Sayonara, Basti!
As I was cruising C-5 and Kalayaan (cruising in an FX is really appropriate since I was stuck waiting for more than an hour yday), I was thinking of a topic for a blog, and I can't think of one.
And then, ka-boom, an email from Armi Mari Martin-Manuguid - my college roommate. Isa sa mga roommates ko na naunahan na naman ako. Actually, kami na lang ni Glen ang naiwan. But Glen is single but NOT available. Heheh..It's another story altogether.
Hay, I haven’t cried for a long time, but this article brought tears in my eyes…grabe, I didn’t realize that Sebastian “Basti” Artadi has made such a huge impact on my life. For the pasyt 14 years, I've been following him, and mourned when he left for the US, and then rejoiced with his resurrection with the Lokomotiv band in the US. But now, bam! He's retired from the music scene, and in his words: "It is finally time that my musical jihad comes to an end." He's really good with words, and boy, he broke my heart with that statement.
For now, I have to be content with my Acoustica VCD concert and Wolfgang's and Brain Salad's audio CD’s, and reminisce all the head-banging good times with him and the rest of the guys...and yes, it will never, ever be the same without him...
Please read on and weep with me…
And then, ka-boom, an email from Armi Mari Martin-Manuguid - my college roommate. Isa sa mga roommates ko na naunahan na naman ako. Actually, kami na lang ni Glen ang naiwan. But Glen is single but NOT available. Heheh..It's another story altogether.
Hay, I haven’t cried for a long time, but this article brought tears in my eyes…grabe, I didn’t realize that Sebastian “Basti” Artadi has made such a huge impact on my life. For the pasyt 14 years, I've been following him, and mourned when he left for the US, and then rejoiced with his resurrection with the Lokomotiv band in the US. But now, bam! He's retired from the music scene, and in his words: "It is finally time that my musical jihad comes to an end." He's really good with words, and boy, he broke my heart with that statement.
For now, I have to be content with my Acoustica VCD concert and Wolfgang's and Brain Salad's audio CD’s, and reminisce all the head-banging good times with him and the rest of the guys...and yes, it will never, ever be the same without him...
Please read on and weep with me…
`STF
_____Basti Artadi: One last howl By Samantha Echavez People Asia Magazine 10/21/2006
"Due to personal issues, it is finally time that my musical jihad comes to an end." No one predicted that such announcement would arrive so soon - let alone, arrive at all. Last June, Basti Artadi of the now-defunct rock band Wolfgang, proclaimed his resignation from the music industry where he ruled as a legendary front man for almost 14 years.
It came as a shock, a painful blow to his fans, especially those here in the country who were still mourning over the disbandment of Wolfgang and had to content themselves with music downloads and video clippings of his new California based band, Lokomotiv. It was hard to reconcile with the fact: Bash, retired? But he kept roaring "Rock and roll, man! Long live rock and roll, mga pare [my buddies]!" as if he was meant to do that forever!
He's only 33. He was meant to make more songs like "Darkness Fell," "Beast," "Sanctified," "What Grows In Your Garden," "Atomica" and "No Falter," songs that have prepared themselves for immortality in the Pinoy rock scene. His departure from Wolfgang to settle down in the US in 2002 was another explosive episode, prompting the band's disbandment at a later time, but he proved that he could still kick ass miles away from home as Lokomotiv's vocalist.
There was no time to miss him: way before the fans could complain of not hearing Basti Artadi snarls and screams, he got a chance to emerge as California's next big thing in rock. But two years into this stint, Basti Artadi left Lokomotiv and the industry for a reason he would not elaborate. Ever the master of metaphors, this songwriter/singer opted for a poignant footnote.
"The music industry is a beast and it's one that you have to grab hold of and start stabbing in hopes that one day you can kill it before it kills you. Unfortunately my knives are no longer long enough or sharp enough to continue on."
Other members of Lokomotiv addressed the fans' concerns on who was going to fill Basti Artadi's shoes, promising that this was just a "pitstop in one hell of a ride." But the Wolfgang loyalists, those who had witnessed the band's rise from an upcoming band in 1994 to a major force in OPM, were aware that things would never be the same.
Even Razorback vocalist Kevin Roy admitted that no one could sing like Artadi does. His passion, well-interpreted by his raucousness, was unequaled. His exit was a loss, another reminder that the heydays of Pinoy rock - the grand era when bands produced one classic after the other and there was no excuse to remake songs - was truly over.
The questions piled up and everyone was still bewildered. For why would Basti Artadi, whose raspy voice was worth four NU107 Vocalist of the Year awards, give up music? What was something more hair-raising than performing onstage for thousands of moshing metalheads? Four months after breaking the news, what is he doing now?
Artadi leapt from being a musician to a student and went offstage to pursue another road. He is now taking up a master's degree in advertising at the Academy of Art in California. "I graduated with a BA in Production Design. I've never really had an idea of what I wanted to be growing up. It's only recently that advertising struck me as something I wanted to do with my life," Artadi said. This was not a surprise to those who knew him.
Bash's creativity isn't limited to the musical context; he, too, has a flair for writing, painting and graphic design, having made the album cover for Wolfgang's debut album.
Bash Artadi has never led a flashy lifestyle, even when Wolfgang was considered the most intense and ferocious band of its time. This explains his laidback life in the States right now, where he'd rather kick back, listen to Iggy Pop and pay more attention to his hobbies like diving and snorkeling. What is a day for this rock demigod-turned-ad machine?
"Depends. I get up, go to work, talk crap with my crew. Depends really but the bulk of it is smoking and talking and slagging crap," Basti joked. He is happily married to his wife, Rizza, who is, "the greatest thing to ever happen to me. She is my best friend, my confidante, my adviser. We are constantly laughing and I never ever get tired of her company."
Apparent how Basti Artadi is taking it slow. He gave himself 14 years in the limelight - for him, that was enough. His greatest dream? Not to become the Alice Cooper of his time, not to play front act for a Pearl Jam concert, but "a beach house back home - on the beach at sunset with a cooler beside me, my wife and dog playing with my grandchildren in front of me." Simple pleasures. Little joys. Typical Basti Artadi.
Ditching the microphone mellowed Artadi down who, since 14, had spent most of his energy head-banging, creating mass hysteria on gigs and growling like a big bad wolf. In his farewell letter, he offered his sincere gratitude to the people who rocked with him.
"To our fans, I wanna say thank you for making the hairs on the back of my neck stand each and every time I walked out on that stage. It was a pleasure screaming for you all. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Cue in applause for this man, responsible for the collective gooseflesh and gasps during concerts, whose intensity had ricocheted from his vocal chords straight to the crowd and whose signature moves onstage (remember his crazy neck movements?) are sorely missed.
Labels: people
posted by DosAmigas at 7:38 AM
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