I know it’s been forever since I posted, but business school has been keeping me mighty busy! Apologies.

Anyway, May 25th marks the 1-year Anniversary of Jay Legaspi’s debut full length album, Picture Perfect.  To celebrate, Jay has relaunched his website and  having a homecoming show with his band at The Bitter End!

The scoop:

Jay Legaspi LIVE @ The Bitter End
May 25th 2011 8:00PM (arrive early for seats)
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)
New York City, NY 10012
$5 + 2 Drink Minimum
18+
Facebook Event

The show will feature Matt Pana on Drums and John Violago on bass.

Additional info can be found on the new and improved http://www.jaylegaspi.com.  The upgraded website is the best place to find updates on future shows and news on current projects.  Jay will also be posting exclusive content on the site, so please visit and check back often.

Jay’s album Picture Perfect is available for mail order through http://www.jaylegaspi.com and also digitally on iTunes

Jay Legaspi's "Picture Perfect" music video launch

Press release

October 11th, 2010

Today is the official release of the trailer for Jay Legaspi’s first music video, Picture Perfect on www.youtube.com/jaylegaspi.  A direct link to the preview can be found here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arpYvNIAnF0.

The full music video will be released on Monday, October 25th, also on Jay’s youtube channel.

The first single and the title track of the album, Picture Perfect was shot and produced by JR Pena, Angelica Bonus, and Justin Mendoza, better known as The M3 Crew.  The treatment for the video was written by Jay Legaspi and Amanda Yu.

Those in NYC will have a chance to see it early and on the big screen during at “The Dual Launch” event on Saturday, October 23rd.  The event is at The Gershwin Hotel in New York City (7 East 27th St., between 5th Ave & Park Ave).  Doors open at 6:30 and the premiere will be preceded by a special performance by Jay and his band.  Clothing line Manila Gorilla will also be there to highlight select styles from their upcoming clothing lines.

Updates and more information will be posted on www.jaylegaspi.com in the following days.

A facebook event for The Dual Launch can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164060643607410

Picture Perfect, Jay’s debut full-length album, is available for mail order at http://www.jaylegaspi.com and digitally on iTunes.

Directed by Hosanna Wong, the video features Jin at various places in Hong Kong, captured through the eyes of a stop-motion camera.  Check the video here:

Download the mixtape here!

-e

You can still download the single for FREE here!

-e

Download the track and tell all your friends, if you know what’s good for you.  Even if you don’t, I do… so do it anyway.

-e

BBB will be holding their CD release show at Mercury Lounge on Saturday, 6/26. Get tickets here!

Just picked up this tip from Angry Asian Man: Kero One‘s new single, “Asian Kids” drops on May 18th!  Check out Dumbfoundead talking up the track (and a short clip of the new hotness) here.

You can pick up the new single from Amazon or iTunes.

Word.

-e

It gets pretty ridiculous around 2:15 in, then she just kills it at the end… Yeah.  Let’s see Miley Cyrus do that.

Anyhow, Charice’s new single is “Pyramid” featuring Iyaz.  It’s going to be a challenge for her to cross over from the big, huge broadway-esque songs like “Note To God” to more mainstream pop fare… But with her incredible range and agility, I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulled it off.  In fact, her new video for “Pyramid” already has almost 2.3 million hits and it was only posted a month ago.  Check it out here:

-e

8.0 out of 10 | iTunes | Buy CD

We are obviously Big Phans of Big Phony (ha!) @ BIC. When Euge told me that he (Big Phony/Bobby Choy) was releasing a new album, I jumped at the opportunity to pull a double bill and review his previous album as well. We got the news that the new album was being postponed, which was providential as this reviewer wasn’t getting it done. But the new album has had its official release, so on to business…

Straight to Bootleg, Vol. 1 is a pretty generous portion of standard Big Phony-fare: 15 new tracks in total, three of which were recorded in the studio. The rest, as you may have guessed from its title were recorded at home – an honest gesture if not as clean as what we may have heard in the past. But don’t let its recorded-at-home-ness deter you. Its charm (and by default, his charm) is its sincerity and for someone who writes lyrics that seem more like personal thoughts than public statements, its recorded-at-home-ness is a window into his songwriting process. So yea, I like home-produced. I get home-produced.

