Reese Lansangan Arigato Internet Album Launch

As we stood in the crowded room at Green Sun in Makati, filled to the brim of loved ones and supporters of Reese Lansangan, a talented singer-songwriter, I knew that we were witnessing something change in the OPM scene, we were in the presence of history as it was happening.

Reese's quirky attitude, catchy lyrics and infectious melodies have gained her a large following and have made her the object of affection of middle class College to 20-ish fans who actually think tha OPM is cool; something that has not happened in a long time. 

Flashback to 2013 when we first saw Reese perform as a solo artist during Greenlight Music Festival, it was just her her petite frame, a head full of green hair, her guitar and a whole lot of talent. She impressed the crowd with her use of effects and delays to elevate her performance into more than just an acoustic number and we have been fans ever since. 

Love at First Sight. It was 2013 when we first saw Reese perform during the
Greenlight Music Festival. 

It's been two years since we first saw Reese perform and we just know that this girl has the whole galaxy for her to conquer (in a sense). Her songs have long been around the internet ever since she started posting them online and fans have started following her, keen to fill their life with her unique flavor of music. A Kindergarten teacher has used her original composition 'A Song About Space' to explain the vastness that is space to her young students. In a test, a student used the same song to answer bonus questions about the solar system. While another teacher in High School played Reese's song 'Grammar Nazi' to her students, to demonstrate the importance of good grammar and how one should not settle for anything else, good grammar included.


It was no surprise that she would seen release an album under her own name, what was in my mind though was how it turn out to be? Was it going to be an entire acoustic album? Only time would tell and soon her much awaited album launch finally came.

The talented Jensen and the Flips! We have yet to get a copy of their album. 

December 6, 2015 in Green Sun in Makati, Paul and I opted to arrive a few hours later, so we could get at least two hours of sleep (remember, we try to keep our night schedule in the weekends too), I knew that about 800+ people have said that they were going on the Facebook event page and I was worried that we'd all be like a pack of sardines in a hot and crammed space. We haven't been to Green Sun yet, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The event was scheduled to start at 4:00 PM, I know it's quiet odd for an album launch to start that early but this was not your ordinary album launch, there were different booths from snack booth, intergalactic ice cream, an Instax booth, temporary tattoos, live calligraphy, portrait drawing, among others.  When we finally arrived a little after 6:00 PM I was pleased to see that the event really was chill and the people were seated on the floor, some even on comfortable bean bag chairs and some couches, that vision of a crowded and stuffy bar immediately went out of my mind.

I really wanted to try the intergalactic ice cream and to have an Instax photo but unfortunately the booths closed early (we were advised) but hey - the price to pay for a few hours of sleep right?

Tom's Story: These boys will make you dance. 

When we arrived, Jensen and the Flips were already performing (we have yet to get a copy of their album, it's on the to-buy list). I had already gotten a copy of Reese's Arigato Internet album (review will be up in a few days-sooner, I hope) and found myself in line for what seemed to be an autograph and photo session with the girl of the hour, so since I was in line (it was a rather long queue) I just went ahead with it, it was also a chance to say 'Hi' and 'Congratulations' and to of course have my album signed. :) After the pleasantries, Reese of course had to get back to a longer line of fans, Tom's Story was already up next.

Paul was such a big fan of Tom's Story that I had to be the one to go to the bar to get his beer.

"Tom's Story na eh.." he pleaded, as if those four words gave him all the excuse in the world.

They are an awesome band and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the group, EP soon please?

Dynamic Duo: Kai Honassan of Autotelic and Ace Libre of Never the Strangers had
hosting duties during the Album Launch. 

In an impressive feat, the whole launch was actually early in their program. (Gasp! I know.) and I think that credit for that goes to the hardworking team that was behind the launch, much of it was Reese herself, who through her years as a Social Media Darling has earned not only her own following of fans but companies and start ups who were eager to associate themselves with the rising star. It was through these connections that has helped Reese with an ambitious and successful launch.

I have to applaud the young magnate who seemed to control every detail of her career and music. She is unsigned to any recording label and does not have a manager but her own. What continues to amaze me is the non-existence of a man in a suit pulling the strings and making the decisions. Everything has been Reese since the beginning and she has shown that it can be done.

