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Triple Threat - Ex Batallion, Shantidope, Gloc 9 Live in Las Vegas

Triple Threat - Ex Batallion, Shantidope, Gloc 9

Backstage Bar and Billards, Las Vegas NV

December 9th 2018

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Urbandub & Rico Blanco - Live in Las Vegas

This was taken back in October 24th 2018 at Backstage Bar & Billiards. A pretty late post, obviously. I just didn’t have any motivation to visit or update this blog. If you follow me through Instagram and Facebook, then you’ve probably seen these. But I finally found some time and enough energy to dust this page off so here we are.

I’ve been a fan of Urbandub since high school but I haven’t seen them play live ever. So you can just imagine me singing along to their jams while raising my hands in the air. They played their famous tracks such as “Evidence”, “Alert The Armory”, “Soul Searching”, and “The Fight Is Over” just to name a few. But seriously, even though you don’t know any of their songs, once you hear it, it will stick to your brain for a long while. This band is one of a kind.

Now who doesn’t know Rivermaya and this guy? I haven’t seen the original Rivermaya live ever but I’ve seen the Rico Blanco fronted Rivermaya back in ‘02-’03. With that, I saw the contrast between the 2. With his set that night, it reminded me of Coldplay. The theatrics, the vibe, and the diversity of sound and music. Of course he played those classic Rivermaya jams but just on a very short while. I’m pretty sure he’s sick of playing it and as an artist, you want to be known more than what you’ve already showed. Nonetheless, everyone was singing along and it is funny to think that the crowd know more Rico Blanco sings than I do.

Looking forward in seeing these 2 great artists play live again in the future.

Taken using Fujifilm X100T and Fujifilm X-T1 18-135mm F3.5.

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Kamikazee Tagpuan US Tour 2018

It’s been a long while. Last time I saw them live was 2011 here in Las Vegas as well. I was definitely looking forward seeing them again not only to hear the new songs I’ve never heard played live before, but to see first hand their lighting production which has been remarkable since their Huling Sayaw Farewell concert before their hiatus.

My band AntiTrust was part of the opener for the show. We were 3rd in the lineup. Food and drinks were provided and we had are own dressing room. As for someone who’ been doing this for so long, I am always thankful that we get better treatment even though we’re not that established. Getting comfortable as much as possible before stepping in to the stage makes a lot of difference.

They played most of their mainstream hits to the delight of the crowd as they were singing along to every note. I was trying to take good photos while filming them using my GoPro and it was such a work even though I am just carrying my Fujifilm X100T. There’s no way for me to do both at the same time.

I was also looking forward in seeing them play some of their not-so-friendly-but-funny-and-heavy-as-fuck songs such as “Chinelas”, “Turon”, and “Shoot Dat Bol”, just to name a few but of course, it didn’t happened, Such sadness.

Can the show be better? Of course. I thought the supporting artists especially the main act did well and delivered as advertised. The sound system was superb and it was a huge deal. I don’t know exactly the ins-and-outs and the logistics of putting up a show like this. But it’s hard not to point out the ticket prices. It was expensive. Hence, the sales and the turnout were unsatisfactory. Nonetheless, as a musician who spent and enjoyed the perks in the backstage and someone who stood with the crowd and sang along with them, I am still thankful that we get to experience something like this. I had fun. We had fun. That’s all that matters. And I hope we won’t wait years for another one.

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Mastiv’s 10th Year Anniversary

It’s amazing how much quality you can get out of Fujifilm X-T1 by just using the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens with the ISO maxed out to 6400! Straight out of camera sharp and noiseless photos. Do this on a regular DSLR and you’ll be spending forever editing those RAW files. Been there, done that. Thanks but no thanks.

Cirka Sik. Heard of these bad boys when we’re still recording our EP Resurgence (out now on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc.) and it was my first time listening and watching them live. Pretty solid jams.

DiM (Death in Motion). Heard about them before as well but first time seeing them. They had a heavy sounding set that made me wear my metal face while banging my head.

Congratulations to Mastiv for 10 solid kickass successful years. Massive shoutouts for putting us in your compilation album too! Big ups to all the bands who performed and represented the scene well. Here’s to 10 more and I can’t wait to share the stage with you guys once again!

