Ako Mismo - TV Plug

AKO MISMO is about YOU!

Making a stand and taking real action for the causes you believe in. Causes that you yourself can truly pursue to make a real, positive difference to your fellow countryman, to your country.

It is for you who still dare to hope that life for millions doesnt have to be a hopeless battle against problems like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment.

It is for you who believe that not enough is being done about our countrys problems. And that to do right things, youll do them yourself.

It is a movement where you can show your patriotism and compassion, and make these traits infectious.

Its about action that eradicates hopelessness in every Filipino.

How hard will this be to accomplish? Well that will be entirely up to you.

In AKO MISMO you get to choose the cause you wish to pursue. No cause is too small as long as it is a noble one. All we ask is that you make a pledge to do it.

You yourself can pledge anything: from teaching English to your yayas kid, to making sure that your barangay is dengue-free.

Or make a pledge to do your part in ending corruption, prostitution, illegal drugs or the inhumane treatment of animals. The choice is yours.

No matter how small, as long as you pledge that you yourself will take action, its sure to make a big difference.

Giving more hope for Filipinos to stop merely surviving, and start living. And it starts with you.

MISMO yan.

Watch AKO MISMO TVC below:

Blast from the Past: Arnel Pineda of Journey Band

Arnel Pineda, then:

Arnel Pineda, now:

Arnel Pineda and the Journey Band Will Perform Live in Manila on March 14

World-renowned rock band The Journey is coming to the Philippines for their much-awaited concert on March 14 at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds.

This comes at the heels of the band's well-publicized performance at the 2009 Super Bowl 43rd pre-game in Tampa, Florida last February 1, 2009. The American band Journey is composed of Neal Schon (guitars), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valory (bass) and Dean Castronovo (drums), and of course, Philippines very own Arnel Pineda (vocalist). The former vocalist of local cover band Zoo was recently given his own segment on ABS-CBN's variety show ASAP '09 titled Rock Express.

Arnel was discovered by Neal through the video sharing site YouTube, paving the way for the Filipino singer to replace Journey's former vocalist Steve Perry.

Journey will definitely rock the local concert scene with their first performance in the Philippines after their successful tours in Europe and the United States. Arnel's powerful voice is featured in the band's 11th album titled Revelation, a certified-platinum album in the United States. Tracks include "Open Arms," "Only The Young," "Don't Stop Believing," and "Separate Ways."

Tickets to the March 14 concert are available at Ticketnet (Tel. No. 911-9999).

A "Journey" (Not) To Remember by Arnel Pineda

Rolling Stone�s October 2008 issue features Arnel Pineda�s unhappy journey.

Two minutes before Journey kicked off their world tour in February, with new singer Arnel Pineda, the whole thing nearly fell apart. �I told them I wanted to back out,� says the 41-year-old Filipino vocalist, whom the band discovered on YouTube. �[Journey guitarist] Neal Schon told me, �It�s too late now.� He pushed me a little and said, �Go. Go sing for us.�� Pineda overcame his butterflies and took the stage in front of 20,000 fans in Chile, singing an hour of hits in a soaring voice incredibly similar to former Journey frontman Steve Perry. Since then, Pineda has played more than 63 concerts with Journey, including a current three-month trip through American amphitheaters, which has been averaging 13,000 people a night. The tour is the sixth-highest-grossing of the summer, and the band�s performances are as high-energy as they were during Journey�s heyday.

Unfortunately, Pineda isn�t finding the tour nearly as fulfilling as his bandmates are. He misses his girlfriend and son, and the grueling pace is grinding him down. �It�s very, very sad,� he says. �There are days I just break down and cry. This is a job I�m doing for my family. That�s all the consolation I�m getting.� Traveling around America isn�t what he expected. �It�s all buses, stage, microphone,� he says. �I never really get to go around and walk. They wake me up for soundcheck, then I wait until the show at nine. It�s a fantastic job, but at the same time it�s a curse. . . . I told Neal that the only thing that will make me quit this is if I get sick. I guess that�s the same reason Steve Perry bailed out.�

Just last summer, Pineda was fronting the Zoo, a band specializing in Eighties rock covers. YouTube clips of Pineda singing �Don�t Stop Believin� � and �Faithfully� came to the attention of Schon, who had recently parted ways with Journey�s fourth lead singer, Jeff Scott Soto. �I told him, �You have to show your face so I can believe you,� � Pineda recalls of his first conversation with Schon. �I challenged him to talk to me on a Webcam.�

Within weeks, Pineda took his first trip to the U.S. and auditioned for the band in San Francisco. A few days later, he was hired. �Mr. Neal Schon picked me up and told me, �You got the job,� � Pineda says. �For a guy like me, it�s surreal � like some sort of miracle.� Quickly, the band cut two discs worth of material: one of new songs and another of rerecorded hits. �It was spooky, sitting behind the desk watching Arnel record these songs,� says keyboardist Jonathan Cain. �It was like going back in a time machine.� Since coming out in June, the album has sold 441,000 copies; it�s the band�s biggest hit since Perry left the group.

This all comes at a time when Journey�s work has re-entered the pop-culture landscape in surprising ways: Their 1981 smash �Don�t Stop Believin� � has made memorable appearances on The Sopranos and Laguna Beach, and Kanye West performed it nightly on his 2008 tour. �When you work at something long enough, things just sort of turn around,� Schon says. �I�m ear-to-ear smile every night.� But is he worried about his frontman? �He�s missing his family, missing his homeland, you know?� says Schon. �But he�s having a lot of fun, too.�

[From Rolling Stone Issue 1062 � October 2, 2008]