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Club Dredd. We finally got to play Club Dredd. Hold on while I try and come to grips with that seemingly insignificant piece of information. FMD, fronting in Jeepney Joyride’s official album launch, played at Club Dredd. I played at Club Dredd.

Sure, not the Dredd of old, but it’s still Club Dredd. Ever since I started learning to play the guitar, I’ve dreamed of playing at three venues: Mayric’s, UP and Club Dredd. Mayric’s was relatively easy, and so was UP. Dredd though, closed down some time ago and it seemed nothing more than a pipe dream. Until it’s re-opening at, of all places, Eastwood.

Fine, it’s in the exact same spot Gweilo’s was, and we’ve played there a few times before. And there isn’t any real significance to landing a gig there. But it’s still Dredd. For me, it’s not a place, it’s a symbol: rock ‘n roll. It may not look it anymore, it may not even feel it, but that’s what Dredd will always mean for me.

I may bleed the blues, but my heart pumps rock n’ roll. And as Malcom Mclaren, manager of the Sex Pistols once said: Rock and roll doesn’t necessarily mean a band. It doesn’t mean a singer, and it doesn’t mean a lyric, really. It’s that question of trying to be immortal.

And in that moment, on that stage, with my band, I was.

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The Ska band from hell — that’s Jeepney Joyride folks — has released their second album, Let’s Get Party, a 14-track masterpiece of humor and good skankin’ fun, and is out now under Sony BMG on all major Odyssey and Music One record bars, with an official album launch on August 29 at the new Club Dredd in Eastwood, Libis.

I was lucky enough to snag a copy the night it was released last Friday at the Purple Haze Bar in Tomas Morato, and had it autographed by most of the band members. My favorite track is Paano kung ‘di ka na matawa?, a poignant (but not emo-ish, thank goodness) song about insecurity, and Lab, asan ka na?, an innuendo-filled laugh-a-minute little ditty.

You can stop wondering if the album can capture the sheer energy of the band’s live performances, which is, I daresay, among the best in the business. Truth is, of course it can’t. Joyride, like grub worms, are best served live. And I can’t believe I just compared one of my most favorite bands to a bunch of foul pests. But there you go. The album is good — “very” would’nt even begin to do it justice — but nothing beats their live performances.

You can catch Joyride, as well as FMD (that’s us ), at Purple Haze every first Friday of the month as part of Big TT (Big Time Tado) productions, which is run by the man himself, Tado. Or as I call him, Arvin. Yes, mahilig ako mag pakapal mukha. Also on these locations:

July 13 Fri 9pm - One Love Bar, Sucat, Pque
July 14 Sat 9pm - Sharky’s Bar, Timog Ave, QC (Kasama kami, ang FMD ulit!!! )
July 14 Sat - Mapua, Intramuros, Mla (Kasama kami, ang FMD ulit!!! )
July 28 - Vida de Malate

Shameless plug aside, if there’s one album you’re gonna buy this year, this has got to be it. Seriously. This, and The Chongkey’s upcoming album. Okay, so that’s two. But still. You gotta buy this album. You won’t regret it. Ika nga ni Ramon Bautista: it’s a laht of fahhhhn.

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Halfway through “Akap”, I hear a click, and a whirr. My first roll of film just ran out — I only had 24 exposures on that one. Biting on my cigarette and trying not to fall, I reloaded as fast as I could — not easy considering the sheer number of people jostling me — and I was able to set up just in time for “Taralets”. I just lost myself, merrily taking shot after shot. With the possible exception of Barbie Almalbis, is there a cuter band chick than Imago’s Aia de Leon? Nanggigil ako, sobra.

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Heber Bartolome is the voice and soul behind legendary protest folk-rock band Banyuhay, who gained immortality with the unforgettable phrase: “Tayo’y mga Pinoy, tayo’y hindi kano, wag kang mahihiya, kung ang ilong mo ay pango.” He sang songs of protest, but never angrily. He is punk without the whine of self-pity. Hardcore without the idiocy of aimless angst. An advocate for change and reform, Ka Heber saw - and sang about - the truth, but his songs were always hopeful. Even in the dark days of Marcos.

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I’ve been itching to do this for a long time now, and alternating from being sick to being unemployed, I finally have the time to do it. Presenting, the Guitar Blog, where I talk about, well, music in general, guitars in particular. I’m also gonna be doing something I call Single Song Breakdown, where I take apart  song and try to play it my way, and show you how, too.

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Mark, my good friend and sometime fellow band member (Far From Sober), is also the guitarist for Humble Sauce, a really kick-ass reggae band, and they’ve been nominated for Best Live Act and Artist of the Year in the 2005 NU107 Rock Awards. Read the rest of this entry »

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Listening to LaunchCast roughly eight years later, I happen upon the intro song of the game that defined 1997 for me: Fallout II. Ahh, the good old days.

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