Chicago, IL – DynastyREMIX Events announces today a partnership with House of Blues Chicago to help support and showcase local Asian American talent giving them the opportunity to perform on the same stage as Alicia Keys, John Legend, Maroon 5, Kanye West, and others to set the platform for a possible national tour. It has been a decade since an outside Asian American promoter has been brought in to help produce an event at the world renowned venue, the last was the release of DJ Qbert’s Wave Twister. Serenade will be held at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 show beginning at 8pm, this is a 17+ show hosted by Julian on the Radio from B96. Tickets are available now on livenation.com

Headlining the event is American Idol Season 5 finalist, Sway Peñala to help launch the release of his album “My Story”, now available at Best Buy, FYE, iTunes, and other fine retailers. Sway being a seasoned performer has also been apart of two Filipino American vocal groups Drop N Harmony and 6th Day helping pave the way to aspiring Filipino/Asian American artists.

Also performing with Sway, are seven local artists including YouTube sensation Manny Garcia who was given kudos by Fox’s Glee star Cory Monteith on his Twitter page with a link to Manny’s YouTube channel saying “props”. I.B.U. (Inspired By U) winner of the state sponsored 2003 Chicago Music Opportunity, winner 2005 R&B Group of the Year – New York International Music Festival, winner 2009 Best R&B Project by a group Muse Awards, and recently signed distribution deal to Koch Records. Also live band RisQ featuring Francis Perfecto, Ashlee Barrera, Charleen Bermejo, Bentley, and The Latter the Former will share the House of Blues stage.

Several regional major record label executives will be in attendance to help show support to the growing Filipino/Asian American talent. In the past few years, Filipino/Asian American talent have been discovered virally via YouTube like Charice Pempengco featured on Oprah and the Ellen talk shows, Arnel Pineda from Journey, and the R&B group Legaci who are now on tour doing backup vocals for Justin Bieber.

Immediately after the live performances, the Back-To-school Afterparty will begin in the same hall from 10pm-3am featuring DJs Three.Dot, Rain, Kid Trae, and MarkyBoy w/special surprise celebrity guest.

About DynastyREMIX Events

DynastyREMIX Events is a national Filipino/Asian American experiential event marketing company based in Chicago. DRE continues to develop, create, and implement local community events in heavily populated Filipino/Asian American markets creating brand awareness for major corporations. Their events help educate big brands and help them understand the affluent Filipino/Asian American consumers’ culture, traditions, and lifestyle. Past clients include Top Rank Boxing, Disney, American Honda, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Diageo, Coca-Cola, Nike, Red Bull, Ciroc Vodka, Daimler-Chrysler, Dunlop Tires, New Line Cinema, and many others.

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Billy Ray Bates playing for Crispa in ’83

From his signature ‘Black Superman’ Grosby kicks, his Karate Kid style knotted cloth of a head band, to his thundering dunks and graceful layups that defied the laws of gravity, Billy Ray Bates captivated Philippine basketball in the 80′s like no other foreign player before and after him.

I was just a young lad in the infantile stages of my basketball addiction when I first watched Bates on TV playing for one of Robert Jaworski’s Ginebra teams. I can still vividly remember fragments of Bates’ sensational performances on the basketball court that left an indelible impression on me as a child. I instantly became a fan of the player the commentators called ‘The Black Superman’ who glided to the hoop with relative ease. Alongside the legendary commentating of the late Joe Cantada and the no-look behind-the-back passes by The Big J, Bates’ offensive outbursts amidst the chants of “Ginebra!! Ginebra!! Ginebra!!” makes up most of my fondest memories of that great era in Philippine basketball. Not to mention how Ginebra fans would shower the court with coins, flinging them at players of the opposing team and officials every time their squad suffered a loss.

It was like watching LeBron James against a bunch of college kids. Bates had career averages of 46 points per game which would’ve been higher had he focused solely on playing ball and took care of his body. Yeap, no typos there. Bates dropped 46 per in a career that spanned from 1983-1988.

