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For the past 21 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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THERE is a common misconception among show producers that artists are special individuals who love their work so much they are always willing do it for free. This is especially true in the case of artists opening for more popular Philippine-based acts.
Most of the time, front acts never get paid for their efforts because producers have the idea that sharing the same stage with the popular main act is enough compensation for them. Kind of like saying that these front acts even owe the producers for letting them play.
True, gigs like such give exposure to these local artists , and a great addition to their resume. But it is still not enough reason not to give these front acts even just a small amount of monetary compensation to cover for the expenses that they made in preparation for the show.
Artists rehearse for shows, and it costs money and effort to rehearse.
The average studio rental is around $40 for two hours, excluding the travel expenses and some miscellaneous expenses like new guitar strings or guitar pedal batteries. In total, artists spend around $70-$100 dollars in preparing for a show. This doesn’t include the expenses incurred on the play date itself - travel expenses going to the venue, food and whatnots.
It is certain that producers know about these expenses. And for them to ignore this fact and still continue doing this wrong practice, is nothing short of a travesty.
Sadly, front acts usually keep mum on this issue due to the fear of not getting invited again for another ‘big’ show. And most front acts are too modest to demand for a payment for their services, hence the abuse.
When my bands went to Redwood City, California to tape episodes for the TFC show Speak Out, ABS-CBN gave the bands some money to compensate for all the efforts that the bands made. True, the amount couldn’t buy us new guitars, a swimming pool, or even recoup the expenses that the bands made for the trip–like airfare, lodging and food, but it sure made the bands feel very special.
The money that ABS CBN gave the bands is what is called an ‘Honorarium’.
I suppose some these producers never heard of the word ‘Honorarium’ since they have never even offered anything close to it to front acts.
So for the benefit of these producers, I will define the word according to my mac’s dictionary widget:
‘Honorarium’ - (Noun) a payment for professional services that are rendered nominally without charge.
If you notice, the word honor is the root word of Honorarium’. I suppose, it takes real honor for a person or a company to offer payment for professional services that are usually done for free. But that is how it is supposed to be.
It is the responsibility of producers to give honoraria to these artists. It should be automatic. Besides, the payment that these front acts require, if they even dare say it, is not even 5% of what these show producers are paying the main act. Producers pay thousands of dollars to imported Pinoy artists but still couldn’t muster a couple of hundred bucks for their opening acts. It could be anything, even. It could be gift cards, CDs or whatever it is just to show that these producers are honoring the efforts of their front acts. It still baffles me why it’s not happening.
The main point here, I suppose, is respect.
Do these show producers respect their local artists enough to pay them honoraria for their services? So far the answer is no. And what about some producers making front acts do despicable acts like forcing them to sell tickets, coercing them to provide instruments for the main acts or making them determine their time slots through a raffle?
Hmmmm.. Don’t get me started on that.
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MANILA -- Ai Ai de las Alas admits she’s again dating a man much, much younger than she is. Is this another fling? Ai Ai was asked.
“I hope not,” she replies. “Ako naman tuwing umiibig, siniseryoso ko. Kaya, sa tuwina, I end up not just disappointed but pained ng sobra.”
Is the guy from showbiz?
“No, he’s not from showbiz. That’s why nga I don’t want to talk about him. He might not like the idea,” she says.
In her new film, “Cute ng Ina Mo,” Ai Ai plays an absentee mother, who is eager to marry her daughter’s father. But the daughter, played by Anne Curtis, is not keen about the idea. She hates her mom for abandoning her when she was a baby.
“But what my daughter does not know is that I love her very much. Iyon nga lang, may naganap na ‘di inaasahan, kaya, lumalaki siya sa kanyang ama,” explains Ai Ai.
Produced by Star Cinema and based on a story by Mel del Rosario, who also wrote the script with Arlene Tamayo, “Cute ng Ina Mo” also stars Lucky Manzano, Eugene Domingo and John Lapus. Direction is by Wenn Deramas. (MNS)
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DONITA Rose and Ruffa Gutierrez are the best of friends. Is it true they had a rift recently because Donita sided with Dawn Zulueta while Ruffa sided with Gretchen Barretto?
“No, that’s not true,” says Donita at the launching of her new show, “U-Turn.” “Ruffa and I are both here now in Manila and we get in touch all the time. Pareho kaming ayaw naming may kaaway kaya huwag naman kaming intrigahin.”
Donita was hosting “Mobile Kusina” for GMA-7 months back but she decided to resign as it is taking her away from her Singapore-based husband Eric Villarama and son Joshua Paul a lot. “Sometimes, in one month, three days lang ako sa Singapore. Hindi ko naman laging maisama rito ang son ko, so I said I have to know my priorities and it’s my family kaya nag-resign ako. But I prayed to God over that, kasi sayang ang income ko. But God really provides dahil dumating namin itong ‘U-Turn,’ which I tape with two episodes a day, so it’s easier to do. This is a weekly show so I can tape eight episodes each time I come here and for two months, sa Singapore naman ako.”
How come she didn’t return to being an MTV VJ? “Actually, MTV still offered me a show kahit noong pregnant pa ko. But I realized MTV is so youth-oriented, and with me married and pregnant, hindi na ako bagay as much as I loved being a VJ, dahil mas family-oriented na ako.”
