
Fairfax Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Jennifer Porter Releases Article on Steps to Take After Being Hit by a Car as a PedestrianJoey Ayala is back on stage at My Bro’s Mustache Bar. The musician, singer, and poet returns with new songs he’ll be performing for the first time along with his band, Ang Bagong Lumad. A prominent figure in Philippine music, Ayala’s songs tackled political and social themes in the 80s—an era of national unrest. Inspiring social awareness and love for country, he wrote about environmental preservation, indigenous rights, social justice, and nationalism, which became even more compelling with his integration of ethnic instruments such as the kubing, hegalong, and kulintang. A popular folk bar at Hive Hotel in Quezon City’s Timog area, My Brother’s Mustache is a favorite watering hole among music aficionados who want to simply enjoy good music by the country’s finest musicians and bands, including Chickoy Pura, Noel Cabangon, Dong Abay, Lolita Carbon, Cooky Chua, and Bayang Barrios, just to name a few. When asked what he enjoys most about performing at the intimate music venue, Ayala remarked, “The 70s vibe is my generation! I’ve played at Bros Mustache many times and at two of its older locations.” We caught up with Ayala via an email interview to ask how he’s doing now, his inspiration, and what’s next for the iconic artist. Hi, Joey. What’s keeping you busy lately? Decluttering, learning tech, writing, keeping as healthy as possible, watching the world through computer monitors, buying talbos ng kamote, trying to recover my FB account, cleaning up after cats, experimenting... the usual! Looking forward to your show at My Bro’s on Saturday. What’s your repertoire going to be like? Who’ll be playing with you? My current band members: Tapati, Yan Bagay-Cruz, and Joe Apilado. I will be field testing some new songs kahit di pa namin masyadong kabisado (even if we haven’t mastered it yet). Syempre, because people still enjoy the “Joey Ayala classics,” nandiyan pa rin ang (there’s still) “ Karaniwang Tao” and “Walang Hanggang Paalam.” What are the challenges of being an artist and songwriter these days and how do you deal with them? The enormous amount of options and detours available along one’s path is staggering. There is a never-ending stream of information, applications, platforms, bells, and whistles... all geared towards helping one become the “best version of themselves”. I deal with this flood of technical temptations by shutting down, minimizing, decluttering, and reminding myself of my core passions. What inspires you to keep pursuing and honing your craft? Ideas and perspectives that present themselves for adaptation into song or workshop/teachable form are a continuous source of creative challenge. An example of a “done” idea is my song “Magkaugnay”, which comes from the “First Law of Ecology” as advanced by Dr. Barry Commoner. There is a whole barangay of such inspirational seeds waiting for incarnation. Even the pandemic and all the blue ribbon/senate/quad-comm (etc.) hearings yield nuggets of song. What advice would you give to young songwriters and musicians? Be observant, curious, and hungry for sunlight, fresh air, good food, and good company. What can we look forward to from Joey Ayala in the coming months? I’ve several gigs lined up, mostly special-interest gigs. I suppose these will be visible via socmed. The most public thing would be the use of my song “Magkabilaan” in a Metro Manila Film Fest entry. The song will be arranged and performed by other artists so I am excited to hear how that will turn out. * Joey Ayala and the Bagong Lumad will be at My Brother’s Mustache on November 23, Saturday. Show starts at 9 p.m. The bar is located on the ground floor of Hive Hotel, 68 Sct. Tuason St, Quezonn City. Tickets at P1,000.Judge rejects request to sideline a San Jose State volleyball player on grounds she’s transgender
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