I was a big basketball fanatic growing up like most people in the Philippines. I always said that basketball is my wife, the woman I always come home to, while boxing is that sexy mistress you simply can’t shake off. Lately I’ve been spending more time with the mistress. But you have to understand, basketball was larger than life back in the Philippines when I was growing up. It’s perhaps why authors like Rafe Bartholomew had taken an interest and penned some of the most captivating recollections from Philippine basketball’s storied past in his book titled Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin’ in Flip-Flops and the Philippines’ Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball which also provides great reference regarding Bates’ career in the PBA.

VIDEO LINK: Billy Ray Bates in the NBA

Bates opened my eyes on the disparity of the black athlete compared to the local crop in terms of athleticism, size and physical capabilities. My aunt who worked for the La Tondena company that owned the Ginebra teams Bates played in would always take me to games and I got to personally witness Bates single-handedly made the game his. One time my aunt had one of the ball boys bring me to the locker room to meet the players before the game and I can remember how I looked up at Bates thinking he was some form of basketball god.

So as I further dived in to tracing the story of ‘The Black Superman’, I found out that as much as his hardwood exploits are stuff of legends, so were his off-court antics. Bates was notorious for his partying and drinking ways, which were the main reasons for his exile from the NBA.

Here are excerpts from an article by Deadspin.com adapted from ‘Pacific Rims’ on Bates ventures in the Philippines:

‘Bates actually tried to stay clean when he first arrived in the country. In many of his preseason interviews with local sports columnists, the conversation touched on how he had become a changed man after rehab. By the end of these interviews, however, Bates was usually finishing off a bottle of beer.

I also found out that Bates grew up hard. As hard as any black man’s son growing up in an environment that did not prepare him for the fast life and the trappings that come with it,

‘ Bates was born in 1956, yet his Mississippi upbringing seemed straight out of the nineteenth century Reconstruction South. He was the second youngest of nine children living in a sharecropper’s shack on a white millionaire’s farm in Goodman, a hamlet on the outskirts of a small town, Kosciusko, in rural Attala County — the godforsaken dot within the dot on the map. Their home had no plumbing and no electricity. Their alcoholic father died when Bates was 7 years old, and Bates and his siblings worked the fields to support the family. He spent his youth picking cotton and soybeans, breaking clods of fertilizer behind tractors, and hooking logs for lumbermen; later, he credited his powerful physique to a childhood of manual labor. Bates went to school only to play basketball, and although he never learned to read full sentences in class, he was able to dunk by his sophomore year. Basketball became his sole purpose in life.

In some ways it was fitting, because there was seemingly nothing he couldn’t do on a basketball court. In high school and then at Kentucky State University, if Bates wanted to dunk, he’d dunk. If he wanted to shoot from 25 feet out, he did it. He may have been one of the most naturally gifted players to ever lace up a pair of high-tops. But because he had so few other opportunities in life, he became a basketball savant.

He had little more than his instincts, which served him well on the hardwood but failed him almost everywhere else.’

Bates had a hard time fitting in. And even when he got his break in the big league, he was an outcast among his teammates who grew up not knowing how life was in Bates’ shoes and the effects it had on him. Former Portland Trailblazers teammate Jerome Kersey described Bates’ career as ‘an example of what can happen to players unprepared for NBA life in urban environs”. He didn’t know how to handle his newfound fame and fortune any more than handle a social balance in his new lifestyle. He was lost. He was misunderstood. He imploded.

Bates easily held his own against the best guards in the league even dropping 29 points on former NBA Finals MVP and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee, the late Dennis Johnson. Basketball always came easy for Bates. It was what went on outside it that made things difficult. After four seasons, and managing to post playoff career averages of almost 27 points and 4.2 assists, he was out of the NBA.

CONTINUE ON TO PAGE 2 >>> TRAGEDY STRUCK BATES’ TROUBLED LIFE AFTER HIS DAYS IN THE PBA. FLIP TO PAGE 2 TO CONTINUE READING. (CLICK HERE)

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LA- Here we go folks.  The stage is set, LA is down 3-2.  Who will be the Lakers saivor?  LA needs one now!!!