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FamBamLV Secret Santa Christmas Party 2017

A night full of fun, laughter, and love. Such epicness that I’m still feeling the effects from that night. Appreciate the good vibrations guise! Lurve ya all!

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AntiTrust Music Video Shoot. Well... not really.

The plot: Music video shoot for AntiTrust’s “No Hate No War”

The twist: It was in fact a proposal all along.

Congratulations Justin and Chevy! Blessings, happiness, and much love!

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Esperanza Blanco Cruzada (1918-2017)

You lived a good life, Lola.

It’s always a treat to spend some time with you in our ancestral house in Roxas. It’s one of the things I always look forward to during summer vacations.

I used to cry everytime I see you because I thought you had a mean face. And I even find your voice more terrifying than Papa’s sometimes. Yet you always spoil me with stuff.

I will never forget that time that I was pretending to be sick because I was just too lazy to go to school. You said I should just stay at home. I asked “what about Papa? What is he going to say? He’ll be mad for this.” You said, “I’ll take care of him. He’s my son.” And that time that you heard that I already have a girlfriend an early age of 14, telling me that I should focus on my studies more instead. But at the same time, you made me feel that you’re proud and that I am the most handsome kid in the world.

I can’t thank you hard enough for everything. I will always miss you.

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Infinite Death

The Dive Bar, Las Vegas NV

09092017

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FamBamLV San Diego Trip!

First time going to San Diego. I was always looking forward to weekends like this. I wasn’t there to perform with my band or watch any other artists perform. I was there on vacation, with the company of the best people I’ve known. And with everything happened so fast and in a blur, I’ll try to remember as much as I can.

The drive isn’t always the best part of any other trip. It took us some 5-6 hours getting there. Sleeping is always the best time killer for such long trip with a little bit of silly jokes thrown around.

We reached the vacation house at around 7:30pm. We rested for a while and went to Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown San Diego. Our first observation is that the place is somewhat like Fremont Downtown here in Las Vegas, but calmer and more welcoming. It’s not as crazy and annoying as the people in Fremont and there’s not much loud music playing in the streets. We had dinner, a couple of drinks, then hopped in a bar where there was a mechanical bull. It was fun seeing people especially your friends ride that crazy thing when your alcohol level keeps on going up.

We had to wake up early the next day because we’re scheduled to ride some boat in Mission Bay. We brought our own food and booze of course as having none of those would be a dull affair. We had to divide the group in 2 boats but we managed to stop once in a while, tie those 2 boats up, and party in the middle of the bay. The only thing I hated about that thing is the absence of a restroom. Being uncomfortable after you’ve drank a lot just kinda killed the vibe for me. Such shame, such bullshit.

We then drove to Mission Beach. Crowded as expected but not as bad as Santa Monica Beach. We setup a camp and pretty much spent most of our time in the sand, drinking, talking and listening to music... because the waters were just too damn freezing. Some of us braved the cold. It was just too impossible for me because if you know me well, you know how I get cold so easily.

House party started at around 7:30pm. By this time, I’m already wasted and fading away. I was on party mode as early as 8 that morning. After a couple of shots under thick smoke, I was out at around past 1am. I can vaguely remember some of my friends trying to wake me up, asking me what’s up. I even remembered that there was a small fire in the carpet and everyone just grabbed a bottle water then ran towards the wet bar behind me. At that time, I thought that was kinda funny but my brain and body was so far-out to comprehend what was going on.

Had to wake up early the next day again because we need to get going by 11am. Good thing that the NBA Playoffs was on. I had something to watch while packing-up.

We had lunch at a seafood restaurant by the bay in Coronado Island. Seafood restaurant. Guess what I ordered. That’s right. Chicken. In a fucking seafood restaurant. I don’t have to explain why. You know it already. It was somewhat of a grilled chicken marinated with butter and herbs. Sorry I am not good at describing cuisines although it’s part of my day job. All I can say is that it was good a definitely will order it again. That and an IPA beer to wash it down.

We walked around Hotel del Coronado which by the way has an amazing vintage vibe and architecture. We took pictures of course and some of us had ice cream. We left for Las Vegas at around 4pm. By this time, I am still recovering from last night and I was ready to pass out of existence. We got home at around 9pm. We can check this one out as one of our epic mini-vacations that we had so far and I’m sure many more of this are yet to come.

photos were shot with Fujifilm XT-1 and Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR.

