Vincent Ryan Borres

I was working in a medical transcription company in Makati and after nearly a year, I found fellow musicians.  We started like a choir and I'm their guitarist and during birthdays especially with bosses and managers, we try to sing their favourite song in a choir arrangement with just a classical guitar accompaniment. Then, later on we formed a band with Rodel on drums, Greg on Keyboards, Zarelle on bass then later on had a sessionist "Amboy" bassist, sorry can't remember the name, then loads of vocalist as I've said we were originally a choir.... Shoan, Chelo, Sherwin and Bing.  We used to practise in Mang Alberto's rehearsal studio near Nepa Q-Mart.  We used to commute via MRT and sometimes, Greg's car.  The studio was all right because all the instruments and amplifiers are all ready there.  From drums, can't remember exactly what brand, one Fender guitar amp and one Peavey guitar amp, Carlsbro bass amp, Casio keyboards I think but my mate Greg pr...

We were already playing in Mariano's Bar and Grill restaurant, when the Mayor of Pilar, Capiz saw us and loved what we're doing and the song choices that we got so, he asked one of his staff to invite us to play in Pilar during his Victory party. It was a straight forward deal, like how much was the band's talent fee, how many songs or hours do you play and what are we going to prepare for you guys.  And the deal was closed immediately. We learned our lesson during the Panay gig and we rented a proper PA system for the band as well as brought our own stuff.  We used a Fernando drum kit that was included in the PA sound system package that we rented.  Brought our portable guitar amps again which is Rage Amps that was included in RJs guitar package. Mic in again to our proper PA.  Bass guitar was directly plugged in to the PA system.  The gig and the sound quality was very good, apart from the crowd because they like something else, not the kind of music that ...

We were invited to play during the fiesta in Panay Capiz and we've asked the organizer to prepare us some things like PA system, drum kit, keyboards and guitar amplifiers. We didn't know that it was their first time to have a full band and they normally just do like a disco or just plain sound system.  It was really a disaster when we came there early in the afternoon for our sound check. We've brought almost all our stuff from drum kit which is Power Beat to Yamaha PSR 500 as well as keyboard stand and our practise amp which is Rage Amps 15 watt in the Philippines but when you look inside it is made from USA the chasis. We improvised everything that night, so we mic in the little amps we got into their disco sound system. The sound was not bad but not impressive, it could have been better.  The funny thing and most memorable thing for me was when we went on stage for our sound check, I was wearing my Black T-shirt with "The Undertaker's" photo on it. Ther...

At first I thought I will be stuck with iPhone or iPad to be a good portable karaoke machine but I was wrong, I just recently found out I can convert my Sony Erickson Xperia 10i can be converted into a pocket-sized karaoke player.  How did I do it? Simple. Go to your marketplace or Play Store and download Karaoke-A-GoGo Lite which is free and install.  Now, the question is how to make this work.  You need to have CDG files paired with MP3 files just like my previous blog with iPhone and Ipad Karaoke.  Download this files to your computer or laptop and upload this to your phone's SD card under Karaoke folder which automatically created when you installed the Karaoke-A-GoGo.  Always remember to copy both files the CDG and MP3.  For more detailed instructions you can open the HELP button of Karaoke-A-GoGo. Some problems encountered, Karaoke-A-GoGo was a bit slow in my phone Xperia but it was remedied by opening the OPTIONS button and adjusted ...

1.  Go to App store and search for any free karaoke player, however, I would recommend Karaoke Player by Software Designs Dev. Corp not for any particular reason but because I am using this one at the moment and it's free. 2.  After you have downloaded and installed the application you will need your songs.  And that's where I come in.  You can download MP3+G or CDG in this blogspot or use the side bar or search blog option. Just click this link for intant access.  Online Backing Tracks 3. Download the songs via the above link and remember to download both MP3 and CDG because it will not work if one is missing and put it in a specific folder i.e. Best Karaoke Vol 1 or any filename. 4.  Connect your iPad/iPhone to your computer and open your iTunes. 5.  When your device is ready and running, click the device and go to App s located at the top then scroll down and look for the Karaoke Player . 6.  Click the application i.e. Karaok...

