27. Look What I Found: I WAS A PRODUCT DANGLER

Today, I decided to do some springcleaning and found a point-of-sale material called a "product dangler" for Visine Spray Eyeglass Cleaner.

This is a die-cut cardboard piece that one attached to a shelf counter so that the product panel dangled and wobbled in front of passing customers, thus calling their attention.

And guess who the buzz cut, bespectacled model who dangled and wobbled at all leading drugstores and supermarts--ME!

26. HIDDEN TREASURES AT THE ANNUAL GREENHILLS ANTIQUE FAIR

I didn’t even know that the famous Greenhills Antique Fair was already under way since last week; I had earlier texted a dealer for an appointment, and he texted back—asking me to meet him instead at his stall at Greenhills. Apparently, it’s that time of the year again for this longest-running antiques and collectibles show which I have been attending since the mid 90s. I think its history goes even further than that.

For 4 weeks, Manila’s antique dealers, segunda mano shops, numismatists, deltiologists, philatelists, collectors, “junkies” and kibitzers congregate near the fountain area of the Greenhills Shopping Center for a full day of wheeling, dealing, trading and swapping. Anything of value is sold here---the term ‘antique fair’ is not quite accurate as there are more repros being sold than the real thing.

Thus, Greenhills is not for buying quality century old santos; instead, it is for rummaging and scrounging around for collectibles of all sorts—not too old, mostly vintage, but still capable of invoking nostalgia, that hard-to-explain longing for a connection to the past, which many collectors like me experience in the presence of anything old, passé and defunct.

Toys, softdrink bottles, old product packaging, medals, stamps, 1950s magazines, schoolbooks, clocks, pens, pinback buttons, vinyl records, prints—name it, the Greenhills Fair has it—well, almost.

Supply seems to decline over the year judging from the number of participating dealers this year. This did not deter me from rushing over at Greenhills on one Sunday afternoon, ready to jostle with the thick weekend crowd in the hope of unearthing a ‘find’.

But the old reliables are still there—my tocayo, Alex Villaflor, is still at it, peddling ephemera, artworks and kitsch with his partner Sonny Benitez. Alex founded the first pop culture collectible shop in the country—Circa—back in the 80s at Creekside. He used to have a fne array of Bakelite radio and Coca Cola memorabilia, but those are long gone. Instead, he had these nice Flora de Filipinas botanical prints (called ‘Blanco prints” by collectors), ready for framing.

The famous George Bonsai also has one or two stalls here, but unfortunately, he was still setting up.

Jun Macaro had a fine display of medals and coins, but I was after his old photos, which he failed to bring, to my disappointment. I’ve have had lots of luck with Jun—I found my small ivory Sto. Entierro complete with his wooden calandra in his Aurora Blvd. junkyard and I also bought most of his old photos from the estate of Jorge Pineda.

 I just hopped from stall to stall—the antique shops from Tiendesitas are in full force—but they carried mostly reproduction santos dressed in gaudy clothes—they looked more like overdecorated dolls.

Talking about dolls--it was at Mike’s stand that I saw, lying on the bottom-most shelf of his glass display—an old cardboard box that had a large doll inside.

The box was wrapped in plastic, but it took only one look for me to recognize the moppet with curly golden locks tucked inside, which even had a cardboard leg separator and head support.

This is a large composition Shirley Temple Doll from Ideal Novelty Inc, perhaps the most popular doll in the world based on the likeness of the top child star of the 30s, at the time of its release in 1937. A good sized doll (22 in.) in this condition (mint in box), would command at least $900 in the market today.

So with no one looking, I snatched the "world's darling" away after just a few minutes of friendly negotiation. Expect the unexpected when you go this fair of fairs--because buried underneath mounds of second-hand trifles, you might just unearth a treasure just like me!

25. Star Shrine: JUDY COLLINS

JUDY COLLINS IN A 1965 FEATURE ON THE LEADING FOLK ARTISTS OF AMERICA. 

As a folkie in the 70s, I was a diehard fan of Peter, Paul and Mary and the King and Queen of Folk Music, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Among the leading female folk singers, it was Baez who I admired most—she, with the crystal-clear soprano voice self-accompanied by her guitar, singing lyrics, laments, broadside ballads, spirituals and the protest songs of my generation. Hooked on Baez folk, I was ready to kiss the rest of female folksingers goodbye--like Buffy Sainte-Marie and Carolyn Hester –who, I thought were a far second and third to my inimitable Queen Joan.

RARE JUDY COLLINS CDs. Live at Newport, Judy Collins Fifth Album and the 1st two recordings of Judy Collins, "Maid of Constant Sorrow" and "Golden Apples of the Sun". "Live at Newport" compiles her early performance in the mid 60s at America's most well-known folk festival. 

Until I heard Judy Collins—from an old long playing record salvaged from an Angeles thrift shop, singing a plaintive folk tune, “I am a maid of constant sorrow..I've seen trouble all my days..”. I bought the vinyl and immediately played it on our stereo. For the next hour, I was mesmerized by her voice and her storytelling of “The Great Silkie”, “John Riley”, and “The Wars of Germany”. She sang different versions of Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary tunes—like “Fennario”, “Shule Aroon” and “Little Brown Dog” –with her low soprano vocals and unique guitar playing which I thought was more advanced than Joan’s. And while Joan was a purist (for which she was severely critricized, even by Dylan), Judy's musicality allowed her to put her own distinctive spin into the songs and thus, own them.

JUDY COLLINS, self accompanied herself on the guitar, but could also play a mean piano. She studied classical piano music for many years. 

