Inspire to conspire

ART | FASHION | PHOTOGRAPHY Disclaimer: All of the content in this blog is owned by me (unless stated otherwise) and cannot be used without my permission.

[giograffiti]

My Wanderland 2013 experience (part 1)

Colour Coding

Members:

Chris Holland (Vocals/Guitar)

Tim Commandeur (Drums)

Tour Member:

Will Ramage (Bass)

Origin: Sydney, Australia

Genre: Indie Pop/Synth Pop/Pop Rock

Set list:

1 - Hold Tight 

2 - Leave It's Over 

3 - Had It All 

4 - Kick 

5 - When You Were Young (The Killers Cover)

6 - New Track 

7 - Perfect 

     The Sydney based Indie Pop Rock duo delivered a charming and spirited performance all through out their set. They played 5 out of 5 songs that can be heard on their debut EP, "Proof". Holland delivered a great vocal with his sweet yet commanding voice on all tracks starting with "Hold Tight" which is one of their more uplifting and upbeat tracks on the EP, with it's honest and comforting chorus lyrics, "You can change what you say till it's gone away, Hold Tight this will all go your way". The next tracks performed were "Leave, It's Over" & "Had it All" which are two of the more darker, broodier songs of the EP but still keep an upbeat tempo. Both songs are the boys take on heartbreak and relationships gone wrong, on the track "Had it all" you hear a different slightly darker and soft side to Holland's voice. The 4th song performed was, "Kick" which entails the same upbeat feel as the other songs and is one of the more lyrically uplifting songs in the EP. For their 5th song the boys take on a cover of "When you Were Young" by The Killers. When talking about the Killers, Brandon Flowers and the rest of the boys have some big shoes to fill, though Holland and Commandeur didn't reach the level of The Killers they still delivered a stellar performance of the song. For the next song, the boys performed an unreleased track which gives us a hint that we can expect another set of different tracks from their first full album, as the song is more mid tempo compared to the others and has a more mysterious and cryptic facade in terms of the lyrics with the chorus going "Be strange but don't be a stranger". Finally, saving their most popular song thus far and first lead single, the duo performed "Perfect" which is easily the most romantic and catchy song on the EP and the boys delivered a very energetic and effortless performance.

     Definitely, a great over all set by Colour Coding and hopefully we all get to see more of them in the future with new material. Over all the boys have a collection of catchy, upbeat Indie Synth Pop-Rock songs in their repertoire and are definitely worth the listen.

EP: Proof

Favourite Tracks: Hold Tight, Perfect & Leave, It's over

  Follow the band on twitter: @colourcoding

Follow Chris Holland on twitter: @_ChrisHolland

Follow Tim Commandeur on twitter: @TimCommandeur 

[giograffiti]

Wanderland 2013

So just recently last May 18, I was able to attend the first ever Wanderland Music Festival at the Makati Circuit in Manila. For those of you who do not know, Manila is the capital of the Philippines, which is my home country. It was really awesome for Karpos Multimedia to arrange such an amazing event because for a lot of filipinos, festivals and events like Coachella are way too much of a stretch away from us. 

If you're someone who likes indie rock and such genres of music, this would have been the perfect festival for you. With indie Australian acts, Colour Coding and Tully on Tully, New Zealands' Avalanche City, 90's American Band, Nada Surf, Utah's Pop Rock Phenomenon, Neon Trees and headlining the festival we're the Aussie Indie Rock Band, The Temper Trap. Along with these international acts, several heavy hitting local bands (Up Dharma Down, Taken by Cars) and new comers (She's only Sixteen, Yolanda Moon, Pulso) participated in the festival.

The festival started at 1:00PM and ended at 1:00AM later that night. This shot is just a teaser of some shots I took during the festival. I will be talking about the international bands, individually on upcoming posts, accompanied by my thoughts on seeing them live and my favourite songs, from the said bands.

Cheers!

NOTE: I messed up a lot of pictures during Nada Surf's performance due to external problems. :( Also I didn't take any pictures of the local bands because I was scared my SLR might get confiscated, oh and Karpos Multimedia and Wanderland should just allow people to freely bring their SLR's, I mean it is an open festival, plus it's opportunity for a lot of photographers to take amazing shots of their favourite bands.

Did you get to attend Wanderland and how did you find it?

[giograffiti]

Just imagine your world, our world flipped upside down. Go ahead, try it.\

Cheers!

