If your idea of a good night out is watching gigs featuring exciting new talents, try Conspiracy (59 Visayas Ave. QC; tel. No. 9206517), ’70s Bistro (46 Anonas St. QC; tel. No. 4338070), Route 196 (196-A Katipunan Ave. Extension, Blue Ridge, QC; tel. No. 4391972) or 12 Monkeys (5/F Century City Mall, Makati; tel. No. 0917-5703222).
We have seen some of the country’s best young musicians perform there, including Bullet Dumas, Clara Benin, Kai Honasan, Toto Sorioso, Keiko Necesario, Davey Langit and Kate Torralba (whenever she’s home from London).
What these seven artists also have in common is that they are graduates of Elements Music Camp—the annual workshop for aspiring singer-songwriters, with the country’s top professional musicians, composers and industry leaders as mentors.
For the past five years, Elements campers and mentors go to Dumaguete for five days of learning sessions. But this year, the organizers have decided to move the venue to Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite, just off Tagaytay, because there are no flights from Nov. 16 to 19 during the Apec meetings in Manila.
The 6th Elements Music Camp kicks off today, Nov. 15, runs until Nov. 19.
In a press conference for the camp, Elements founders Ryan Cayabyab, Twinky Lagdameo and Jun Sy, with three camp graduates, Dumas, Reese Lansangan and Langit, shared their experiences and insights from the sessions.
“The diversity of talent keeps you grounded,” said Langit.
Lansangan mentioned how she appreciated the power of collaboration in the camp.
Dumas saw the importance of “what happens after the camp, how you’ll apply what you learned.”
Cayabyab added, “You will realize na maraming mas magaling pa sa ’yo. Siguro swerte lang namin kasi nauna kami… I’m really amazed. I’m so happy because this is a platform where we’re able to see…ganito pala talaga kagaling ang Pilipino… Feeling ko vampire ako kasi na-sa-suck ko yung youthfulness nila.”
Juicy burgers at The Grove
The Grove by Rockwell, a new residential project in Pasig by Rockwell Land, has just opened a section for a cluster of restaurants offering a variety of dining options.
The burger is juicy, tender and tasty at Burger Pub, while the samosa is spicy good at Om Indian Kitchen.
There’s also Asakusa Home of Tempura, Backyard Kitchen and Brew, and Precynct, whose specialty is coffee.
At the launch of these restos, Clara Benin performed a short set of covers and originals. A daughter of former Side A bassist and composer Joey Benin, Clara has undeniable talent that deserves a wide audience.
Changing lifestyle
At a recent party at Green Sun that launched the latest offers of broadband provider PLDT Home, executives Ariel Fermin and Gary Dujali commented on the changing lifestyle of Filipinos, specifically on how they use their gadgets.
Do people really watch TV and movies on their phones now?
“You’ll be surprised, yes, they do,” said Fermin, PLDT and Smart EVP and head of consumer business. “People need time-fillers. It’s always good to have content in your phone.”
PLDT Home is offering content bundled with broadband subscription from Southeast Asia’s top video-on-demand provider iflix and the region’s leading broadcaster Fox International Channels to live HD channels from Cignal.
Also available now is Quadplay, a bundling offer in which mobile services are packaged with voice, data and cable television, providing customers with connectivity everywhere. It is the mobile service that contains PLDT Home DSL broadband, PLDT landline, Cignal Digital TV and Smart mobile.
Dujali said PLDT had a fixed broadband market share of over 70 percent at the end of the third quarter this year.
