Unfortunately, we were not able to be together and complete during the Foundation Week due to certain circumstances. So we decided to improvise…
Well, it does not have to be Foundation Day to have a little fun, right?
The RQW Crew. From the left: Judiel Edward Villones, Johann Mark “jo” Vistal, Gabriel Jenthre Fernandez, Jennycel Kate Colipano, Marycris Israel.The RQW Crew Jumpshot (we actually suck at this hahahaha).The RQW Crew smiling with the Senior High School Principal, Dr. Richard E. Pilapil, Ed.D.The RQW Crew with drawing labelled as Sir Clyde, the crew’s class advisor (we could not find him).
Unfortunately, our dear Sheerah Abigail Ybañez was not around during the photoshoot, so here is a photo of her to make up for her absence:
Sheerah Abigail Ybañez during one of the market trips the DSPC delegates made at Balamban, Cebu.
Despite the fact that we formed this group as a performance task, we have grown to be fond of one another. To be honest, this whole ordeal has been a pain at the bum but this activity has also been something that we needed. We have always wanted campus journalism to have some form of exposure.
This is the exposure it needed (though it really came at a really, REALLY bad time).
Miss Lisa, if you’re reading this, we just want to say thank you for giving us this opportunity.
On February 10, 2018, the Sitio Orchids left home with the title as first placers for the Full Band category in the Battle of the Bands which was held in San Roque College de Cebu, Main Campus.
Sitio Orchids strike a pose . From the left: Patrick Joel Mag-asin (vocalist), Jaymar Saso (vocalist), Ian Sean Delos Santos (bassist), Dawrin Ferdienick Galan (rhythm guitar), Jericho Louis Tampos (lead guitarist) and Nicholas Brent Luardo(drummer). (Source: Jericho Louis Tampos-Facebook)
They are an ensemble of grade 12 boys and their members include Patrick Joel Mag-asin and Jaymar Saso (vocalists), Jericho Louis Tampos (lead guitarist), Darwin Ferdienick Galan (rhythm guitarist), Ian Sean Delos Santos (bassist), and Nicholas Brent Luardo (drummer).
Even though they were the last contestant for the Battle of the Bands, they easily brought the audience’s energy back to full charge with their outstanding performance. The songs they presented were all OPM specifically Noypi by Bamboo, Palagot sa Kontra by Phylum, and an additional song requested by the audience themselves which was Hallelujah by Bamboo.
In an interview, the band stated that they wanted to join Battle of the Bands because this was their last year in SRCDC and they simply wanted to make people happy with their performance.
The Sitio Orchids emphasized that they will play OPM upon their performance, but why OPM? “Because Filipinos nowadays forget what it’s like to listen to their own music.” replied Jericho Tampos, “ We also want to raise awareness through this competition because we want to make a difference in maintaining and restoring the culture of OPM.”
They were then asked what they thought brought them to the fruit of their glory. Vocalist Patrick Mag-asin says “Maybe our togetherness because in a band, we must work as a team. Without cooperation, the music we play would sound bad. That is why we believe cooperation and teamwork made us win the competition.”
It was obvious that the Sitio Orchids made a great impact with their music and lifted the hearts of many. It is always important to enjoy the music you play and share your talents.
A message they would like to dedicate to the other bands and future contestants would be to never settle for basic. You should work hard and practice until you got it right. No band would be successful without going through hardships and great effort.
There is such a wide variety of music genres nowadays. Surely everybody is familiar with pop, rock, and techno music along with popular artists such as Ariana Grande, Chainsmokers, Ed Sheeran, DJ Khalid, Rihanna, Charlie Puth and so much more! But have you ever wondered about how much deeper you can dive into different kinds of music?
Do you only think that the only existing music you hear is from the radio and television? Have you ever been curious about those artists who don’t take part in big hit music companies? Well here’s a genre to consider to add some spice and meaning to your taste of music. This genre is called indie music which stands for independent music.
How did I discover this genre? Well one day during the foundation week of San Roque College de Cebu, I came across a student alone with his earphones on and really swaying into the music he was listening to. Out of curiosity, I asked what genre of music was he playing. He simply said it was indie music. I was indeed dumbfounded and intrigued about what this genre contains so I continued to ask further questions and let him explain.
He stated that indie music is created independently away from big commercial records labels with a process of a do-it-yourself approach to recording and publishing. “I admire how indie artists have such great freedom of exploring different sounds, emotions, and targeting to the specific audience they want to appeal” he said.
Indie music can be characterized as: sounding soft and delicate, raw and sensitive, dreamy and hypnotic, basically influenced with experimental or unpopular music styles. Here are three indie artists recommended by this kid and what he has to say.
First up we have Julien Baker, an American singer who started off performing with her high school friends as a band to now being an outstanding singer and song writer. Her songs are autobiographical which present her personal conflicts with isolation, faith, and other struggles in her life.
Julien Baker’s performance of “Sprained Ankle” at Tiny Desk Concert
All her songs portray raw and the different sorrows she felt. Songs such as “Sprained Ankle” and “Everybody Does” are great examples. You may be wondering why anyone would like to listen to songs of mourning and misery, but her music makes one realize that they are not the only ones going through a rough time in their lives.
Next up we have Alex O’Connor who actually prefers his stage name Rex Orange County. He felt isolated as a drummer in his band then he stepped up his game to give being a singer-songwriter a try. His album “ Bcos U Will Never B Free”attracted some of the media and famous rapper, Tyler the Creator. Tyler flew Rex all the way to Los Angles to feature him in two songs.
Rex Orange County’s appearance in his music video “Sunflower”
This became his starting point of developing more success. Rex’s motivation is to believe what he thinks is the best out of him, not from what other people tell him. His music is composed of unique melodies, oddly satisfying transitions, and passionate straight forward lyrics. He is the kind of artist who will be brutally honest about any situation instead of speaking in riddles.
Last but not the least to be presented to you is Young the Giant. Now Young the Giant is composed of members from India, Montreal, America, Persian and Italian. The members met each other during high school and formed to focus more on developing there music potential as a band after graduating.
Young the Giant showing off their raw talent in their In the Open of “I Got”
Their most popular song entitled “Cough Syrup” is one that captured the hearts of many and a fan favorite. They have three albums so far with concepts such as freedom, youth, love, heritage, culture, dreams and overcoming obstacles.
If you were to ask people if they knew these three artists, the probability is that 1 out of 10 people would know or heard of at least one of them. Note that these artist’s songs are never played on your average radio station. These are just few of the hundreds and thousands of indie musicians out there making music right under our noses.
Despite the usually underrated status of indie music, this genre of music should still be appreciated. They work hard to create music that they feel is ideal to them.
A message this boy would like to express is to try taking the time to discover an indie artist of your liking. You never know how much you are missing out and if there is a song out there that can personally affect you on a different level. If you take the courage to wander through different indie songs, you might be surprised with what you’ll find. So what are you waiting for?
Roquenian Weekly 