My personal project - DONE!

Hi guys!

 Remember the personal project I told you about? It’s all done and ready for your viewing pleasure.

 http://www.isonger.com/

 http://www.youtube.com/user/TheIsonger

 Will write a lengthier account soon! Thank you for visiting!

Isha

Last Quarter Rush

I’m always terribly busy every fourth quarter, and so is the whole of the Philippines! If I had followed the career path of a live performance artist, I’d be doing gigs for companies and their parties, weddings and reunions left and right at this time, and I’d be wearing either bespoke outfits (if the budget allows) or borrowed numbers from fellow artists (I remember borrowing stuff from songstresses Girl Valencia and the iconic Kate Torralba at one point). This would be an exciting time, and I always came down with the flu by December because of the workload. Last quarter is the time when most freelancers like myself make “hataw” to save up for the dry spells in the coming year. 

Eventhough I’ve chosen a somewhat more sedate path for now - that of a musical director-composer working behind the scenes, and often in solitude - the workload is just as exciting. Currently I’m finishing the last two weeks of a primetime soap, and will be working on an afternoon drama ’til around December. I have two documentary films on my plate, plus a small, personal project which is now under construction and will be finished before my birthday next year.  On the personal front, I’ve adopted a dog, and spending more time with the family, and looking up the sky more often than usual. Life is good, and I hope life will continue giving me opportunities to be more musical and creative, quietly but steadily. I wish you all the same, fellow music lovers!

On Getting Better

Hi everyone!

 Am so happy to have some time on my hands now to update this blog!

 I just read some of your comments that apparently I’d left “unapproved” (but which I actually just didn’t know about). There was one that came from Niz, who heard my cover of “O Holy Night” on the Jam compilo album (released in 2005, I think, but distributed for free to the radio station’s clients) and said she didn’t like it. “It isn’t good,” she remarked.

 I like it when people speak their minds. Those who do have actually gone on to become great friends of mine. So thank you Niz and everyone out there who’s listened to my stuff and found it wanting. It’s my incentive to keep working on my craft and get better!

But that’s the tricky part about recorded music. You may have recorded it way, way back, in 2004 or whenever, when you were still unsure and wet behind the ears, but some people who will hear it for the first time in 2011 will see this as the absolute snapshot of your artistry. 

 So I guess I’ll be getting more comments like Niz’s as my recorded stuff from kopong-kopong slowly makes its way through this world. 

But meanwhile, here’s a bit of me now, at the Tori Amos night in 2009, doing a cover of  “Caught A Lite Sneeze.” Recorded by fellow Toriphile Aldena at Conspi. Stll a work in progress, still a bit rough, but I’m getting there. And thanks for being here with me.

The Lumang Baul

Hi everyone!

 I’m currently on break from TV work, which is a great opportunity for me to finish my unfinished stuff. I was so blessed this month to be visited by a colleague, singer-actress Lynn Sherman, who is also on break from work.  We recorded a song - actually a mashup of existing songs- here in my home studio for a period of three days and we had an interesting process going. Hopefully my break will be long enough for me to mixdown everything I have and really hone my chops as a music producer. 

 Another colleague, the very talented singer-theater actor-multi-instrumentalist Nar Cabico, emailed me to ask about the AIDS-awareness rock musical we were both part of some years back. He’s joined a youth initiative on AIDS awareness and wants to use some of the songs we recorded for that.  So I ended up making kalkal my lumang baul of songs and I rediscovered this gem of a song, still rough at the edges, but rather enjoyable to hear again. Lyrics were penned by a succession of writers that came and went during the troubled preproduction stage of this musical (rather aptly called “Palipat-lipat, Pasalin-salin”) so the producer, the inimitable Rochit Tanedo, finally came up with the final draft together with her daughter Amihan. The music is fairly simple, just E flat

MisteryosongVirus

minor throughout (my favorite key actually, hehe), but Nar’s vocal talent really made this piece shine. We tracked the live parts at Shinji’s and mixed them down at my place, where I added a few more instruments. 

My Two-Cents On The Pinoy Music Biz

 My music-journalist friend Karl De Mesa once asked me a question for a piece he was writing, and in return, gave him a very long piece of my mind. Am reprinting it here. Thanks Karl for making me think about these things a little more!

