for September’s last week, 9Astig! will make its final appearance… Sponge Cola gets a second week at #1….

ngayong dekada, according to QTV’s Ang Pinaka…

1. Parokya Ni Edgar
2. Bamboo
3. Kamikazee
4. Rivermaya
5. Sugarfree
6. Hale
7. Itchyworms
8. Orange & Lemons
9. Sandwich
10. Imago

all i can say is… 10 is really a small number…

madami pang banda na dapat ay nandito sa listahang ito… alam kong nahirapan ang mga producers ng show to limit the list into just 10… among the persons asked were Francis Reyes (The Dawn), Mike Villegas (old Rizal Underground) and Aiza Seguerra…

IS ON!!!!

the first schedule of the rolling polling booth of the 13th NU107 Rock Awards is on Sept.11, right smack at the radio station, in Ortigas, AIC building!

be the first to cast "the vote"!

i always knew that listening to countdowns has its rewards… not just the emo thing…

thanks to WAVE 89.1 for picking me as a winner of their Alcatel 853 on Soul Review promo… i get to win the Alcatel OT S853 mobile phone… can’t wait to pick it up!!!   (",)

if you’re interested, listen to Soul Review every Saturdays 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, with replays Sundays 10:00 AM…. syempre, only on WAVE 89.1, Manila’s Most Influential!

One of the encouraging things about this decade’s band explosion is that more promising bands are making big steps to make their own music and doing more to make their songs heard….

Proof of this is a very young band called ZOOMZOOM LUNACY… a 5-piece rock band from Baguio City, they trace their roots back to 1999, while in high school in La Union… composed of Marc Gonzales (20 yrs old, vocals/guitars),  JE Cruz (20 yrs old, guitars/vocals),  Jobert Tan (19 yrs old, guitars), Edz Fernandez (19 yrs old, bass) and Mika Estioco (20 yrs old, drums), they sure show a lot of promise…

humble beginnings…

they may have undergone a few line-up and name changes since they started, but one thing that was sure about them then was the excelence that they maintained no matter what they do…. they have joined band competitions in Baguio and they usually end-up with a place… that’s how good they are, being inspired playing songs of their influences, like Green Day, Silverchair, Metallica, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slapshock and Chico Science…

making their own mark…

the band has recorded two EP’s already… the first one, What’s With The Elephant? was like a limited edtion EP in 2004 that was given away free to friends and supporters… it was the EP which qualified them to that year’s Muziklaban, where they won Best Jingle… the second one, Slow Down.. Summer’s Closing was made just this year… and it contains songs that anyone can listen to at their Pure Volume account (make sure to listen to Lily and XO, both awesomely rocking!)… there was no disappointment (like not qualifying to the final 5 of Globe’s Kantabataan) big enough to dampen their spirit, that they are in full gear of finishing an album, Arko Iris, which they hope to release in Mega Manila soon…

a future full of promise…

once you listen to their songs, you know that they have a lot more to offer, they have around 19 original compositions already, so we can really hope and look forward to hearing more of them… and eventually, listen to them play live in most of the bars in Metro Manila… Because if there is one band that deserves to be in the spotlight, it is Zoomzoom Lunacy!

There is no denying the fact that one of 2005’s biggest band is HALE…. their first single, BROKEN SONNET, got an awesome wave of airplay so massive it topped countdowns, even though it was just a cut from an all-bands compilation album…

these four guys, Champ (vocals), Omnie (guitars), Sheldon (bass) and Roll (drums) never seemed to make a wrong step last year, that when they released The Day You Said Goodnight, everything just fell into place…. the certified #1 OPM song of the year, it was like an anthem you can hear from everyone, from a 3-year old kid up to a crooning granddad… it also earned them the MTV Pilipinas 2005’s FAVORITE NEW ARTIST…

it just followed that their self-titled debut single became Platinum in a few weeks time… the follow-up single, Kahit Pa, also was a chart-topper… they would go on to release more hot singles, Kung Wala Ka, Toll Gate and Blue Sky… and they would also continue winning awards, like the Best Ballad Recording and People’s Choice Band from the 2006 Awit Awards, Best Pop-Rock Band from the SOP Pasiklaband 2006 and the Best Pop Video from the 2006 MTV Pilipinas VMA’s…

this coming Sept. 5, a radio premiere of their newest single, WALTZ, is being anticipated… it will serve as a preview of their much-awaited 2nd album, to be titled TWILIGHT… one thing sure, though, it will definitely contain the same passion that their fans have come to associate with the band…  will there be another Hale-storm? maybe, but definitely, more deeply moving songs are on the way, and there will be no stopping Hale again…

2004 was an awesome year for the pinoy band scene, and it was in that year that SPONGE COLA broke out with the songs Jeepney and Lunes…

Composed of Yael (vocals/guitars), Armo (guitars), Gosh (bass) and Chris (drums), this foursome released an EP first containing a few of their songs, which was so good it got massive airplay at NU107… both Jeepney and Lunes would later cross-over to other radio stations, prompting SONY-BMG to market the release of their independently-produced album… PALABAS!

2005 saw the release and explosion of the singles KLSP, Gemini and Una… they kickstarted that year with the RISING SUN award they won from the 11th NU107 Rock Awards… KLSP was such a hit, it was the #1 song at 99.5 RT for the year (RT100)… their videos were such chart-toppers at MYX that the video of KLSP won them the Best Rock Video at the 1st MYX Music Awards…

Now, they are gearing the release of their 2nd album, TRANSIT, on Sept. 11… the first single, BITIW, is already a fast-climber on most countdowns… looks like it’s gonna be a big year again for these four guys who really take their music so seriously, you can feel it in all their songs… that’s SPONGE COLA for you, pure music to the core!

Yup, it’s JEANS…  a four-man band, that has released their album in Malaysia… but the word is out that EMI-Philippines is releasing their album in the Philippines… finally! I heard one song, Mr. Mart… and it’s cool… one may conclude that Bamboo may have been a big influence… but hey! who knows?

So, watch A.S.A.P this Sunday, Sept. 3 for the album launch…

and, oops, do i need to tell you who the frontman is?