Kevin Roy's Guilty Acoustic Pleasures

It is quite a common impression that acoustic performance is for balladeers. However, for us rock fans, it is a rare, unique and often satisfying experience to see our rock icons do acoustic once in a while. 

The phenomenon of rock singers/bands performing in an acoustic manner was termed unplugged, thus giving birth to one of MTV's most followed programs.

Then there came such rock stars who cover pop or ballads and make their own version acoustic rock style. My favorite on such is Soundgarden's Chris Cornell. 

In these performances we see the versatility that in spite of the often loud and intense performance there's a soothing voice and melody coming from our rock heroes. It is when the beasts lay their backs.

A laid back Kevin Roy during his GAP set at IMusix Place

I must say, they are kind of laid back during these performances, but I must also say that the comfort is in screaming out loud and intensifying the mood no matter how calm and mellow people might assume acoustica must be.

That defines acoustic rock from the usual acoustic performances.



One local duo exceeds my expectation on such performances. And every single time I watch them, the experience just gets better. 

They are GAP, short for Guilty Acoustic Pleasures. Kevin Roy of Pinoy rock and roll band RAZORBACK teams up with virtuoso guitarist Kess Cheng to give us a one of a kind acoustic performance.

Among their covers my favorites are Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine. 

Another very special thing about their performance is the way they connect with the audience. Kevin Roy's charisma and powerful voice enthralls audiences, that after a set or two, everyone seems to want more.

Catch them this Friday, June 27 2014 at IMusix Place. See you all!

promotional poster for IMusix Place show

KALAMPAGAN 2014

What's supposed to be Cavite's biggest and most historic concert this year turned out to be most rock fans' biggest disappointment. 

I found out from a news article that the three main bands WOLFGANG, RAZORBACK and GREYHOUNDZ haven't been in the same event since 1999. That was a good decade and a half ago! Hence this event was considered by some as a 15-year reunion of these three greats.

The ticket says the venue is at Montano Hall in Cavite City. For some reasons, they setup the stage at the Cavite High Oval instead. But still okay, rockers won't mind standing or sitting on the grass since ticket prices are reasonable, or shall I say very affordable at 150 for general admission and 250 for VIP.

The event supposed to start at 4pm on May 17th, but due to some delays it started at around 7pm. 

There are a about a dozen front acts before the big 3 (as they are referred to) will play. Most opening acts are indie bands from Cavite ranging from alternative, grunge, classic rock to hardcore metal. Most of them, I must say performed well and some even wowed the crowd.

The weather that day was scorching hot, in my estimation about 34 to 36 degrees. There are refreshments and snacks at the venue, but not much variety. The pares tasted good though, and very affordable, perhaps the most affordable filler available. As expected beer is a bit expensive, a 12oz cup half filled with ice is sold for PhP20, not to mention that the beer is thinned 'cause it was already mixed with some ice in a jug.

These are some of the things I had experienced at the said concert, I guess these are the little things that one didn't notice much as after the event issues, speculations and rumors are everywhere.

Wanna know the reasons as to why the concert was stopped? I want to know too.


Here are some snaps (I'd taken only a few due to the hot weather, I used up whatever energy I have real fast):

Nonetheless, it was fun. We saw a lot of friends and even made new ones. It could have been better, it could have been awesome. And as expected, it could have been epic.

My My Hey Hey

Ricky and I were having some Classic Rock kind of conversation last night. I asked him a few questions about Neil Young as I had heard him sing a few of his songs in The Junkyard. At home,
we listened to some Neil Young music and we kinda talked about the man.

Neil Young performing Heart of Gold, 1971

I was so amazed at how advanced this man was. Yeah, he was a performer in the 1970’s, a time when singers have to be dressed to kill and have to look oh so neat and shiny. Well, he kinda dress like Cobain; flannel, simple trousers, unkempt hair. He was so full of talent but he ain’t boasting, not a bit.

flannel shirt, work boots and unkempt hair, made people of the seventies wonder, 'what the hell is this man up to?'

He is considered the Godfather of Grunge music. It is apparent that he has influenced a lot of grunge groups both in music and attitude. He plays his music with such talent and attitude; and obviously with some wild passion about what he is doing.

I tip my hat to the Godfather of Grunge, you still rock!  (Neil Young_2013)

This particular Neil Young song got my attention: My My Hey Hey. The first stanza goes like this:

My my, hey hey

Rock and roll is here to stay

It's better to burn out

Thank to fade away

My my, hey hey

Cobain once quoted in his “suicide” note that “it’s better to burn out than to fade away” a line from My My Hey Hey. Obviously, the grunge icon himself is listening to good old Neil.

The last part of the song goes:

Hey hey, my my

Rock and roll can never die

There's more to the picture

Thank meets the eye.

Hey hey, my my.

And I couldn’t agree more! Rock and roll can never die. Some rock stars did die young, but it is through their death that the legacy not only continues but flourishes.

*I’m kind of reminiscing the good old nineties, and the likes of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Shannon Hoon.  

Kurt Cobain, Shannon Hoon and Layne Staley. RIP. 

What's your purple?

Hi there!

It's been a while and I haven't written anything. I have some on draft, most are lengthy ones. So, I decided that I'd write shorter posts. Just so, they get finished and published before my excitement dried out.

So, there you go. I posted a picture of these lovely lippies on my facebook:

Of course they are yours truly's kissers.

For the matte look, I used Excel Paris Matte Lip Cream, given to me as a present by my sis-in-law. She well knows that I'm daring enough to wear that shade.

I wore it with this look:

After a while, I smoothed on a coat of the luminous Dior Addict lipstick in #499 Mystic Mauve. Well, this particular lipppie is expensive and I was just lucky to get it free from a Dior product seminar when I was still with Beauty walk.

It has been one of my favorites, although not very wearable.

And this is how it looks like with the rest of the makeup:

Bold colored lipsticks goes well with simple eye makeup but can be paired with bright high fashion ones, too. And because I missed my favorite palette, I opted for the latter. 

To create this look, I used my beloved brand name treasures, as well as my new found local products that are affordable yet trustworthy ones.

Here they are:

Branded products used

Dior Addict lipstick 499 Mystic Mauve, Lancome Le Crayon Khol black eyeliner, Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue eye and cheek palette in Cool. Dior 5-color eyeshadow palette in Extreme Blue and Clinique Quick Blush in Peach in-a-pinch.

They've been sitting in my drawers for a while so I'm not sure whether they are still available on counters since some of them are limited edition.

affordable yet trustworthy finds

As for those inexpensive products used. I have found these lovelies rather easy on the pocket but with good and satisfying results too. 

Here they are: Kokuryu Summer Cake in Orange Blush, Myra Vita Smooth pressed powder in Light, Avon Metallic liquid eyeliner in Starry Black, Nichido brown eyebrow pencil and Excel Paris  matte lip cream.

It is good to invest in a few expensive products especially that our face deserves them but it won't hurt trying on some things that will save us money. Just make sure to cleanse thoroughly and moisturize afterwards.

Hope I'll be writing more of these kind of stuff soon.

Many thanks to my dear kumare Rose for the Nikon Coolpix camera. I can snap anything anytime for my blog and my facebook as well.