guitars drums bands stroke

During my second year in high school, I began playing the snare drums for the school’s cheering competition. I was the second-lead drummer for whichever year I was in, and would be so until my fourth year of high school. This snare drumming outing would be marvelous for when I would go on to play the drums for rock bands during high school and university.

A different case was when I started to play acoustic guitar at my third year of high school. My own father, rest his soul, was a Spanish guitar virtuoso who commenced being tutored on guitars (and horseback riding) at a very young age! And then he was the one who taught me how to play, although I would never nearly be as good as him on it.

Now, on my first year of university, papa gave me an electric guitar as a present (no longer certain if it was a birthday or Christmas gift), and I got better and better at it. As well, I began playing the piano just a tad.

The entire time, from high school to university, I would play either drums or guitars in non-school bands. I would play mostly rock, sometimes with a folk or also shoegaze edge. It was great while it lasted! Nonetheless, following my bachelor’s degree graduation, I stopped partaking in bands, even though I never stopped playing as a hobby in my own quarters.

Once I turned 27 or 28, however, there was hardly any time anymore for such pursuits, although I still played some via the Apple Garage Band. These days, due to my stroke, I can no longer play any musical instrument at all. Anyhow, I was still elated to have done it for a time in my life.

Vox amplifier

"Studio Brussel" sticker

punking high school, shoegazing college, breaking beyond

Now then, in about 1993, my last year of university, I started becoming someone who adores songs, no matter the so-called musical genres. Previous to that, though, I was a mostly rock chick, with waves of preference for gothic rock and post punk, Philippine folk, as well as shoegazer.

In 1982, I was in my fifth year of grade school and had my first even favored band. It was Duran Duran. Nonetheless, I wasn’t yet a true music fan by then.

Being a “true music fan” was something that happened to me at the first year of high school. The year was 1984, and I would be a fanatic of The Cure and Joy Division. As well, I would be well into gothic rock, post punk and new wave for the next five years, which included local bands such as Identity Crisis, Ethnic Faces, and Dean’s December.

However, from 1988 to 1989, I likewise got into modern Philippine folk, with bands just like Joey Ayala at ang Bagong Lumad, Buklod, and The Wuds. In 1990, meanwhile, I began savoring My Bloody Valentine followed by Ride, Slowdive, Lush, and shoegazer in general.

By 1992, I was truly fixated on P J Harvey, Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos together with Down Colorful Hill by Red House Painters. It was a sort of shift in the mode of songs I liked and would probably be the last time I called any music “favorite”.

Beyond 1993, in the meantime, among the music I would break for were Yo La Tengo, Mogwai, Blue by Joni Mitchell, Stereolab, Grouper, Moondog, School of Seven Bells, M83, From the Valley to the Stars by El Perro del Mar, Kraftwerk, Low, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Arcade Fire, Air, Wolf Parade…

…And to a lesser extent, The Weakerthans, Rachel’s, Maps, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Drugstore by Drugstore, “Save One for Gießen” by Duraluxe, Local Natives, “Evergreen” by Celebration, “Pachuca Sunrise” (Alias remix) by Minus the Bear, The Field.

Also, some of my guilty pleasure preferences would be Spiritual Machines by Our Lady Peace, “Relative Ways” by …And You Know Us by the Trail of Dead, “A Favor House Atlantic” by Coheed and Cambria, together with “The Flame” by Cheap Trick.

The Groop Played "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" by Stereolab
& Source Tags & Codes by …And You Know Us by the Trail of Dead

I Could Live in Hope by Low & Selenography by Rachel's

me & my musical event firsts

I attended my very first genuine music party at third year high school. This was sometime in 1986 or 1987. The music party, which was named “Requiem”, was a biggish new wave-gothic rock affair at St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. My high school was spent entirely at Malate Catholic School, Manila, which is a bit close by yet not quite.

Meanwhile, sometime in 1987 or 1988, come my fourth year of high school, I went on to my first huge music party. It was a music event by the “Social Distortion” DJs, and it got held at the Folk Arts Theater near the Bay Area of Pasay City.

Also on my high school fourth year, I would take part in my very first genuine music concert. It was a mini festival of several rock (mainly new wave and gothic rock) bands headlined by “The Dawn”. The rock festival was organized in SM City at Quezon City, which was kind of really far from where I resided and attended school then.

Now then, while going to the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, during my first or second year of college, I would go to my earliest international music concert. It was a “Duran Duran” concert that was assembled at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, City of Manila.

Among my favorite Metro Manila music events that I was a part of would be a “Pearl Jam” concert at the Folk Arts Theater, a “Metallica” concert at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, the huge so-called “Freedom Party” with DJs at the Dome Arena (perhaps now the SM Mall of Asia Arena) in Manila Bay (in 1999, I think), and the UP Diliman Lantern Parade “Maskipaps” 1989 Sunken Garden afterparty at which “The Eraserheads” played.