 ————————————————

Dear Karl –

I really thought long and hard about your question, kaya heto…nobela!

Full disclosure: I have been a recording artist, songwriter, music journalist, TV and film scorer, music producer, wedding singer, assistant to the music licensing manager, events organizer since 2004 so I’ve been able to observe a lot of pretty cool stuff about the Pinoy music biz firsthand.

If you look at the Pinoy music industry in terms of it being a real “industry” contributing to the GNP and all, then I believe parang status quo pa rin naman. Pinoy musical talent is still one of our biggest exports. In fact, when HK Disneyland opened some years back, I was told Pinoy musicians came there in droves to apply for the entertainment job items. Some friends of mine actually made it there. Of course, there’s Ariel Pineda and Charice Pempengco, who along with Lea Salonga and various alumni from Miss Saigon, continue to drive up the value of Pinoy talent in the international live music circuit. In the world of international choral music, Pinoys are still the heavyweights, as groups like the Madrigal Singers and UPSA have proven time and again by continually trouncing their American and European counterparts in choral competitions.

Our live performance scene is well and thriving as it’s always been. There’s always work available for working class musicians as long as there are weddings and events – but as always, now and forever, when budgets are tight, it’s the musicians that get the first cut. Showbands get paid fairly well at events; sessionists get at least P1500 for one gig, and more if they make “lagari;” students and dilettantes who play music for fun and camaraderie get at least some food or transpo money in return. Artists of average popularity like myself get paid extremely well for performing two to four songs in a high-profile gig. Backing bands for popular artists are so tight and quasi-unionized that they actually have the luxury of getting off the stage when they smell something fishy. I witnessed this happen at an event I was doing some PR for – due to a lapse in judgment on the producers’ part, the band wasn’t told beforehand that their performance was going to be taped, so less than an hour before the show the musicians promptly got off the stage until a contract was produced to compensate them for broadcast rights. Actually, live performance musicians are pretty spoiled out here – especially if you compare their rates to the minimum wage – I think a construction worker gets only P350 for a whole day of back-breaking work. Yes, I know musicians have talent and that they’re “kissed by God,” to borrow Conrad De Quiros’ term – but honestly I don’t like the attitude of certain musicians who have such a strong, almost egomaniacal sense of entitlement just because they can sing, or play an instrument, or write a song. So whenever I get a gig that requires me to play three long sets and my hands are about to fall off, I only need to think about our manual laborers and I’m cheerful again. But enough about me. He he.

Contrary to the notion that piracy and the download culture have spelled the death of the Record Label, these “threats” have only allowed the record labels to switch and repurpose some of their internal functions around to maximize their efficiencies. Now there are new revenue streams, like licensing for ringtones and ringbacks and other new media. While record labels are not making as much profit from retail as before, they’re now making a killing from licensing and publishing, which is why old hits are news again, and these old songs are being rehashed, reworked, recompiled ad nauseam so that they stay alive in the public ear via the karaoke, videoke or traditional radio airplay, thereby providing many music publishers (mostly transnational) and songwriters (mostly non-Filipino) with an eternal source of royalties which help contribute to the GNPs of their respective nations –and some fame and fortune for our local cover artists who sing them over and over. Come to think of it, THIS has always been the state of affairs in the Pinoy music biz since the beginning of time. Ok, not since the beginning of time, but you get the drift…

Which brings us to Pinoy songs and Pinoy songwriters. I find it sad that our international talents – Ariel, Charice, Lea, numerous showbands here, there and everywhere– aren’t singing enough songs by Pinoy songwriters, because the real dealbreaker in this biz is the perpetuation of music. Yes, you read it right: they’re singing Pinoy songs, yes, but not enough. Music industry is all about making the music become industrious, literally, by making the songs work for you. Ariel is singing Journey’s songs and creating more value for those songs; Charice is creating value for David Foster’s music, and Diane Warren’s music, and so on. Apl D’App appears to be an exception, introducing the international audience to our “Bebot” and Asin. Maybe our international-grade talents can use more of their clout by creating value for, say, Cayabyab’s songs, or Canseco’s songs, or Karl de Mesa’s songs –maybe they can even rework a Jose Maceda piece or a Grace Nono/Bob Aves song, why not?!

