New Voices ‘Get Loud’ with Converse Philippines!

I still remember the time I bought myself my first pair of chucks. I didn't go for the plain ones because everybody else had that. I went for the crazy designed ones because I wanted to be unique. Soon after that, I got another one, then another, then more. Today I have about 12 pairs of chucks on my shoe rack. I still have 2 of them that I haven't even worn yet but I did buy them for a good reason. I wanted to be unique, I didn't want to be too formal... I wanted to have something that would remind me of the good old days when rock was but a norm for me. That's really my Converse story.

 Today, Converse has so much more to offer. From faux leather, to different patterns of cloth, rubber, styles and shapes.. they pretty much covered what you need for street wear. A couple of days ago, Converse had this put to the test and got a couple of bands in one spot as they wanted these new voices to GET LOUD WITH CONVERSE!

This band called Brisom from Manila performed "Walking Lives". The band is composed by front man Brian Sombero, Jeffrey Castro, Jason Rondero, Tim Abbott and Terence Teves.  Their sound mostly lie on the indie rock genre and I've seen them so passionate while performing this track. 

 

Jad Montenegro on the other hand hails from  Mindanao. That is the bands name too. Aside from the vocalist with the same name, she's flanked by Dave Ibao , Eric Luzada , Pjoe Sabanpan and Carlo Garcia. She previously performed solo in Davao but felt the need to expand her musical horizons so they formed a band. These are all her friends so it was easy doing the song entry "The Escapist” for this gig.

The pride of South Luzon is Kissbone (rhymes no?) They are composed of Armin Joseph Pepito, Justine Sioson, Renz Jerome Villanueva, Parker Cataquian and Allan Paulo Luching. They've got more of a punk rock - emo-screamo genre and they've been playing since their times in Sienna College Taytay, Their entry is “Distance and Motion” which will surely be a hit to those who fancy this kind of music.

Tearing the house down is Bethany from Cebu. They are composed of Luis Quibranza III, Angelo Quibranza, Paolo Miguel Quibranza. and Kevin Borromeo. They are siblings as you can tell from their last name and they have been doing this stuff since 2008. They have been playing the scene since Kevin was added to the group and says their genre is mostly alternative rock. Their entry is “Keep Moving On” which would be more on the same genre too.

The last one is the band they call EVEN. They are composed of Dyanne Licudine, Jam Bumanlag, Coco Saupan and Dan Allan Acosta. They all hail from the highlands of North Luzon. They have a brand of dark and melancholic music + performed their original song “Luminary” as an entry to this gig.

Just like me and my taste in shoes, you've got a lot of that too in your system. This gig has shown that the Philippines has a lot of promising bands to watch out for. We are so blessed with talent and we'll find out who will win when the final musical showdown happens on November 9 at Excess Superclub in Quezon City. All you've got to do now is go to their Facebook page to find out how to support your favorite band. Make sure you get counted and don't forget to use hashtags #sneakersgetloud and #converseph when you tweet or post your favorite shoes on Instagram.

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The Melason Prenup Shoot

I have been waiting for this... And it's time! :)

I might not have been able to shoot them personally but am really super happy for these two. You and I know how much the journey has been hard for these guys and if you ask me, this should have happened a long time ago. They're finally getting married! =)

I woke up this morning being tagged to two photos showing behind the scenes shots of their prenup shoot and I must say this is pretty impressive. The set design, the concept and execution is so phenomenal... I'd like to thank @melasonbaby on Twitter for providing us these shots! 

Wala ako masabe when I saw these shots! I am so happy for Jason and Isay. I can't wait to see the full set! I also love to see that little bump on Isay's tummy, I'm sure you guys have been waiting for that too! :) 

I also can't wait to see the wedding, which I'm sure is going to be equally grand! :) happy for you two! It's Philippine Fashion Week too, so I remember the first time I shot them on the runway! Hay!

P.S. Credts of these photos go to @melasonbaby on Twitter and their rightful owners. Superthanks!

Bench Designer Scents: Zurie and Zoe by Ezra

Ezra Santos. He's a Filipino designer who's roots began in simple Manila. He went to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and roamed the whole region to become a successful fashion designer. Eventually putting up his own fashion house and atelier shortly afterwards. I've seen his work a couple of years ago with Bench during the 2012 Underwear and Denim show. I've seen the details he's done on the things worn by local models and grew my own fascination with his work. 

