The Home of New Rock is also the home of unique events that most high school and college kids look forward to as early as, say, the next Star Wars episode. Take the annual NU 107 Rock Awards for instance, undeniably the biggest rock event for local music. Thousands pray that tickets to this strictly invitational event fall into their hands like manna from heaven and the millions who can’t make it to the awards show just tune in to NU 107 to listen to what’s happening and get a feel of the event. But the NU 107 Rock Awards is in November. That’s still a long way to go.
Recently, NU 107 went outside and partied with its annual NU 107 Summer Shebang at the Fort Bonifacio grounds. Thousands showed up at the all-day, all-play outdoor party which kicked off with wall-climbing contests, a skateboarding exhibition by the country’s top skaters, a kite-flying clinic, car displays and many more. And when the sun went down, NU 107 did what it’s best at: staged a rock concert which showcased a wide spectrum of local rock music – from punk/ska to rapcore and metal to "Stuff so new we haven’t even categorized it yet," said Ron Titular, NU 107’s Operations Head with a laugh. Among those who performed in the concert were Sandwich, Battery, the Brownbeat All Stars, Imago, Jeepney, Joyride, Moyg, neighbors, Cheese, Chico Science, Rayyn, Cynthia Alexander, Badburn, Pin-up Girls, Itchyworms, Fatal Posporos, Chernobyl, Ciudad and new, unsigned bands culled from NU 107’s radio show In The Raw.
Besides the Summer Shebang, what keeps NU 107 busy is the introduction of their TV counterpart, untv UHF 37. The TV station is introducing to its viewers the 3-7-10 viewing habit.
Everyday at 3 p.m, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., audiences will be treated to two solid hours of cutting edge, 30 minute programs that hope to define the future of television.
The block starts off with Strange Brew, a sitcom/travelogue that follows the adventures of a pensionadong probinsyano named Tado and his lovely driver and girl Friday Erning. Since its debut, Strange Brew has established quite a following among the untv audience. This is followed by In The Raw, an off-shoot of the radio show on NU 107 that showcases the talents of unsigned local musicians and is hosted by Francis "Brew" Reyes (guitarist of The Dawn) and Anette Ortiz (drummer of Fatal Posporos). The third show is Roam, a unique travelogue that takes viewers to sites within the metropolis that we haven’t heard of or have overlooked. Hosted by Zach (of the Zach and Joey in the Morning radio show), the show follows his metropolitan adventures. Finally, there’s Rock Rulez, a music video show hosted by a cut-off animated Elvis. The show features hard rock music videos interspersed with spiels by the animated host and some cut-out celebrity guest.
On Saturdays and Sundays, untv also features Manic Pop Thrill or MPT, a program that follows the misadventures of indie culture fanatics Diego and Jason and a wacky bunch of characters. This music video show is aired every weekend at 5 p.m. This is followed by Out of Time, a show hosted by Arlo, a brain-fried hippie who gives a first hand account of the music scene of the 60s and the 70s with matching classic rock music videos. After which, Playback, a show featuring different rock concerts is aired.
untv UHF 37 is a station owned and operated by the Progressive Broadcasting Corporation. untv can be seen on Destiny and Home Cable at channel 59, Sky Cable on Channel 95 and Dream Broadcasting System on Channel 13.
Taliban Ban is the album’s carrier single and promises to be one of summer’s big hits with its ticklish lyrics about warring Americans and the Talibans and the way they run circles around each other. As of this writing, popular noontime shows and sitcoms have picked up the song which is now included in the playlist of top radio stations. Dance group the Dance Squad has also embarked on a bar and mall tour dancing to Taliban Ban to help promote the infectious single.
Other catchy songs included in the High Times album are Coconut Dance, Com Sing-A-Long and Hey Donita. High Times is available in CD and cassette format.