Franco Retail Signing at Odyssey Megamall on April 29

Franco, the newest superband changing the landscape of our music scene will have a retail signing at Odyssey in Megall this April 29.

Penetrating into the music industry proves to be a challenging feat for new artists, but for the newest rock band “FRANCO”, the road to fame looks bright and promising, catapulting the landscape of alternative-rock off to a whole new level.

Not long after they broke into the music scene, the band has already managed to impress and capture the interest of various critics and audiences with their dynamic blend of smashing lines, throbbing beats and melodic sound. The undeniable musical talent radiating from each band member is insurmountable; hailing FRANCO as the “Powerhouse band” and the next big thing to watch out for in 2010!

Comprised of well-known figures in Philippine rock, members from the band FRANCO are no strangers to music lovers. Lead vocalist Franco Reyes is regarded as a musical genius, who, in spite of his enigmatic persona, speaks through the songs that he writes and performs. Other members include icons such as Gabby Alipe of Urbandub and Paolo “Ocho” Toleran of Queso on guitars, Buhawi “Buwi” Meneses of Parokya ni Edgar on bass, and JanJan Mendoza of Urbandub on drums.

The band is more than keyed-up as the year starts with a bang with the release of their latest self-titled album FRANCO under one of the major record labels – MCA Music. Featuring their single “Castaway”, their self-titled album under MCA Music has already been garnering raving reviews from various musical critics.

Joey Dizon, Editor-in-Chief of Pulp Magazine notes that “The song “Castaway” was incredibly catchy, with its dreamy modern rock approach and droning, melancholic guitar riffs and subtle, sonic textures.”

With an ALL-ORIGINAL album, FRANCO vows to give a fresh kick to music with a blend of various musical influences (such as rock, alternative and reggae) injected in their tracks. Other cyclonic tracks include “Seasons”, “ Next Train Out”, “Memory Kill”, “This Gathering” and more.

Grab a copy of FRANCO’s self-titled album available in all major record bars nationwide to experience fresh, raw and unadulterated music in its truest sense. Tracks from the album are also available for download via Globe and Smart WAP sites. To download a ringback tone of FRANCO’s latest single “Castaway”, key in the keyword CASTWAY and send to 2728 for Smart Subscribers, or the code KF693 and send to 2332 for Globe Subscribers. FRANCO is released exclusively under MCA Music.

Click It, Shock It, Like It: Cube’s B2ST Minute Photo Experience

They haven’t arrived in the Philippines yet but B2ST is well on its way to the top here in the country with the release of their new album, Shock of the New Era! The coming of their album to Philippine shores is definitely a reason to celebrate and in line with this, MCA Music Inc. gives K-pop fans the next closest thing to experiencing the shocking talent of Cube Entertainment’s artists!

Together with their Cube mate, 4Minute, K-pop fans shall get the chance to have the Ultimate Cube Entertainment Photo Experience with Click It! Shock It! Like It! Head on to Astrovision Podium on April 17, 2010 from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m., Grab your copy of either B2ST’s album Shock of the New Era or 4Minute’s record, For Muzik. Get your photo and raffle stub at the counter, pick your favorite B2ST or 4Minute member from the life-size display line-up, and take your picture with him / her at the photo booth! To be able to get more pictures with your favorite Cube Star, simply pay a minimum fee of P50.00 at the booth area. Each picture shall come out as a 4×6 print-out with an exclusive B2ST / 4Minute design and pictures shall be included in an exclusive website where all photos taken during the day shall be featured! Details on how to access the website shall be announced during the event, the facebook page of MCA Music Inc, www.beast.ph and www.4minute.ph.

Not only that, participants shall also be eligible for several raffle draws to be done during the activity wherein five sets of signed 4Minute trading cards and all the life-size displays of B2ST and 4Minute shall be given as prizes! Simply drop your raffle stubs that you claimed at the counter by the photo booth area to qualify. Make sure to fill-up the stub with your name, age, email address, contact numbers and signature. Winners of the life size displays may claim their prize right after the activity.