Nobody has told Reese how to dress or who to be. Her cute and quirky personality is all her and her fans know that, they know that she is genuine and this is one of the things that endear her to them.

I think I can say, pretty much the 800 people who said they would go, actually went. The venue was filled to the brim, including Reese's family (some of whom came all the way from the province, finding themselves among Reese fanboys and fangirls) and yet still 'chill' and comfortable. Like I said earlier in the post, it was history in the making and I'm just more than happy to have been part of it. 

Congratulations Reese! We can't wait to see what galaxy you conquer next!

Click HERE for MORE photos!

#Reese1stAlbum
#ArigatoInternet 

B.P. Valenzuela: A Bright Light in a Dark Time: The Neon Hour AlbumLaunch

Don't be fooled - people go all the way back - just couldn't see it in the photo :P

Driving along Katipunan on a Saturday night we arrived at CS Place Katipunan with Neon Lights on top of the building lighting up the dark night sky. I really didn't think too much of what I saw for a couple of seconds but I didn't think that I would look back at it now as I am writing this.

You see a 19 year old B.P Valenzuela is that bright neon light, shining bright and strong against the dark night which is everything that is working against her. The darker the night the more she shines bright in her own palette of neon colors.

Arriving at the venue of her album launch, we were early and had good seats or spots since well there were no chairs in the venue which was on top of the CS Place Katipunan Building, it was an open space which allowed the cold air to kiss the guests. There was an an enclosed area for the performances and this is where the audience gathered. I loved that the food and drinks were affordable, God bless B.P.'s mom who suggested to have food served and it must be said that it was affordable and delicious food. Pizza, quesadilla and sandwiches for only P80.00! Beer was for P50.00 and juice was served for P20.00! God bless you B.P.'s mom indeed! I thought we had to starve or would have to cross to McDonalds' for an affordable meal. :) It must be said that Paul was very happy with the affordable beer.

A young fan looks on as local artists make magic through their music. 

It was a pretty good crowd, it seems that the 400+ people who said that they were going on the Facebook event page for the event, actually went - if not more! It was the kind of crowd turn out where in you'd loose your spot if you went out- thank you to Francine for saving our seats so we could stuff our face with pizza and quesadillas outside. :)

Fresh from a show in Cebu, B.P says: "I wanted to make an album before I was 20 and it's happening now, it's so surreal." With a sweet smile underneath a cap, sans make up and wearing as shirt, shorts and a jacket around her waist, she is simple, unassuming and repeatedly thanked her parents through the night. Before the launch of her music video 'Steady' she tells the crowd -"there's a scene in the video where I have a cigarette in my hand, Mom if you see that don't get mad." I mean how adorable is that?! I wouldn't mind my younger siblings or pamangkins looking up to her. She still goes to school and works part time as a barista at Satchmi while making music in between.

"It's an electronic pop album which deals with a sh*t ton of grey areas." B.P. says of her album The Neon Hour. It took her over a year to come up with the 11 track album (album review on the blog soon-review on her EP be/ep here) and now everyone at the venue will be able to bring home a copy of her music and for someone who listens to music a lot I can tell you that you will be awed and amazed at to what this 19 year old can come up with. Her music should be on airwaves (she actually has a single on Jam 88.3-but we need more!) her music videos should be on TV. You should see her perform and I'm telling you, you too will see the light that I see, the light that all the people who came to that event has seen, heard and felt. Ladies and Gentlemen- The Neon Hour has come and missing it would be such a shame.

Click HERE for MORE PHOTOS 

Katy Perry PRISM Album Launch

After covering the Rihanna pre-concert party at the Palladium Paul and I were excited when we got another great event from Odyssey which is the Katy Perry PRISM album launch! 

You might think that Paul would not be too excited to go to a bar but he is excited especially with the opportunities to take photos and to experiment under new lighting conditions especially the unique lighting conditions in a bar right?   

I just love going to Odyssey's events because of the freebies, the prizes, the games and the fact that they aim to push the envelope with every event that they have. For this album launch you would get CoverGirl goodies (a Lash Blast Mascara, a Clean Liquid Make up and a discount coupon) at the purchase of every album not only that but you also get a chance to win LG G2 cellphones! Talk about pushing the envelope right? 

