Saturday, August 17, 2019
AUGUST 16, 2019 – FRIDAY JAM UPDATE & PHOTOS
Last night was quite a simple but interesting evening with a negligible number of musicians performing on stage and some unexpected welcome company around partying. Some key house band personalities were missing but the few guys who showed up gamely made up for the slack providing the entertainment for the guests all night long.
The jam was still productive but relatively tame at the onset with barely enough participants on stage but eventually increased in manpower towards the end. As always resilient in resolve despite all odds, the live music was still persistent lasting way past 4am. Thanks to all the talented guys around who always makes it happen.
Among the regular musicians who joined me were Rick Trinidad, Vincent Garrucho, Ryan Nacino, Monchie Henares and Kiko Montecillo. Balik-musicroom personalities Toby Alberto and Steph Salazar were indeed a sight for sore eyes and was a welcome addition to the group, beefing up the vocal section even more. With the house speaker system upgraded and working way better than the old, audio quality had definitely improved. It is so much more enjoyable to vocalize with the microphone sounding great.
I would like to acknowledge the presence of Gab Villanueva, Manolo Valencia, Tecci Sevilla, Ging General and their friend Agnes, my sis-in-law Ana Mara, Bellete Hillarstam, Raul Julian, Randy Soliven, Cali Tiansay for their presence. And of course to my wife Vicky who had stayed briefly to join us. Thank you one and all.
Let me not forget to thank Tecci for quickly volunteering to assist me when I was repairing the music room door knob when it got stuck and to kumpadre Monchie for bringing the "kakanin". Much appreciated.
At closing time, some of the guys stayed much longer to chill and for a night cap at the smoking area before driving home. Everyone packed up just before sunrise at around 5:30am. Game over.
As I always say, all’s well that ends well. And as always, I praise and thank God for the opportunity.
See you all next week!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!
Saturday, August 10, 2019
AUG. 10, 2019 - FRIDAY JAM UPDATE & PHOTOS
Truly, the continuing saga of the Pete’s Place Music Room evolution lives on. Praise and thank God for all the friends and magnanimous donors who had strictly wanted to be anonymous. You know who you all are. May God bless you all in abundance.
It’s been a while since i took an unprecedented break from singing and just concentrated on playing instruments mainly due to the old speaker system which was inadequate to my standards. As a result, i completely lost the knack and mood to sing. The mic output lacked the punch and sensitivity i was looking for, turning me completely off from venturing. I am sure the other vocalist will agree with me on this matter. Thank God, this new speaker setup was the game changer. Time to brush up on my vocals.
With the improved sound ouput from the house, it was timely that a good number of talented musicians had made it over to test the waters. The jam turned out to be totally awesome courtesy of a handful of house band guys and music room regulars performing on stage.
Among the regulars who joined me were Tinnie Esguerra, Rick Trinidad, Joaco Marco, Vincent Garrucho, Kiko Montecillo, Xtine Mercado, Ryan Nacino, Pau Villanueva and her friend. Tinnie brought along a musician colleague by the name of Herbie Buted. A former band mate back in their post grad days, Quezon Province based Herbie was a pure and ultra talented keyboardist. He wowed everyone with his virtuosity and propensity in jazz music along with rest of us backing him up.
Everyone was in the groove all night long clearly enjoying the new revitalized overall sound coming from the brand new speakers. It was so much fun that we lost track of the time. By the time we were done, it was already past 5am. Even then, if not for necessity, the guys seemed to not want to stop. Great jam guys!
Special thanks also to my mom who always makes it a habit to keep me company at the start while waiting for the guests to arrive. To my daughter Nisee and her school mate Franz, to Gab Villanueva, Nikki Segundo and Ed Diano for their valuable presence. Always happy to see these guys around.
And so it is safe to say that last night was indeed a productive and successful night. With the improved sound, I can foresee the upcoming jams to be more exciting . Also, you guys might just see me holding the mic and doing vocals more often from now on…not if anyone cares at all. So please be warned!
See you all next week!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!
Saturday, August 3, 2019
AUG. 2, 2019 – MONCHIE HENARES’ BIRTHDAY JAM UPDATE & PHOTOS
Come hell or high water, bad weather or not, the birthday boy’s well wishers won’t be denied of last night’s epic and fun celebration. Despite torrential rains and flooding at some areas around us, a horde of merrymakers braved the challenging conditions, all for their beloved Monchster, my dear friend and kumpadre.
Monchie’s Dela Salle Greenhills’ batchmates showed up strong plus a sizeable attendance from the Pete’s Place Music Room friends all to greet him on his special day. As Monch earlier predicted, the jam indeed turned out to be totally amazing persisting till past 4:30am and with top notch musicians on the roster to boot.
Among the musical personalities who joined us to jam were Tinnie Esguerra, Richard Parcia, Rick Trinidad, Joaco Marco, Vincent Garrucho, Erwin Dimaculangan, Xyrus Judan, Sheldon Abuton, Rj Pineda, Xtine Mercado, Mayette Clemente and music room newbie and ex-drummer of “The Jerks” Nowie Favila among others. Also, Vincent’s talented daughters Max and Izzy contributed each a song number too. Game representatives from the celebrant’s highschool batchmates and some in their group participated as well.
It was gratifying to see the party going very well as planned with an abundance of food and drinks available for the taking courtesy of generous loving friends. Our outmost gratitude to all the magnanimous donors. Everyone was having so much fun that the wine, liquor and beer and the whole spread of foodstuff on the buffet table were all totally devoured by the end the night. That was definitely a good indication of victory. As always, we thank God for the blessings.
The live music was breathtaking all throughout, with everyone on stage giving their all. It was great to see Richard Parcia back on stage performing again and doing what he does best. With most of Richard’s band mates around, he was finally able to confidently sing a set of his favorite tunes to the delight of the celebrant and the audience around. Excellent job Richard! You never lost your touch.
I must say that you can actually tell that House Band honcho Tinnie Esguerra was having a time of his life, as well, when you see him multi-tasking, lording the guitar including the bass while unhesitant and uncharacteristically playing the elusive tune “Buttercup” at the magic hour. I am actually lost for words. What can this man not do?
As always a trooper, music room favorite daughter, world class musician and vocalist Xtine Mercado, on the other hand, wowed the crowd with her usual brand of talent doing exceptional vocals while playing the guitar. Rj Pineda played the keyboards and guitar and was brilliant as expected. Great jam guys!
We were all safe and dry in the confines of the room but the rain was unrelenting all night outdoors causing floods everywhere. We hope and trust that everyone got home safe and sound.
In behalf of the birthday boy Monchie Henares, I would like to thank each and everyone who made sure to come over just to celebrate this special evening with him despite bad weather conditions. You are true friends indeed! God bless you all.
And so, another successful birthday celebration concluded and we are now eagerly looking forward to the next one on the list. Till then, we once again proceed to our regular Friday jam night. See you all then.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!
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