01.25.2007
CHILLITEES' TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF 2006
HAILED BY CRITICS AND AUDIENCES. SEMI-SIGNED BY A MAJOR LABEL. MESMERIZED BY MODELS. ATTACKED BY JOLOGS. 2006 WAS A YEAR TO REMEMBER FOR THE CHILLITEES!
Our Pulse Prime Artist of the Month had a very good year, though they did have both ups and downs. Here they list, in no particular order, the best and worst of 2006.
1. Uela Loses Her Phone (a.k.a. Jolog Soul at SM Mall of Asia)
Uela Basco: Ano yun eh, naglalakad kami, na-late kami kasi dalawang car yung dala namin para hindi mahirap sa parking. Kay Jon, kasi, tutal naman mas malaki yung kaniya. [laughter] Ano ba yun? Revo. Ang sabay sabay doon, ang sabay sa car ni Jon, siya, ako, si Astro Jon atsaka si Paolo. Tapos, hiwalay si Dan, yung dalawang roadies niya atsaka si Andy [Aguirre, the band’s manager.] gayon, hindi kami same ng parking. Humiwalay kami. Na-late kami ng konti kasi nakita pa namin si Karen Davila.
Jon Jose: Hindi kami maka-park, tapos nakita namin si Karen Davila tapos apparently hindi nila ma-start yung kotse nila, kailangan namin i-jumper from the Revo. So, papasok kami, hindi kami dapat doon magpa-park dahil bawal kami. Pero nakapasok kami dahil sa kanya.
Astro Jon Padilla: So on our way, we were walking along doon sa may entrance, and then we saw a bunch of punks.
Uela: Naglalakad na kami, tapos biglang may isang nagturo sa akin na “Uy, Chillitees o!” apos, paakyat na kami ng hagdan, dalawang grupo sila na magkahiwalay, bale nasa gitna kami ng dalawang grupo na yon, isa isa lang kami naglalakad kasi nga masikip, wala kaming madaanan. indi rin namin alam kung saan yung entrance, wala namang mga security guards. Bigla silang nagtayuan, naalanganin na kaming umatras kasi nagpalibot na sila sa amin. So yun, doon na nagsimula. Dala dala ko lang make-up kit ko tapos yung cellphone ko nasa pocket ko.
Jon: Kinuha yung cellphone niya.
Uela: Tapos pinaghihipuan ako pero wala akong magawa kasi nawala na sila sa paningin ko.
Dan Gil: Nag-iiyak nga si Uela nun eh.
Astro Jon: Muntik na kaming hindi tumugtog for that gig.
Dan: Pero dahil sa encouragement ni Jonjon, tumugtog pa rin kami. Sabi niya kay Uela, “Uela, fight tayo.” Natatandaan ko yun. So, tumugtog pa rin kami.
2. Album Launch of Extra Rice at SaGuijo vs. Coup d’Etat, February 24, 2006
Dan: Very memorable sa amin yan kasi sobrang excited kami for our launch. Eh kasi nga kaguluhan ng EDSA yan, diba? Tapos muntik nang di matuloy, well, kasi tinatanung na kami eh, kung itutuloy ba namin, ako inisip ko wala naman kaming pakialam sa politika, so gusto lang namin ituloy. Tapos ang magandang nangyari doon, kahit may coup, ang daming tao, as in napuno yung SaGuijo. Tapos ang saya talaga.
Andy: I went to that, but you didn’t know me yet.
Dan: Oh, but I was watching you already… [boisterous laughter from everybody]
Astro Jon: That was the launch of the independent album.
Dan: Oo, pre-Andy and pre-EMI.
3. EMI Semi-signed Deal
Astro Jon: Well, one of the highlights of last year was, yun nga, coming from indie—we still are, by the way—nakuha namin yung deal with EMI for distribution, a distribution deal. That was sometime in August nung ni-release yung EMI version ng Extra Rice. So, very thankful kami kasi kahit papaano, may naniwala sa amin.
Andy: It’s actually halfway between being a signed artist and being a distributed artist.
Astro Jon: Kami yung nag-spearhead ng ganung klase na arrangement.
Andy: We get some sort of marketing assistance, but we’re not full signed artists, which is a good deal because parang we still get to maintain the indie kind of scale of the band.
4. RockEd Launch at Eastwood – Bagyo, October 2, 2006
Astro Jon: Rock Ed launch at Eastwood… Ito yung sa EMI.
Jon: Yung umulan, yung bumagyo.
Astro Jon: We were supposed to play sa central plaza, sa main plaza ng Eastwood, tapos biglang umulan ng malakas na malakas. And then buti na lang open ang Gweilo’s so doon kami lumipat. Well, it was a success na rin kasi sobrang naramdaman mo yung love. Kasi andun yung mga friends namin, yung mga personal friends namin plus yung mga naki-suporta sa amin na mga banda, which is mga friends din namin.
Andy: Tsaka din parang na-strengthen yung relationship ng band with Rock Ed because it was a Rock Ed-Chillitees event.
Astro Jon: Yeah, food drive siya eh. So, that’s an album launch for a cause.
Astro Jon: Well, the shocker of the year. We weren’t expecting this, really, because we just received a text message na parang RX named, awarded us with Indie Artist of the Year. Which is very overwhelming sa amin kasi RX, by the way, was one of the stations na, nung hindi pa kami sa EMI, they were one of those stations na nagp-play ng music namin.
Dan: “Sumayaw.” [was what they played]
Astro Jon: Tsaka mga listeners daw talaga ang mga nag-vote, hindi sila-sila lang yung namili, so nakakatuwa namang isipin. So, yon, kailan ba nangyari yon, December 2006!
