A Little Bit Of Something

My favorite image of the night: Basti Artadi of Wolfgang sprays water on the audience just before he begins his set.

And, the crowd went wild.

Well, I did, at least, when Wolfgang took the stage, frontman Basti Artadi his usual angas self. Call me old, but Halik ni Hudas will always be one of my favorite rock songs of all time.

Franco

Of course, the Y! Rocks event last December 8, featured other great bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Ely Buendia’s Pupil, Sinosikat, Somedaydream, Callalily, 6CycleMind, Razorback, True Faith, and Sandwich, as well as a number of new and upcoming bands – all of whom elicited varying degrees of screaming and cheering from the people in attendance; people who were there despite the rain that poured almost all night.

Raimund Marasigan of Sandwich

Tanya Markova

It was a night, rain and all, for OPM. Touted as the first ever initiative by any Yahoo! (yes, the search engine) branch to showcase local musical talent, Y! Rocks’ aim is to keep Original Pilipino Music alive. With the industry in dire straits these days due not only to issues like piracy and low record sales, but also a dwindling of support towards artists’ live performances because of bigger and more ‘marketable’ foreign acts, it’s great to see this kind of event where great musicians get together to show what they can do.

Somedaydream - the band who sang the popular song, 'Hey Daydreamer' used in a TV ad for Selecta Cornetto

Tirso Ripoll of Razorback

And we are not a nation lacking for local talents – in every musical genre. The problem is not talent, but exposure and marketing, and Y! Rocks wants to help change that, not only by staging a concert for established bands, but also by giving a chance to newer groups to have their time in spotlight. 12 new artists were picked to perform that night by judges Karl Roy, Francis Reyes and OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit) secretary general Dingdong Avanzado from hundreds of entries sent to Yahoo. Several other local artists were also given the chance to perform in Y! Rocks concerts held in Cebu and Davao.

Chito Miranda and Vinci of Parokya ni Edgar, with their usual boisterousness, as they perform a Parokya favorite, 'Picha Pie'.

Chito Miranda! m/

The good thing is they’re not only doing it this year, but in the succeeding years as well. Hopefully, it reignites the fire and the passion fans had before for local bands, and sponsors (and producers) will come around and finally offer more support for homegrown talent.

Medwin Merfil of True Faith

Mabuhay ang OPM at ang musikang Pilipino! 

Kean Cipriano of Callalily. I don't like their music much, but to his credit, he knows how to work the crowd and put on a show.

**Many thanks to Erwin Oliva and Ederic Eder of Yahoo Philippines for the opportunity to shoot this momentous musical event.