In the almost deserted dining area of Bahura Resort, 20 minutes from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, Kyrsty Alde stares alone at a whiteboard filled with index cards. The cards were sign-up forms for the one-on-one consultation sessions with the mentors of the 2012 Elements Singing/Songwriting Camp.

It is dinnertime. With the sessions officially over, everybody is celebrating on the beachfront maybe a hundred feet away.

Kyrsty was on her way to get coffee candy but stopped at the whiteboard that summarized the past four days.

RadioRepublic's Twinky Lagdameo and I approach her.

Spot the rock stars. Grad pic, Elements Songwriting Camp 2012 (Contributed photo by Francis Brew)

"Are you okay?" I ask.

She snaps out of her reverie and breaks into a bright smile. "Tapos na po e… Mami-miss ko po ito."

She tells us how much she learned, how grateful she is to her campmates and mentors, the questions she still has, and how much fun she had. Her smile never breaks but her eyes slowly well up.

Her life will never be the same, she says.

She hugs Twinky and me and makes her way back to the

Guitarist Eddie Munji III, who recorded the groundbreaking "Pinoy Jazz Volume I" in 1978, died Sunday, Nov. 18, of a heart attack.

Munji  died at 7 p.m. at Queen Mary Help of Christians Hospital in Cardona, Rizal, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Songwriter Jim Paredes, best known for being in APO, also announced the news on his Facebook page and on Twitter, calling Munji  "a great musician, arranger and friend."

Munji arranged some of APO's biggest hits, including "Panalangin," "Mahirap Magmahal ng Siyota ng Iba,"  "Lumang Tugtugin,"  "Salawaikain," and " Handog ng Pilipinas sa Mundo," among others, Paredes added.

Eddi Munji III (right) with Jim Paredes at Radio Republic (Photo courtesy of Jim Paredes)

"The man never went to music school yet his arrangements wowed everyone. He was a natural. He learned to read and write cuz he joined the school band. He knew how to turn a song to something that would surprise and delight. He loved the old jazz greats. I personally learned so much from him," Paredes wrote on Facebook.

Nowhere was Munji's propensity to surprise and

It's been almost two decades since Kevin Roy last found himself in a moshpit.

Last Nov. 10, at Simplicio Elegante in Cainta, the most hardcore venue I've ever been to, Kevin moshed with the crazy crowd to a set by Greyhoundz.

It was one of the last stops for the Boars and Houndz series of gigs. The Houndz are Greyhoundz, of course, and the Boars are Kevin's band, Razorback.

The two bands have been packing them in in venues throughout the metro, from 70s Bistro in Quezon City, to Checkpoint Louies in Sucat, Parañaque, to Saguijo in Makati.

And now, they were sharing the stage in Cainta.

With hair flying, Kevin Roy of Razorback moshes in the pit. (Photo by Nina Sandejas)

It was a last stop but by no means the end of this tour. Razorback and Greyhoundz plan to bring the Boars and Houndz series out of town.

Maybe even out of the country, in the same way both bands played Singapore two years ago.

The idea of getting two of the loudest bands in the land on tour was something Greyhoundz had wanted for a while now. They consider themselves one of the biggest fans of

(UPDATE)--It was an event that aimed to answer questions. And sometimes the answers raised more questions.

MU:CON Seoul 2012 held on November 1 and 2 at the hip Hongdae area gathered international industry experts in Nuritkum Square in Mapo-gu to discuss ways to promote the growing Asian music market to the rest of the world.

While the overseas success of K-pop undoubtedly inspired the conference, the MU:CON organization graciously included the rest of Asia in the discussion.

No escaping THAT song

Psy (SportsKorea)

Predictably, PSY and his worldwide mega-hit "Gangnam Style" was omnipresent. Partially educated at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston (!), PSY apparently intended the song to be a K-pop parody of sorts…but ended up contributing to it.

It's said that a good song, heavy promotion in traditional and non-traditional media, finding key connections, etc. make up the usual formula for turning a song into a hit. In PSY's case, it was an explosion of more than 750 million views to

Creed's concert Sunday night (Nov. 11) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum almost ended without Filipino fans hearing the band's most popular songs—no thanks to a mid-concert leg injury that overtook lead singer Scott Stapp.

Stapp's leg cramped up in the middle of Creed's performance which forced him to make an unplanned exit. Members of Creed's entourage escorted Stapp off the stage after the tenth song. The rest of the band segued into an impromptu instrumental ad lib as the crowd awaited Stapp's return.

Before leaving the stage, the singer told the crowd, "Nothing can stop us. Have faith. For those of you who pray, pray for me."

Sources said Stapp's leg joint popped as a result of his physically draining stage moves. It took just about 10 minutes for the frontman to stride back onstage to loud applause from the audience.

Anxious minutes

The injury that halted the night's continuous flow of heavy distorted guitars and Stapp's distinctive vocals were anxious moments for fans who, up to that

Hallyu star Lee Min Ho, popularly known for his role as Goo Jun Pyo in the Koreanovela "Boys over Flowers," will make the rounds in Manila as the newest endorser of retail brand Bench.

Min Ho joins the roster of Bench's high-profile foreign endorsers, such as Adam Levine, Liam Hemsworth and Super Junior members Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae.

Filipino fans will get the chance to meet Min Ho in the Benchsetter Fun Meet at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, November 16. Minho also holds an autograph session on Sunday, November 18, at SM North EDSA The Block Atrium in Quezon City (3 p.m.), Glorietta 5 in Makati (5 p.m.) and SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City (7 p.m.).

Min Ho's breakthrough role as F4 leader Goo Jun Pyo in "Boys Over Flowers (BOF)" happened in 2009. Following his phenomenal success, Min Ho kept his star burning in succeeding TV dramas, two of which were also shown locally:  "Personal Preference" and "City Hunter." His excellent acting and swoon-worthy looks landed him more

International superstar Jennifer Lopez is set to make her Filipino fans dance the night away on her first ever Manila concert "Dance Again World Tour" at the Mall of Asia Arena on November 26.

After thirteen years as a singer, selling over 70 millions of albums worldwide, Jennifer makes "Dance Again" as her first ever headlining tour, which kicked-off in Panama City on June 14. Among her stops are Europe, Asia, Australia, Central America and North America.

Jennifer, popularly known as JLo, will take her fans back from her "Jenny from the Block" days to her now glitzier and fiercer "LOVE?" phase at the concert.

As we count down the days to see JLo rock the Manila stage, here's what we can look forward to "Dance Again World Tour."

1.       Four-part concert
Known for being a total performer, JLo will surely not disappoint fans with her highly-pumped up concert, amazing dance choreography and glamorous production design. Concert reviews and setlist suggest that the concert is split into