as early as october, my boss pinned me and shaun to take charge of this year's company xmas party . it came a bit of a burden coz i was also planning my daughter's first bday party for november. nevertheless, i felt an incoherent thrill in me bein' in charge of the whole IT group's xmas party this year.
in a few days i started looking for the perfect venue....in makati. that became a problem. i admit my profound dumbness when it comes to the streets of makati. i can go to work and back home but why the heck should i know which streets i've crossed?? teehee...so i just had to copycat the venue of our xmas party 2 years ago, or was that 3 years?
in a few days i started looking for the perfect venue....in makati. that became a problem. i admit my profound dumbness when it comes to the streets of makati. i can go to work and back home but why the heck should i know which streets i've crossed?? teehee...so i just had to copycat the venue of our xmas party 2 years ago, or was that 3 years?
ok. i called the makati sports club, made arrangements & closed reservations w/ the only date doable, dec. 17th {a sunday}. then i began diverting plans from the usual. it required a unique taste of entertainment, i went hunting for a band to play, for a minimum fee ofcourse. the genre should be generous enough to each & everyone's ears. i couldn't ask my brother who plays hardcore rap/metal or else my audience would flee as soon as their singer growls or sing gibberish--ly. i couldn't ask my friend ayn who sessions for skies of ember, scarlet tears, matilda & for alot more accountable artists or else my audience would probably mumble "whaddey singin' about?" or "what's widda dispiritedness?". so i had to find the right tune. i looked for reggae music {who dislikes reggae right?!}. shaun mentioned to me that a reggae band played during a recent company party at the heckle & jeckle bar in makati. we researched & learned that one of the members was a..well, an ex-member. the band's name was hemp republic. i was reluctant to go lookin' out for the agent who's the ex band member so i used to internet to contact the band. i found in the internet a tandem of sisters who manages the band & a few more others. i was shocked to be proposed with a fee of 30T for 2 sets so i coyly mentioned that they recently played for the same company at heckle & jeckle. we made major amendments on the price tag and set tons of meets to sign the contract w/c eventually fell 2 or 3 days before the main date.
next was the mobile ofcourse. one that equips a band setup. prices were way too high i got frustrated, almost cancelling the band a month before. not until i rang a mobile provider who charged 40% less than the standard. yipee!
ok, ok. here's the crazy part. since i was in control of the party, i mused, why not be part of it? recollecting from my skcablenet era, i wanted to play again! i played guitar with a bunch of boys from the NOC back in my former company so why not do it again?
i asked shaun first, who surprisingly can play drums, then pope, who was equally excited as me, & can play lead. from him he mentioned james who can play bass. tony & jenny got easily hooked as well & were assigned the singers. then there was the band. we had successfully set a few practices at rehearsal studios in shaw & makati. some of us would come from late night shifts, breaks from their actual shifts, and as for me, 3 hours early from my shift. i borrowed my cousin's guitar & james bought his own bass guitar. our discussions about what to play, when to jam..etc..was literally the longest email thread i have in my inbox! we finalized & polished 5 songs & best of all, played 'em live!
i asked shaun first, who surprisingly can play drums, then pope, who was equally excited as me, & can play lead. from him he mentioned james who can play bass. tony & jenny got easily hooked as well & were assigned the singers. then there was the band. we had successfully set a few practices at rehearsal studios in shaw & makati. some of us would come from late night shifts, breaks from their actual shifts, and as for me, 3 hours early from my shift. i borrowed my cousin's guitar & james bought his own bass guitar. our discussions about what to play, when to jam..etc..was literally the longest email thread i have in my inbox! we finalized & polished 5 songs & best of all, played 'em live!
alright, inbetween the jams i was dealing with which buffet to choose, which games to play, which prizes to buy, reserving rooms at a nearby hotel for those who wants to stay overnight, doing math with the company money during driving, jamming & working, dealing with the accounting policies crap...etc,etc... shaun was busy working on the team building activities earlier so i kept some of the responsibilities solo but i have no complains coz the outcome was awesome!
oh by the way, hemp republic's manager changed bands the last minute replacing hemp with top junk, tuesday vargas' disco punk/rock band. the manager promised that top junk's genre is easy on the ears & 'danceable'. i initially got disappointed since the materials for the venue decorations were of reggae colors & touch. that includes the banner & invitation designs. for a second i was already contacting another reggae band {who does not answer their mobile phones..geez} but then i realized the leverage this new band can give to my guests. tuesday's a celebrity! that'll grab anyone's attention no matter what song she sings!
shaun ordered the booze & got beer kegs & tequila. had to be at the venue 4 hours before to check on everything, feed the mobile staff, the decorators, pay whoever needs to be paid, sound check with the band and a lot lot more.
shaun ordered the booze & got beer kegs & tequila. had to be at the venue 4 hours before to check on everything, feed the mobile staff, the decorators, pay whoever needs to be paid, sound check with the band and a lot lot more.
the party started late. every break there were raffle prizes given away. & i got the 2nd prize whadya know! a sony w50 cybershot. it wasn't cooked i promise, it was fate! for all the hard work i've done!*:)
top junk
that's marizel aka 'tuesday' of top junk after their set
my newfound bandmates
that's tim, top junk's impressive guitarist
top junk
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