On the local front, I was really thrilled when a major Pinoy band like Bamboo licensed Rom Dongeto’s “Tatsulok” for their album and a major rockstar like Rico Blanco reworked Ethnic Faces’ “Golden Boy,” opening up Pinoy listeners to a whole new level of Pinoy songwriting. I’m thrilled about Sandwich and Imago and Sugarfree and Itchyworms writing their own stuff and being all over the airwaves. But imagine if all these big bands made a habit of performing and licensing a Dong Abay or a Cynthia A. or a Mang Dhel masterpiece  – it would make the Pinoy music industry more industrious indeed! Music for and by Filipinos. That said, I’m thrilled by the producers of artists like Nikki Gil and Regine V. and Zsa Zsa P. who solicit OPM material for their albums and allow Pinoy songwriters a chance to earn their living. I was thrilled when the Eheads and APO tribute albums were produced, and kudos to their music publishers for infusing more value to these songs (and getting some much-deserved income into the pockets of main songwriters Ely B. and Jim P.) Kaso siyempre I’m sad that this practice doesn’t appear to be the norm when it should be, when it is in other nations!

But overall, I think the Pinoy music industry is still up and running, though what it really needs is more than a shot in the arm – it needs a megadose of optimism! It will continue to adhere to and emulate the Western model, which reaches far and wide into local markets like ours to sell their glossy, overproduced products. But instead of railing against getting caught up in this “globalization” framework, we can actually make it work to our advantage. Pinoy music and talent can be made to be really competitive in the global market - because we have it in such good abundance and it comes so naturally to us Pinoys. We excel in music without really trying, pramis. In fact, Pinoy music and talent is already competitive as it is without our government lifting a finger to improve things. Just imagine if it did. Kahit pinky finger man lang. Did you know that right this very moment, some foreign production is using some Visayan or Tausug music for their movies or projects? Such usages from foreign music users should be monitored more closely because it is in our effortless musical talent and culture that our comparative advantage as a nation truly lies. We are truly capable of giving all those foreign musicians and American Idols a run for their money –if we want to. But we need to get our act together. Enough of crab mentality at ‘yung “kanya-kanya” mentality. The Pinoy music biz is alive – but we can make it better!

I understand now that Pinoy artists are only trying to survive. Local artists are done in by their last hit song. If they were male and wearing pink tights when they performed their last hit song, they need to wear pink tights forever so that they won’t lose their market! (Nostalgia is super big business!)

It’s sad! It’s crazy! It’s music!

Here’s one idea: We need more Pinoy music executives attending MIDEM and all those important international music fairs to push more Pinoy songs into the global consciousness. I don’t really mind if it’s Lito Camo’s novelty songs or original compositions by some wonder boy from UP or UST Conservatory of Music that are getting the push. Basta Pinoy at may potential to enter the global zeitgeist. It would be great if songs were written in the vernacular or in any of our 120+ Pinoy languages so that they can really stand out and be more competitive in the international music market. I heard about Toti D’s efforts to market Terno artists internationally and I hope he makes more headway pa. My record label, Candid Records, is also doing the same, and it’s challenging because our albums, which are produced locally for cost-efficiency, are being held up to First World standards. How does your eight-track song hold up to some American Top 40 piece containing 100 tracks? Imagine how many hundreds of hours these guys spend inside a studio! That’s super expensive. But it’s not just the hours you need; it’s the technical know-how. It would be great if we had the money to send producers to study abroad and then have them apply the knowledge here. But you know what, what it really comes down to is passion. We need super passionate producers, artists and people, because their passion will make them work hard to perfect their craft. If First-Worlders become very good at what they do because they focus on just one kind of work, we Filipinos have to be virtuosos – we have to excel in everything we work on, ‘coz we can’t afford to do just one type of work! Kelangan nating maging Renaissance people, at ganun na nga ‘ata ang nangyayari! “If you’re not strong enough….then grow stronger!” ika nga sa pelikulang “The 13th Warrior.” He he.

Kahit ‘yun lang muna ang gawin. Paisa-isa or dalawang delegate lang muna to these international music fairs, kasi nga I understand it requires a lot of investment. Or better yet, maybe our government can establish an ASEAN version of MIDEM right here in Manila. Tsaka somebody should bring back the Metropop Competitions. Nangarap pa…haayyy.

