20 Years in Music with Cattski

Zerothreetwo Conversations: Interviews with the Creative Class

Growing a community. These words get thrown around, but who are really doing that? Who are genuinely championing a community? Who are sacrificing themselves for the sake of an industry? Who are putting their skin on the line?

In my eyes, the Cebu music industry is lucky to have Cattski. It's been twenty years since she's been in music, and the last few years have been dedicated to creating a sustainable industry in Cebu as well as making it a legitimate music destination.

That was on my mind as I attended a press conference celebrating Cattski and Monsters the Musical. It must have felt weird for her. It's been a while since she's been celebrated. Through the years, she's been shining the spotlight on other artists. Helping them create their music, being a champion for them, and making sure everyone else outside of music heard their stories.

This time, we get to hear Cattski's story. Or more accurately her music - portrayed through Monsters the Musical.

"Monsters the Musical is a coming-of-age love story. Centered around two friends- Bea and Elle, the show explores the intricacies of a relationship that spans years. Bea and Elle discover themselves through each other, and encounter and battle their monsters together.

Monsters the Musical is a Cebuano musical marvel that expresses what it is like to be truly brave. An all-Cebuano cast, crew and live band that has put their art and their heart into this. This marks the directorial debut of Mr. Jude Gitamondoc - a professional songwriter, record producer and musical director, with a true love for Cebu and its many artists.

Featuring 25 songs by Cattski Espina, the narrative nature of her lyrics lend themselves perfectly to this story: a story about standing up to the Monsters of our own creation. Spoiler alert - Love Wins.

Monsters The Musical is the pilot production of MDF Productions."

After the press conference, I felt it would be a good idea to rebroadcast this interview. After re-listening to this, it gave me a good sense of what it takes to make a community thrive.

Enjoy this rebroadcast of my interview with Cattski in 2018.

SHOWNOTES

Paul Villarete (Zerothreetwo Conversations episode)

Rappler

Monsters the Musical

My 5 Month old in 22 Tango gig

Squall

Smooth Friction

Ode To My Family by The Cranberries

Backyard Studios

The Outpost

A Space

Cebu Creators Growth Summit

Just Grow Cebu Music

My listening room experience in Qube Gallery (watched Vincent Eco)

Shhh policy

22 Tango Records

Undercover Grasshoppers

Wonggoys (Zerothreetwo Conversations episode)

Fonzy Zerothreetwo Conversations episode

Martina San Diego

Ella Melendez

Lourdes Maglinte

Vincent Eco (Zerothreetwo Conversations episode)

Mary Anchit

1032 Recording Studio

Room Eleven

SXSW Music Conference

How to build a music city

Rachael Yamagata

Luigi Balazo (Zerothreetwo Conversations episode)

Sepia Times

Micah Almazan

Rescue a Hero (Zerothreetwo Conversations episode)

Where can you find Cattski?

https://twitter.com/cattski

https://www.instagram.com/cattskimusic/

https://www.facebook.com/cattski.espina

This episode is brought to you by Qube Gallery, a progressive art space in Cebu, Philippines providing network and exhibit opportunities for contemporary artists with whom they work closely with and promote beyond the local reach. For more than five years, the gallery has mounted shows of engaging artworks and has also represented the Visayas region in various international fairs.

Aside from its physical space in Crossroads, Banilad, Cebu City, you can check out their online collection on www.artsy.net/qube-gallery.

This month at Qube Gallery: Myriad by Lean Reboja. He explores the complexities of the human psyche with his 4th solo exhibition, Myriad, opened on September 26, 6:00 PM, at Qube Gallery.

While Lean paints a fictitious world inhabited by beasts and bizarre characters, they are autobiographic and metaphorical accounts of his introspections. Pop surrealism, the core of Lean’s technique, becomes the perfect conduit for Myriad’s intention: to explore the in-betweens of the spectrum – the multiplicities and diverse possibilities engraved within us, choices and contingencies, and inner conflicts and dilemmas, that inevitably shape who we are.

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Music is Piano March by Audionautix