My Katy Perry PRISM album shot by Paul. :) 

I wasn't originally planning to get an album but will all those freebies it's a steal right? Even Paul had no qualms of me getting a Katy Perry album (he's not a big fan of Pop) he was sold at the idea of getting a chance to win an LG G2 Cellphone, (although I didn't win :P) 

Another reason why I wanted to get the album was that it was the Deluxe Edition and MCA didn't have a local version produced so this is as you can say the international version as well. :) 

CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara, Clean Liquid Make up and a chance to win an LG G2 Cellphone at every purchase of a Katy Perry Prism album!

There was even a CoverGirl booth where you can get a free make over :) In case you guys didn't know Katy Perry is also a CoverGirl! :) 

Panic! At The Disco X All Time Low: Album Launch

EPIC GROUP PHOTO! Album buy out attendees with their purchased albums. 

So Paul and I have already been to a number of album launches from Odyssey. So what makes the most recent one extra special? Well its because it is a DOUBLE ALBUM LAUNCH!

You can check out the original event announcement here.  

Last Saturday was P!ATD X ATL Album launch (Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low) for their albums Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die and Don't Panic respectively. 

Jazz of Zylke with the boys of Yuko gave acoustic renditions of Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low songs.  

The event was not just like any ordinary album launch since it was also the first official event of Sparks Productions of which I am a part of. 

Instead of just showing up at the event we sort of had a hand in organizing it which made it more exciting! :) 

CHARADES! Guess that Panic! At The Disco song! 

We also worked with the Street Teams for both Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low and it was one crazy fun event. 

From the impressive fan acoustic performances to the wild (intense and dangerous) games and of course the epic group photo in the end it was an event will high points all the way. 

Yurbuds. Earphones that Never Fall Out - Paul can atest to that. 

Special thanks also to Yurbuds earphones who was present during the event. There was the 'Shake Yurbuds challenge' where contestants were asked to (without the use of their hands) remove earphones from Yurbuds. The first one to remove them would get to bring home a pair of Yurbuds earphones. 

I'm one of those people who is always wearing a pair of earphones or headphones so I can be picky and particular with the sound and quality of the earphones/headphones that I wear. So I was really excited about Yurbuds especially since they set themselves aside from other earphones by stating that the earphones don't fall off, hence the challenge and I should say that it was a challenge indeed, Paul had a chance to remove the earphones but they were so snug in his ears he wasn't able to :( despite his moshing and jumping moves. :( 'I believe in the product' Paul says. Hoping to get a chance to do a product review :3 in the meantime you can check out their Facebook page here. 

Event Announcement: Panic! At The Disco X All Time Low Album Launch

I am thrilled and excited to say that Sparks Productions which I am a part of will be having its first event in line with Odyssey and that would be (drum roll please) not just one but TWO album launches - Specifically Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low's ~ Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die respectively.

You can like Sparks Facebook page here for more news and updates on upcoming great events! 

The event will be at the Odyssey branch in Gateway at 2PM 

Okay - so going back to the album launch(es) well Paul and I have been covering album launches for Odyssey for some time now and we can tell you that Odyssey album launches are F-U-N! There will be fan performances (there are 7 bands line up to perform - each band will cover P!ATD and ATL songs, you can check out the bands performing below:) 

Zylke 

Split Second 

Starecase 

Yuko 

Stay Tonight 

Red Paradox

Along Van Buren 

Aside from the band performances there are also games and amazing prizes in store for attendees! So if you are a Panic! At The Disco fan or an All Time Low fan you really should be present in this album launch the fun is guaranteed two-fold! Don't forget that's October 12, Odyssey Gateway at 2PM. 

You can also click here to check out Panic! At The Disco's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die album stream. 

Make sure to like Odyssey's facebook page here for more exciting music news and events! :)  

Looking forward to seeing you guys there! A good number of attendance can determine whether we have Panic! At The Disco Night or All Time Low Night - wink wink ;) 

Urbandub: ESOTERIC: Album Review

When I heard that Urbandub would be coming out with a new album I was very excited and determined to get a copy to add to my current OPM CDs at home.  after all they are a band that Paul and I really like. Back in College we were so crazy about First of Summer - so crazy that Paul wanted to use it as music for their AVP for graduation. Yeah he's #medyobadboy like that. Unfortunately the First of Summer AVP didn't materialize, I don't think the nuns would have approved anyways. 


