Medias offers Libre 'patupi'

Boys do also have their stories of forms of sexual harassment. So that while women and girl-children are seen sobbing on boob tubes recounting their predicaments at the hands of culprits, four guys raised the subject in a song entitled "Free", which takes on the moniker "libre patupi" for its chorus line.

"Libre patupi/ali namo diri/libre patupi kuoton sad imo permi/libreng inom/ali namo mga dodong/libre inum/kamangon sad ka kon ikaw malipong," says Bisrock band Medias, one of the more than 40 Bisrock-ing bands in your neighborhood.

Medias came up with this song after submitting their first composition entitled "Mr. Clean (Dawlim or dawat limpyo)" to 93.1 Smash FM. But while Mr. Clean was first to have taken a debut over the airwaves as it tackled the machinery that cleans up images of, actually, stinking and rotting men of government agencies-them enjoying the credit sans dipping hands into the dirty work-it was Free with its promise of "libreng patupi" that created a stir and raved response as manifested by airplay requests.

Rocky Abraham Diaz (guitar, vocals), once into customs administration studies at the University of the Visayas, and is currently working at Unilab; Mark Jacob Comar (guitar, vocals), an electronics and communications engineering student of the University of Southern Philippines; Nelson "Darling" Lumasag (bass) connected with Liwayway Marketing, Corp. which is into the production and distribution of food snacks, and Noel Vanguardia (drums), a business administration graduate of the University of San Carlos and is with Nalco Philippines, to date, were choir members, or specifically instrumentalist of the St. Therese Parish-Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement of Lahug.

Together they made music and put to lines the observation on homosexuals in their neighborhood, most especially those in beauty salons, offering free haircut to boys in exchange for sexual favors. Apart from this, Medias said they don't really carry the motive of putting these members of the third gender in utter humiliation. They explained that though these homosexuals have exercised gender preference and would want to be respected for such, they just want to encourage them to "put up a better means of living and live the good, clean life", then earn that most-sought respect thereafter.

The group said they have so much admiration for the works of punk groups Virus and Cabinet Meeting, Red Shades, Doors, The Wuds, Yano, Rancid, Pennywise, Metallica, The Ramones, Sublime, 3ll, and YooMaxx (Yoyoy Villame and Max Surban)-the godfathers of Bisdak music. For them, new wave and psychedelic rock, contemporary gospel, blues, punk/ska, reggae, folk and country, grunge and metal make Bisrock indispensable in the age of "genre-ical fusion".

Medias also explained that they like the English term of the foot apparel "medyas", but later on decided to go for the vernacular of "socks" because this is what Bisrock is all about-a propagation of the mother tongue, though matter of fact "medyas" is actually a borrowed term. But, since it has been in the Bisdak vocab for quite a time, the group settled on Medias, which they claimed to be far from being filthy and soggy.

"Medias is media, the plural for medium, with an s which emphatically talks about our society in reality. Dili ra ni about issues on homosexuality among music. Para sad ni sa tanan nga among nakita ug nasinati sa adlaw-adlaw nga pagkinabuhi. Bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan wag magalit," they reiterated.

The quartet would like to thank "the Great Lord God Almighty for everything He has given them, for families and friends, the late Joseph (a friend) and Lola Daday, and to all Bisrock supporters, Indephums, Onion Leaves, No Parking Anytime, Gals Exclusive, Kawani and Andres, especially to Clifford Remolador, Yield, Spillbox, Econo140, Bansiwag, Incoherent, to all Pangutana Boys of Campo Lahug, Dominic Rey Sabiona (former drummer), Patrick Ian Cinco (former bassist), Wazzup Resto Bar especially Ralph, Niel Vincent Sanico for the guitar and gadget, SRA, STP-CCRM, Smash FM, DJ Ram and Bré Ambungan, Hans and Mik-mik of Backyard Project Studio, Iris for the pictorials, Mario Pasabog, Liwayway Marketing Corp. supervisors Sir Nandy and Sir Thomas. , PBCS (Unilab), Nalco, USP engineering department, and their girlfriends Bang-bang, Tersa, Shiela Marie and Emely, and to Sugar, Jumer and Bordz of Cabinet Meeting.