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| Slapshock |
Fifteen
minutes of fame was what Andy Warhol said that each of us would have. And many
in the music industry have experienced just that fleeting moment in the
spotlight. But the band Slapshock did not have just fifteen minutes of fame,
but they have rocked and carved their place in the music scene for the past fifteen
years while other bands have come and gone. And to celebrate this milestone, the band came up with their seventh
studio album entitled Kinse Kalibre released
under Polyeast Records.
I
got the chance to meet Slapshock, composed of vocalist Jamir Garcia, bassist
Lee Nadela, guitarist Lean Ansing and drummer Chi Evora during their press
launch for their new album over at Club Phi. I was intimidated at first since
they are primarily a rock/metal band and I admit that I am not a rocker. But as
always, I am open to all music types and genres and the people at Polyeast Records
are a nice bunch so I decided to go for it.
Speaking
of nice, the members of Slapshock were indeed just that: nice, polite and
surprisingly very articulate despite the usual negative perception of rock band
members by those from the older generation. One of the nice things that they’ve
done recently is putting up their own Shock Sounds Recording Studio, their own recording studio which gave them the creative
freedom, be more hands on, and be more scrutinizing with their music. This
studio is also their way of giving back to the industry since other
artists/bands can avail the use of this facility.
For
fifteen years, the band has stuck together and they credit it to the respect
that the members have for each other. Not only did the band stick together, but
they also have remained with the same management, label (OctoArts which later became Polyeast Records) and sponsors (Red Horse Beer and Dickies) throughout
the years. They’ve also remained true to their music to the point that they've actually declined several television appearances when they felt that their sound will be
compromised. This enabled them to still rock it after fifteen years despite the
numerous changes within the music industry like the decline of physical CD
sales, the rise of illegal music downloads, the mergers between the record
labels and the emergence of new music trends.
While
they consider lasting this long as their biggest accomplishment, getting
exhausted from touring and burning out is what they consider as the band’s
lowest point. One of the missteps that they’ve had as well was underestimating
the audience whom they thought would not be able to connect with the shouting
and growling that is prevalent in their music. But the audience did connect and
proof of that is their single Cariño
Brutal which was a massive hit and also their recent single Ngayon Na which is also a mainstream success
as well spending some weeks at the top of the MYX Hitchart.
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| Lee Nadela and RAd |
Ngayon
Na is just one of the tracks from Kinse Kalibre, which has an impressive album
artwork designed by Team Manila. Putting the album for a few spins made me
realize that I underestimated them as well. Langit
particularly grew up on me as well as Asal
ng Demonyo and Salamin which
surprised me a lot. Slapshock’s mainly known for their songs in English and yet
this album’s songs in Filipino were the ones that connected to me the most. But
what really surprised me most of all was meeting Lee Nadela a couple of days
after the press launch at the Cultural Center of the Philippines during a
concert by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. It turns out that he also watches
PPO concerts regularly. The music he puts out with Slapshock may be polar
opposites with those performed by the PPO, yet he watches the orchestra which
is remarkable. And this will make me rethink if ever I find myself hesitating
over checking out music that is beyond my comfort zone.
Kinse Kalibre
Tracks:
1. Kinse Kalibre Intro
2. Ngayon Na
3. Reset
4. Deliryo
5. Asal Demonyo
6. Burn in Hell
7. In the Line of Fire
8. Langit
9. Under the Needle
10. Heartless
11. Salamin
12. All Hope is Gone
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