And the songs! There’s no doubting his songwriting finesse. Bobby Choy writes pretty songs – he has attained calls of similarity to Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and Bright eyes – no lowly comparisons; and if you still need convincing, listen to ‘words that define and ‘proof by name’. Like many from the abovementioned artists, these two songs are beautiful because the guitar isn’t seen as just an accompaniment but is used as a second voice as well. The songs are simple but not boring or predictable.

My favorite would have to be ‘I love Lucy’ (hear it on myspace here). I heard it awhile back and fell in love with it. And despite wanting to hear something new, I was so pleased to find it on an album; and I believe it’s on the new studio album as well. A close second would be ‘someone’. Even after the 20th listen, I can’t help but smile at the album opener: oohs that bring to mind the beach boys and taffy and then a timid warning, “watch out, there’s a mean motherfucker coming after you.” There’s a certain playfulness to the song that we don’t hear often and it’s refreshing and works.

On that note, I sometimes can’t help but wonder if he knows how to be … well less broody. I’m not expecting a person who draws links to JD Salinger (or E. Smith) to be chipper but on occasion I want to hear that he has a different connection to his music. With the same levels of echo, he falls into a trap of having a tone that let people mistake the album of being one, long, breathy song. He is capable of writing such beautiful melodies and his guitar sings so much on its own but it seems that he’s singing the songs as if he were the only person around and not because they are great and worth others hearing.

Verdict: No real surprises but in that comforting mom-still-uses-the-same-detergent kind of way.

- reviewed with love by Cat

The Kuwagos of Bergenfield, New Jersey

If you’ve never had the unusual and delightful pleasure of flying and dancing at the same time, then you don’t know what you’re missing.

I finally got my hands on a copy of The Kuwagos’ new album Lagi Sa Kama, and that is what it did to me on the first listen. It made me dance first, and then, before I knew what was happening, I was flying.

I mean, on the inside, anyway. But if I could Icarus myself a pair of wings, I’d strap those babies on, hit “repeat play” on this album, and take off for the friendly skies. Hello, sun, I’m coming to see you, propelled by The Kuwagos’ kick-assness.

The Bergenfield, N.J.-based Filipino-American (Fil-Am) rock band released Lagi Sa Kama (Soulworks Records) on February 20, 2010, a date that will go down in the history of Filipino-American music.

Fans and friends have been waiting 3 years for the band’s second album to come out, after The Kuwagos made a cannonball of a splash in the Fil-Am music scene, turning heads and eliciting warm-hearted laughter with the tongue-in-cheek humor in their self-titled debut album (The Kuwagos, Soulworks Records), which launched in January 2007. The first album captured the attention and imagination of Fil-Am music fans as it humorously and insightfully depicted the daily struggles and challenges that immigrant Filipinos face in the United States.

The band’s trademark fun, quirky, yet straightforward music sensibility shines through on Lagi Sa Kama as well. With this 7-track album, there is a more relaxed feel where the band takes the time to sculpt each song with a more careful, discerning ear than before.

From the bluesy yet staccato beat-laced opening rock number “Hotdeng Darling” to the sexy, laid-back English-Tagalog mixed title song “Lagi Sa Kama”, The Kuwagos exhibit wittiness and keen intelligence in their song crafting. My favorite track on the album, hands down, is the beautiful “Halik”, an ethereal and utterly lovely creation reminiscent to me of The Cure or Erasure, lending credence to the notion that The Kuwagos are far more than just your average garage rock band.

Each element in the album, from frontman Gatchie Ignacio’s clear, distinctive vocals and steady basslines, to drummer Marc Lacsamana’s well-placed beats and military precision, to lead guitarist Mark Anthony (Cho) Lopez’s catchy, addictive riffs has been treated with care and love. The result: a collection of organically progressive songs that stretch far beyond the band’s initial punk rock inclination.

For once, and this has never happened to me before, I find myself loving every single song in an album. There is not one track in the Lagi Sa Kama album that I can willingly skip over, nor do I. From start to finish, it is a feast for the ears, mind, and heart.

Oh, and if you’re a little behind on your Tagalog, now would be a good time to brush up on it, or learn the language for the first time. Lagi Sa Kama is sung almost entirely in Tagalog, with the exception of English lyrics in the title track, “Lagi Sa Kama”.

Mabuhay!

For a copy of the Lagi Sa Kama album please contact The Kuwagos on their website.

Review by Feliza Mirasol

Congrats to FEM and their management team! I hope that Cherrytree and Interscope treat them with the respect and, ahem, resources they deserve.

-e