The future of OPM rocks on!

Original article you can find at Manila Bulletin’s website here.

Here’s what we read:

The future of OPM rocks on!
By DJ MOJO JOJO
June 22, 2009, 10:34am

It was a synergized effort which brought together the country’s “who’s who” in music as The Radio Partners Incorporated (TRPI) recently stages the very successful and first-ever Philippine Radio Music Awards. Composed of TRPI radio stations Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT, Max 103.5 and Killerbee, the broadcasting powerhouse filled up the Sky Dome of SM City North Edsa with music aficionados eager to see which of their favorite OPM artists would come out on top in this history-making event.

The First Philippine Radio Music Awards makes history

Leading luminaries in entertainment, industry prime movers and practicalle the crème de la crème of the Philippine music-scape showed up in full force for the First Philippine Radio Music Awards as the radio industry’s most celebrated DJs presented the various awards to the delight of the jam-packed crowd which was spilling over to the rafters of the venue. The “faces behind the voices” made the exciting revelation in front of the cadre of listeners as each category was presented.

Bernie Y. Buenaseda, president of TRPI, was bemused with pride due to the success of the event, “The First Philippine Radio Music Awards is our humble effort that stems from our deep respect for the Filipino musical artist who forges on bravely in the face of the daunting challenges of our time. It brings from our commitment to shape a better future for OPM and, hopefully, inspire more artists to create music that we can proudly call our own!”

The winners of The First Philippine Radio Awards are: Luke Mejares (Best RnB Solo Artist), Dice & K9 (Best RnB Group), Parokya ni Edgar (Best Alternative Group), Miguel Escueta (Best Alternative Solo Artist), Sitti (Best Pop Female), Gary Valenciano (Best Pop Male), Overtone (Best Pop Group), Rico Blanco (Best New Artist), Richard Poon (Breakthrough Artist), Rico Blanco (Best Solo Artist), Kitchie Nadal (Best Independent Artist), Rico Blanco (Album of the Year), Bamboo (Best OPM International Artist), and Sarah Geronimo (Listeners’ Choice). The Lifetime Achievement Award was accorded to Gary Valenciano while Francis M was paid a homage for their revered contributions to the industry.

Birthday boy and Magic 89.9 Station Manager Andrew Santiago (a.k.a. DJ James Bang) adds, “Francis M is one artist who made a strong impact in the music industry. His RMA tribute was really emotional because, as a DJ I knew him as an artist and off-air, I knew him as a friend. The main goal of Radio Music Awards is to encourage local artists to better their craft. We need to produce more Francis M’s, Charice’s, Arnel’s, Gary V’s… The Philippines has the best talents and we know we have what it takes!”

Raimund Marasigan joins star-studded mentors

Bandwidth: Virtual Battle of the Bands Competition is open to all amateur, unsigned bands who want take full advantage of new digital multimedia technology in sharing their music with the rest of the music community. Click on the Virtual Battle of the Bands tab to know more about the competition. In the meantime… Let Your Ears Decide.

Pinoy rock legends Raimund Marasigan of Eraserheads, Pedicab and Sandwich fame joins other OPM icons like Cookie Chua and Francis Reyes as mentors for the competition which will serve as a springboard to success for talented rock groups all over the archipelago.

Raimund gave this message: “I’m mentoring and judging this virtual battle of the bands. So, to all you aspiring bands… join the contest and log on to philipsbandwidth.blogspot.com and check out the details. Good luck and Rock on!”

The competition is open to all amateur alternative and rock bands with 4-7 members and all members must be 18 years old and above. All the aspiring bands need to do is upload two videos on YouTube (consisting of one cover song and one original song). The videos must be of a live performance (not studio recorded) and should have been recorded within the period of June 2008-June 2009. Contestants must leave link to the uploaded video at the comments section along with their name and contact number and should have no past or existing contract with any record label. The deadline for submission of entries is July 15, 2009.

The Abaya’s Perfect Pairings

In other delicious news, The Stock Market is a restaurant in Bonifacio High Street that is all about delicious cuisine made with the freshest ingredients. How fitting indeed that The Stock Market was the setting for Perfect Pairings, a one-night, five-course dinner prepared by food aficionados, husband and wife dynamic cooking duo, Roddy and Isca Abaya.

The night was a real treat for food connoisseurs as the guests consisting of friends and hungry celebrity stomachs took their places at the elegantly arranged tables. And sure enough, the menu proved to be a true assortment of gastronomic delights as part of The Stock Market’s ongoing mission to celebrate gourmet cooking, delicious cuisine and the passion for food any and every day of the week.

“Cooking is a shared passion,” said Mr. Abaya. “As with any other creative activity that people are passionate about, our love for cooking is constant, and it shouldn’t be kept to oneself. The best food is enjoyed in the company of people you love.”