rosarioko:

Grab a copy of Pupil’s new album Limiters of the Infinity Pool. My favorite song in the album is 20/20 and that’s not because Francis played additional guitars for it, but I heard it the first time during the Tears for Fears concert last year. I think that song is spiritual in a sense, but that’s how I personally feel about it. 

We stole our copy from Kim, nyehehehe.

I posted other pics prior to this, click to see Shawn Yao, Kim Marvilla and Mikey Amistoso’s photos.

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Pupil Listening Party Photos

ano ang pinaka masasabi mong guitar cover mo na kuhang kuha mo at pinaghirapang aralin?…(instrumental only)

Wala ;p noon pa mang mga panahon na hindi pa ako marunong mag-gitara, napabaon na sa isip ko na ang Pilipino ay magaling mang-gaya. madalas ko marinig nuong ako’y musmos pa: bakit ba tayong mga Pilipino ay napakahilig manggaya? kaya’t nung naging seryoso ako sa pag-gitara, iniwasan ko iyon. may panahon na pinag-hirapan ko matutunan ang mga istilo ng mga idolo ko tulad nina Eddie Van Halen, at Yngwie Malmsteen, at yung ‘Far Beyond the Sun’ ay nakuha ko dahil may nagbigay sa akin ng instructional tape na ‘Note for Note.’ pero napansin ko na ginagaya ko lang ang mga idolo ko… tinig nila ang lumabas, hindi akin. kaya’t kung may natutugtog ako na masyadong katunog nila, maski na nakakamangha, binibitawan ko. mas mahalaga ang malaman ko kung papaano nila gawin ang mga bagay kesa gayahin lamang sila ng lubusan. kumbaga ganito: ‘sa kordang Em at C, ganito ang gagawin ni Van Halen, ganyan ang gagawin ni Clapton, hayun ang ginawa ni Malmsteen, heto ang ginawa ni Metheny… ano kaya ang gagawin KO?’ paano kung… paghalu-haluin ko? maski pangit ang nagawa ko, basta hindi ko masyadong kinopya sila, ok lang. mas tatanggapin ko na maging pangit na ako, kesa maging magandang loro nila. gayunpaman, hinahanap ko pa rin ang aking sariling tunog at tinig sa larangan ng pag-gitara at musika.
teka, dumugo ilong ko hehe

How do you explain your own guitar sound?

i don’t know… i don’t really have my own sound yet, i think. maybe i do, but whenever i hear myself, i can tell where my influences show. i’m too close to it to be objective about it. i know what i like to sound like though, and i prefer a warm sound overall.

i am a girl, but i love joe satriani. which of his songs do you like best? by aiyaboi

ah, a girl who likes bald men is a blessing for shiny heads lol! i like the entire ‘Not Of This Earth’ and ‘Surfing With The Alien’ albums, specially the song “Lords of Karma”. the ending melody that fades out is simple yet majestic :)

HI Sir Francis..I just want to ask some tips on tweaking my Squier Bulletstrat, what should I do with the bridge, the strings and whatsoever about it..or some references on it..(sorry for the long question..) Thanks!

the first thing you have to check is the neck, if it’s back-bowed or warped/twisted. its best if i can see it, but start there :)

Is there any dealer of Gibson guitars sa atin ngayon? ihave been looking around pero wala ako makita, i wonder why?

I think it used to be distributed by Yupangco. why they don’t anymore, i have no idea

What setting should i use to take pictures on concerts, events, or any low-light situations?

i’m assuming you’ll be shooting things or people that move. concert lighting is erratic, so there’s no ‘universal’ setting really but start with an ISO setting of 400; that way, you can set the shutter speed where it’s not too slow (unless you want some blurring), and you do need to set your f-stop to the widest opening available on your lens. of course higher ISO settings also result in more noise, and less crisp details. try to get a fast lens (f1.4, f1.8, f2, f2.8) too; they tend to be more expensive but well worth it. you can probably also set your camera to ‘shutter priority’ and leave it a 1/60 and let the cam make the necessary exposure adjustments, although i would encourage you to just do things manually and make all the adjustments yourself.
try not to use a flash by the way. ask permission if you can from the show’s producers, but generally, using a flash during a concert is a real no-no. it results in amateurish photos that lack depth and nuance (specially since most amateurs use strong flashes so they can get their memorable snapshot) but also it’s irritating and distracting for onstage performers and performances. it’s actually rude. trust me; i know ;p

oh that’s so cool your dad is a semipro. mmm I know what you mean about the basic photography course. I took one last year and mostly all I learned was the same as you stated, along with how to handle criticism from my professor. thanks for reply :) by honeyinthetummy

i learned the technical stuff from the thing that every camera owner has but is hardly given attention: THE MANUAL ;p

who is your favorite cartoon character?