And in 2000, a time when I was already working as an advertising senior writer, I took part in my very first music concert outside of the Philippines. While on a month-long trip to Belgium (and France) on that year, I attended a “Radiohead” concert at Werchter Park in September 11.

Prior to going home, I likewise came to one music fest on the same month, the Leffingeleuren on the 16th. (I went there a month late for the Pukkelpop fest.)

Six years later, on 18 September 2006, I sat in on my most known musical, having been a bit into theater since kindergarten. I was there on one night of “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular” at The Venetian while on a two-week working vacation jaunt in Las Vegas, USA, via Portland.

Radiohead concert at Werchter Park, Belgium, 11 September 2000

Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian, 18 September 2006

12 October 2018 Friday

my 2018 day

1042 via digital format
Slowdive – Just for a Day (1991, Creation/SBK)
Wolf Alice – Fluffy (non-album single) (2013, Chess Club)
Duraluxe – Save One for Gießen – The Suitcase (2002, Hidden Agenda)
Lou Rhodes – Beloved One (2005, Infinite Bloom/Cooking Vinyl)

1231 via digital format
Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971, Reprise)

0116 via digital format
Amesoeurs – Ruines Humaines (2006, self-recorded/Northern Silence Productions)
Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix) (2009, via rcrdlbl.com)
Eraserheads – Pop U! (1991, self-released)

0516 via digital format
Nina Simone – I Got Life and Many Others (star series) (1998, RCA)

Notes
So then, I commenced my 2018 birthday celeb with a face detoxifying mask & transparent nail polish with colored speckles on the evening of the 11th.
Surrounding lunch, mom & I baked a cake with brownies, walnuts, peanuts, dark chocolate & sprinkles for our afternoon snack as well as cooked linguine with mushroom sauce, button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, black olives, Parmesan cheese, salted egg potato chips, onions, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, basil, thyme & extra virgin olive oil for dinner.

linguine with mushroom sauce for my 2018 birthday

morn of son's day

On the morning of 06 January, 2018, my breakfast consisted of the following substances:



Two sandwiches, which had three pieces of the Boston Bakery multigrain bread, the Arla Apetina feta cheese along with five pieces of our own backyard tomatoes;



As well as a mug of the Kopi Kopi French Vanilla 3-in-1 coffee.



This was the morning of my departed son's birth date. Just saying.



That's all this post is about.

top of the morning

After waking up this morning, I had my mom take my blood pressure as per usual. And then I went down from my bedroom upstairs to the family room downstairs.



After putting my eyeglasses on, I walked outside with mom. I walked nearly one long street today, as I had for more than two months now.



After my morning walk, mom and I made breakfast for all of us. She cooked the Quaker Oats and I put all of the cereals, which are the Kellogg’s Müeslix Raisin & Almond Crunch plus the Nestlé Milo whole grain.



And that was my morning of 18 November 2017. After everything, I took a long hot bath and then went upstairs to put my moisturizer, lotion and other toiletries on.



After lunch, I played Manos by The Spinanes, I Got Life and Many Others by Nina Simone, and Little Fictions by Elbow. At 05:48 p.m., I played Burst Apart by The Antlers.

2017 birthday

I started the day, my birthday, with a prayer at about 05:30 a.m. and then had breakfast at about 09:15 a.m. It was two types of cereals (Kellogg's Coco Loops & Froot Loops), a kamote (sweet potato), a piece of high-fiber Gardenia whole wheat bread with Philadelphia cream cheese and Chinese red tea with milk (on my big "cat" mug).



After breakfast, I assisted mom in cooking my birthday pasta. It was Japanese spaghetti with squid (with squid ink), button mushrooms, bell peppers, garlic, onions, pork, Filippo Berio extra-virgin olive oil plus McCormick basil , thyme, nutmeg, paprika and pepper.



At this point, the birthday greetings kept on coming - mainly on Facebook, where everybody seems to be. I myself have had my FB account for merely a few days. For so long, I didn't want one but, these days, with my stroke, it is the only way to keep up with people.



I began listening to music before having lunch. There were Joni Mitchell with Song to a Seagull, Lamb with the first disc of Backspace Unwind and The Church with the second disc of Starfish.



I had the squid spaghetti for lunch with a glass of wine. This was the Gray For 2013 merlot. Gray Fox is a California wine brand/vineyard.

I took a hot, long bath after lunch and then took my time with my after-bath toiletries and what to wear.



At around 3 p.m., I played the first disc of Anthology by Nina Simone. And then I had a snack of Nestlé KitKat in green tea plus ripe papaya, watched The LEGO Batman Movie with three kids, played Newbuild by 808 State plus Only Shallow (French CD single) by My Bloody Valentine, and watched TV.