the band which is

peace to everyone!

when mr. alvero and i played at our first gig 5 yrs ago at the legendary austrialian-owned bar along anonas extension (fox square bar), we only called ourselves "shirley". (without the phrase "ang bandang"). if you read our blog or attend our gigs, you should already know why we chose this name.

we only introduced our band as "ang bandang shirley" near the time mr. rabara was invited to become our permanent drummer back in June 2005.

i wrote this entry so that all of us will use these words correctly. probably, the best way to introduce our band is in filipino because "ang" and "bandang" (which in english are equivalent to "the" and "band which is" respectively) are in filipino.

"palakpakan po natin ang bandang shirley" (clap your hands for the band which is shirley)

please refrain from saying "sila po ang ang bandang shirley". i am quite irritated by the duplication of the word "ang". ("ang-ang" is not really pleasant to the ears).

although it's ok with me if you use "the band which is shirley". i don't know about my other bandmates but mr. alvero and i discussed this already and we both agreed that this should be the correct way of calling our band.

sorry to taglish haters. shirley is an english name and "ang bandang" is in filipino, specifically from the tagalog dialect. so i guess introducing us in taglish would be just fine.

"please clap for ang bandang shirley. mahilig sila mag-eat"


yes boys and girls. i'm bored and irritable. i need a hug. hahaha

peace again to everyone. mwah mwah xoxo hugs hugs

ean

learning the game

The past few months had me learning a lot of stuff about printing i never knew that one day i will be forced to learn about haha. Masarap na pakiramdam ang sense of fulfillment from doing things on your own even if it's taxing. haha. Eto yan kase kanina i went to the printing company that will print the band's album packaging (design by ms. Pepper Roxas yo!) Explained that we wanted a "back printing" meaning printing ng uncoated side ng foldcote paper for a rough texture so without lamination and then i paid the downpayment. Tas habang sinusulat nun girl yung receipt nangingiti ako mag-isa kase wow ang dami kong natutunan ngayon. haha. Ang weird ko. haha

Anyway what i really wanted to say is this: After i get the digital proof next week tas 10 days tas pressing na tas konting tiis na lang talaga malapit na lumabas yung Themesongs! haha nakakatakot :) 

love, kathy g.

Billy Bragg - Greetings to the New Brunette (Shirley)

Billy Bragg Greetings To The New Brunette (Shirley)

Shirley,
it's quite exciting to be sleeping here in this new room
Shirley,
you're my reason to get out of bed before noon
Shirley,
you know when we sat out on the fire escape talking
Shirley,
what did you say about running before we were walking
Sometimes when we're as close as this
It's like we're in a dream
How can you lie there and think of England
When you don't even know who's in the team
Shirley,
your sexual politics have left me all of a muddle
Shirley,
we are joined in the ideological cuddle
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
And if you haven't noticed yet
I'm more impressionable when my cement is wet
Politics and pregnancy
Are debated as we empty our glasses
And how I love those evening classes
Shirley,
you really know how to make a young man angry
Shirley,
can we get through the night without mentioning family
The people from your church agree
It's not much of a career
Trying the handles of parked cars
Whoops, there goes another year
Whoops, there goes another pint of beer
Here we are in our summer years
Living on icecream and chocolate kisses
Would the leaves fall from the trees
If I was your old man and you were my missus
Shirley,
give my greetings to the new brunette

'look ma, i'm on tv!'

this morning, i turned on the tv after a round of pilates, resting before breakfast. i was flipping channels lazily when i landed on MTV and saw a very familiar face in profile -- owel! our video, "sa madaling salita" was playing on MTV... and not in the wee hours of the morning, but at prime-time 9AM! woohoo!

so our helpers and edwina and i crowded around the tv, laughing at how fat i was at the beginning of the year (hehehe). there i was, huffing and puffing in earnest, there went heidi with her hands and fingers splayed out like chicken wings, there was ean's "L for love" hand pose at the second chorus...

when the video is finished, mom comes down from upstairs and says, "you looked nice in that video." hahaha i love you, mom.

anyway, just wanted to share how pleasantly surprised i was to see that video on MTV months after we stopped promoting it for Endo. i hope it picks up again, though, cuz our album is almost almost ALMOST there. we have about 10 meters left to the finish line. i think it would help very much if all our friends could take a few minutes out of their schedules to do this simple little ritual i made up and help us visualize our way to an expedited album release:

1. find a quiet corner. sit in it. if you can't find one, imagine a quiet corner inside your mind where you will be able to shut out all unnecessary stimuli. find that corner and sit in it (figuratively speaking).

2. take a few deep breaths until you are very, very, very relaxed. do this until your mind begins to empty itself of all irrelevant thoughts.

3. picture in your mind the faces of each member of ang bandang shirley. allot about 3 seconds for each (making sure to silently add "mississippi" after each number to ensure the correct passage of time). sequence is of no consequence. if you're not sure what the members of ang bandang shirley look like, please refer to the pictures at the top of our multiply site. also, if you'd like, feel free to interchange someone's face with the appropriate approximation (e.g. jing gaddi may be replaced with the image of the bearded viking hat-wearing man on dragonball z; heidi may be replaced with catherine zeta-jones; i may be replaced with tyra banks; and so on...).

4. picture a 5x5.75inch "square" of white light dancing before you and slowly repeat the word "themesongs" over and over again.

5. when you have found this mantra fading away, replace it with "august 2008", again saying it until it fades away.

6. open your eyes. you're done! thanks! we're *this* much closer to getting our album out because of you! :)

- selena