Hastang of Yesteryears

After a month in Manila, Hastang Vocalist Tessa Manto is finally coming home. As soon as she lands in Cebu, we’ll be bugging her for a long-overdue jam session at the studio. Hi, Tess. You’ve been missed. We can’t wait to go gigging again.

[more pictures after the jump]

Old Coaco Building is definitely old. It’s been standing along MJ Cuenco Avenue in Mabolo for as long as I can remember. Its graying façade could use a new coat of paint, its window panes some repair. It doesn’t attract much attention at all.
On weekend nights, however, this place transforms into a sort of Mecca […]

Before I became an indie musician …
… I listened to MC Hammer. I was in fourth grade and I used to borrow my father’s trousers (held by my Boy Scout belt and buckle and the ends cleverly tucked in my Mighty Kid socks) and stand in front of the mirror (with my uncle’s oversized Aviator […]

I look at the date of the last entry and I’m mortified … once again, I have easily proven to everybody that I am, indeed, the laziest member of the band.
But at least I’m doing something about it now. Of course, the other members have been, let me just say, quite encouraging (death threats and […]

Weeks ago, Hastang did an interview with Y101 FM Cebu on their late Sunday night radio show Eskina. For the record, Eskina is “a two hour radio show that is all about indie music. Not just about music, the show also features interesting conversations with in-studio guests, tips for musicians and home producers, product reviews, […]

The music. It’s a mystery, actually — how the bang of the drums, the bass line, the power chords and guitar solos, as well as the vocals and lyrics, mesh into one coherent form that evokes various kinds of emotion.
I get to play and make music with incredibly creative people like Makoy, Roy, Gaw, Isyat, […]

They both have really funky hair.
Both their first names start with “R”.
And they both play guitar like mad men possessed by the devil. Okay, okay, last statement only applies to one of them.
I’m talking, of course, about Roy and Raul or “Gaw” as he prefers to be called. Indeed, I consider myself incredibly lucky to […]

I admit it. I plead guilty to all charges.
I haven’t been updating this blog that much (a criminal understatement — the last entry is dated February 24, so I guess it’s been almost two months since the last update). So, since I promised Isyat that I would be doing something about it, that something is […]