We were booked to do a gig in Coco Bar, Aklan near the airport. Again, this one was booked by Jojo for us. Same set of songs plus some OPM (Original Pilipino Music) like Sumayaw, Sumunod, Awitin Mo, Tayo'y Magsayawan and Love Song Remix like Foolish Heart by Steve Perry and 'Til They Take My Heart Away by Claire Marlo and even Stars by Simply Red.  These are the addition to our usual set list which are Mike Francis' Let Me In and Friends, Jame's Taylor's Your Smiling Face, Man Eater by Hall and Oates. Again Hey by Fatima Rainey, Never Knew Love Like This by Sonia, Together Again by Janet Jackson, Crush by Jennifer Paige, Believe by Cher, High by Lighthouse Family, It Ain't Over Til It's Over by Lenny Kravitz, September and Let's Groove by Earth, Wind and Fire and the 80s selection from Celebration, Tenderness, Give It Up, Buttercup, The Promise, I Will Survive, etc. as well as Fra Lippo Lippi's hits like Stitches and Burns, Angel, Everytime I See Y...

We were invited in Iloilo by Brewsky's Bar to do a concert and it was held in Amigo Hotel Hall. We didn't realize it was a big concert because we thought or feel like there was not much of promotion for our concert.  Anyways, Jojo Lao, owner and manager of Mariano's Grill and Restaurant was the one who booked this gig for us and we are from Roxas City Capiz, that's why may be we did not know the marketing and/or promotion side of the show because we're from next town. I can't remember exactly our line up but the band had additional members, Franklin was on percussion using bongo, timbales, cowbells and chimes. Then, back up singers, Jojo himself and Devon, where they did some songs themselves. There were also loads of Capiznon who witnessed and partied with us during that gig who are studying in Iloilo that time, mostly from Central Philippine University and St. Paul's Iloilo because the school is quite near the hotel. Our opening song was Sunchyme by ...

How to get a booking in a pub? Well the easiest answer is to have a set of songs albeit on a specific genre or variety.  Then look for a pub that caters or like the kinds of music you love playing and send them a demo CD or during my time, we booked for a live audition. Well, this was our scenario during my time.  We rehearsed songs that we love playing and/or listen to.  After having like one set list which consist of 10-20 songs, the band decided to look for a pub to play.  Our genre of music during that time was a little bit of everything from acoustic rock to pop rock and it was all cover songs from Alanis to Cranberries, even up to Shania Twain and Chumbawamba. There was  a recently opened pub nearby my place in Roxas City, Capiz which was owned and managed by Jojo Lao and I think would be a potential venue for our band, however, they're doing mostly DISCO evenings but not bands and the pub was already grooming that time a band that would have been a re...

I was first year college, studying nursing when a group of youngsters from Capiz National High School asked  me to help them form a band.  Their band leader was Betong who was the brain of this brilliant idea.  None of the group plays instrument although most of them got knowledge of what the band is and what instruments like drums, keyboards, bass and guitars.  Anyway to cut the story short, the band was starting from scratch or not even scratch because I haven't heard them playing or singing or if they really got the talent or just the guts to do it.  So, I asked them how many are going to join the band and who's going to sing, play the drums, the guitar, the bass and the keyboards if ever?  And because they were all classmates and good friends so they have already decided on who's who and what instrument to play.  I started with the guitarist, which is Daboy and he doesn't know yet how to play the guitar as in proper guitar playing, all he knows is ...

We were invited to do a frontact to a new band..... and to my surprise it was Barbie Almabis on Vox and guitar, Ricci Gurango on bass, Im not sure if the drummer was Franklin Benitez or someone else and a lead guitarist that I didn't catch his name, really sorry because during the setup it was only Barbie and Ricci who came near us and help us do our soundcheck and familiarize with the gear and amps.  Ricci even offered his Bass effects and Bass amp but not his Bass guitar he said, it's precious to him and he wasn't joking around, was really serious about it and to our surprise when he showed it to us, it's fretless. Barbie again was using her Fender Strat and Korg toneworks multieffects guitar processor.  The drumkit, I think was Powerbeat and Zildjan Cymbals, Gibraltar hardware. It was Fiesta in Culasi, Roxas City that time.  We played cover songs like, Sama-sama by Alamid, I Need You Here and Na Naman by Color It Red, I think we also sang Line to Heaven and Will I...