As if the life-size displays aren’t enough, after the activity, grab your picture from the Click It! Shock It! Like It! website. Use it as your profile picture on your facebook page and include it in your photo album. Get as many people as you can to Like your picture to get the chance to win either a Signed, Korean import copy of Shock of the New Era or For Muzik! To join, search the facebook page of Click It! Shock It! Like It! and add the account as your friend. Send a private message with your name, address, age, e-mail, contact nos. and tell us how you convinced people to Like your photo with your favorite Cube Star. Entries shall be judged according to the creativeness of the method that was used and the number of people who liked your picture with your favorite Cube Star. Deadline of submissions is on June 18, 2010.

Click It! Shock It! Like It! is brought to you by Astrovision and Astroplus stores, The Podium, Cube Entertainment and MCA Music Inc. The new album of B2ST, Shock of the New Era and 4Minute’s album For Muzik is exclusively distributed by MCA Music Inc.

To get B2ST music and 4minute music on your mobile simply follow these instructions:

Text B2ST to 3456
Text 4Min to 234

Join MCA Music Inc on facebook at www.facebook.com/mcamusic
Become a member of the official fan clubs of B2ST and 4Minute at
www.beast.ph and www.4minute.ph

The imported copy of B2ST’s new album, Shock of the New Era is now available on sale at the head office of MCA Music Inc. located at 34th floor, Raffles Corporate Center, Emerald Avenue Ortigas Pasig City for only P650.00 that shall come with a free poster. You may purchase your copy from the MCA Music head office starting April 12, 2010 during weekdays from
10:00 am – 5:00 p.m.

To place your order / reservation, simply pay for your copy of Shock of the New Era via bank deposit to MCA Music Inc. Acct. No. 270041826 and e-mail a scanned copy of the deposit slip together with your name, address and contact no. to MCA Music at mca@umusic.com. Only 300 copies to be sold on a first come first served basis.

SM Cinemas Will Get To Be More Interactive

Just wanna share this good news to all movie-goers and to everyone who wants to maximize their experience in our local movie houses.

SM Cinema will bring something that could be the first in the local movie industry. Movie-goers will need to prepare for the most interactive cinema experience ever. Expect to be involved into something dynamic and playful, and insinuating hand waving motions.

Together with the advent of 3D movies, efforts of creating unique encounters like the “interactive cinema experience” while watching in theatres is what makes cinemas still one of the best places for leisure. This project is to be launched late April at the Digital Theater of SM Megamall, in time for the series of blockbuster movies this summer.

Dashboard Confessional Live in Manila 2010

Dashboard Confessional, the guys behind hits such as “Hands Down”, “Vindicated”, “Stolen”, “Screaming Infidelities”, etc are coming to Manila!

Aside from various music awards, the band’s hit “Vindicated” was part of Spider Man 2 movie soundtrack.

Initial info about their visit to Manila are out but I’ll give you the final details in the coming days. Initial date and venue is May 27 at Trinoma.

The Boy Who Sings Like Whitney Houston Is The Newest Internet Sensation

Lin Yu Chun is the newest internet singing sensation is seeking place after Charice Pempengco, Susan Boyle, and the like.

This Chinese boy became a web hit recently by singing his version of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”.

See his video below:

Whitney Houston’s original version:

Chicosci Breathes A New Sound in New Single

Known for their intense live performances, Chicosci now takes on a different beat with their latest single “Breathe Again“.

“It’s a back-to-basics, no-frills track”, describes guitarist Mong Alcaraz. “It’s a more mature song, both musically and lyrically compared to the others we’ve written. I think Miggy has outdone himself in writing the words to this song,” he adds. Vocalist Miggy Chavez explains, “We’ve taken out so much ‘fat’ in this song. We’ve been so used to a more complicated songwriting style that we opted to challenge ourselves to lessen the ‘excess’ and just keep parts that really help solidify the song.”

