What a night. I was only supposed to stop by the bookstore for my weekly comics and a copy of Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor, but they didn’t have Magnus Chase, so I wound up getting two additional comic books and three drawing pads. And then traffic still sucked, so I figured I’d wait it out at Starbucks, when I spotted on Twitter that #DVPit was going on. I stared at the tweets from aspiring diverse authors, amazed by the incredible stories they had to share. Some had a few dozen hearts and RT’s, some reposted their pitches several times. And to be honest, it was quite daunting to throw a pitch into the trenches, but I had a lot of time to kill and a book I wanted the world to know about. So I gave it a shot: BE MORE CHILL + NICK & NORAH: Introverted metalhead hits the stage to expose a teen pop star who plagiarized his song. #DVpit #YA #ownvoices — Kara Bodegón (@karabodegon) October 5, 2016 I got a total of seven query requests that night, and one of them asked for a full right off the bat! Getting all these hearts really astonished me, mainly because […]
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In case you missed it all over social media, BillboardPH is now live! It’s been a pretty fun and busy few months, and I’m really excited for what’s ahead. Hell, this is the kind of work that doesn’t feel like work! Besides getting to write about music on the daily and interviewing interesting people in the industry, being surrounded by some fine individuals who are impassioned by their creative drives makes me want to CREATE more things: I’ve been drawing more. I’ve been taking a lot of photos to capture every moment. I’ve been conjuring more stories and finally got the attention of a lit agent to check out my novel. I’ve also started making short movies again. They’re all up on my personal Facebook page, so it isn’t really available to the public (unless you’re friends with me or anyone from the editorial team), but I might compile them into one whole thing before the year ends. I guess forming new relationships is considered as CREATING something, too… yeah? Up in that photo—meet the kiddos of the BillboardPH Editorial Team a.k.a Team Dunkin’ Donuts: Kara (that’s me), Bea (she randomly bursts into song every minute), Tricco (he’s loud and filled with all the […]
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This is (and will always be) one of my all-time favorite interviews. I sat down with Uncle Randy of Lamb of God, when he came to visit Manila for a show in 2015. It’s a pretty sweet 3-part Karate Chops exclusive on Randy’s younger years, his debut novel Dark Days, and how he’s inspired the world. You’ll get to witness me gush at the man who’s influenced me on so many levels—right before I get on a caffeine high (thanks to the hotel’s excellent macarons and cookies) at the concert. Watch all three episodes below:
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It’s been a good two weeks since Pokémon Go finally broke into the Philippines. I don’t know about you, but at level 22 and with an army of Pidgey and Rattata, I still feel pretty chill about the whole thing. I’ve ruled several gyms, hatched a bunch of Eevee (have evolved two of them into Flareon and Jolteon), and have a Slowbro at the top of my favorites list, but I am nowhere close to calling myself a hardcore Pokémon Master. Well, maybe just a tiny bit. It is, of course, the follow up to my childhood. And not to say that I feel like a kid again (I don’t think I’ve grown out of it), I think that Pokémon Go was the answer to my lazy days and lack of commitment to getting out there for the sake of my health. It’s been a while since I stepped out of the house on my own volition to experience the outside world. Hell, I scoured the muddy parking lot of 19East for an itty bitty Poliwag the day it launched. The only downside of the game is definitely the numerous accidents heard on the news—but that ain’t the game’s fault. It’s all you […]
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You’ve never truly seen a real show until you witness Gary Valenciano live in concert. Right from singing along to his top hits, watching the fantastic choreography, and marveling at the overall production value, it is truly at a Gary V show where you realize how much more Filipino talent has to offer. And now, after thirty years in the business, it’s time for Mr. Pure Energy to pay it forward and give the spotlight to up-and-coming singers in line to represent the Philippines in the world stage with Gary V Presents. On Friday night, an intergenerational crowd made their way through the rain and filled the KIA Theater in Quezon City. Opening the night was Alopecia Awareness Advocate Abby Asistio, backed by guitarist John Apura. Having warmed the hearts of the audience with her original song “Beautiful,” Asistio left the stage as Gary Valenciano took over in the most candid manner. He casually walked from the side of the stage, introducing the show before the red velvet curtain parted from the middle to show a digital city backdrop of LED screens, a variant of his successful 2012 concert series On Higher Ground. Despite the little technical difficulty at the […]
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I’ll be honest. In this age of pre-orders, iTunes downloads, online streaming, and leaks, it’s been forever since I last ran to a record store to pick up an album on its release day. Last night, I did just that. I dashed off to Amoeba Music in Hollywood (because they were the ONLY store that had it) for Tesseract‘s 3rd studio album, Polaris. Now, I shall go out for a morning jog to rid my system of any jet lag with this playing into my skull.
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