SEPT. 9, 2016 - FRIDAY JAM UPDATE

Last night turned out to be a roller coaster of a ride when a few things had not transpired exactly as planned. A backup Visual Sound Tech CRX-808 powered mixer that was set up to replace our old trusty Peavy XR-1200 mixer (still functional but needing some repair) did not meet expectations after we had tested it. With the sound quality and overall performance short of our liking, we decided to recommision and revert back to our old system instead. We had to stop the jam briefly in between just to hook up the Peavy back in its proper place. Finally functioning as it should, we were back in business...so we thought.

Incidentally, keyboardist/guitarist Tinnie Esguerra, bassist Rick Trinidad and drummer Atty. Jj Disini were the first batch of jammers on stage. Teenage guitar prodigy and Fender endorser Joko Reasanto and his equally talented bassist friend, Ivo Pollack, was in the house as well. Suddenly, just when Joko was setting up his gear to jam, unwarry of a faulty power cable, it short circuited the extension cord as he plugged in, busting a fuse in the process and leaving half of the music room (main airconditioner included) without power. The jam naturally had to be put to a halt as some of the amplifier's power source were cut. It took almost another hour before the problem was resolved and power was restored. In the meantine, the guests and jammers unperturbed, patiently waited until everything was back in order.

At about midnight, the live music finally resumes with Joko on guitar and Ivo alternating with Rick on bass along with Tinnie on the keyboards and Jj on drums. Soon vocalists Monchie Henares, Marc de Asis and percussionist Vincent Garrucho joined in. When Joko and company left at around 2am and Rick not too long after, we ended up a bit undermanned, but as creative and resourceful as we usually are, still managed and continued to jam.

Believe it or not, after the musicians were already done playing and the night still relatively young at around 3am, (with the prodding of Luisa Distor, Arabelle Jimenez and her friend Lotte who were still around) the room suddenly breathed new life and transformed into a karaoke bar. It was spellbounding, to say the least. Monchie, Vincent and myself gamely ended up taking turns singing our songs of choice of classic OPMs and pop tunes. Uncharacteristically, birthday boy Gab Villanueva, won't be denied and did his share of songs on stage as well. We had never seen Gabby join us on stage much more to sing solo. Such a revelation!

Perhaps, due to so much unforeseen eventualities happening in one night and for whatever other reasons, the group that had stayed till the late hours eventually became so famished that we all so craved for food. We were dying to eat! Finally deciding on some home delivery, the two boxes of sumptuous pizza that was ordered was sufficient and definitely a welcome treat! It was absolutely heaven! With everyone's tank full and satisfied, it was time to call it a night...so be it! It was exactly 5:20am when the gates were finally closed and locked.

And so, that's the Friday night in a nut shell folks! All's well that ends well! Thank and praise God!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!