged twice. Must be something worth reading.

"A Letter to Elise" is the third and final single taken from the album Wish from The Cure in 1992.

To listen to the original track of “Letter To Elise:, click Here.
Below is our minimal live performance of “Just Like Heaven” from the same night. It would’ve been nicer having an electric guitarist to session. It’s fun to spin around with.

The group largely wrote the song during recording sessions in Southern France in 1987.  Robert Smith  drew inspiration from a past trip to the sea shore with his future wife. Do not be fooled to thinking that “Just Like Heaven” is a happy heartwarming song. Beneath the sunny-day-holding-hands-together-on-grassy-fields trance the music exude lies an incredibly sad ending. Wait till you hear the third verse. Click Here to watch the music video.

Just Like Heaven - The Cure

"Just Like Heaven" was the third single released from the band's 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.

Never mind the big, towering hair and smeared lipstick on their faces (a signature look) the musical styling is great and offers a mix of records wallowing in melancholia to ear-candy-pop madness.

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The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by Robert Smith, Lawrence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and New Wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s, the band’s increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.

After the release of Pornography (1982), the band’s future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single “Let’s Go to Bed” Smith began to inject more of a pop sensibility into the band’s music. The Cure’s popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs “Just Like Heaven“, “Lovesong” and “Friday I’m in Love” entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world. The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004. The Cure have released thirteen studio albums and over thirty singles during the course of their career. (source: Wikipedia)

Nov 6

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From Bilibid With Love (Part 1)

(Part 1 of The Camerawalls’ experience in National Bilibid Prison. A written account by Ian Sarabia)

A wooden ship built by Michael Salvador

MICHAEL SALVADOR (original drummer of Orange And Lemons) gave us these things. Wooden crafts he built inside prison. But don't tell the guards.

I don’t remember how or why I woke up. I just remember being in the car with my bandmates. The Camerawalls. Headed straight and driving to possibly the most dangerous place in the Philippines. Maximum Security. Bilibid Prison. Third world.

As we approached the gate, the acid I had taken early that morning began to take an awkward turn. The hazy depths of recollection and introspective melancholy escape me now but we were all unified in the thought that we should leave all our valuable belongings in my car. Its the only way to enter a gig full of criminals, I thought. And why not, if only faking, stroll confidently in their midst.

As we walked down its moat a sense of wonder filled my senses. It really did seem like I was walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Hoping on hope I wasn’t going to end up like Veruca Salt. Lest I be judged. And not for lack of judging. For who I thought would be imprisoned in a land ruled by generations of corruption?

The guards at the gate seemed like Ogres. Enslaving their own kind. We were patted down and violated to perform awkward pleasantries towards them. We knew they had the guns. And they were happy to oblige. For in here they were the lords.

“In the kingdom of the blind. The one-eyed man is king”

We then were ushered up across the prison court and up a hut. In my mind knowing that at any given Sunday this could all go south. It wasn’t a prison for me at that point. It was the open sea. I was ready.

At least I thought I was until I ran out of vodka. D’oh! I thought. The heat and nervousness made me drink the last of my reserves. I was going to have to man up for this gig I thought. Two thousand Five Hundred Fifty Four convicted felons… I better not make any sudden moves.

As sober as I was I got bored and proceeded to speak to a slight man (thinner than Clem or Pao). blah blah blah. Can’t disclose double homicide what he attempted robbery did. And I was set and way too sober to play.

There we were around so many killers. And I felt ….. less than auspicious….. Then. We played. I felt like I was back in High School playing ball in the heat of a lazy day sun. I felt good. We rocked. A very special guest named Michael Salvador jammed. He was the original drummer of Orange And Lemons. He rocked. It made me wonder if all he did in prison was play drums. I asked him what it was like. I learned that so much rehabilitation works here. This was a society functioning and helping people in a third world live in peace and harmony. It was amazing. The cat I mentioned earlier. Mr. Double homicide found out that he was really good at painting. Actually most of them did. Their art strewn across the corridors and all along the walls. Their idle hands directed towards a more peaceful and stimulating outlet. These people were not bad. They were mostly just passionate people who got caught in an awkward phase. But it did not define them. I guess in prison they found themselves. Sometimes you gotta get lost to find your way home. See the forest for the trees. And all that humbug.

I spoke to them some more and realized that the prison wasn’t too far from the society we live in. I realized that we’re all in jail. Some of us just live in Bilibid.

Oct 19

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John Lennon – In Memoriam

October 9, 1940  – marks the emergence of a baby that is destined to be a rock icon. One of the best things that ever happened in the music industry in general, and one of the most influential household name – John Lennon. In some photos and angle, kids nowadays might mistake him for Harry Potter, but no, he is more than magical, he is real and a  legend in his own right. For green music fans, read on.

“My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.” – John Lennon

John Lennon (1940 - 1980)

John Lennon (1940 - 1980)

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. With Paul McCartney, Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century and “wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history”. He is ranked the second most successful songwriter in UK singles chart history after McCartney.

