Gary V, Martin eyeing provincial tour for first-ever joint concert "As 1"

Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano is very excited with the “As 1” concert that is happening tomorrow, September 19, at the MOA Concert Ground. At the presscon held last Tuesday, Gary V mentioned that we should not miss “As 1” because of the many surprises that are in store for the for the audience.

One number that we should look forward to is his duet with Martin Nievera in the song “Take Me Out of the Dark” which surely is going to be a unique production number. But Gary V wouldn’t be pressed for more details, instead, he just gave us the assurance that the audience would like it.

Gary V is also praying for a fine weather tomorrow and he’s glad that these past few days the sun had been shining brightly, except for some rain showers here and there.

Aside from the US and Canada tour of “As 1” that is happening this October, Gary V also disclosed that they are planning to have a provincial tour of “As 1” here in the country. They are looking into bringing the concert to top cities like Cebu and Bacolod, but they have to scout for a big venue that could accommodate their production requirements.

After the concert tour of “As 1” in the US and Canada, Gary plans to rest for about a month before plunging back to work. He wants to recharge and revitalize before taking on a number of activities lined up from now until next year. Gary V disclosed that he’s doing a Christmas album for release next year. He wanted to do the album this year but he got busy with “As 1” preparations, so the album has to wait for 2010.

Also joining Gary and Martin in the concert tomorrow are their sons Gabriel Valenciano and Robin Nievera, respectively. And they are both excited sharing the stage in one number.

We asked Martin’s reaction that his son Robin is following his footsteps as a singer although they have different music genres –he’s a balladeer while his son is a rocker. How does he feel that his son is also making a name for himself as a singer and a rocker at that?

 “I am flattered. I am glad that he has his own niche. He wants to be original. He doesn’t want to sound like dad or sound like mom but is making his own kind of music and is making it on his own. He didn’t get into showbiz because of me. He carved his own niche. Even our lines are different. The way he constructs a song is different from the way I do before,” said Martin.

“I am happy that my son made a conscious effort to be different from me and his mom, same thing that Gary’s eldest son, Paolo, did. He also made an effort to be different with his dad in terms of his music,” said Martin. “His music is about the Lord…Christian music na rock. That’s their choice and I am happy with that.”

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Astig, the award-winning independent film and top-grosser of the 2009 Cinemalaya, will compete at the New Currents Section of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) in South Korea from October 8 to 16, 2009. The New Currents is an international competition section that features the first or the second feature films of future leading directors of Asian cinema.

“Astig” was one of the big winners at Cinemalaya held last July, with GB Sampedro winning Best Director and Arnold Reyes winning Best Supporting Actor. “Astig” also won awards for Best Editing (Charliebebs Gohetia) and Best Sound (Ditoy Aguila, Junnel Valencia and Mark Locsin).

“Astig” is an episodic tale of four young men trying to survive the sexual squalor, seductive filth and emotional perversity of Manila. It stars Dennis Trillo, Edgar Allan Guzman, Arnold Reyes and Sid Lucero. It will have commercial screening starting September 23 at Robinsons Galleria IndieSine.