The hip “now” populace won’t cry buckets over this, but Aussie trio Silverchair has decided to indefinitely shelve their band’s activities. There is a relatively minimal amount of PR bull in the band’s open letter, wherein they collectively lament that “[…] if the band stops being fun and if it’s no longer fulfilling creatively, then we need to stop.” To those who weren’t conscious yet at the time, Daniel Johns and company peaked pretty early; when their mainstream debut Frogstomp was released in 1995 (a commercially successful record, albeit received in mixed ways by the pundit universe), Johns was barely sixteen. (What were you doing when you were sixteen?) “Tomorrow” was massive, and Johns was informally hailed as an underage Cobain-isotope for the not-so-angry. The record was unabashedly grunge, but at least Johns, bassist Chris Joannou, and drummer Ben Gillies were teenagers. It was in latter releases, however, where the band really shone, specifically 1999’s Neon Ballroom (which featured the painful “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)”) and 2000’s Diorama (which flaunted the orchestral-yet-dissonant “Across the Night” and the hummable “The Greatest View”). The trio’s collapse as a creative unit reportedly became more apparent in 2009, when they stepped into the studio to record anew. “Initially things were going well and as a result we did some shows in 2010 to maintain creative momentum. However, over the months that followed in the studio it became clear to us that we were moving in different directions,” the band said in the same statement. “Despite our best efforts over the last year or so, it’s become increasingly clear that the spark simply isn’t there between the three of us at the moment.” (If it’s any consolation, here’s a list of ’90s bands that are still active or have reunited; thanks to Luis Katigbak for the link.)

Meanwhile, another radio station bites the dust: UR (Underground Radio) 105.9, RJ100’s younger, more dynamic alter-ego. UR’s on-air demise is a tragedy not in the same sense that NU’s was: it wasn’t an industry leader by any strict numerical standard, but it mattered to people who loved having real alternatives. In UR, regional punk bands had a shot at charting at something, along with the majors. Its departure from the FM band is not like the death of a tycoon; it’s like the untimely fading-away of a child who had extreme promise. In a post on At the Womb.com last Thursday (May 26), Kris Isaac (a.k.a. DJ Memphis of AM Mayhem) writes, “I have never been prouder of anything in my life. We started this from scratch, gave music from our own collections, learned how to DJ while training-by-fire, and were able to put up something that gave people a chance.” Luckily for us, the UR crew is reinstalling itself, this time online, as UR Faceradio. (Pulse.ph)

Silverchair image by Tim Snell, via Flickr Creative Commons. Some rights reserved. Photo of Kris Isaac by Aldus Santos.

RJ Underground Radio 105.9 spent the last few weeks roaming the metro, wreaking musical havoc, and celebrating three years of on-air madness. Three consecutive weekend nights were filled with awesome bands and endless alcohol courtesy of Emperador Light Brandy and The Bar.

The rock jocks of UR—Nick Zinger, Memphis, The Mole, Billy B., and their newest addition, John Hamster, as well as the DJs of UR’s special shows—were present to make sure that craziness ensued and gave away prizes each night.

The tour opened on July 23 at the Eastwood Central Plaza, where Franco, Archipelago, Doki, Sleepwalk Circus, Musical O., Kjwan, Kenyo, Peryodiko, and the ten-year-old guitar wonder Luis Galang blew everyone away.

Then we headed over to Pasay to take over Uno Pizzeria at By the Bay. Even if the rain poured down hard, the music blasted on harder! Paramita, Juan Pablo Dream, Tanya Markova, Top Junk, Lady I, Luna, Soul Republic, The Powertones, and Cheeba gave the people a good reason to brave the crazy weather.

B-side was definitely flipped over during the last leg of the tour, where the sonic sounds of Identikit, Enemies of Saturn, The Out of Body Special, Sugar Hiccup, Reklamo, December Avenue, Salamin, and Turbo Goth satisfied our ears until the wee hours of the morning!

It’s been an awesome three years and the celebration was even better! We’ve got more things coming, so you all better keep on listening to UR 105.9! (Pulse.ph)

All good things come to an end, yes, but they don’t have to just peter out and evaporate, fart-like. Quite the opposite is happening for the last leg of the R U Listening Tour of 2010, which is saying bye-for-now with a bang this Friday, August 6, 2010, at The Collective in Makati.