But I guess it seems we don’t want success as badly as other nations do. What a waste. But again, what’s new? The more things change, the more they stay the same…right?

Meanwhile, I try to contribute to our GNP in my own small way by remaining active in the Pinoy music biz, writing and singing my heart out. At ikaw rin Karl, by writing your kick-ass stuff and applying your astute analyses to the music industry, you are already doing your part to keep our music biz alive.

Hope this helps. Mabuhay tayong mga musikero!

Thanks!

Isha Abubakar

Happy 2010!

Hello everyone!

Happy 2010 - oh dear, ten months late!

As always, I have been busy with work. The album, tentatively titled “Mga Hindi Ko Nasabi Sa ‘Yo”  (The Things I Never Told You) is still in the works, though the eight (or possibly nine) songs have already been written down and ready for production.  

I started my professional music scoring work back in 1998, when I scored my first docu-drama for a DOH-Jica project, but it was only in 2009 when the industry finally recognized my skill and gave me a semi-regular job for TV, with a pay enough to raise a family on. This month marks my first year in the world of TV musical scoring, which is now more open to the style I employ for my indie film work. Perhaps this is because TV series in general are becoming much more cinematic in scope and scale, thanks to inroads in 3D and chroma technology, and to the growing accessibility of sound and music for such works.

Anyway, I have to get back to work, but rest assured the album is on the way!  Have a great day everyone!

FILM SOUNDTRACKS IN THE WORKS

Hey everyone!

 I know storm Cosme was a curse for many people, but the wind and the rain really made me sit down in our balcony and stare at the sky.  As always, music started playing in my head, and I couldn’t stop it. Drums — bass drums. And vibraphones. And  twinkling pianos. And plucked cellos.

 You’ll probably hear some of these sounds when you watch Joel Ruiz’s feature film debut "Baby Angelo" at the Cinemalaya soon. I’m working on the score as well as the songs for the film. I also just finished re-arranging an existing song for Paolo Herras’ new film "The Fortuneteller." And a few weeks back Auraeus Solito had me arrange the Cherie Gil hit "Boy" for his new triple-X rated (heheh) "avant-gay" opus. Exciting new films by talented filmmakers — glad to be working with great minds!

Meanwhile, my own personal work keeps getting shelved to a later date. I "tested" my new piano instrumental (tentatively titled "Southern Afternoon") at an informal gathering last month. It went quite well. I’m also listening to Oscar Peterson for inspiration — that guy can turn the piano into a wind instrument! We also put Johnny Alegre Affinity on and Wdouji rather frequently these days to calm our minds. The music is like shiatsu for the brain.

Thanks to my Candid Records family for their patience! 

PS: Axel, please read my reply to your query on the shoutbox below. 

On Artists’ Rights and Value -Online and Offline

I have a writer friend who’s very wary of the internet. He feels that the internet is robbing great articles -and good writers -of their real value to the world. That’s why when he submits an article to an offline publication, he tries to persuade the editor not to make it available on the online version of the publication. If it’s made available online, he demands that he get paid for that as well.

 The same thing must be true for all creative people everywhere. The moment any of their songs, photos, stories, drawings and visions arrive on the internet, people treat them like public property. Songs, photos, stories, drawings and visions that took time, energy and sometimes a lot of money to produce. And what do they get in return? They’re lucky if they even get as much as a request to grant permission for usage of their work (or a simple credit that proves authorship of the work).

That said, I’d like to give props and credit and an (I’m-now-stabbing-my-face-with-papercuts) apology to At Maculangan who shot the album cover of my EP "Katakataka" as well to the rest of the art community here in Manila whom I’ve been given the honor to have worked with at one time or another but whom I’ve failed to give the proper dues (monetary or otherwise) they deserve for their artistry (because I’m lacking those dues myself, he he). God knows we should all band together and unionize so that we can all acquire the leverage to cut better deals for ourselves. Or at least give each other the moral support whenever we’re feeling too diyahe to ask people (our friends, even) to value our work more, monetary AND otherwise.

Enlisting the services of artist-friends for the "friendship rate" (presyong kaibigan) is sooo Filipino! It’s time we changed that to this equation:

World class artistry = friendship rate PLUS standard industry rate!