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Portraits with Fujifilm X-Series

As simple as it may seem, portrait photography is probably the most difficult one to get right. Proper lighting is very essential and having an external flash in your gear makes a very big difference. It is very challenging in a lot of ways but fun at same time especially when you stumble upon some inspirations online.

I was referred by a friend to do some portrait photos for this young man named Jay as he is about to graduate high school. It’s not easy to make someone comfortable when you just met them for a photo shoot. You don’t want any signs of uneasiness or awkwardness reflect on your photos. It was just “hi-hello” and we went to work straight away.

I’m not good at instructing poses to a subject especially if the concept of the shoot is as simple as this. So I just focused more on the lightning and using the nature as part of the photo.

I used Fujifilm X100T and Fujifilm XT-1 with 35mm 2.0 lens along with a Yongnuo external flash and a diffuser. Fujifilm being the lightweight and compact that it is was definitely a big help as it made me focus more on the lighting and composition. Even though I miss my old Canon EOS 7D with 50mm 1.4 in this kind of shoots, I can’t imagine myself having those again as my main gear. The ISO, in-camera settings and filter, and weight makes the Fujifilm as a gear to have. Not to mention, the Jpeg quality of Fujifilm are second to none. And that is a common knowledge.

This gig made me want to do another project like this but with a little bit more. Better setting with an artistic concept and a well-designed, carefully planned props.  Hopefully I can find someone to work with and learn something from them. The process was just fun for me.

And as I was writing this, I stumbled upon this beautiful portrait photography blog called The Atlas of Beauty by Mihaela Noroc. The concept is just simple and yet the photos, just like the famous line, says a thousand words. Beauty does come indeed in different forms. Click on the link and be inspired like I was.

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Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujifilm XF 35mm f/2 R WR Lens. It’s like french fries on a sundae.

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Haiku 04.18

Darkness clouds my head

The beauty of Samsara

Endless suffering

#haiku #hainaku #fujifilm #fuji_xseries #XT1

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Hollywood Boulevard

It’s one thing that I miss doing. Street photography. My band was in town for a show and one of our plans was to go to Rock Town, a heavy metal apparel store located in Hollywood Boulevard. Got some pretty good scores but man, it got way expensive than I thought!

After that, we walked down the boulevard. I saw one of the "temples" of The Church of Scientology which I thought was pretty amazing considering its controversial reputation. I also saw The Hollywood Masonic Temple where Jimmy Kimmel Live do their shows, it looked like exactly what I see on T.V. And we went as far as the TCL Chinese Theater where a lot of movie premieres were done. It is also where we watched Suicide Squad. The movie was alright. I understand why some people hated it.

I wanted to capture the uniqueness of the shadows as it blended with the people and the place. Photography is all about painting with light but in this case, I gave the shadows a little bit more attention and tried to capture some detail. Having the Fujifilm X100T  on hand really proved its quality and convenience doing street photography because having a DSLR while trying to capture images will scare the shit out of people.

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Winter Snow

February 6th 2016

Brianhead Ski & Resort, Utah

#fujifilm #x100s

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Going Up

February 6th 2016

Brianhead Ski & Resort, Utah

#fujifilm #x100s

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Cowgirls From Hell

I don’t even know where to begin. In my years as a musician, I have seen a lot of Pantera cover bands perform live. It’s not that easy to pull. Dimebag’s heavy groovy riffs and Phil’s throat wrenching vocals are one in a million. And speaking as a big Pantera fan, this night was one of the few (if not the only) legit performances I have ever seen!

They opened their set with the classic “Cowboys From Hell”. Everyone was banging their heads as soon as that heavy groovy intro dropped. But when it came to their second song which is “Fucking Hostile”, the place just went, you guessed it, hostile! So much so that I had to climb at the side of the stage to save myself from the war at the pit. It was a good choice. I had better seat while trying to take good photos. Their setlist was purely solid from start to finish. They ended the night with an encore and performed “Walk” which everyone was chanting along at the chorus of the song. Pure fuckin’ metal. An awesome night it was.

I became a fan of these fine kickass chicks after that night and I can’t wait to see them play live again. My only wish though? Longer set!

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Kin’s Betrayal

Thrash metal band from California. Fuckin’ awesome!

August 15th 2015

Bar Kada Avenue, Las Vegas, NV