Lennon revealed a rebellious nature, and biting wit, in his music, on film, in books, and at press conferences and interviews. He was controversial through his work as a peace activist and visual artist. After The Beatles, Lennon enjoyed a successful solo career with such acclaimed albums as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine and iconic songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine“. After a self-imposed “retirement” to raise his son Sean, Lennon reemerged with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered less than one month after its release. The album would go on to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon eighth. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lennon number 38 on its list of “The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time” (The Beatles being number one). He was also ranked fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2008. He was posthumously inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. (source: wikipedia)

“I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.” – John Lennon

I have been jokingly and seriously (sometimes with hate) regarded many times as Lennon’s Filipino look-and-sound-a-like, from physical features to vocal attack. However they meant it,  will be taken as an ultimate compliment from a provincial commoner. More than a decade of emulation and admiration spells the reason why.

Last year, for a Christmas eve fashion feature in the lifestyle section of The Manila Bulletin, I was invited to do a John Lennon-Yoko Ono inspired photo shoot and pose as the rock icon entitled “And So This Is Christmas.” Here are some of the pics taken by Charles Buenconsejo:

Clementine & Ana Sideco

Ana Sideco & Clementine posing as John & Yoko. Appeared December 24, 2008 on the lifestyle section of The Manila Bulletin. Photography by Charles Buenconsejo. Styling by Liz Anne Bautista. Location: Wombworks Studio.

My favorite shot.

My favorite shot. Barefooted moments.

War Is Over!

War Is Over!

Love Is All We Need

Love Is All We Need.

“You are all geniuses, and you are all beautiful. You don’t need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace, think peace, live peace, and breathe peace, and you’ll get it as soon as you like.” – John Lennon

That same month prior to the shoot I was given another perfect opportunity to pay tribute to Lennon’s work and perform alongside excellent musicians at a legendary venue for rock music – 70s Bistro. The bar owners organized a Lennon Night with Johnoy Danao (vox/acoustic), Julianne (vox/acoustic), Kakoy Legazpi (lead guitars), Rommel Dela Cruz (bass), Carlo Gaa (keyboards) and Benjie Santos (drums). Was lucky enough to be able to sing for the first time Lennon songs I never thought I’d sing and perform live.

Here are some captured clips covering his songs:

“Woman” from his last  album Double Fantasy (1980)

“Mind Games”  from the album of the same title released 1973

Now I’m with The Camerawalls, his songs especially those with The Beatles, are still a staple choice to cover during gigs. Although he is long gone, he has left a lot to enable everyone to re-imagine his glory days and reminisce what he meant to people he has touched — in ways big and small. – Clementine

“Imagine” from John Lennon’s second solo album of the same title. (1971)

“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?” – John Lennon

Oct 13

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Doing The Jam

We’ve been playing “To Be Someone” and “That’s Entertainment” for quite sometime now during gigs using an acoustic guitar. When the opportunity for a tribute night presented itself, it was time once again to brush off the dust my electric guitar is collecting.

But first, little backgrounder.

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Jam_pic

The Jam (from left to right: Paul Weller, Rick Buckler, and Bruce Foxton)

The Jam were an English rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While they shared the “angry young men” outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock influences rather than rejecting them, placing The Jam at the forefront of the mod revival movement.

They had eighteen consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their breakup in 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, “That’s Entertainment” and “Just Who Is the 5 O’Clock Hero?” remained the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, hit number one on the UK album charts. When the group split up, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100.

The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk rock, pop punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English flavour and its mod image. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form The Style Council and later had a successful solo career. Weller wrote and sang most of The Jam’s original compositions, and he played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker. Bruce Foxton provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the band’s songs, including the hits “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight“, “The Eton Rifles“, “Going Underground” and “Town Called Malice“. (source: Wikipedia)

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The POP Shoppe! made this event possible one Thursday night on the 18th of June inviting acts like The Bernadettes, The Gentle Isolation, Patience Dear Juggernaut and Kate Torralba. You can read more about it Here and enjoy the videos below.

To Be Someone – the very first Jam song we rehearsed and performed during the early days of The Camerawalls. I can clearly relate to the lyrics that goes: “To be someone must be a wonderful thing… And the bread I spend – it’s like my fame – it’s quickly diminished… But didn’t we have a nice time.”

That’s Entertainment – a staple song in our set. Never fails to give us the kick we need.

The Butterfly Collector – reminds me of our song “Lord Of The Flies” with the words “there’s tarts and whores but you’re much more / you’re a different kind cause you want their mind / and you just don’t care cause you’ve got no pride / it’s just the face on your pillow case  that thrills you.”

Town Called Malice – we didn’t expect to pull this out live.  It was rather difficult but a whole lotta fun! A crowd favorite.

The Jam will always be a great inspiration to the three of us lyric-wise and sound-wise. Bursting with energy and insightful writings from a sagacious old bloke — Paul Weller.

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