http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/ Squirrel Talk Thu, 24 Feb 2005 11:40:27 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Music http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/22.html Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:31:59 GMT We finally have a name. It took us roughly a month to pick one, but it was well worth the wait. We scrapped the contest idea for two reasons: Setting up a gig integrated with a "name-the-band" gimmick would take a lot of time, and would stir focus away from song-writing. We badly need all of our weekends, as well as every extra time in between, to perfect the arrangement of our songs. We have gotten some offers for the album's funding. We need an identity so that we can start developing our marketing materials (press kit, web presence, the works). So, after much... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=22 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/21.html Tue, 18 Jan 2005 18:05:01 GMT Guile’s latest entry (see below) is intentionally brief. But close friends of his can easily tell that his restraint is a façade for something more. Yes, the departure of Joy and Murray still stings. Pardon me this cliché, but it does feel like a bad break-up. There’s too much history there, and it’s extremely difficult to let go. But we all know it just wouldn’t work out. Parting, it seems, is the only answer. For the record, we are in good terms with both Murray and Joy. As with every other break-up, there is a smattering of strained emotions on the surface (Resentment, perhaps?).... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=21 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/20.html Sat, 15 Jan 2005 02:04:12 GMT The only thing that remains constant in the world is change. Whether we like it or not, life is rife with it. And right now, the band is undergoing a lot of it. Murray can no longer devote enough time doing lead guitar duties because of personal reasons. As for Joy, she will be taking up Nursing this year. Likewise, she could no longer dedicate most of her waking life to sing for the band. Be that as it may, we move on. Finding a lead guitar player is never easy. We’ve asked Roy (a close friend of ours) to fill in. Although we haven’t got definite affirmation yet, here’s hoping... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=20 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/19.html Sat, 18 Dec 2004 22:01:50 GMT On most weekends, we’re either holed up in Mark and Yan’s pad practicing the arrangement of our songs or doing band rehearsals at Handuraw. For this weekend, we decided to do some extra-curricular activity—following the path to musical enrichment (or something to that effect). So last night (sans Joy and our instruments), we converged in Mark and Yan’s pad to study Rock Theory 101. We were supposed to listen to different genres of music—especially the ones that have influenced us the most, individually and collectively as a band (cue music: “Getting To Know You” from The King and I) but... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=19 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/17.html Sun, 12 Dec 2004 01:17:06 GMT It's 9 in the morning and I had only four hours of sleep... We've just had another of our "important" band meetings a few hours ago. This is one of those meetings where we sit and talk about us--the band, what we've been doing, what we've achieved so far. Basically, it's like constructive band self-evaluation of some sort. We discuss the problems encountered individually as band members and collectively as a band. Then we talk about how we deal with those problems and how we all could learn from it. It's not exactly Alcoholics Anonymous but it kinda works. This is also a way for us to... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=17 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/16.html Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:08:44 GMT It's been almost a month since the last entry. Dang, the days go by so fast. I admit I've been kinda lazy in updating the blog and I'm happy to say that finally I'm doing something about it (grins). Thanks to fellow "blogdriver" eLa for the reminder. Yes, we've been busy. Aside from the usual songwriting sessions and band rehearsals, we also had to spend time coaching Jayson with our older songs especially "If I Can" which contains, as Mark would say, a million chords. Other than that, he also had figured out the rhythm guitar parts for our newer material which I must say he's doing quite... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=16 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/15.html Fri, 05 Nov 2004 19:02:27 GMT We have added a new guitar player. He's just about our age. He's extremely funny. He has all the right moves. He does a near-perfect immitation of Murray's manic smile. And he's just as excited as we are in making original music. Yep, we have finally gotten ourselves a living, breathing rhythm guitarist in the person of Mr. Jayson Ang, a very good friend of ours. Aside from being one of the main creative dudes in Bigfoot, he is also a muscian at heart. We are happy to say that he has gladly agreed to do rhythm guitars for us. Tonight, he's already started playing some of SqTk's songs.... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=15 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/14.html Thu, 04 Nov 2004 20:00:25 GMT Halloween is particularly special to me because it was in Halloween of 1997 that I first saw Squirrel Talk perform at the now-defunct Artist Dais. It was also in Halloween of 1997 that I first saw Mark, the man who (little did I know) was destined to become the most important person in my life. Note my verb usage above. I “saw” Mark, but I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him that night. I was in Cebu for the sem break, and Mai dragged me to support our high school diva Joy in one of her band’s gigs. Joy, apparently giddy after her stunning performance, didn’t have the presence of... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=14 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/13.html Tue, 02 Nov 2004 18:38:20 GMT The last time we played on Halloween weekend was last year in Rock-A-Bye concert held at the Mango Square rooftop. That concert for a cause was presented by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) and organized by Ian Zafra and Independent Culture Records. This past Halloween, we found ourselves playing in a relatively smaller venue (Cebu's acoustic-guitar-music mecca Kahayag cafe) but having an equally enjoyable time nonetheless. Plus, we got to witness the contestants of Handuraw's Halloween Drag Queen Contest sashay through the dimly lit halls of Kahayag. By the way,... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=13 http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/archive/12.html Sat, 23 Oct 2004 18:47:04 GMT We just got back from band rehearsal in the studio. One of the things that has kept us busy (musically, that is) in the past week is finalizing the arrangement for the song "When Misery Speaks". And today, we practiced the song in its new arrangement. I didn't think we could make this song any heavier, but I can personally profess that we've quite achieved that. Mark has added a few drum fill-ins, making the beat more dynamic (and he's now more confident in hitting rolls and licks). The song is shorter now--we've taken a stanza to make it more sleek, and we also did some slight changes... (more) http://squirreltalk.blogdrive.com/comments?id=12