The end result has become quite an early favorite amongst fans, too. Since its release, “Breathe Again” has steadily gained airplay and progressively hits music charts all over the country – already topping radio countdowns in the Philippines. Chicosci has also recently released its music video, directed by Bernard Dacanay with whom the boys previously worked with in “A Promise” and “Diamond Shotgun (Lock & Load).”

Much like the ballad itself, the video features the band in its most basic form—perfectly complemented only by lights, shadows, and playful cinematography. “We just wanted to come up with a simple video that won’t overshadow the song. We want the song to be the highlight—not the visuals. We did manage to put in a little surprise for the viewers, though,” guitarist Ariel Lumanlan shares.

The surprise in the video, of course, is one of the country’s hottest young stars—Anne Curtis. As drummer Macoy Estacio puts it, “We’re lucky to have been able to work with such a beautiful and talented actress. She definitely made the video more eye-catching and interesting.”

“Breathe Again” is currently airing on MYX. To vote, key in MYXVOTEBREATHE AGAIN and send to 2366.

Grab a copy of their latest album FLY BLACK HEARTS under MCA music available in all major record bars nationwide. To download the ringback tone of DIAMOND SHOTGUN, key in the code DIAMONDSHOTGUN and send to 2728 for Smart Subscribers, and the code KE783 and send to 2332 for Globe Subscribers. To download the ringback tone of their current single BREATHE AGAIN, text the code AGAIN and send to 2728 for Smart subscribers, or the code KF821 and send to 2332 for Globe Subscribers. FLY BLACK HEARTS is released exclusively under MCA Music Inc.

Sino si Tanya Markova? Picture Picture!

Do you have any idea? Sino si Tanya Markova?

Win Monster’s Earphones: HEARTBEATS by Lady Gaga

Get a chance to win Monster’s HEARTBEATS by Lady Gaga from the Beats by Dr. Dre Product Line!

Register your details (click the image above or this link) to get the chance to win Monster’s HEARTBEATS by Lady Gaga from the Beats by Dr. Dre Product Line!

Good luck!

Ricky Martin Comes Out and Confirms He’s Gay

Ricky Martin recently just came out of the closet and confirms he’s gay, as per his statement on his official website.

In his statement, Martin says:

“These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am. “

Martin started his career as part of a Latin boy band Menudo then later on starred in a local TV series in Mexico. He also came up with his solo album in his mother tongue then played a lead role in a Broadway production of Les Miserables.

The rest was history when he crossover the English language in his albums released late 90′s and early 2000′s. Ricky Martin were behind hits such as Livin La Vida Loca, Maria, Spanish Eyes, Shake Your Bon-Bon, She Bangs, Nobody Wants To Be Lonely, among others.

Now, what’s your say? Were you surprised? I can say, not at all.

Jamie Cullum’s “The Pursuit”

Jamie Cullum releases his eagerly awaited fifth album entitled “The Pursuit”. This, his first solo album in four years, is a combination of his eclectic music tastes and enduring love of Jazz and its timeless standards. “In life, we pursue everything. Life is one long pursuit,” says Jamie.

“The Pursuit” is a record that mixes his heritage with a thrilling selection of modern influences. Describing its sound he moves from Cole Porter to Rihanna to Aphex Twin in the same sentence. Jamie is a performer capable of delivering constant surprises with a talent elastic enough to evince a four-to-the-floor acoustic Ibiza song on the same record as a lushly recorded Jazz standard.

The making of the album was a marathon not a sprint. Having decided to take time off after two years touring 2005′s ‘Catching Tales‘ and the juggernaut of praise and press that followed the previous album 2003′s ‘Twentysomething’, Jamie turned to other projects. “I took a whole year off,” he says, “I played in other people’s bands and worked with other artists, I Dj’d, made dance music with my brother and travelled.” He also found time to build his own studio, Terrified Studios, in London’s Shepherd’s Bush – “I call it that because I am so unknowledgeable about technology that I’m usually terrified when I’m in there,” laughs Jamie.

