It’s been a crazy, crazy few days for Mindanaoan. Apart from preparing my June 9, 2009 event (”Sound Sexy: A Band and Dance Club Party” featuring my boys, Cagayan de Oro City-based Southrace, Amplified DJs from Cagayan de Oro and Kidnon, Bloodlust and Karcinoma), I also had to book some performance artists for the June 12, 2009 TM ASTIGFEST event in Valencia City, Bukidnon, fetch Shamrock (hitmakers of “Alipin” and “Captain Barbell”) from the Cagayan de Oro City airport, fetch my Southrace boys from CDO area as well and prepare them for the TM ASTIGFEST Bukidnon leg show.
The TM ASTIGFEST (Republika ng TM) event at the Plaza Rizal of Valencia City, Bukidnon last Friday, June 12, 2009 featured my boys, Southrace, and Shamrock. You can find pictures of the said event HERE.
Here’s a picture I took of my Southrace boys during their sound check:

Anyhoo…it has been a crazy time the past few days but it’s all worth it! Mindanaoan had fun fetching Shamrock and Southrace, the almost 3-hour road trip was fun as well and the show itself was very successful!
Kuwentos about the show will be posted on another entry, though. For now, I’d like to share some of my personal thoughts and tips for budding event organizers out there or budding personal assistants for celebrities or artists. These tips will come in handy when you need to fetch performers, celebrities or artists from the airport, pier, bus terminal etc. and then if you need to go on a road trip (if the venue of the concert, let’s say, is about 3 hours away)
Please feel free to share your thoughts, too!
1. Always check and re-check the booking contract. See if the artists or celebrities require DUTY MEALS. If they do, then see if it’s feasible to bring packed meals or if it’s wiser to bring them to a restaurant before you proceed to the concert venue or hotel.
2. Always bring contingency funds.
3. Always bring a first aid kit and some medicines (paracetamol, aspirin etc)
4. Always ask the driver (if you’re bringing a vehicle, let’s say) to check the fuel tank (some drivers will raise their eyebrows at you and will insist that the vehicle has enough gas…but INSIST on this. The last thing you want to happen is to get stuck in the middle of nowhere because your vehicle ran out of gas!)
5. Be at the airport or pier or bus terminal at least 30 minutes before the ETA (expected time of arrival). That’s enough time for you to ask around, let your driver find a good parking spot and coordinate with the artists or their road manager or personal assistants (just in case they’ve already arrived and are at the baggage area already)
6. Bring several bottles of mineral water and if need be, bring sandwiches, too. There’s always a possibility that the celebrity or artist will go hungry during the road trip and will ask for food.
7. Be aware of where the police stations, hospitals and halfway houses are. Artists may require for washroom breaks, too.
8. Have a back-up plan like whom to call just in case your vehicle breaks down.
9. Check your itinerary. If and when the artists or celebrities need to do something like a radio station visit or guesting or motorcade, check if it’s wiser to go to their hotel first, have their stuff checked in or if it’s all right to go directly to the radio station or join the motorcade. You must coordinate with the celebrities’ road manager or PA for this. Also, just in case the artist wouldn’t comply (some celebrities will turn into snotty divas and will insist that they skip some commitments), remind them of their booking contract and of the terms stated there.
10. HAVE FUN AND BRING A BIG SMILE! Performers, artists, celebrities like to see a smiling face after a tiring trip.
Need more tips in event organizing? Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE TO MINDANAOAN!
After invading Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao last May 23, 2009, TM ASTIGFEST will soon hit Valencia City, Bukidnon, Mindanao! TM ASTIGFEST is an event where the “Republika ng TM” promos are highlighted.
The TM ASTIGFEST Republika ng TM Bukidnon leg will be held on June 12, 2009 at Plaza Rizal, Valencia City, Bukidnon.
And of course, my alagas — the members of Cagayan de Oro City-based Southrace Band — will perform during the event. I’m really very happy and proud that we will again be part of another TM event! My Southrace boys also performed during the CDO leg, where other artists included Budoy and his band Junior Kilat, Itchyworms, Aegis and TM endorser Cesar Montano. Read more about the TM ASTIGFEST CDO event HERE. You can also find the photos that I took of the boys in that entry.
Which reminds me — in case you need a Mindanao-based photographer and/or a videographer to cover your weddings, events, debuts, concerts, fairs, conferences etc, please don’t hesitate to LEAVE A MESSAGE HERE or contact (+63) 919 238 6575 / (+63) 922 478 5218 – thankies!
Anyhoo…the Republika ng TM Valencia City event will also see the participation of Shamrock Band. Led by Marc Tupaz, Shamrock is known for their songs “Alipin,” “Hold On (Theme From “Jumong”) and “Wag Kang Matakot” (Love Theme From “Joaquin Bordado”) So that’ll be Southrace and Shamrock back-to-back…sharing one stage. June 12, 2009. Plaza Rizal, Valencia City, Bukidnon, Mindanao.
I hope you guys can come! There will be booths offering free services there plus you can avail of the various Republika ng TM promos! Please help spread the word, too, and wish me and my Southrace Band boys luck, aiight?

