Took the leap and here I am now doing the author-illustrator gig full-time. Yup, I’m stepping away from the life I’ve known for 10 years as a music journalist. For the meantime. Maybe. It was a long time coming and sometimes I can’t believe I’d actually turned in that resignation letter to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a full-time author-illustrator. You still might see my byline at Bandwagon Asia every now and then, but most certainly not on a daily frequency it appeared for almost five years. In fact, shortly after my last day at work, our Editorial Director Camille Castillo called me to do an interview with Raymund Marasigan (literally a week after my retirement) about the Eraserheads‘ highly anticipated reunion concert Huling El Bimbo this December. “You’re the only one who can do it,” she told me, adding how this was going to be Bandwagon’s biggest story for 2022. It was at that “casual conversation” where Rayms talked about his retirement from music, specifying how he’s ” technically semi-retired” since his daughter graduated from college in August. He went on to share what he’d been spending his time on, and guess what, it was still music! And […] Continue Reading
“What’s it like being a music journalist?” These days, I think my answer would be “tiring.” Heck, I’ve been in the biz for a good 10 years now and two of those years were spent indoors thanks to a neverending pandemic. But looking back, oh man, I gotta say it’s been an absolute blast. My friend and fellow writer in the book world Mae Coyiuto invited me to write about my journey as a music journalist for Young Star. I talk about how I got my start, the people who helped me along the way, and some of my favorite stories. Check it out on PhilStar Life. Continue Reading
You can’t blame the mind for wandering when you’ve been trapped indoors for months due to a pandemic that’s overstayed its welcome. The comforts of your bedroom shift into odd shapes that fuel insecurities and paranoia. They’re difficult to escape from. Home just doesn’t feel like home anymore. But there are some people—let’s call them the wild ones—who’ve decided it was time to break out of their misery and grapple with their nightmares once and for all. At the forefront, leading the wild ones, is singer-songwriter ena mori with a record that tears down walls as it demands the freedom to roam wild and happily. It doesn’t take a minute to tell you that you’re in for a kaleidoscopic bedroom party for one once DON’T BLAME THE WILD ONE! comes through the speakers. The Filipino-Japanese artist’s 12-track synthpop offering bursts with color, letting you know firsthand how she dealt with the claustrophobic grasp of the lockdowns. It’s quirky with grooves that compliment her unapologetic and encouraging lyrics, reminding listeners to embrace their true selves. Just like with her 2020 self-titled debut, the “KING OF THE NIGHT!” act tackles her insecurities by giving her most authentic self permission to dance the […] Continue Reading
My first stint as a music journalist fell on my lap long before I even knew what I wanted to do in life. It was for a publication called MTV Ink and I interviewed Joseph Hahn of Linkin Park. And I was twelve-years-old. See, I was a hardcore Linkin Park fan (I won’t deny that), and I when MTV Ink emailed me about the opportunity, I went a little crazy. I had Hybrid Theory on loop, I watched Frat Party at the Pankake Festival the night before, and I even baked cookies for Mr. Hahn. I was the ultimate fangirl, getting help from my brother for questions to ask, and I was nervous as hell. Come the day of the interview, I headed up to the north to meet with the people behind MTV Ink and thought they were the coolest people in the world. Excitement took over as we waited for Mr. Hahn at a Burgers Burger in Ortigas. I saw him walk past and giggled like a twelve-year-old would, but he didn’t enter the burger joint. Instead, he went to get a footspa next door. So we waited a little more. And a little more. Until Joe finally came in with squeaky clean […] Continue Reading
