View the complete slideshow here.

“Ganito pala ang feeling ng maging starstruck!”

The person expressing this is a star himself: Ian Tayao. He is the charismatic and gifted lead vocalist of Wilabaliw and Queso. A guy with enviable vocal chops and natural command of the stage.

Tayao has such power, he can tell his audience either to start rioting and trash any concert venue or to calm down and genuinely love each other. Fans will follow either way. Right now, though, the powerhouse frontman is a gushing little fanboy.

Related: Deftones’ Chino Moreno mourns Chi Cheng

Compliments from their idol

Queso is about to open for Deftones, one of their main musical influences. Earlier, Deftones bassist Sergio Vega wandered to Queso’s side backstage and told them he has seen their performances on YouTube and quite liked it. (Check out www.rosarioko.com for pics and details.)

Ian Tayao onstage. (Photo by Francis Brew)Queso guitarist Ocho Toleran would later show photos of him with one of the signature axes of Deftones guitarist Stephen

Perhaps the imperfect Trans-Pacific connection colors the waver of his voice, but it’s clear that the man speaking is still reeling from the loss of his former bandmate and friend who is now a lifetime away.

“It’s definitely hard because we knew that this could be the outcome,“ says Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno with palpable sadness.

The band’s longtime bassist Chi Cheng died on April 13 after a four-year coma.

An end to suffering

“We hoped that it wasn’t but it happened and um…there’s a slight bit of relief that he’s not suffering like he was for so many years. But the reality that we’re not gonna see him”—Moreno pauses and sighs—“again or play with him or talk with him…,” he says during a recent phone interview.

“It’s tough, it’s a reality, and a lot of people deal with this no matter what you do in your life… we’re pretty private people so we don’t get out and talk too much about it … so everybody’s just chillin’ it, and takin’ it you know, day by day.”

Deftones was identified as part

By Sam YG

Whether you love ir or hate it, there’s something undeniably unique about Philippine summer.

It’s QT with family and friends. And, the popular term YOLO (You Only Live Once) seems to be magnified in people’s minds.

Aside from the usual stuff such as the scorching heat, increased travel rates, shorter (a.k.a. perfect) shorts, I looked at other signs that say, “Summer pa rin!”

For example, I noticed that the number of people who are SFS (Single For Summer) is also on the rise.

Therefore, as you apply sun block on your skin, it’s also advisable to apply some on your heart to avoid getting wasak... in English, "emotionally destroyed."

Beware of these types

Here are a few people and things to look out for this season:

1. The Kilig Ninja. That individual (not a boyfriend or girlfriend) who seems to be consistent and sweet then suddenly disappears one day. It might be a bit useless to ask questions such as “why?” or “what happened to us?” because chances are, he or she will have no answer.

Little seen photos of the music scene in a solo exhibit ongoing until July.I’ve been taking pictures for some time now but I’ve never had a solo exhibit. There were two group shows I’ve contributed a few photos to, but never one on my own—until now.

Behind The Curtain’s Shadows is the title of my 45-photo slideshow exhibit currently on view until July at Apartment 1B restaurant on the ground floor of One Rockwell East Tower, Rockwell Drive near Power Plant Mall in Makati.

The exhibit is presented as a slideshow that appears on several 42-inch LEnD television screens within the restaurant.

On show: what people don’t get to see

Although I have at least a decade’s worth of work in music photography, I wanted to show the stuff that I’m currently working on and which a lot of people don’t normally get to see.

In the past year I have closely followed Greyhoundz, Queso, Slapshock, WilaBaliw, Kjwan and Razorback.

In spite of these bands’ continued success, there seemed to me a mystery surrounding their lasting appeal – something that may be answered by digging deeper into

UPDATED--“Ganito pala feeling ng ma-starstruck!”

Ian Tayao (Queso/Wilabaliw) was recounting the time Deftones first came to Manila two years ago. Somehow he got past security and freaked out when he saw the members backstage.

He also peeked through one of the tents backstage. “It was Chino Moreno sleeping!” he said in a way to convince us just how monumental it was for the him to see the Deftones vocalist in full zzz mode.

The ‘better’ Deftones experience

I stopped myself from bragging about who had the better Deftones experience.

I wanted to tell everyone that I actually delayed the band from being interviewed because I was taking my sweet time eating at the next table with Splintr.com, while trying to eavesdrop on the band’s conversations.

When Deftones were asked if they were ready for the interview, they said, “Oh, isn’t everyone done eating yet?”

I immediately dropped my spoon and fork quite loudly, stood up, turned on my camera and showed everyone I was ready, haha.

Can’t help being a

It was an ordinary Sunday.

We thought the noontime TV variety show “ASAP” would be presenting its usual fare of performances last May 5.

We were wrong.

As the introduction came heralding “The Voice of the Philippines” judges, we saw on our screens two of the country’s most admired singers—Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac—starting their rendition of Pink and Nate Ruess’s “Just Give Me a Reason.” Just a showcase of two talents, we thought, as has been the case week after week.

But, I was also intrigued: how would the pop princess and a rock icon fare in a duet?

We were in for an incredible surprise.

It was not one singer trying to outdo the other with their biritan or kulot vocal calisthenics. It was two singers who, I believe, were made for each other—vocally, that is.

The mesh of their vocal prowess was impeccable—complementing each other smoothly and engaging in harmonies that were almost magical. And, just like they do in