KBOX Studios 2018: A year-end review!

So much has happened this year that it feels like one would want to relive it over and over. But we’re talking about the whole year of 2018. It was definitely a year of exciting events. So let’s get to our KBOX year-end review special!

First up is KBOX Radio. KBOX Studios announced around February that it was collaborating with Bombo Radyo Tacloban.  KBOX Radio is a talk show segment aired through Bombo Radyo and it goes live every Sundays in the evening. It cheerfully provides musicians and other artists another medium to demonstrate their talents.

Nearing the end of February, KBOX Studios supported the MERKADO SINIRANGAN BISAYAS event in UP Tacloban. This provided us a means of reaching out to many students wanting to try out the recording process for themselves. That means we installed recording equipment on UP grounds and let people get a little taste of KBOX Studios’ quality recording capabilities. This was a first for us. During this time, KBOX Studios and its Art Gallery Café also hosted events that showcased artists like Nemesio Baldesco and Wayne Calleja.

At this time, the live video shoots inside the recording studio had an upgrade. The sound quality that we were uploading to YouTube had increased tenfold. The quality was great before, but this time, we had the videos to prove it. This was a sort of foreshadowing of the months to come. KBOXTV was now in the works. March came and went; then the succeeding month rolled in like a bulldozer.

On April 6, 7, and 8, KBOX Studios celebrated its seventh anniversary at Robinsons Mall in Marasbaras, Tacloban. There were lots of stuff happening, like acoustic performances, guitar clinics, art workshops, songwriting, etc. The best part was the free recording. You read that right. Free Recording in the Mall! Ar. Kendel Esperas rigged up an 8-foot (ish) mobile vocal booth complete with sound dampeners, coolants, and a monitor inside it. It was the hit of the event. People kept coming back to our mobile studio and we were definitely proud of it.

After the anniversary, KBOX Studios got busy with some major clients, one of them was from Europe and Ar. Kendel Esperas offered to let him stay in the building for nearly a month, because that’s the estimated amount of time he wanted to focus on recording his album. We set him up a room on the 3^rd floor. That began a sort of routine in which clients from out of town who wished to ruminate on nothing else but the recording of their album would be able to wake up in the morning, eat, record, sleep, and do it all over again every day.

The months of May and June really had us hopping. For one thing, it was Summer time. The other, it was Tacloban’s Fiesta. And you know damn well, we celebrate a one-day event for a whole month. Heck, Christmas in the Philippines is about 4 months. One particular event we participated in was the IPOTS album launching. IPOTS is a reggae band from Tacloban who now base themselves in Manila. We gladly gave our full support by booking them for gigs in Cerebro Bar and did video documentaries and photoshoots with them. Plus, they’re our friends.

It was also at this time that Ar. Kendel Esperas received a special citation accolade from the 10^th Sangyaw Awards earning him a distinguished and celebrated status in the local music and arts scene. Along with this, KBOX Studios also received a citation award for its continued efforts on promoting and supporting the Arts, Literature, and Music of the local region.

With that kind of atmosphere, Ar. Kendel Esperas decided that the time had come to release KBOXTV. We announced it on the first week of July. Beginning with Anteepara, an Alternative Rock Band from Tacloban, KBOXTV kicked off with its first episode a live performance and interview of the band, shot directly inside the studio. This would be the start of a weekly episode featuring different bands, musicians, and artists, then airing it on TV and uploading it to social media. KBOXTV is a partnership with PRTV12, however, we also upload some content of KBOXTV shows on the internet that we can’t fully release on TV due to MTRCB rules and regulations.

One such offshoot we’re talking about is the 1 cam 1 shot webisodes, mostly available on YouTube and Facebook. This segment features live ‘on-the-spot-interviews’ with different bands using only one camera, usually. The main highlight of the show is that it is replete with comedy and innuendo. Simultaneously, KBOXTV released other showcases and interviews featuring famous musicians like Noli Aurelio, Bolingling Reposar, and other notable artists like Jen Garcia.

August and everything that happened after it was complete exhilaration. First, KBOX Studios partnered up with LNU and The Philippine Red Cross to create an event that would feature Muzik Harmonie and their 2^nd Anniversary Concert. Muzik Harmonie is an LNU choir group with extremely talented members. Their Choirmaster, Leoncio Olobia led them throughout the preproduction and execution of the event with his excellent musicianship and superb command of the piano. KBOX Studios directed and shot a choice music video of Muzik Harmonie that promoted the concert.

Meanwhile, IPOTS were still hot on their Album Launch tour. This time they were in Catarman, Samar, where KBOX Studios enthusiastically documented their trip there. Concurrently, KBOXTV continued its weekly episodes. Most notable were LSR, Bolingling, Slingshotz, and Baby Dinosaurs. It was also at this time that Cerebro Bar celebrated its 7^th anniversary. 1 cam 1 shot was there to document it all and hilariousness ensued. Thus, September came and went by like a tasty Lechon. Gone, too soon.

October beheld another busy, but equally awesome, collection of amazing occurrences. Viva Airport, a reggae band from Catarman, visited KBOX Studios and recorded themselves an album in JUST TEN DAYS! WHEW! During this time, they managed to get themselves interviewed by KBOXTV and then perform in Cerebro Bar. How in the world did they manage to do that? As usual, Ar. Kendel Esperas offered to let them stay in the building on the 3^rd floor for the duration of the 10-day recording. In case you’re wondering, the recording studio is on the 4^th floor. Rapper Mike Swift also visited and recorded in KBOX Studios. He was interviewed via 1 cam 1 shot and promised he would return to do some more recording; possibly an album.

November came – and guess what? Yolanda Commemoration. We had to do a special thing. Thankfully Winston Jay Ladera came up with a song that absolutely fit the theme. Entitled “We Thank You, World”, it’s dedicated to all the people who helped us in our time of need. The whole thing took only six days, including the recording of the song and the video shoot. Sounds almost impossible, but we did it. Also, KBOX Studios expanded to another building, of sorts. The practice room for bands and musicians was moved down to the back of the building to make room for more work to be done on the 4^th floor. Ar. Kendel Esperas constructed a new practice room complete with sound buffering and recording equipment – just in case (hint, hint).

Thus, December arrived. KBOX Studios and Winston Ladera teamed up again to shoot and record TWO-FIVE-ZERO and their rendition of O Holy Night. It’s a nice end to the year, don’t you think? The holidays have been a joyous one for KBOX Studios. Parties happened almost every week. Christmas parties – is what we mean. However, we look forward to the future and hope to create a lot more exciting stuff for all of you. Hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas and have a Wonderful New Year as well.