GIR from ‘Invader Zim’ :) i also think Ponyo is rather cute :)

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if you could have only one guitar, what would it be? why?

The Variax because it has a lot of different guitar tones, and it makes my projects faster to do :) it’s practically limitless. i’ve always wanted a Coral electric Sitar but can’t afford one, but there it is, modelled within the Variax :) a turn of the knob and i have a virtual Les Paul. it’s really amazing but i think few people take it seriously because it’s not a ‘real’ Paul or whatever. but it is quite an amazing guitar :D

prior to the Variax, my Hamer Standard, with it’s Seymour Duncan 59 and JB pickups, was my ultimate guitar. the pickup combination is classic, and having both pickups on produced a nice nasal tone.

sir kiko,uwi ka naman sa lipa..lapit na fiesta dito,hehe..anyway,what can you say about elegee custom guitars?have you seen and played one?

Happy fiesta!!! unfortunately, i have work even on my days off from NU, so going back to Lipa is difficult, schedule-wise.

I’ve had Jon of Elegee work on my guitars and he’s really good. his Elegee guitars are well-made and Jon can make any design you like. maybe i’ll have one made from scratch someday

if you will form a collab band of your choice, who are the members taht you would pick?? :)) kiko, go back to dubai!!! we miss u here!!!! <3

Wendell Garcia or Robert De La Cruz on drums; Rommel De La Cruz or Louie Talan on bass; Diego Castillo on guitar; and Ebe Dancel or Pochoy Labog on vocals :)

Dubai? sure! just send a couple plane tix, plus accomodations at the Burj Dubai (or whatever its called now) ha! LOL! :) Dubai is a nice place, and i’m glad to have been able to visit it

hello! just curious, do you go to Conspiracy bar? i believe that’s a classic pinoy artists’ haven =)

i haven’t been there in years; yes its an artists haven indeed :) i rarely go out to tell you the truth ;p

what’s your take on lomography?

it celebrates serendipity which is rather cool. but all things considered, i still prefer actual photography. kinda like Guitar Hero vs a real guitar. i have a Fisheye but i hardly touch it. every photographer should try it though :) it is fun, which is the entire point

this was probably already asked but… what camera do you use, and have you ever taken photography courses before?

a Lumix LX3 and a Canon 5D Mark II. my dad was a semi-pro photographer, and he’s kinda back into shooting which is great. i still can’t hold a candle to his photos ;p so i kinda learned from him when i was growing up and he gave me some tips. i was a Comm Arts student for one term in college and Basic Photography was one of the subjects and while i did learn how to process negatives and deal with the darkroom and inhale the chemicals, i didn’t really learn how to shoot there. the teacher was an ‘artiste’ who couldn’t be bothered to teach the basics so he sucked. i mostly relied on just holding the camera, making mistakes, and learning in the process. Like life itself :D

hi francis! :) this is bochang, from the band Midsummer. you played our song (if i’m not mistaken)last december 2009,in your show intheraw. I just wanna know if there’s any chance that you’d play it again?what are the machanics?thanks, sir :)

Sir! nag gagawa po ako songs pero instrumentel lang siya, rock style po.kung mag papasa po ako sa IN THE RAW, mai paparinig po ba siya on air?

Yes for both questions :) just call me through the NU offices and remind me :)

what can i do to not be bored by myself?

it depends. you can put on lipstick and dance naked in front of the mirror wearing only army boots maybe. you can clean your room. or repaint the walls. learn cross-stitching. eat ice cream while standing on your head. start a private diary pretending you’re someone else. pray. meditate. study ion propulsion engine technology. write a treatise about styrofoam. look for Ramon Bautista as Diwata on Youtube. read the Bible. or the Koran. or Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. watch  James Cameron films and ponder where Michael Bay falls short. dress up your kid sister’s Barbie dolls and pretend they’re this year’s presidential candidates. learn about terraforming on Mars. take a walk and really truly appreciate a sunset. etcetcetcetcetcetcetcetcetcetcetc ad infinitum

Ask me here - Formspring view past formspring entries HERE