DO you remember about a year ago, or even 6 months ago? There was no CPMS...

Over two years ago, BAGWIS hit New York for the first time, representing the midwest in the first ever Rock in the Box Filipino American CD Compilation and concert. On our way there, we did not know what to expect. In Chicago at the time, we had performed in many venues, but often times it was non Filipinos that would come out and see us perform.

Where were all our Filipino Sisters and Brothers? Where was the Chicago scene? It was a scattered, fragmented, and isolated scene--it was a reflection of the Filipino community in general in the midwest.

I FEEL that it's my obligation to share this story to you all to prove how far-reaching music can be and how music can inspire others to follow their dreams.

There are many Pinoy OFWs in Singapore that aspire to play in a band and/or to keep putting an extension  to their quest of becoming rock stars, or simply put, "musicians".  Just doing what they are passionate about, despite the reality of being a slave to their work in a corporate, or some other world.

And despite some of them becoming parents and spouses, which they are all happy to be, they  still could not shake off that dream.

To all my Pop Times and Infamas friends,

I was on my way home to Seattle, WA. I left DC on Mar. 2, 2008. Stopped by Ohio to help out with the Hillary Campaign on the 3rd and the 4th. Left Norwalk, OH on Tuesday night.

At approximately 10:25 pm on March 5, 2008 , I was driving down I-29 in Iowa and was rear ended by a Semi. My car was totalled including my beloved Tagbilaran. I guess it was not meant to be. Now, I just have to build me a new one.

As for me, God has just given me a new lease on life. I got away with just bruises, head, neck and backache.

Let's rededicate ourselves in helping each other to grow as artists and people. Thank you for all the support. More power to all of you.

Nate

P.S. Presently, I am now back in Silverdale, WA with my family. Its been a strange road trip but worth all the experiences and people I have met, some of which belong to our beloved Pop Times and Infamas.

NOBODY said it is going to be easy.
There will be detractors. There will be hardships. There will be tears.
Yet, what joy will any victory be without adversity and pain?

Our Filipino-American music scene is on the brink– it hangs in a balance that could tip towards life or death. It is so dynamic, just as life itself.
New artists are being born, while existing ones are facing their ends. Emerging scene players are pulsating with possibilities, while old timers are now looking back at the days gone by.
The very scene that we hold dear is faced with a question: What will become of the future when the ones making it happen now fade into the horizon?

Every little community in our scene from San Francisco, to Chicago, to Maryland, to New Jersey has to answer.
The ones who have gone before us and laid the foundations of the scene that we now know, have given their appreciation to all of us who have continued what they have started.
However, nobody can ignore the writing on the wall: Our tenure is not forever.
Who then will take the beloved scene to heights only we can imagine?