This way, artists will have a better incentive to give you their best work, not because of the money, but because you value them enough to give them good money! It’s the valuing and not the money that artists want to get from you.

But what if you value them but…..don’t have the money?

Well…the "IOU" or pay later system often works. Barter doesn’t work  (at least for me) because value systems are different from artist to artist . It doesn’t make sense, for example, to offer to arrange original music in exchange for a consultancy service. The first service used up a lot of time and electricity while the second one merely used up time. It can’t be music for music for me because even two artists from the same field use a different set of standards. It can be, however, music for a paid 2-day vacation or a couple of dinner meals in a good resto. 

Artistry should be our currency to gain entrance to the good life, not to a museum of beautiful clutter (which is what artists tend to offer to their fellow artists).

I’m sorry for all the beautiful clutter, people.

Will clean it up! 

HAPPY 2008!

Happy New Year! 

2007was pretty good to me. Two of my songs ("Lately I’ve Been Lonely" and "Manhid") were licensed by Star Cinema for the movie Paano Kita Iibigin starring Regine Velasquez and Piolo Pascual with Bb. Joyce Bernal at the helm.  "Manhid" was produced by Regine herself for the OST of the movie. Another song ("Sayaw Sa Hangin" - from the Katakataka album) was licensed for Dennis Trillo’s album, the first outing from Regine’s own Indi Music label.  I love the vocal harmonies she layered it with. Regine’s quite a formidable producer, and I hope Indi Music continues to fly.

I had several scoring gigs here and there, most notable being a couple of episodes for the drama series MMK. First time to work for TV. Roda and Ginny and Alma and Lindsay and everyone there are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

The head honchos from my label were in town last December. Was thrilled to finally meet British producer Alan Bates in person! We talked at length about their plans for me and how Isha can be made to fit in their overall scheme of things. Too bad our musical showcase at a bar in Ortigas was marred by an incident involving a couple of white-collar types who’d had one drink too many. 

Anyway, now working on demos for my next album - the concept keeps changing though but hopefully me and the new GM, Mr. Reck Cardinales, can finally nail it down soon. Can’t wait to get back into the recording studio with my band The Look!

Isha is back!

Hi all!

Inviting you all to come watch the Philippine leg of the Candid Music Jazz Festival on December 14 at Teatrino, Greenhills. I'll be performing a couple of songs including one from my upcoming album of reworkings of jazz standards.

More updates in the coming days!

Aside from performing jazz music, I also write songs in Filipino and in my own style. You may check out www.m2kmusic.net, click on the songwriters link, look for my page (Isha Abubakar) to listen to some of the songs I've written outside the jazz idiom.

Happy 2007!

God, time flies sooo fast! Hope everyone’s having a great start this year. I am happy to report that I am now almost five months pregnant and thus hibernating from the live performance circuit for a while. Everybody seems to be pregnant this year!

 
But the projects keep coming in. I just finished several scoring projects, arranged a song for rock group 6cyclemind, and now working on studies for a station jingle. I hope the blessings continue to pour!

A new music site I helped develop will be up soon and will feature an information page about Isha plus streaming samples of some of her songs. Will keep you posted! 

FAMOUS BUT ANONYMOUS

hello everyone! it’s been a loooong while since i last posted and there are new posts! thanks to rag, me and bambi for posting. rag, your observation about me being anonymous in UP is very interesting because it is true. the byline is “famous” but the person herself is non grata. i love the irony and i want to keep it that way!

 i’ve received many requests to have my piano instrumental “1992″ available as sheet music. i’m at a loss since i’m an oido player and i don’t know how to notate. if any of you guys can transcribe it yourself i’ll be more than happy to take a look at your work!

 still busy with more scoring projects and…the rock musicale, finally, is on its way! we’re having our first show on october 26 in angono, 27 in teatro marikina, 28 in brgy. tonsuya, malabon. free admission. the stars are mostly theater people, and our lead will be essayed by a wonderful dancer, tassi. i’ve also met a wonderful keyboardist/singer named abby, who is a member of a prog rock band called fuseboxx. so happy to be meeting all these talented people!

by the way, last night i glimpsed imago’s performance on the sharon cuneta show. aya was just radiant, singing their infectious new single “taralets.” i’ve only spoken to her once, as game-mates in Game Ka Na Ba? but every word she told sharon cuneta about them sporting a more positive outlook and their music changing along with it feels very true and in sync with what i’ve glimpsed of her personality.

anyway, update update: i’ve been working on some new tunes and i’ve been getting good feedback for an original song i wrote years ago, entitled, ehem, ”kris aquino.”  this woman elicits the extremes of emotions - you either love her or hate her. the persona singing the song happens to “love” her, so…check out my other site candidisha.multiply.com coz i’m posting it soon. thanks!