All the songs on ‘The Pursuit’ began life at Terrified Studios and in Jamie’s kitchen before recording moved to Los Angeles for three months over the summer of 2008. While work there with producer and long-time associate Greg Wells proved productive, some of the work from Jamie’s kitchen made it to the final product. “We realised there were some things we couldn’t recreate in any studio,” Jamie reveals, “There’s a Rhodes solo on a song called “We Run Things” which I played on two different organs in LA but in the end we used the performance I recorded in my little kitchen in London!”

Recording in LA meant changing the techniques and routines Jamie had developed on his previous records. “I didn’t want to make this album with my old band or my old producer,” he says, “I needed to frighten myself.” While many of the songs were put together by Greg and Jamie in the studio, a selection of stellar talent contributed their musicianship. Members of Beck’s band joined the sessions while the horn section that featured on Michael Jackson’s Thriller also appear. “Getting out of your comfort zone is such a cliché for your third or fourth album,” Jamie says sincerely, “But, you know, it really worked.”

“I had more songs and new experiences to draw upon,” says Jamie, “I’d been doing the Rihanna cover and thought, actually I really want this on my album.” Covers have always been part of Jamie’s DNA as a Jazz musician , and after previously covering Rhianna’s all conquering uber-single “Umbrella”, it’s ubiquity led Jamie to choose another of the r’n'b poppet’s tunes – “Please Don’t Stop The Music”.

“I wanted to reference more of my contemporary musical influences,” says Jamie. While his crate-digging, band-discovering love of music has been present all along, The Pursuit is the first record where he has allowed these impulses full reign. “People who have seen me play live and read things I’ve written will already know that I’ve got a very eclectic taste,” he says, “But the average person will just think of “What A Difference A Day Makes”. I’ve never had a problem with that though. Singing a song like that and doing it well is one of the hardest things you can do.”

Ten years on from his first self-funded release, Heard It All Before, Jamie is still (here’s that theme again) pursuing new sounds and new ideas in his music. “We’ve had a lot of musicians who’ve arrived fully formed recently like Alex Turner or Jamie T. They knew what they wanted to sound like and said it straight away. When I made my first record it was a stab in the dark, something to sell at my wedding gigs.”

Though he says he lived his “twenties to the fullest”, in recent years the up-and-downs of his personal and professional life have fuelled an even more powerful creative drive. His personal happiness (exhaustively and often inaccurately documented by the tabloids) is at the heart of one of the album’s most important songs – ‘Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down’. “I’ve never written a love song that didn’t have a joke in it before,” Jamie admits, “The only pure love songs I’d sung before that were by George Gershwin.”

‘Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down’ is also the song that ties up the album’s over-arching theme in the lyric “the pursuit of love consumes us all”. But for Jamie, the love he documents is not just the romantic one that obsesses the red tops but a love of music that shines out from every track. The Pursuit is an album that starts with a track featuring the Count Basie Orchestra recorded live at Tony Bennett’s studio in New York and ends with a dance track and a jazz standard combined with trip-hop beats.

Despite possessing a talent that has seen him pursued for collaborations by Carole King, Burt Bacharach and Clint Eastwood as well as beat-boxer extraordinare Killa Kella and hip-hop big hitter Pharrell, Jamie is still far more interested in writing songs than seeking acclaim. “When you concentrate on making music, the whole point is that you never stop and are always trying to move on. Unless you’re P-Diddy I guess,” Jamie laughs. “The only thing I have to live up to is making an album that I’m proud of.” On the strength of this astounding record, that’s yet another pursuit he’s succeeded in. The tracklisting is as follows:

Just One Of Those Things
I’m All Over It
Wheels
If I Ruled The World
You And Me Are Gone
Don’t Stop The Music
Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down
Mixtape
I Think, I Love
We Run Things
Not While I’m Around
Music Is Through

The Pursuit features the single I’m All Over It, fan’s favourite Wheels, a version of Cole Porter’s Just One Of Those Things, a stunning version of If I Ruled The World and an explosive version of Rihanna’s Don’t Stop The Music. The Pursuit is available in record stores, released by MCA Music.

For Globe subscribers, text CULLUM to 2222 to get listing of available content. Standard rates apply.