Slapshock All-time Pinoy Pride

After the recent success of their Cebu gig last August at the UP Cookout, Slapshock will be back in town for another night of moshpit and head-banging. They will be performing as guest band in the upcoming Red Horse Beer Muziklaban eliminations on September 6, 2008, Saturday at El Kudeta in Mandaue City.

For 10 years, Red Horse Beer Muziklaban is known to cater underground bands and give them the opportunity to become big in the national music industry. With eliminations taking place in the different parts of the country, everyone will have a taste of the most eclectic performances from different genres.

Slapshock will be back to spend another night as they will perform in the said event. These guys had a great time in their last Cebu visit and even stayed the whole weekend to unwind. Even after a day of work with store visits and slight inconveniences like an over-heated van and nose bleeding experienced by their drummer, Chi Evora, Slapshock gave the kind of performance that the audience would surely remember in many rock concerts to come. "Astig ang crowd. Iba talaga dito," said vocalist Jamir Garcia right after their performance.

Slapshock, the name of which comes from a chord slapping technique, is composed of Jamir Garcia on vocals, Jerry Basco and Lean Ansing on guitars, Lee Nadela on bass and Chi Evora on drums. The group was formed during their mid-college days and unlike other course-based bands, it was via the League of Filipino Students, a political organization at the University of the Philippines, that they first met. "Iba-iba course namin nun. Tulad namin ni Lean, pero nagkasama kami sa LFS. It's where Slapshock started," Lee said.

They had their first gig in February 1997 during the UP Fair and the band was signed up by a major label in 1998. The band pioneered the rap-metal genre here in the Philippines with Jamir's contribution to the band culled from the musical influences he got while living in the States, where the genre was a big hit then.

Their debut album, 4th Degree Burn, hit success and became platinum. After their first record, Slapshock broke the second album jinx with Headtrip (2001). They forged on with Project 11-41 (2002), Novena (2004), Silence (2006) and just released their greatest hits album called Recollection.

Things have, indeed, worked out pretty well for these guys during their entire band career. They have garnered a lot of awards such as Best New Artist and Listener's Choice in 2000, Band of the Year, Best Bassist for Lee Nadela and another Listener's Choice Award in 2001 and again the following year.

Last March 7, 2008, Slapshock became a big source of Pinoy pride among music fans when they performed at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival. They were the first-ever Filipino and Asian artists to participate in the most prestigious annual rock event in the Middle East with audiences doubling every year since it started in 2004. They shared the heat of the stage with Korn, Killswitch Engage, Velvet Revolver, As I Lay Dying, Machine Head and Muse. The event also gave rise to an invitation to record an international album.

And just last August 2, vocalist Jamir Garcia and guitarist Lean Ansing joined fellow musicians from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to perform as Project Ear (East Asian Revolution), a "super group" showcasing talents from the region. They had a production number during the 6th MTV Asia Awards, playing a medley of songs in five modern genres that included, of course, Filipino lyrics.

With their recent exploits, there's no stopping Slapshock from further rocking not only the local industry but also the international scene as well. They are actually just enjoying the fruits of their hard work. Together for a decade now, Slapshock has remained intact, never changing their line-up of members. They said that they don't have any game plan as to directing the course of the group's career. One thing is certain though, they're giving their music their all-and that's why they're successful.