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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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THE KUWAGOS TAKE FLIGHT. L-R: Mark, Gatchie, and Rommel. (photo by Sheryl Garcia)
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From the Garage to the Control Room...
“I think we have something here...” Gatchie Ignacio, chief songwriter of The Kuwagos, a Filipino-American rock group in Jersey, calmly throws the Marlboro butt on the ground, with a smile, as he makes his way back into the studio to replay “Eh, Ano Ngayon”, the band’s first single, which is being being mixed.
“Eh Ano Ngayon”
Even from the bare, unmixed version, the song already works; it has something that most songs don’t - the Hook.
From the stripped-down, garage-rock sounding music to the brutally honest lyrics, to the sticky melody, “Eh Ano Ngayon” has the stuff that makes a song become bigger than itself.
With this track, the band is trying to emphasize their priority: Genuine song-writing over sophisticated, overdone music. Well, they have a point.
Nowadays, most Fil-Am bands labor on the musical sophistication of their songs and often forget the more essential stuff like words and melody, which are the real reasons why songs become hits.
While not everyone can hum a bass line, or a guitar riff, everybody can sing along to an unforgettable chorus. And once you get people singing along, it’s a whole new game.
And rightfully so, the band’s single is going for that game. Soulworks Records, a Fil-Am indie Record Company picked it up to be a part of the first Fil-Am music compilation album entitled “ Rock In The Box”, which will be released in Summer 2006. The album includes the best songs of the best artists in the New York/New Jeresy scene, and is already creating a buzz in the Fil-Am rock landscape.
The Band
The Kuwagos is made up of former members of the group, INU, who made some noise in the competetive scene in 2004-2005. But after years of playing, INU called it a wrap in late 2005 for personal reasons. Bandless, the trio of Gatchie, Marc and Rommel decided to reform; this time with a new look, a new sound, and a new name.
The band played their debut gig as “The Kuwagos” last January 27 at Dampa Grill, Jersey City, and managed to generate some sizzle with their original material.
The Sound
Sonically, the sound produced by these lads is very much influenced by “Brit-Garage-Post-Punk” bands like “The Libertines”, “The Arctic Monkeys”, and their American counterparts, “The Strokes”, The White Stripes” and the legendary New York Punk Daddies, “The Ramones”.
Although the sound per se is distinctively “white”, The Kuwagos’ infusion of FIlipino lyrics make it valid and appealing to their Filipino American fans and totally claim it as their own - As brown as chicken gravy.
The band has been in the studio for months now, and they are eagerly anticipating the birth of their debut CD due for a Spring release.
With a big number of Fil-Am bands coming up with releases this year, the addition of The Kuwago’s debut will indeed make 2006 a defining year for Fil-Am rock.
Back in the Control Room
Gatchie presses the play button to re-run the track. He listens attentively like he was dissecting and operating on an invisible carcass of sound being hoisted in the air. He nods at every pause, every riff and every lyric being sung like it was his first time.
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TAGALOG On Site (TOS), a study abroad program that caters to Filipinos of the diaspora, will soon be celebrating its tenth year of operations.
For nearly a decade, TOS has been facilitating the return of second- and third- generation Filipinos to their ethnic homeland. This heritage program offers its participants an intensive Filipino (Tagalog) curriculum, a survey course on Philippine history, culture and literature, and interaction activities with grassroots communities in the Philippines.
TOS has a unique approach to language instruction. Small classes, with a ratio of five language students to a teacher, ensure learning. A majority of TOS’ language instructors have had at least seven years of experience teaching one or two Philippine languages.
At a minimum, most participants improve their capacity for oral and written Filipino by two language proficiency levels in six weeks.
Intensive language instruction is complemented with activities that strongly encourage community interaction. Besides providing a natural setting for participants to practice speaking Filipino, visits to various communities provide a better understanding of local culture, and the prevalent issues and concerns at the community level.
The integrated curriculum includes trips to communities in Manila, and the provinces of Ifugao, Mt. Province, Pampanga, Zambales, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon.
For college and graduate students, scholarship money may be available from the Freeman Foundation for those who qualify. Interested applicants should visit the IIE website (http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia).
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NEW YORK --- The San Lorenzo Chapel in Manhattan its schedule of Masses from the end of February to March.
Below is the schedule:
February 26, Sunday at 12:30 pm
Mass of Thanksgiving, 20th anniversary of “People Power”
March 5, Sunday at 12:30 pm
Mass for Mother Ignacia Movement
March 12, Sunday at 12:30 pm
Lenten Recollection with Fr. Silvino Borres, SJ. (The public is invited. Ends with Benediction at 3 pm)
March 26, Sunday at 12:30 pm
Mass with Gregorian Chant “Missa De Angelis” (The Chapel is inviting former seminarians to the Mass.) .
The San Lorezon Chapel is located at 378 Broome St., New York City, with telephone number (212) 966-1019).
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