[giograffiti]

Bookworm - countless dates with literature

     Oscar Wilde once said "You can never be overdressed or over-educated." This is one of the statements I live by, considering that I have a great love for Fashion and Literature. Normally, I talk more about fashion, but this time I will dig deep with one of my other loves, reading.

     Personally, I know science fiction, young adult novels or whatnot aren't considered learning textbooks, but I do feel as that we still tend to learn a lot from reading even these kinds of book. Reading is always a good thing, expanding your vocabulary and maybe even filling your mind with different questions from the things you read. Whenever I read something, certain things in a novel always set off something in my mind that drives my curiosity for things. 

     I don't usually stick to one genre or certain kind of story, but I can honestly say that lovey dovey novels, definitely aren't for me (Sorry to all Nicholas Sparks fans, I do not mean to offend). So what was the last things you read or do you recommend any good books or authors? I would love to know. 

Cheers!

[giograffiti]

Just keep swimming - because there are many fish in the ocean

I refuse to hate on months and say "insert month here" was a terrible month, but I must say April was kind of a big bitch in more ways than one. I could bicker and rant about April all I want but it's definitely not gonna change anything really, it won't make my problems go away or will it make May a better month.

So like every fish in the ocean, I will keep swimming. Yes, Dory definitely got the right idea then.

Cheers!

[giograffiti]

California Dreaming (by Gian Carlo Madarang)

My look today consists of:

1.) L.A. City Graphic T-shirt from H&M

2.) Black Slim Chinos from Topman

3.) The Doors limited edition sneakers from Converse

4.) Vintage Black Leather Backpack from Armani Exchange

     I'm back again with another look and this time I decided to switch things up a bit. I have somehow had a pattern with my last few looks so I decided to do something different but still with similar elements. Basically, my H&M top is very bright, vivid and has a nice play of color blocking and prints with the colors of a sunset. I decided to just wear plain and simple black chinos with this top so that it doesn't take away from the gorgeous shirt print. I also decided to go for a 90's inspired twist to a look and tied my button up flannel polo around my waist, which just adds an extra pop to go with the colors of my shirt. Finally, I wanted to wear something laid back and simple for my footwear so I went for my class limited edition the Doors converse sneakers.

     I also wanted to keep the accessories simple so I just put on my tortoise wayfarers, my vintage watch and my vintage Armani Backpack which actually is really old and in fact it is older than me. So I hope you enjoyed this look and would want to try something like this! Have a nice day!

Cheers!

For a full list and details about my look go to: 

giograffiti.tumblr.com/lookbook 

& if you want to know more about me and my inspirations feel free to follow me on: 

Twitter: @giographical 

Instagram: @giographical

To see all my looks check out my lookbook page:http://lookbook.nu/giographical

[giograffiti]

Without a worry in the world

There are just some days when I miss being a little kid. I mean who wouldn't love to spend their days without worrying about what they'd have to do next? The years of our childhood were basically years worth of a vacation and that does sound glorious, considering that back then productivity didn't mean anything much.

I'll keep it short I miss the Pokemon, Power Ranger, X-men, Slide, Swing, Seesaw, Tamagotchi, Cartoon filled days of my life. It really confuses me why kids these days, want to grow up so fast. Oh well, they won't realize it till it's gone.

Cheers!

[giograffiti]

Homemade Vegetable Lasagna

It's one of the best takes on being healthy and unhealthy at the same time. Personally, I love mine with lots and lots of cheese. 

[giograffiti]

Live Free - Loving every minute and I feel so alive

I am definitely one of those dreamer types of people. I have ambition, goals and as much as possible I wanna live this life the way I've always wanted to. Though I will admit, in terms of my life dreams measured by percentage I'd say I'm only at about probably less than 20% at the age of 21. Which in terms of life spans and statistics really stink.

Nevertheless, one way or another I will reach my goals, achieve my dreams and look back and say, life is great. A lot of great things happen and I don't realize it at times, but there are times like now, where I get to really feel that I'm having a blast, even if in terms of the bigger picture seem quite slow paced.

Life is a blessing, whether you see it now or you will later on, it truly is.

Cheers!