Before I knew it, I was scouring record shops for her albums, and hers were fewer and far more difficult to find. In fact, the first albums I have of her were the later ones, when she had diversified her musical tastes to include songs of Jacques Brel, the Beatles and Leonard Cohen. I knew, from the few articles written about her, that she had a classical background and was taught piano by the great Prof. Antonia Bricco. But she discovered the music of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, and traded her baby grand for a guitar, to the consternation of her father and her professor who believed that a career in folk music was not possible.

  HOOT: A 25-YEAR HISTORY OF THE GREENWICH VILLAGE MUSIC SCENE, has an extensive feature on the early start of Judy Collins, who today, remains a New York resident. 

The next chapter of her life reads like a soap opera: she got married at 19, had a son and took on a job as a folksinger at a Colorado resort lodge to support the family while her husband went to school. Shortley thereafter, Elektra Records signed her up and cut her first record—“A Maid of Constant Sorrow”—the same scratchy disc I found in the thrift shop. Her first 3 albums contained traditional number and a few protest songs written by songwriters like Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan, Eric Andersen and Richard Farina.

 THE JUDY COLLINS SONGBOOK, featuring the celebrated early songs of Judy Collins, 1970. 

But her musical maturation surfaced in 1966 when she recorded the album, “In My Life”, a collection of eclectic songs from other artists like the Beatles and Kurt Weill , featuring lush orchestrations. Her career took off the next year with “Wildflowers”, which contained the hit song “Both Sides Now”, written by the Canadian folkie, Joni Mitchell.

 JUDY ON DVD.Very early Judy performing on Pete Seeger's TV folk show, Rainbow Quest. A recent concert of her also on DVD is "An American Girl In Concert". 

The next years saw Judy Collins shedding off her folk image with a slew of hit songs and albums that reflected her varied musical interests: “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” had a pronounced country flavor while “Judith” carried the billboard topper, “Send In the Clowns”, a song by Stephen Sondheim from the Broadway musical, “A Little Night Music”. Another song closely associated with her is “Amazing Grace”, a religious hymn and Julie Gold’s “From A Distance” and “Wind Beneath My Wings”, which she recorded ahead of Bette Midler. In 1979, she even posed nude for the cover of her album, “Hard Times for Lovers”!

 A CONCERT PROGRAM OF MS. JUDY COLLINS. 

All was not rosy with her personal life, however, and, in the course of her career, she suffered alcohol addiction, got divorced, lost custody of her son Clark, suffered from tuberculosis and had an abortion. She had a fling with Stephen Stills (of Crosby Stills & Nash. The song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” was written about her) and actor Stacey Keach. Her second marriage to artist Louis Nelson proved to be more stable but she suffered another personal tragedy when her son, Clark, committed suicide in 1992.

 BIOGRAPHY OF A FOLK SINGER, "Trust Your Heart", as written by Judy Collins. 

Thank God for ebay and amazon.com, I have managed to collect Judy Collins rarities through the years, including her early recordings, videos of her early appearances on TV and various folk festivals and books (she wrote her bio, “Trust Your Heart”, “Singing Lessons” and “Sanity & Grace”, the last deals with her son’s suicide).

TO ALEX CASTRO, LOVE--JUDY COLLINS. 

 I LOVE YOU BACK, JUDAY!

By far, my most treasured Judy Collins item has got to be a personally-autographed souvenir program of her Sarajevo Concert. A few years back, on whim, I had the audacity to write Judy Collins, using an address I found on one of her albums. It was a typical fan letter, narrating how I stumbled upon her first album in a ramshackle thrift shop years before and how I grew up enjoying and learning her songs. Lo and behold, I received a short note from the legendary folk diva herself, personally addressed to me and signed with her precious name.

Now you see why I’m a Judy Collins fan forever. (I am still waiting for an answer from that Baez what'shername..hmmph!)

“If amethysts could sing..they would sound like Judy Collins" --Richard Farina 

(27 April 2009)

24. Review: PARALAYA: A Kapampangan Acoustic Album

Category: Music 
Genre: Pop 
Artist: ArtiSta.Rita 

 ArtiSta.Rita, Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awardees for the Performing Arts, goes acoustic with its 3rd CD offering, a musical detour that has everyone surprised after their first 2 albums of mostly traditional Kapampangan tunes. Already, Andy Alviz’s opus “Kapampangan Ku”, has become an anthem of sorts for Governor Among Ed Panlilio, and I was similarly hoping that “Paralaya” will yield another memorable hit.

Instead, what I got was an even collection of easy, melt-in-the-mouth melodies perfect for listening on drizzly weekend afternoons. “Bayung Bengi, Bayung Sinta” blends the lucid vocals of Nerissa Buan and Edward Bernabe in a song about hope and love. “Abe Muku” , composed by Mon David is a plaintive reminder of unyielding love, achingly sung by Michelle Reyes and Bernabe (who sings 8 of the 11 cuts) , but the repetitive lyrics make it sound a bit long-winded.

The same can be said for the lilting “Abe Pakakalale”. The album title—“Paralaya” (eastbound to Arayat)—captures best the intent and spirit of this new CD: from old roots to new routes, ArtiSta. Rita continues to expand its artistic horizons through its contemporary musical explorations, leading the way for other artists to follow. Just this month, the group has successfully completed their first U.S. tour, convincing proof that one can think local and can still go global. Other cuts: Akasya, Pamanuli, Bulan, Siwala, Tatang, Mayap a Oras, Aduan.