You begin to imagine how this designer thinks. His aesthetics are luxurious, his taste is impeccable and the details, bead work, placement of Swarovski crystals is serendipitous.

Then you get to see his clientele. From royalty, to the creme dela creme of the society, to celebrities and even Bollywood stars tells his story. He says it comes from his roots; that when in his homeland you become resourceful and take good care of materials. When he stepped into even greater ones in Saudi, it was like freedom for him.

His designs became lavish and undoubtedly richer, fuller. The abundance of it made his collection limitless... in sense and in essence of fashion. Take a look at how strong he makes each piece... with conviction, with all the things right for the human form... divine!

Now just imagine all this passion and likeness for all things gorgeous packed in two bottles. They call this... Zurie and Zoe. It's something apt for Ezra's newest designer fragrance under Bench scents.

Ezra says "Ever since I ventured into fashion, I have always wanted to foray into the world of scents. I reckoned it would be sublime to have a particular scent to go with a dress I created, to cinch the wearer and transport her into a magical world evocative of fairy tales in a modern, contemporary setting"

From modern, classics, to 20's and 60's fashion, he's got that inspiring most of his designs. I'm sure he's so used to getting oohs and ahhs here and elsewhere in the world! It's old world grandiose!

Zurie and Zoe has quite a floral-fruity smell. Zurie's top notes is Spanish Orange Juice while its middle notes are a mix of Italian jasmine, French Riviera narcissus, Tonkin rice, Egyptian iris and Guatemalan mountain magnolias It's base notes on the other hand is Java vanilla, Calabrian ambergris and Indian sandalwood. The other bottle which is apt for us guys called "Zoe" blends tones coming from a mix of cassis, grapefruit, muguet, woody and musk. All equal footing on what Ezra Santos calls a "Magical world evocative of fairy tales in a modern - contemporary setting.

Bench has definitely made head way in combining fashion and scents. The allure it brings to the public does justice to these eau de toilette bottles. As part of Bench's Designer scents collection Zurie and Zoe by Ezra Santos will surely ignite the passion, the fashion and the inner state of your mind that needs and breathes luxury. Capisce?

Zurie and Zoe is now available at Bench, Bench Edited, Herbench, Superbench, Bench Body and Bench to Go stores nationwide.

For more information about the scents

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You can also visit the designer's website and check out his work at

http://www.ezrafashiondesign.com/

(Photo credits without watermarks belong to BENCH)

The Perfect SME Partner - Get Online With WebsiteExpress.Biz!

Small and medium enterprises comprise the majority of businesses in the country. The eve of technology not only requires them to have online channels in order to survive, but they have no choice. Consumers now are on these avenues and if the market calls for it, they need to follow suit.

Ryan feels left out LOL

If you don't do it... you'll feel left out. No website, no online transactions means no sufficient income. If that is the case, your business will suffer, no one will buy your goods and services. Now what will an ordinary businessman do when he doesn't have knowledge on how to put up a website of his own? He can hire magicians, clowns, fire breathing men throwing spears at each other... or maybe hire freelance web designers but in a year or two he probably won't be able to find him ever again if you want changes to your site. What would you do?

The answer...

WebsiteExpress.Biz! This kiosk we found on the ground floor of Shangri-la Edsa Mall (in front of Sun Cellular/Globe Shops) looks quite bare but it packs a punch! Just drop by and ask about it. Grab menus from your restaurant, the list of products on your shop and the amount of workforce you have in your personnel. Hand it over to the WebsiteExpress.Biz people and expect a true blue mockup in as little as two hours. That's just the tip of the iceberg because if you want customized services on your website, they can do that in a jiffy. Now, there's no need for businessmen to learn HTML codes, PHP or arrays... just tell them how you want it and they can build an even better one if you avail their packages. No need to worry about hosting, codes or joomla because they'll provide you with everything you need to manage your site quite easy.

Now that answers your question. Don't hesitate because with them you've got a team of programmers and web developers on stand by 24/7 providing world class services so you won't have any hitches if the time comes that your customers have to access your websites. They're all responsive too so any mobile device can see your site the way it should. Isn't that perfect?

If you want to check out their latest works, just visit their official website

http://www.websiteexpress.biz/

Click on the samples and see how it's already got so much impact on other businesses. What does it have to take to get ahead? You've got to go online, and THEY make it easy. That's it pansit! =P

For more information

Check out their website above or 

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