To the Roxas City Musicians and Rockers, does the word Bodega Concert ring a bell?  Well, to me it's a YES.  Although, I can't remember all the details but I would think this was what happened. Barbie Almalbis and other Musicians/relatives of hers organized an event which was held in a Bodega or Warehouse and this was like an indoor Woodstock concert. A lot of the bands played, which again I couldn't remember each one of them but we played there as Frozbyte and then I think Barbie's band was called Chaotic Silverfish if I’m not wrong. The venue was all right, however, the sound system wasn't that good or impressive maybe because it was indoor or maybe it's just that we were the first band to play and the sound tech/operator was still getting a grip of the equipments i.e. mixers, amps, etc.... Anyways, the gig was successful though because the bands played all well in their own right. Barbie was using Korg Toneworks, Fender Strat wood finished, Pearl Drumki...

How Do I Setup My Podcast Pt2 Improvised recording:  Record directly from celphone - Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830 Searched on Play Store: Recorder MP3 - ASR recorder can record with unlimited minutes plus automatic save as MP3. Rename file and ID3 tag using Winamp - right click on the voice file and select view file info                                      i.e. filename: vrbpodcast001                                            artist/author: vincent ryan borres                                            copyright: 2012                                        ...

We were invited to do a front act on Introvoys Concert in Roxas.  During those time, Introvoys was a big hit especially with their song Line To Heaven and Will I Survive to name afew. There were a lot of bands that time who's going to front act and I can't remember exactly the names but there's one that I can still remember and it's called Freaky Deaky, not sure if the spelling is correct. They sang Nirvana, Offspring, Collective Soul, etc. where they almost consume the entire time for all the frontacts.  We were the last band and the organizer asked us to cut short with our setlist and we ended up with just 3 songs.  We were not pleased but anyhow, we still chose our 3 best songs and that were Only Wanna Be With You by Hootie And The Blowfish where I was the one who sang it, To Be With You by Mr. Big and our bassist, Dolores sang it then our last song was Hotel California by Eagles where Jingle and I blend together at the ending guitar solo and Louie sang it. The crowd...

We were invited to do a front act with the band called The Youth .  They were known for their strong lyrical protest on certain issues like politics and/or politicians, waste disposal, pollution, untoward officials and even citizens that are headache to the society.  Anyways, so much intro for the band.  We were invited by Christian Blanco, the lead singer of the band Gremlinz who's one of the organizer of the concert. The weather during that evening was not good as it was raining heavily, although the gig was held in our Civic Centre but the people were hesitant to come because of the bad weather.  Well as they said, the show must go on.  We were the first band to play as we are the front act, and we thought nobody was around during the time slot that was given to us, being the opening act.  But when we had our first song which is Shine by Collective Soul and I was the one singing that time, the crowd just rushed in front of the stage out of nowhere. I...

My first band back home in the Philippines was and is Frozbyte. As the saying goes, "Never forget your first band" because that's where you first experience the hype, the thrill and the endless energy and effort of doing something from one sacrifices to another especially money and time.  Most of us were Nursing Students when we started to re-group and make Frozbyte a serious band and booked gigs from one after the other i.e. School gigs, special occasions, birthday parties, etc. and that’s why members keep changing and adding up coz after we graduated most of the original members worked abroad. Louie, a nurse, our lead vocals and is now in New York. John2x, a nurse, our drummer and is now in Florida. Dolores, accountancy graduate, former bassist that became our second female lead singer after Anelyn... and is in Roxas City, Capiz happily married with two kids. Jingle, a marketing graduate, is our famous lead guitarist that sounded like Steve Vai and/or Joe Satriani i...

The group was founded during our high school years when we joined a song writing contest. I formed the group. I taught most of the band members from drums, guitars and bass. I played the keyboards that time and was using CASIO tonebank, I forgot the number. Our name was Music Legacy and we won first place during the song writing contest. Our drums was an improvised drumset… just a snare drums on one side and a 14" tomtom on the other side with a cymbal at the center and the rest of the instruments were just borrowed from Dolores' brothers, except for the keyboards I'm using. Original members were Louie on guitar, Dolores on bass, John2x on drums, Anelyn on vocals and I was the keyboardist. It was a blessing in disguise that we shared our talent and skills. Anelyn got a very good voice, Louie got a gene poll of musicians from singing to playing guitar, John2x got a strong arm that can hit drums as loud as Sepultura, Dolores got a family of musicians from the late ...