~oOo~
Among the Republika ng TM promos are the TM ASTIGTAWAG 20 (where subscribers can call numbers even in other networks for 15 minutes and for only P20), TM ASTIGTXT 15 (for P15, subscribers can send 150 text messages to TM/Globe numbers plus they can also send up to 10 text messages to numbers in other networks) and TM SuliTXT 5 (where subscribers can send up to 25 text messages to TM/Globe numbers for only P5).
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, MINDANAO – I was back in Cagayan de Oro City a.k.a. the City of Golden Friendship last Saturday, May 23, 2009 for the TM Astigfest event at Lim Ket Kai Parking Lot E (right across the Robinson’s Mall CDO) My boys, the members of Cagayan de Oro City-based Southrace Band, were set to perform that night.
The TM ASTIGFEST Cagayan de Oro event, which banners their Republika ng TM battlecry, saw the presence of TM endorser Cesar Montano and the performances of Aegis, Itchyworms and Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity alumnae Budoy and his band Junior Kilat. Naturally, my Southrace boys and I were super excited to be a part of such a big event!
I was also very happy to see Budoy and Jai (former drummer of Cebuano band Urbandub and now drummer cum manager of Junior Kilat) again — I hired this band to perform in three previous events that I organized. Unfortunately, Junior Kilat now has a pretty different member line-up — Gina is no longer the keyboardist (she’s now married and is pretty busy with her business, Jai said), Bangin, the turntablist, is already based in Japan, Arcie, their guitarist is now in Dumaguete and Diana, their former drummer, is already based in the U.S. Still, I’m glad that I was able to meet and work with them. Can’t wait to hire Junior Kilat again soon!

So all right, before I totally digress…Luckily, the weather that Saturday was good (although it was searing hot in the afternoon!). My boys had their sound check at around 4 pm. Lucky for me, too, when I realized that I knew some of the staff members of the sound and lights equipment provider that the organizers hired! So of course my boys were assisted well, the lights during my boys’ actual performance were amazing and we were able to leave our equipment with the crew
I tell you, there’s really nothing like being nice to the people that you work with because you’ll never know when you’ll see them and need their help
Anyways, the TM ASTIGFEST event that day was hosted by MOR CDO bigwig Bernie Bitok Bitok and ABS-CBN Kapamilya Mag-TV Na! Ato Ni! host (and one of my photographer brother’s favorite models) Maxine Monasterio. Cesar, meanwhile, was busy touring Gaisano Mall and Lim Ket Kai Mall (actually, my boys and I caught him during his Lim Ket Kai mall visit…people were screaming when Cesar came!). He joined the evening activities at around 9pm. Southrace, Itchyworms and Junior Kilat provided the musical performances early in the evening.
Here are some of the photos this Mindanao photographer (me!) took during the event: (in case you need a Mindanao-based photographer and/or a videographer to cover your weddings, events etc, please don’t hesitate to LEAVE A MESSAGE HERE or contact (+63) 919 238 6575 / (+63) 922 478 5218 – thankies!:

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