Model: Monica Abella

[giograffiti]

Vertical Horizon (by Gian Carlo Madarang)

My look today consists of:

1.) Red Striped Reid Tank Top by Modern Amusement from Pacific Sunwear

2.) Plaid Flannel Button Up Polo from Forever21

3.) Skinny Cargo Pants from Uniqlo

4.) Gray Harold trainer shoes from Polo Ralph Lauren

It has been quite a while since I have posted on my lookbook and it saddens me, hopefully I can post more looks constantly, if time and resources allow.

So moving on to today's look, it is still extremely hot here in the sunny island of Cebu City and apparently for the rest of the summer we have a 0% chance of rain, so being covered up like my outfit today will hardly happen often. Anyway, I've been wearing a lot of tank tops lately, because like I said it's really hot and I prefer to be as free as possible, but of course there are times when I have to look just a bit more decent hence, I wore a simple plaid button down polo over my tank top, in case I needed to look just a bit more covered. For my bottom, I decided to wear my skinny cargo pants, which I really like because even if they are pants, they are really airy and they don't make you feel hot at all. Finally, I decided to wear my polo sneakers and a few accessories to blend with the rest of the outifit.

My look today was basically inspired by sort of sandy and summer colors. Hence, a lot of reds, greys and beige, which is a color combination I really like because it's very easy on the eyes while that reddish-pink tone gives a nice pop to the over all look. The color combination really tends to stray away from my usual shades of blue.

So I hope you like this look and will decided to go out of your color palette comfort zone and play around with a bunch of colors.

Cheers!

For a full list and details about my look go to: 

giograffiti.tumblr.com/lookbook 

& if you want to know more about me and my inspirations feel free to follow me on: 

Twitter: @giographical 

Instagram: @giographical

To see all my looks check out my lookbook page:http://lookbook.nu/giographical

[giograffiti]

Hey Love - Quadron

I thought I'd share some of my favourite songs at the moment or my latest finds, whether these songs are new or old, I'll still share them because you never know who has or hasn't heard a certain song.

Quadron, is a new duo I've discovered and I have had this song on repeat for the last week. Basically, they are an indie electronic pop duo, that bring a great amount of soul to their songs. If you haven't heard this song, play it now! It's refreshing and definitely something worth hearing.

While your at it check out their fun vid featuring the duo, vocalist Coco and musician/producer Robin showing their moves on the dance floor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P7N_vlvU8w

[giograffiti]

The light - find it, grab it and don't let go

I honestly hate making a reference to the phrase You Only Live Once (YOLO), unless it's about the track by The Strokes, so I won't. Anyway, for everyone happiness, success or whatever you aspire to achieve in life doesn't always come easy regardless if you did have it easy, holding on to it is a different story. To make it simple, when we come across one of life's greatest blessings whether it's a person, a thing or something that happened to us, cherish every bit of it and don't let go or think that everything's gonna be a smooth trip from then and on.

We will lose someone or something, if we don't see their worth and if we don't take care of them. The world is fragile and day by day, everything slowly starts to crumble and we honestly don't know how long we'll have a chance to see what we see, for what it is. So wake up, and love everything, because the light shines down on this earth everyday for us to see.

Cheers!

[giograffiti]

Against the current - patience is a virtue

I am not sure if my title for today's post makes any sense at all, but if you think hard enough you will get it. So I just wanted to say there are times when we just have to be patient. When things are completely out of your hands, you have no choice but to wait. Honestly, I wouldn't consider myself to be a very patient person, more than I'd like I tend to flip when I have to wait for something.

I think Impatience can stir up for many different reasons. For me, one of the biggest reasons is when you really want something and you did everything you could to get that something but it seems like you can't get it right away for who knows what reason. That drives me crazy, but I don't have a choice.

Patience may hurt you, but it will never kill you.

(Unless you have frantic suicidal tendencies then that's a different case, but let's not get into that.) 

Cheers! 

[giograffiti]

Flowering words - the good and the bad

You know how sometimes, people are in dire need of some positivity in their lives, but then we tend to find ourselves at a loss for words and we just end up blurting out something nice, though not necessarily accurate or true. Well, my point in this all is I've been on both sides of the said situation and I just somehow feel like talking about it, so I'm gonna do it here in my little tumblr blog.

Personally, I hate receiving flowering words because I normally see past them and I can usually, immediately tell when a person is saying something to me just to make me feel better. When I'm in a state of depression, I tend to be the harshest critic on myself and I can turn a sweet sounding song into a bitter sounding melody in an instant. Though I must admit it is nice hearing something positive when I feel like crap because even if at times I know it's not on the dot, it's still a nice piece of effort every now and then. I mean we can't always expect people to have the right answer or the right thing to say. We are only human after all.

