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Sound Bite

When not inside the bubble this is how our world sounds like.

SoYou Wanna be a Rock Star

words by Chai Fonacier 
 
Bruce Conte once told me (or told me because I had to write an article about him) that he’d chosen to retire here in Cebu because it’s a band town and that it reminds him of San Francisco. I don’t know how San Fo’ looks like but this definitely is a band town. Some bands make it big. Some make it to their first album. Some are perpetually trying to make it to their debut album. Some go *poof!*
 
This isn’t in anyway an attempt to lay down the rules of band life, for the rules are close to zero; most of the time they are, I reckon, made as you go. And, just as helter-skelter as our very young music scene is, below is an equally helter-skelter list of band things made up along the way, all based on pre-debut album experiences of observations, cheap food, corny jokes, good and bad gigs, what-not. Go dig.
 
1. Believe.
2. Believe in self.
3. Believe in your partners in process of creation. Of music, you perv.
4. Create without restriction a flowchart of lofty band ambitions on the back of some used art material, with supporting illustrations, caricatures, and thought clouds that may or may not have anything to do with said ambitions.
5. Invest on time, equipment and beer. Use well.
6. Pour soul in.
7. Buy each other beer and share personal music stash.
8. Good music, baby, good music.
9. Do not blame post-modernism for bad song.
10. Work hard and earn money to fund music life and side projects such as meals.
11. A fuck-up is a good song.
12. A series of fuck-ups is a good album.
13. Go and fuck up.
14. Wait, listen! Ssshhh —
15. Silliness + Boredom = New Ideas
16. A-B-C-D-E-F-G, A-B-C-D-E-F-G.
17. Use gig TF for band funds.
18. (Sometimes/Always) use gig TF for beer.
19. Trust in the Holy Yeah! of Now.
20. Play for free, especially for the benefit of a good cause.
21. Be wary of dubious production outfits suffering from delusions of grandeur.
22. Save money for studio time by experiencing fine dining together at pungko-pungko.
23. Record songs on Mac lappy for progress tracking.
24. Have mother(s) of band member(s) become no. 1 fan(s).
25. Maybe have no. 2 fan become roadie.
26. Maybe get a manager.
27. When playing for free in University of band member(s), ensure availability of free and good food.
28. An audience of 5 is audience of 100 is audience of 36.2; perform.
29. Seek advice from reliable people, such as magazine staff or one with initials PD.
30. Effort = A+ • False
31. Effort + Ideas that work + good solutions = good music = A+ • True
32. It doesn’t have to make sense sometimes, like when they say that the apparition of such ostentatious rainbows bring about creamy custard cake.
33. Furtively maximize available company resources to discuss with band members all things music (including available schedules) over ridiculously lengthy email thread.
34. Hook up with owners of tiny pocket-sized magazine to have gig + publicity.
35. Think big, think different, think choco-frosted-Spongebob, but most importantly, think.
36. Or not.
37. Then go, go, go!
38. [insert your item here]
39. [and here]
40. [and also here]

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Bruce Conte started playing professionally when he was 13 years old. Dig that, you unwitting one.

We’d end this write up right now; one can only imagine all the string bending he’s been doing more…