KJWAN Rock Pinoys in Hong Kong and Macau!

Pinoys in Hong Kong and Macau have something to be proud and happy for
because Philippine’s hottest rock band KJWAN is performing in Hong Kong
this week. One in The Wanch on Thursday, Oct.4 and this Saturday,
Oct. 6 at Fringe Club in Central.

They rocked Macau last weekend when they perforemed in Hush!!!Rock
Festival. Be blown away! KJWAN’s explosive range of guitar riffs and beats
have won them acclaim at the IKON Asean 2007 competition.

Kjwan is:
Marc Abaya - Vocals
Kelley Mangahas - Bass
Jorel Corpus - Guitars / Percussion / Vocals
J-Hoon Balbuena - Drums / Vocals
Boogie Romero - Guitars / Vocals

KJWAN burst onto the Philippine music scene in 2003, when the local rock music scene had forgotten who it was originally and people were almost afraid to listen to anything new. Still, they came down hard, raw, in your face, with the release of their self titled debut album (in 2004) and coined the now-familiar catchphrase, “Bastusan na!” Their hit song, “Daliri,” became an anthem to a new generation of rock listeners and being true to your self became the order of the day. Even the very word, Kjwan, seemed to flamboyantly step in your way and hounded you so that you would never forget the name, the band and the sound

This first album earned them the nominations for Best New Artist, Best Video and Best Album Packaging (along with Balbuena being nominated as Best Drummer) in local rock station NU107’s “Rock Awards.” Favorite New Artist and Best Video at the MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2005 and a month long feature on MTV Philippines as the “Rising Star” Artist of the Month (Jan 2005), specifically, for their breakthrough single “Daliri.” The song, which received such a good amount of airplay on the radio and local music channels, appealed mainly to rock listeners who were fans of A Perfect Circle, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, and the earlier grunge bands that defined early 90s rock.

The Manila-based quintet is made up of distinct personalities, with individual musical tastes that don’t always overlap, and strong ideals that are often diametrically opposed. The chemistry might have combusted a lesser band before it even started, but the equally passionate friendships and shared hardships that make up Kjwan have held it together.

Long-time friends and former high school band-mates Marc Abaya (vocals) and Kelley Mangahas (bass) got together with fellow Ateneans Jorel Corpus (guitar) and J-hoon Balbuena (drums) to form the band’s initial lineup. They were joined in 2004 by Boogie Romero (guitar), another high school friend and former band-mate of Marc and Kelley, soon after the release of their self-titled debut album.

Three years later, at the height of the new music renaissance, Kjwan is braving a second album, 2StepMarv, which promises to be so many things more than their first self-titled album.

You can read of the rest of their story here

http://www.myspace.com/kjwan

There’s an ongoing discussion in our forum

http://pinoyhongkong.com/forum/index.php/topic,777.0.html

Be there.