6. Burn Top 10 albums, Revolver Best of 2006, Pulse Top Songs and Album
Astro Jon: It’s very humbling for us to be recognized by publications and productions like Burn, Revovler and Pulse na nasama yung Extra Rice as one of their top ten in their list for the year, so thankful kami sa kanila.
7. MTV Rising Star, Myx, Breakfast and Wazzup Wazzup
Astro Jon: Basically, the TV appearances.
Dan: First din sa amin yan eh.
Astro Jon: We saw how bad we looked on TV. [laughs]
Dan: And how much we needed fashion and a makeover.
Astro Jon: The need to lose weight…
Andy: And how much you improved! Through the guestings. [The band give her funny looks.] Sorry, hindi na ako magsasalita.
Jon: Hindi, go, go.
Astro Jon: Tama yon, ikaw yung nakakakita eh.
Dan: Ang ganda rin ng transition from sobrang kabado to kabado na lang. [laughter] Di ba? Kasi nakaka-tense talaga nung una, diba? Tapos, after a while…
Astro Jon: Let’s include na rin d’yan yung mga Myx Mo, MTV Summit, big crowd na…
Dan: Sobrang nakakatakot.
Astro Jon: Na di namin alam kung babatuhin ba kami o hinde. Pero what’s surprising is nabayaran namin yung crowd [Dan laughs] na wag na kaming batuhin. Nakiusapan na namin sila.
Dan: Actually, I think na-confuse sila doon sa music namin na tapos na yung set namin bago man nilang maisip na batuhin kami. [Puts on a perplexed face as his bandmates laugh] “Ano, anong nangyayari diyan?” Di ba?
Astro Jon: Ganoon katindi na hindi mo siguro ma-classify yung music, kaya hindi nila alam kung babatuhin ba…
Jon: Tapos, nandoon pa si Raimund [Marasigan] sa tabi, no?
Dan: Oo.
Andy: Di ba Myx Mo stopped early? We played in the pre-show, I can’t remember if I told Jon ba or Paolo, sabi ko, “Buti na lang, di pa tayo sikat, hanggang pre-show lang tayo.” Kung sikat kami, hindi na kami nakapag-tugtog.
Astro Jon: Mga masarap na experience yan, at yun nga, like what Andy said, nakikita nga yung improvement from playing sa mga small crowd to very huge crowds, na makita mo yung confidence sa pagtugtog. [smiles] Kahit kabado pa rin, yes.
8. Uela Quits SVC
Astro Jon: Nako. O, Uela, ayan.
Dan: Ako na, mukhang tutulo na yung luha eh, ako na ang sasagot.
Uela: Ako na.
[In the background, Astro Jon takes the guitar and starts to play the theme from Love Story, prompting some giggling. He stops to give Uela a chance to speak, but as Uela mentally prepares what she’s about to say, Astro Jon starts to play again, this time it turns out to be the theme from Lovingly Yours, Helen. When the band recognize what it is, they burst into laughter.]
Uela [finally composed]: Kasi siguro, gusto ko lang mag-grow ng konti. Hindi konti, ng malaki, kasi parang hindi na ganoon ka-active yung SVC, wala na ring answers coming from Ryan, kapag nagtatanong kami kung anong gagawin natin sa second album. Siguro nagsawa na rin ako, kaya. Pero mami-miss ko ang SVC, kasi sobrang ganda ng banda na yon. One of the best bands na gustong gusto ko.
9. Davao Reprezent
Dan: Ito, medyo mahabang kuwento. Kasi nag-session ako sa Sandwich kasi wala si Mong, sinama ako nila Raimund sa Davao. Tapos may dumating na mga bata na nagpapapirma ng original albums ng Sandwich, ng Imago, kasi nga nandoon din si Myrene. Natuwa ako kasi puro original yung ano niya eh, so sabi ko, “Uy, bigyan kita ng CD ng album namin.” Tapos, nangangalahati pa lang ang bunot ko, alam niya kasi music fan siya talaga, sabi niya, “Uy, Chillitees!” Ganoon. Tapos, dahil doon, meron naging active doon sa yahoogroups namin na meron isang month, 200 new messages ata kami. So for us, very memorable yung interaction na yun, with them, with friends from Davao.
Astro Jon: Na sana makapunta kami doon.
10. Phoemela Barranda Spray Paints Dan’s Rhodes
Dan: Ah, yon, very memorable, kasi yung vintage keyboard ko, mahal na mahal ko eh. Tapos, may gig kami sa Rock ng Republika, tapos yung isang portion, yung models lumabas bigla na may spray paint, na hindi ko pala alam na kasama sa show. Tapos, pag lapit ni Phoemela Barranda, in fairness, tinanong niya ako, “Can I spray your keyboard?” Tapos, na-possess ako, eh, kasi nakatingin siya sa akin, tapos parang yung thought balloon ko, “Kahit ano! Kahit anong gusto mo!” [bandmates are laughing continuously here] Sabi ko, “Sure.” Tapos [starts mock-bawling], sina-spray-an niya yung Rhodes ko. Yun lang, so hanggang ngayon, may pintura pa rin yung Rhodes ko.
Joelle: What did she spray?
Dan: Kulay fuchsia!
Jon: Mismo yung label ng Rhodes.
Dan: Yung logo. Pero, sabi nga ni Inspector…
Jon: Clouseau.
Dan: Clouseau, di ba? “Stop it! Can you not zee zhe’s zex-hee?” [laughter again] Kaya, wag tayo magalit sa kaniya.
Photos by Richard Garcia, taken during Revolver XXX.
This list is from an interview by Joelle Jacinto. Read more about the Chillitees here, and here. Also check them out on Pulseparrazzi.
The Chillitees are online at www.chillitees.com