We were also lucky enough to see them perform (and might I say get good photos of them) during the opening of the Flavors food market in Araneta you can see the blog post and photos here. 

Esoteric is Urbandub's 6th album following their The Apparition album in 2009.

Esoteric was first made avilable for pre-order on iTunes you can click here to download the album on iTunes. 

Esoteric was released last August 19 on iTunes and last August 26 in record stores nationwide. It was even number 1 in iTunes Asia - good job Dubistas and for everyone who chose to support the band by ordering it on iTunes. :) 

While I am proud of my iTunes that has over 1,703 songs I still prefer purchasing the physical album (I'm kind of old fashioned that way) synching that in my iTunes and keeping the album who knows I might the chance to have the band sign it right? :3 I still have yet to have a photo taken with Gab since security literally swooped down on him and carried him away when we saw them, I was able to get a snapshot with Lalay and John :P 

When I read on Twitter that the album was also available in Sonic Boom and I had some extra cash I went on right away to get a copy - for only P300.00! :) 

When I first got my copy of the album - let's say that I listened to it for like 3 straight days and I love it! 

At first listen I thought that it was a toned down album compared to their old hard hitting songs, however upon further listening to it and really taking the album in, I realized it was not a toned down but an evolution in their music as you can hear the new experiments that they added to both the vocals and the instruments that they used. 

30 Seconds to Mars Album Buyout

The Echelon family with their Cds and their prizes 

This was our third time to cover an album buy out from Odyssey (the first one was for Paramore and the second one was for Fallout Boy) and you know what they say - the third time is the charm. 

This most recent album buy out was for Thirty Seconds to Mars' Love Lust Faith + Dreams album. 

Like always - fan support was awesome! We got to see Echelon Philippines have a lot of fun with the games, the band performances and the great prizes from the sponsors! :) 

Game winners with their prizes :) 

Some of the games included a lot of singing and when you are a true fangirl/fanboy or for this case a true Echelon there was no need to convince anyone to go up to the front to sing - people just went on their own accord - no need to force them. Th and tere was even a wacky dance off with Thirty Seconds to Mars' 'Up in the air'. 

Diachroma

Aside from covering Thirty Seconds to Mars songs, local bands: Diachroma, Yuko and Progeny also performed impressive original songs. 

Save Me Hollywood: Your Story to tell Album Launch and 12 Stone Music Fest

When I first blogged about Save Me Hollywood in my list of Buzz Worthy OPM artists (last March) I said that I would support them for the whole nine yards, buy the album, see the shows - everything. Well now...it's FINALLY HAPPENING- they are coming out with their debut album...gaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!

'Your Story to Tell' is their debut album which will be launching at the following dates and venues: 

JUNE 1 Eastwood Central Park Eastwood City - 6PM

JUNE 7 Lucky China Town Mall - 5PM

JUNE 9 Venice Piazza McKinley Hill - 7PM 

I'm happy to announce that PCheng Photography will be at the June 1 launch at Eastwood - hope to see you guys there! :) 

Fallout Boy: Saving Rock & Roll Album Launch; Record Store Day

Proud Young Bloods showing the free poster that came with the album purchase.

It was another fun and amazing album launch at Odyssey Megamall and this time it was for Fall Out Boy's new album -Save Rock and Roll. After a four year hiatus Fall Out Boy is back with their latest album and the fans are just loving it. 

Fall Out Boy has always been one of my favorite bands, I have always loved their (God) long tongue-in-cheek titles, infectious melodies and their no apologies and no holds bard lyrics. They were a huge part of my college life, with memories of making out to my then boyfriend now husband to 'Dance, Dance' and even using the song title 'Sophomore Slump or Come Back of the Year' as the title of my editor's piece for our school's literary compilation. 

With their hiatus I was left without any new songs from musical geniuses and like other fans was left to live on their old music but now that they are back with a new album they will undoubtedly not only 'Save Rock and Roll' but fans who have been waiting patiently to hear new music from them. 

Members of Fall Out Boy Philippines selling T-shirts at the event. 

The album launch last April 27, 2013 also coincided with Record Store Day which is a global effort from record stores to thank fans by having great sales and in store performances. For this particular album launch, fans got a free poster and a baller for every purchase of Fall Out Boy's album. (See promotional posters below).