Alterna-‘90s stalwarts Sugar Hiccup is headlining, and that should be reason enough to go. With a drastically different personnel (especially marked by the absence of singer Melody del Mundo, though this is no longer news), the band will be up on the witness stand being openly probed, “Will Hiccup still have a dot in the Pinoy music map in the unforgiving emo-2000s?” I personally have high hopes for a band whose output once hinged on the strange and the melodic (as well as the strangely melodic and the melodically strange).

Providing the musical counterpoint for the evening are hip-hop collective The Out of Body Special, whose bare-bones, rhythm-and-rhymes format never fails to excite; Reklamo, who, despite its devotion to “frustration, hate, and envy,” still manages to put a smile on people’s faces when they go amok on those guitars while donning odd time signatures (God bless you, LC de Leon); and Turbo Goth, who can always own any stage with the rowdiest (and possibly best-looking) two-person lineup in the land.

Rounding up the R U Listening Tour of 2010 roster are Salamin, Enemies of Saturn, Malay, and December Avenue. Once more, the last leg is happening this Friday, August 6, at The Collective, which is located at 7274 Malugay St., Makati City. Show starts at 7PM, and you absolutely don’t have to shell out a single centavo. Happy third, UR! (Pulse.ph)

Image of Sugar Hiccup via their MySpace. Image of Turbo Goth via their MySpace.

As promised, RJ Underground Radio 105.9’s third anniversary celebration will be numerically in keeping with its age: which means not one, not two, but three rock shows. The kickoff show last Friday came and went with much fanfare. How can you go wrong with such a strong lineup that negotiates the fine line between “popular” (Franco, et al.) and “emerging” (Sleepwalk Circus, et al.) with finesse?

For the second show of the R U Listening Tour of 2010, things will get revved up even further. ‘80s arena-rock stalwarts (yes, we don’t have real big-ass arenas, but what the hell) The Dawn headlines the bill. The band, after much hoopla surrounding the departure of long-time axeman Francis Reyes, is back on its feet with a new guitar player (naturally) as well as some spanking new tunes. Ria Bautista—the glorious frontwoman who’s behind the drumkit, always a killer combination—along with her band Paramita, are also set to ignite the stage (hopefully figuratively speaking). And, also, if you’re in the mood for some Otis or Weller, Bing Austria, “Papa Mod” to you and me, is expected to drive everyone into a soulful frenzy with Juan Pablo Dream.

Also on the bill are current noisemakers Tanya Markova, whose sense of quirk—both musical and beyond—is raking in listeners by the bucket, and Lady I, whose reggae-dancehall hybrid is certainly an experience. Sets by Luna, Soul Republic, and The Powertones also promise to rock as hard as a mofo.

The second leg of the R U Listening Tour of 2010 is happening on July 29 at the UNO Pizzeria, which is at SM MOA’s San Miguel by the Bay. Show starts at 7 in the evening, and, yes, it’s still free. (Pulse.ph)

“Jett Pangan – Ako Mismo” by α is for äpΩL, via Flickr. Some rights reserved. “The Magnificent Juan Pablo Dream” from their MySpace.

On July 15, 2007, a tiny radio station on the FM band started broadcasting. Since then, it has unsuspectingly built a quiet but steady reputation, as well as an avid, discriminating listenership. This month, they are celebrating their third year on air. And not without the appropriate rock ‘n’ roll shindig. This Friday, July 23, 2010, troop over to the Eastwood Central Plaza ‘round 7PM and party with RJ Underground Radio 105.9—with a little help from Franco, Kjwan, and Kenyo, as well as Peryodiko and Archipelago, and, my oh my, those ultra-talented Terno kids Musical O and Sleepwalk Circus! Doki will also be playing. Take those hands out of those pockets, ladies and gents, because entrance is, yes, free! The more awesome thing is that the Eastwood show will only be the first of three shows happening around the metro.

The R U Listening Tour of 2010 is made possible by RJ Underground Radio 105.9 and Emperador Light Brandy, and brought to us by Draven, Gweilos, Club Dredd Eastwood, No Seat Affair, Inc., and Eastwood City Walk, with media partners Uno, Pulp, Pulse.ph, Rakista.com, and Odysseylive.net. (Pulse.ph)