Isha on the Lynn Sherman Show, August 20 (Sun) starts 9-930 pmish on RJTV

Please watch! RJTV is a cable channel - I think it’s channel 29. Thanks!

Isha on The Lynn Sherman show, airing August 20 (Sun) @ 9-930pm

hello!

we just taped the birthday episode of jazz vocalist Lynn Sherman and it was a riot! the musicians and the guests (most of them, at least) were in costume! Lynn herself was in a fabulous Wonder Woman costume especially created for the occasion by her inimitable stylist Odit Sarte. hope you can catch the show this sunday, august 20, around 9-930 pmish.

 if you’re a Tori Amos fan (like I am), Toriphile Alden Copuyoc and myself are hatching a plan to celebrate the Goddess’ birthday on August 22. we will hold a small listening/ dvd viewing party at Black Soup in Marikina Shoe Expo, Araneta Center, around 7 pm. call 4398838 for details or post your inquiries on this site.

On May, Bayang, Pilita, Noel, this August

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Noel Cabangon to sing one of his songs, “We Are,” for a “kawomenan” docu by WiseAct, and a couple of days ago I recorded it at Sonolux in Ateneo, with Noel himself producing and me singing on a rich audio bed of world music created by Bob Aves. It’s very tiring to be the star all the time, and it’s always better if the song was the star, and musicians are working for the song, not the other way around.

I also got to wear the producer’s hat a few times this month. The inimitable May Bayot recorded a song I wrote for the AIDS awareness musical we’re working on. Powerful, full-bodied alto, thrilling to hear And one Saturday this month, I got a chance to produce Bayang Barrios for the next batch of songs. Bayang is fun to work with. Game pa rin kahit sinisipon at inuubo! She loved the songs especially those that revolve on a mother’s love for her child, being a new mother herself to 3 month old Mayumi. Type din ni May yung mga lullabyes because they hit so close to the heart. I love it when songs produce that effect on people

Then I’ll be back in the studio to work with Makiling Ensemble and Ms.Pilita Corrales for music for an indie film called “Pandanggo.” We were beset by scheduling problems but hopefully everything is ironed out by the production team. Can’t wait to meet Ms. Corrales!

ISHA live July 2006

Please support my gigs this month:

July 19: WOMYN’s NYT @ Rock Ola (Penguin) Cafe, Malate, with Carol Bello Bandidas. 9 pm. 150php with one free drink. Carol and Libay have built their own galaxy with their networks from the NGO and academic community, at masaya ito. Visit dahondahondyaryo.blogspot.com for the poster.  I’m performing my set with a talented songwriter-guitarist named Ace Cada (who also fronts electropop band Bagetsafonik).

July 28: “Eat, Drink and Be Senti” @ Bespoke Furniture Store, Marikina Shoe Expo, Araneta Center Cubao. 9 pm. Artist-chef for the night is Seleena Cordero, former resident chef ng Asian Development Bank and who is leaving for Canada with her family soon, hence the senti show title Now selling tickets at P300 per head inclusive of food, drink, and of course, the show. Please call 4398838 c/o Lani or Gian of Black Soup. Promises to be a very laidback night, in a venue full of beautiful chairs…

HITS AND MISSES

Sad news: my Wednesday night gigs at Kenny D have been cancelled. According to Kenny D management my talent fee wasn’t matching sales returns. It really does take a while to build up a following, but given the economic climate now businesses are not up to risking on artists for them to build a following: there is an immediate assumption that recording artists already have a following, which is true for the mainstream artists but not for someone like me. You can’t keep inviting friends. You have to spread the music somehow, reach out to a wider audience, and this is what I wanted to do sana with my gigs there. But Ma’am Grace, Aileen, Ophie, Mando and the rest of the Kenny D staff have been nothing but generous and warm and for two consecutive Wednesdays they gambled on me and my off-kilter music. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

I will miss out on half the fun in life if I continue to fret over such misses, so I’m looking ahead now and I see sunshine! I am currently working on a musical on AIDS awareness, to be staged at various urban poor communities nationwide (and if we get lucky with funding, OFW communities abroad). Come first week of July our executive producer from Candid Records, Mummy Nieves, will be in town and I’m, as always, excited to meet with her and discuss possible projects.