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“IF YOU would ask me now, I do see myself and my family living in the US for good.”
Thus says Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha a few days prior to her “Missing You Live in Manila” concert at Araneta Coliseum on March 17.
The remark was prompted by questions as to when she sees herself returning to the Philippines after her month-long stay in Manila.
“I like it there because the routine gives me more time with my family. At every point in a day, I know exactly what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be. This means I could plan things with my family less likely disrupted,” says she.
Lani has been performing with the Society of Seven (SOS) at the Flamingo in Las Vegas from Wednesday to Sunday for near two years now. Because theirs is an afternoon show (3 to 4:30 pm), Lani only starts work after lunch when her kids have already gone to school. She then is home by night fall attending to her husband and two kids.
It wasn’t always her mindset. When Lani and her family arrived in the US in 2004, all of them had a hard time adjusting to change. The weather, the absence of helpers, and the high cost of living in the US almost had Lani thinking she might have made a wrong decision.
“Pinakanahirapan kami the first Christmas we spent there. Compared sa Pilipinas, malungkot ang Pasko sa America or, to quote my kids, it’s boring. Hindi kagaya dito na laging may nangyayari with friends and families just a call away,” says she.
Lani continues: “On the bright side, I did lose unwanted pounds effortlessly. It’s a boon to me because our Vegas act requires a lot of dancing from me at binubuhat-buhat pa ako.”
Lani earns almost the same amount there as she did here. She points out that although her talent fee is in dollars, they also spend in the same currency. The biggest financial drain on Lani and her husband are mortgage for two houses and the cars they have acquired.
“Simple living lang kami duon. Apart from Filipinos, nobody there knows who I am. It gives me the kind of freedom I don’t have here. Duon, kahit mag-grocery ako or pumasok sa trabaho, simpleng jeans and shirt lang will do. Sa bahay, dahil wala naman kaming maid, we do everything at our own lace. Pag hindi malinis ang kusina today, so what? We’ll do it tomorrow. But mind you, laging malinis ang kusina namin, huh!” says she.
Asia’s Nightingale doesn’t see herself above other local divas just because she is making headway abroad. Lani sees it still as work where she “sings and gets something in return wherever that may be.”
“The only difference is that I perform to a more diverse crowd there. After every show, we mingle with the audience and I note that most of them are Caucasians from as far as Australia and England. Most got interested in watching our show because of friends’ recommendation or word-of-mouth buzz by other tourists in Vegas,” says Lani.
Did Celine Dion really watch her show?
“I’m not sure. One of the ushers told us that he recognized Celine albeit incognito in the audience. If she was there, she did not go to see us backstage nor had herself announced. Her watching us would have to remain a rumor,” says she.
Famous people who did watch Lani and SOS are Filipino actor Gabby Concepcion and legendary Motown singer, Gladys Knight.
“When Glady’s name was announced, para akong binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. I was speechless when she went backstage to congratulate us. The only thing running through my head that moment was if I did justice to her songs I do versions of in our show,” says Lani who once recorded the Glady’s Knight & The Pips classic, “Neither One Of Us.”
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CONTRARY to reports that Nyoy Volante and Nina have broken off for two weeks now, the Acoustic Pop Prince and close relatives of him and Nina disclosed to the Manila Bulletin that the rumors are not true, after all.
“There had been some misunderstanding before Valentines Day between the two but it was not that serious to come close to a break-up,” sources revealed on Monday. But the problems were immediately patched up when Nyoy took Nina out for a romantic ‘sorry’ dinner, told close friends.
Nyoy himself denied the strongly circulating rumors via a phone interview over the weekend. “It’s not true and we are still together.” In fact, Nyoy and Nina were together in a Valentine show at the Hard Rock the day after Nyoy’s highly-successful “Timeless Classics” was staged at the Makati Shangri-La.
The one and offstage sweethearts found themselves in focus of intrigues recently when fans started missing Nyoy on “ASAP” where he and Nina share music moments with each Sunday.
Rumors that the couple has headed for splitsville intensified because they stopped performing together and that ABS-CBN has given the real-reel music spotlight on another music coupling Christian Bautista and Rachelle Ann Go.
However, Christian also denied she and Rachelle snagged public attention from Nyoy and Nina considering that both pairs have the same public-come-on as on and off-stage partners.
“I don’t believe there is competition between Nyoy and Nina and Rachelle and I,” Christian said to the Bulletin during a press interview. “I have so much respect and regard with the way Nyoy and Nina connects on stage. Besides, we have a different set of fans. Their following thrive more in the gig circle because Nyoy and Nina are such powerful live performers while Rachelle and I are more into record.”
But when it comes to record proofs, Nyoy recently cemented his songwriting prowess when he scored a hit for Nina in “Someday.” According to fans from the live act scene, there is a clamor for Nyoy’s own version of the song.
Nyoy recently scored a hit on his own “Ha,” a pop ditty he wrote with Nina in mind. The cut is included in Nyoy’s “Now Hear This” CD under Vicor Music. He will soon leave for the Middle East for a string of shows before he goes back for more concerts in Manila. Talks of a major show in the States are also underway.
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