Photo: with Kate Torralba and the gang
“So where exactly are you going?”
“This thing called Rockeoke night at mag:net BHS.”
“Rokeoke?”
“It’s like karaoke but instead of a machine, there’s a live band playing for you!”
“Wow! So where do you insert the five pesos?”
If I wasn’t in publishing, I would have probably pursued a career as a chef. But since I also don’t cook, the next big wet dream I have is to woo the crowd with my very own rock band. Due to logistics and perhaps the lack of talent to par what we see playing in the scene, I have resorted to playing guitar casually at parties. Yes, I’ve written a couple of songs that may or may not be heard one day. But the point is, every so often I just have to release the tension that builds up inside me in front of a crowd – whether my voice is good or not is besides the point.
Rockeke Night is a series of monthly open mic sessions which is very similar to karaoke nights, except that a band will play your choice of music with you as lead singer. The song choices are surprisingly diverse, from oldies to classic rock hits to pop: almost any song you can think of with a guitarist, bassist and drums.
After my 8th beer, the alcohol compelled me to come up on stage once more (during the earlier part of the evening I sang To Be With You and Don’t Dream It’s Over with Gabby Dizon of Flipside Games and JC Medina of Level Up!) and, since this was one of those rare chances to have a taste of what its like to be a rock star, I pardoned myself to the guitarist and took his Fender Stratocaster to play and sing some Eric Clapton.
It was a blur really. My eyes were closed most of the time. After my session, I went back down and finished my 8th bottle. Rockeoke Nights happen more or less every first Monday of the month at mag:net Bonifacio High Street from 9:30 PM onwards. There are no fees. Just pay for what you order.
Leave a Reply