Now, I won't lie, because I do tend to find myself in a position of having to blurt out some flowering words, because I to are sometimes messed up in the head and I pretty much fail to transcribe any information in certain situations. Though I try my best to keep things as real as possible just because I know I wouldn't want to be fed a whole lot of bull crap myself.

I guess the point in all this would be, if you can't seem to find the words to say, think about it a bit, silence can always be a good thing. There is nothing more convenient, than being able to hear yourself think. We aren't robots programmed to say the right things, so no pressure, just keep it real, be honest and be a great friend, lover, cousin, parent, child, etc. and always show some love and support and maybe everything will be alright.

Well that was random... oh well!

Cheers!

Note: From this point on I probably will stop leaving notes on picture credits cause like I've pointed out all shots on my blog are done by me unless stated otherwise. I can be such a ditz. :p

[giograffiti]

Summer Daze (by Gian Carlo Madarang)

My look today consists of:

1.) Light Blue Button Down Long Sleeve Shirt from Dansen

2.) Plaid Bow tie from Forever21

3.) DIY Denim Shorts

4.) Red Leather Belt from H&M

5.) Burgundy 6.0 from Nike

So for today's look I decided to dress it up a bit with my Light Blue Button Down Long sleeve shirt from Dansen, which is actually a very formal looking top appropriate for any semi-formal event or just something to put on during the weekend. Now since it's just a simple top, I decided to use a bunch of accesories. Starting with a plaid bow tie I got from Forever21, it's just a simple Blue, Red and White design, which for me adds contrast to the light blue.

Along the lines of the palette, I decided to use a Red Leather belt, which I got from H&M to match with the bow tie and again add more contrast to my top. Finally for my bottom, since it's summer and it's really hot I decided to wear Denim Shorts, which were originally pants and I just cut them and stitched it up myself since I felt they were a bit loose around my lower leg area and I just need more shorts. Finally, just wearing my dear Burgundy Nike 6.0's to complete my look.

If you have pants that you don't use cause you feel that they don't fit right anymore, why not see if they make great shorts. It saves you the money and plus they're really easy to do on your own. So I hope you enjoyed my look or found it useful!

Cheers!

For a full list and details about my look go to: 

giograffiti.tumblr.com/lookbook 

& if you want to know more about me and my inspirations feel free to follow me on: 

Twitter: @giographical 

Instagram: @giographical

To see all my looks check out my lookbook page:http://lookbook.nu/giographical

[giograffiti]

Rising above and beyond - Lying on a sea of clouds

When it comes to myself, I am very pessimistic and that's always been a problem of mine. I have big dreams, big expectations and a whole lot of doubt to go with it. This problem of mine, always tends to bring me down and well fancy words aside, it sucks.

I've realized that my outlook on everything isn't always as bad as I perceive it to be, therefore I will push my self to be more positive and just see the good in everything. Some things, whether little or gigantic always count for something.

So go ahead, go out and look up, because you're alive and it's great.

Cheers!

Note: Picture taken up in the air while'st on a big metal machine.

[giograffiti]

Sink or Swim - When do we stop trying?

In connection to my previous blog post, what happens when the tide takes a major toll on us and things end up even more challenging and messed up than how things started? Will we give in to the current, let go and sink? or will we keep pushing ourselves, by swimming till our bodies completely wear out in hopes of still having a shot of survival.

This goes way back to one of the most significant human instincts for survival; fight or flight. In the face of adversity, as human beings, we are all given the option to either stay and fight or to back off and run away. These kinds of situations happen to us everyday or more than we realize. The things we face that causes our guts to go into this state of mind, may either be minor or major. At times, we naturally just do and follow immediately what our gut tells us, but sometimes we just find ourselves completely frozen and stopped at our paths left with two options.

From what I've experienced, I've probably ran away more than I should have actually fought. Though lately, I've decided to change that and I've decided to take a stand more often on the things I believe in. There's just too much in front of me and I can't just let it go and I won't easily give up the things I've worked hard to build. I will keep swimming, I will keep fighting and I will keep pushing till I am happy and satisfied with the things I have done in my life.

I hope everyone follows their hearts and does what makes you feel happy and successful with your life. 

Cheers!

Note: Picture taken underwater and edited over water by me. HAHA