Arnel gives back

It is give back time for Arnel Pineda and he is saying, “Your journey to stardom begins here.” And here in his case is the Asian Music Camp. The former street kid, now the Journey soloist, has established the Arnel Pineda Foundation, Inc. for street children. This is in memory of his struggles to follow his dreams and to further his desire to give back to his community in gratitude for all the blessings he has received. The foundation is a joint project of Arnel and Sanre Entertainment headed by Rene Walter.

The foundation’s first project is the Asian Music Camp. This is a music talent competition for bands from all around Asia. To join, all that bands have to do is submit raw video footage of them performing one cover song and one original song in English not exceeding eight minutes for both songs to the www.asianmusiccamp.com. Submission of entries start on Jan. 1, 2015 and ends on March 31, 2015. The best 50 bands will be chosen and the list will next be narrowed down to 20 after which voters will choose the Top 10 bands.

The process of elimination ends with the Face Off run where the Top 10 bands will compete in a live performance. Voters will then vote for the Top 5 who will advance to the final round, which will be a reality show music competition on TV. There will be cash prizes, a recording contract and management contract valued up to $1M for the winning band, not to mention the very important mentorship by music industry professionals.

Coming soon: Sergio Mendez

One more time for Sergio Mendez. Ovation Productions is bringing back bossa nova legend Sergio Mendez and his band in concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City on Saturday, Nov. 15. This will be followed by another show on Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Waterfront Cebu City. Featured performer in the shows will be former Brasil 66 lead vocalist Joe Pizzulo.

Sergio’s mix of light jazz and Latin bossa has resulted in a captivating easy-listening sound loved by music lovers all over the world. Among his biggest and most enduring hits are Mas Que Nada, Constant Rain (Chove Chuva), For Me, Night And Day, The Look Of Love, Fool On The Hill, Scarborough Fair, Pretty World, Never Gonna Let You Go, Rainbow’s End, Olympia, The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye and What Do We Mean To Each Other.

Tickets to Sergio Mendes & Brasil 2014 Live in Manila at the Big Dome are priced at P5,500, P4,500, P3,500, P2,500, P1,500 and P700. Call TicketNet at 911-5555 or log on to www.ticketnet.com.ph. Tickets to the Waterfront Cebu show are priced at P4,500, P3,500, P2,500, P2,000, P1,000 and P750. For details, call 0917-6228705.