I remembered during the 90s era when we did a front act to a Philippine local band called “ Yano ” where I only had one guitar effects and it’s the famous orange stomp box Boss Distortion that was lend to me by my good friend "Daboy" as he wants his gadget to be signed by the band. During that time, my band was Frozbyte and we are newbie in the world of Rock/Alternative. We performed three cover songs that gig; Selling the drama by Live, Today by Smashing Pumpkins and Long Hair by another Philippine local group called The Weedd. My set up that night was a borrowed Sunburst Lyon strat by Washburn which I always use or borrow from Louie the man, Boss distortion and my settings of Tone at 12 o’clock, Level at 10 o’clock and Dist all the way up. Then the amp that I used was a cabinet amp 4x4 but I couldn't recall the brand if it was Marshall or Peavey but it was such a powerful stack amp and it was really loud that I can feel the air behind me everytime I strum or do po...

First Battle of the band that I joined was in “Hideout” and this was way back mid 90s in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines. I was not the original member of the group, I just jam with them. I don’t have my gear that time. What happened was, while they were rehearsing, I joined the group and they were impressed on how I play the guitar. So, they invited me to join the group as sessionist guitarist. We played "Black" and then "Yellow Led Better” by Pearl Jam, and one original composition titled “Empty Bottle”, which sounds like a combination of Pearl Jam and STP (Stone Temple Pilots). I forgot the name of our band but it was founded by 4 young talented lads namely; Lenny, Lief John, Dinno Santi and Oliver.  The most interesting part that night was I don’t have guitar effects pedal. Good thing my mate “Badong” got a cousin who happens to be joining the Battle of the bands and guess who it was, the famous and talented Barbie Almalbis . We approached her to borrow ...

How do I setup my podcast? Let's start with the hardware I'm using: Laptop - HP mini and sometimes Dell Inspiron USB audio interface - Guitar Rig Session IO Microphone - Shure C606 Mixer - Behringer Xenyx 1002FX Software: - EnergyXT or Audacity Download and install LAME.exe for MP3 format Rename ID3 tag on Winamp from Filename, author/artist, copyright year and even title for album. Alternatively, you can use Soundcloud by downloading the app on your iPhone, iPad or Android. This can serve as your podcast.  Also on upgraded version of EnergyXT you can directly save and upload your recording to Soundcloud. Sites: Blogger for your Blog Feedburner for the RSS feed MP3 server - Fileden (Direct URL of MP3) Social Media - promote your podcast i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc. Start recording now using EnergyXT, Soundcloud, Audacity or any MP3 device which has voice recorder and upload you files. Kindly, subscribe, leave comments and suggestions or if you have som...

How this yellow stomp box became my favourite? During our early years in the band, my mate Louie went on a vacation in New York and there he purchased a Fender Precision Bass, which rather sound crispy.  He also bought two guitar effects with it and a hardcase for the bass, which is somewhat bulky and quite heavy as well.  The effects pedal were Boss Super Overdrive and Ibanez Flanger.  I am not into modulation effects during that time so I won’t be detailing more on the Flanger but instead the Super Overdrive. I am not quite sure if he bought these from Musician's Friend or from a shop. Anyways, I was learning Blues, Old school rock like Deep Purple’s Smoke on the water and Highway star, and this band called Eraserhead, which is known as the Beatles of the Philippines.  This is when I learn to love the Super Overdrive.  Less gain but more punch.  When doing lead or solos, it is really standout.  My settings are’ Level at 12 o’clock, Tone at 1 or 2...

This amp is a real deal. Value for money and very handy, most especially for solo rehearsals and jamming. It has CD/MP3 mini jack input where your favorite backing tracks or even songs you can jam along using your iPhone, iPad or other MP3 capable devices like laptops, etc. This Stagg 10GA has built in overdrive so if you don’t have your pedals or guitar effects yet, you can fiddle with this one and get your tone as you like it. Clean channel is very decent. The Stagg 10GA is well appreciated if you have multi-effects that have reverb or delay and other stuff which will make Stagg 10GA sound louder and like a bigger amp. Also, for quiet session like in your bedroom, you can make use of the headphones output.  I even use this on my videos in YouTube. Also I have tried recording using a handycam then extracted the audio file and converted to MP3 file.  I already disposed this on eBay and the buyer was very pleased with this amp.