SETS: June 24, 7 pm, I’ll be at Newsdesk near Timog Ave. to sing at the launch of a women’s erotica project  (I hear my goddess Grace Nono will be singing as well). June 30, 10pm, Streetscape at the Shangrila Mall in Mandaluyong for 3 sets of mostly originals and 80s stuff with my band The Look. July 1, 6pm at Eastwood Main Plaza for Rocked’s 1st anniversary concert (with Cynthia Alexander, Noel Cabangon, Salindiwa, Carol Bello, Kala, Pupil, UpDharma, Paolo Santos, Narda and other great acts!).

BLACKSOUP PRESENTS: I am part of an artists collective known as Cubao X and once a month we hold an intimate musical event at Black Soup (a filmmakers collective) in Marikina Shoe Expo, Araneta Center. A filmmaker or artist chef prepares a specially-made dish and a musician gives a performance. On July 15 we are proud to present NOEL CABANGON live. Due to space constraints, only 50 tickets will be sold at P250 each (including food, drink and show - a good deal!). It’s al fresco - meal by candlelight, outdoor performance. Perfect for dates. Please get in touch with blacksoup_inc@yahoo.com or call Lani or Gian at 4398838 for more details.

I foresee the following months will be quiet as I immerse in more work and find ways to earn some income from my music. The life of a recording artist, after all, is not as glamorous as it’s often made out to be. It’s a lot of work and you have to love it and live it to make it.

Isha live in June 2006

MOOD-LIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHTS @ KENNY & D. Hello! You are all invited to my solo piano & vocal performance every Wednesday night at Kenny & D Bar inside the HOme Depot Complex, near Pier One, along J. Vargas in Ortigas Center, Pasig. Show starts 930 pm. The bar is charging a very reasonable cover of P50, and a bottle of beer costs P50. The salpicao is very good, as is the acoustics and the baby grand! Me and my booking agent Music Bridge have been looking for a place for my music since releasing Time and Again in 2004, and we’ve had a couple of hits and misses because my music will only work best with a baby grand, a good engineer — and a not-so-expensive gate. Yes, I had to audition for this, but so far it’s been worth it. Mando the engineer does a wonderful job everytime, and me and the baby grand are sisters now.

FILM LAUNCH OF MILO AND CYNTHIA PAZ @ 70s BISTRO, 930 pm. I am a musical scorer, and being married to a filmmaker, I’ve since earned many filmmaker friends, including Milo and Cynthia. I will be sharing some songs and last I heard, Noel Cabangon and Joey Ayala will be playing as well. I’m excited to be both performer and audience…

ROCK-ED @ EASTWOOD, JUNE 9, 10pmish. Gang Badoy and Aggie Nonog, the tireless organizers of the Rock-Ed series, have invited me to be part of their advocacy, and I hope in my own small, intimate, piano-dependent way, I am helping

STREETSCAPE GIG on JUNE 30, SHANG MALL, MANDALUYONG. For the first time in what feels like ages, I am playing again with The Look - Simon Tan and Jayvee Torres. I missed them…

My gig sked doesn’t seem like much compared to those of other bands…but in fact, I’m already terribly busy. AM working on songs for a musical on AIDS awareness sponsored by CCCi and I have a couple of scoring projects coming up. I feel WONDERFUL! Thank God

THE PERFORMING SONGWRITER: An introduction

hello everyone!

hope you’re having a wonderful summer! i’d like to thank spenz for posting. am glad you enjoyed the set at shang last time!

