Various Adulations About Life, Screencapped

HIPHOUSE x Tekanplor: The Holiday Hangover

Cheekie DJ-ing

co-Hiphouse Lolas

Me, a rooftop and a buncha beer crates

Cliff singing an awesomely off-key version of Crash

Sherad came out of hiding!

<33

Event Diary: Hiphouse x Binisaya present Kordero sa Dios

It wasn’t strictly a gig I went to, since I usually just post about gigs where I actually play at, but this time it was a gig/film screening. Tekanplor is quirkily named because it’s a rock bar on the 2nd floor. It also has a rooftop bar, so while a gig was blasting on downstairs, the roof was holding a screening of Kordero sa Dios, done by Cebuano filmmaker Keith Deligero, who is also one of the leaders of the group BINISAYA.

I had some obligations to attend to, so I missed most of the film. According to my co-Hiphouse partner Cheekie, it was disturbing and beautiful at the same time. From what little I saw of it, I enjoyed the framing and cinematography, something that is always a bonus in my visual criteria for judging films. I’m probably going to catch another screening of it when I have the time.

Cheekie and I were particularly supportive of this event because it was independently curated for the first time by Angely Chi, a member of Hiphouse and many art groups in the scene (including DCK, a graffiti artist community)

Also included in during the screening was my music video for my song ANO, which you can view on the upper left sidebar under my photo. It was done by Bagane Fiola, who is my good friend and also a member/leader of BINISAYA.

Even though I was late, I still got to enjoy Chuck Fournier’s amazing electronica live set. From hearing his set, you’d never guess that he used to be the guitarist of Mutiny!

As for me, I took the chance to kick back and relax after a week of getting bludgeoned by work deadlines.

Not that I don’t love performing with my band, but I like listening to other people make music too. There’s a certain kind of satisfaction you get from going to an event and NOT performing, as opposed to always having to be on edge and not being able to enjoy yourself so much because of the pressure of your upcoming performance.

I totally had a good time and ended up staying out longer than I expected, even though I was running on two hours of sleep, lol. Sometimes you just need a drink or two!

xx, Jad

Photo Diary: Binisaya Shorts via Hiphouse

My friend Cheekie and I run an artist collective that attempts to show art/culture related events every few months or so. We call it Hiphouse. Last week we held Binisaya Shorts, which was a pretty fun and successful event. A lot of new faces showed up, which is always awesome.

I didn’t want to be hunting for light the whole night, so I just used my kit lens and a flash diffuser for the pop-up flash. I got a lot of people making faces, hilarious.

Our friend Bagsy curated the event. 2 of his films are in the list!

It was tons of fun. And I got to see some friends of mine who flew in for Kadayawan: my Pisay classmates!  <3

Don’t worry, guys (Kerwin, Mends, Nor, Cheekie). We’re forever young. hehe.

p.s. when the crowd thinned out and it was just us, we watched the first 15 minutes of V/H/S. I don’t think I’ve ever screamed so loud, lol. Watching horror movies with my friends is a blast!

Updates + HipHouse: That’s So 90’s! (Pic Heavy)

Team Manila Opening: Davao Branch | SM Annex, Ecoland

Team Manila opens their first store outside Luzon in Davao City. Inside the store are one of a kind, witty merchandise infused with that tongue-in-cheek humor and pinoy flavor that Team Manila has become famous for. Check out their display of amazing film cameras, lomo cameras, and other photography accessories as well!

Co-owners Jowee Alviar and Mon Punzalan along with the Team Manila Crew were there to usher in their creative work into Davao consciousness. Despite their success, these creative powerhouses are down-to-earth, funny, full of energy, and supportive of the art movement. They even participated in the last Hiphouse event, which definitely inspired a lot of young artists looking to do art professionally. You can definitely see why their joint endeavor has over 63,000 subscribers on Facebook alone, and growing!

HipHouse: Sunday Graphic Sunday

HipHouse has held one successful event after another since the very first hangout, but the latest one, featuring graphic artists, graffiti artists, t-shirt designers, traditional illustrators, painters, and other visual artists, was what you could call a smash hit.

Cheekie, Bagsy, Gleb, and I first discussed the initial idea for it amongst ourselves and we curated the event, but in the end it was a success because a lot of artists participated, showed their work on a slide show/ reel projected on a screen, and mingled and made connections. Because that’s what HipHouse is about (that Davao has not seen until this year): a collective of ACTIVE artists, musicians, photographers, illustrators, filmmakers, event organizers, writers, and poets. Hiphouse is a living, breathing animal - it walks, it grows, and it is sentient.

What was already a pretty awesome turnout was made even sweeter by the appearance and participation of Mon Punzalan and Jowee Alviar, the owners of Team Manila, who also presented a slideshow of their work and imparted some very helpful tips for young artists looking to design/draw professionally. One of the things that struck me most was their story about using everything you experience to fuel your art. That one day they were eating at a karinderya behind their office and it turned into an instant idea for a popular t-shirt design. Something as mundane as a daily meal can become inspiration - which only means that everything can drive your imagination.

Everything.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.