had a chat last night with musicians bopsy sorioso (formerly of sipol) and jimmmy bondoc, who owns musikero cafe near timog. bopsy is a good friend from way back in high school; he’s put in a good word for me that’s why jimmy’s now booking me to play at his cafe. i can go on about bopsy’s guitar-playing prowess and how wonderful his original compositions are, but i’m writing about jimmy in particular to acknowledge the power of musicians helping one another and introduce to the local scene the concept of the performing songwriter. jimmy is the sole owner of his cafe and is the endorser of behringer products. he has found himself a good way to live his life in music, no doubt propelled by his commercial success. but he is doing it in a way to foster a sense of community among fellow musicians. i mean this guy doesn’t know me from eve, but he called me up, forgot that thousands of girls find him adorable, and reached out to a fellow musician. his openness is what startled me.

of course there were others before jimmy. cynthia alexander, joey ayala, noel cabangon, gary granada and the Conspiracy group have all welcomed performing songwriters into the fold because they are performing songwriters themselves. cynthia has been booking artists like myself to play at C, which is an amazing honor! there’s an awesome sense of affirmation going on at a C gig, when cynthia or bayang barrios or mike villegas drops in on you and hollers a line or two. A performing songwriter is a rarity in our music scene, because there’s this really sad perception that filipinos already have enough of music, so why make more? and then when it happens to have tagalog lyrics they won’t play it at seattle’s best katipunan (although the staff there - at my behest, being a performing songwriter customer, did play the rest of my first all-original EP except for my one Tagalog song, which is really sad, like WHY????, but these cafes would play brazilian bossa nova, wouldn’t they?). and that it’s JUST music, it won’t change the world (and it won’t)…but to quote filmmaker david puttnam: “the effect of that drip, drip, drip, that daily diet of views and ideas that adhere to and promote what’s best in society — that has an effect…not one movie, not one article, not one building, but just the fact that all of us buckle down and try to do better. and be better.” amen!

and the idea being: to be a performing songwriter is a good way to live your life. eventhough at this point in our local history it’s not the most financially rewarding, performing your own material is becoming a legitimate career option. it’s an exciting time to be a performing songwriter in this country, especially with people like cynthia and jimmy opening doors. still, you have to work hard and earn your way just to get to that door, like all careers require. performing songwriters who are filipino and live here have a distinct advantage in that they know what’s going on here and can articulate it for the rest of the world through their original compositions, because the world is down for a more local approach to the global. they win their audiences because they are themselves the audience. everything and everyone is related. ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay, to quote our beloved songwriter joey ayala.

i’ve thrown away the concept of performing songwriters being “self-indulgent” long ago. i believe the personal is the political, and it takes tremendous courage to wear your heart on your sleeve. you become so vulnerable, yet so powerful. let’s sing our heart out - because everyone’s heart matters! 

of course there will always be a bit of self-interest involved, because musicians do have to make a living after all, and the cafe needs its diners. but the revenue from this kind of business is so small that i wonder about its logic sometimes. people come in and order a beer, and maybe some pulutan if you’re lucky, then stay for the night! how do you earn? it’s become a cliche, but it holds a basic truth that my own life these days has proven: it’s not just about the money. you wonder about how some songs you love to listen to over and over, and that drip, drip, drip going on…and you learn about the life of these songwriters and discover such vast reserves of integrity, humility and patience, that almost bemused disregard for the bottom line not because they’re not hungry literally but because they’re not hungry for whatever is just immediately apparent. this doesn’t mean they’re impervious to weakness - some do get greedy, because (i’m guessing)  they are not assured that a steady stream of opportunity is forthcoming and will come their way again. this presupposes a lack of confidence in themselves, which most of the performing songwriters i admire thankfully do not have. they are the most ebullient, witty, kindest, most hard-working people you’ll ever meet in your life and i am proud to be in their company and i hope patrons and supporters reading this will come out of the woodwork and express their support more. listen to their own material - you might find some of it actually directly speaking to your soul, in your own language. i have and was changed enough to write mine.

Isha live @ The Shang Mall TODAY, 6 pm

hellow!

 see you all later at the shang mall, mandaluyong, 6 pm. today is march 24, 2006, friday.

 i have to keep reminding myself because time flies so fast. i actually missed a gig once because i forgot which day it was. i dressed up and went to the venue only to find it deserted. i was ONE DAY LATE!