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Keep looking and you will never know what you will find.  Enscriber Magazine had the pleasure to talk with a very interesting and sweet Jasmine Nicole.  We at Enscriber are always looking  and what a treasure we found.  Now we  have the honor to speak with the 2010 Miss Asia Pageant, Miss Iran.  We know you will enjoy getting to know Jasmine Nicole. She is a blast to talk to, fun yet sweet with a refreshing driven and goal oriented attitude.  Jasmine definitely knows where she is headed and has an opinion on everything, just ask her!

Jasmine Nicole, is a 20 year old political science major, model, and singer.   She was born in raised in the outdoorsy Seattle, WA.  Later the family moved down to Newport Beach, CA.  Jasmine has a unique look that makes you wonder what mixture are you.   The answer is, half Iranian and half Ukrainian.   Nice mix right?  Let’s talk to her and ask her some questions.

Q: What is it like being half Iranian and half Ukrainian?

A: Being part of two very different and beautiful cultures has been an absolute delight. I have been able to experience very different types of people, expectations, situations, foods, languages, clothing etc. Over all they both contain very different kinds of lifestyles. I cherish each one of them and I absorb as much as I can from them.

Q: Why did u join the Miss Asia Pageant?

A: I joined Miss Asia because pageantry was something all the women in my family had done and most of them were very successful in the entertainment world. I was the only woman in the family who had not experienced a pageant.  What strikes me most about Miss Asia is that it’s a cultural pageant. It’s not  primarily focused on beauty. It allows girls to really get in touch with their roots and share their culture proudly amongst others. That is beautiful to me.

Q: Tell me about the Iranian culture and community?

A: The Iranian culture is wonderful. I am very proud of being half Persian. The people are some of the most intelligent and hardworking people I’ve ever met; very goal driven. They are also extremely family oriented and family is always first. I find them to also be very loving and welcoming, its not uncommon to consider friends as family after a short period of time.

Q: I’m curious about one Persian dance?  On what occasions do you dance and and how long u been doing it for? Do you also belly dance?

A: Each city in Iran has its own unique and traditional dance. One of my personal favorite Persian dances is called “Bandari” which originated from the cities Bandar-Abbas and Abadan. You basically shake your body very fast to upbeat music, its very fun, flirtatious and playful. It sometimes involves a famous Iranian drum called “Tombak”.
Many southern cities and around the Persian Gulf perform this.
I am personally a huge fan of the Egyptian and Turkish belly dance as well and have been a belly dancer for several years now.

Q: What is your favorite Iranian dish?

A: My absolute favorite Iranian dish is called “fessen joon” which contains chicken, walnuts, and pomegranate syrup. You eat it on top of rice. It is amazing but I have quite a difficult time perfecting it myself when I cook it. My favorite beverage is called “dough” which may not sound too appetizing but is delicious. It’s a mix of yogurt and mint. Persian food takes so much time and effort for one meal, but it is my favorite type of food to cook. The challenge is what excites me most.

Q: Why do you want to go to study law?

A: My future goal in life is to be a lawyer. Reasoning for why I want to get involved in law is because I love reading, writing, negotiating, and especially debating. I took a couple pre-law classes and fell in love!

Q: Tell me about singing in your life? What are you up to now? What does singing mean to you?

A: Singing is my passion. It is what brings me joy. I love being able to read different types of sheet music no matter the genre and being able to sing to it. Whenever I’m feeling down I always grab my notebook and write. I have been writing music since I was 7 or 8. This last year has almost been like a dream come true for me because I am working with a few well known labels now. I am also a demo singer for well known pop artists right now. On top of that I am working on my own album and building myself as an artist. It’s very exciting!

Q: Who are your role models and why?
A: My closest friends and family are all people I genuinely adore. I have many cousins that I admire, especially the older ones who have always been like protective brothers, growing up. I wanted to be just like them and I don’t think that will ever change.

My mother for doing what she loved in life, chasing her dreams and for pushing me and allowing me to do what I love and I want. My hero though is my father, the hardest working and most loving man I know. He is not only a father but he is a best friend. No words can even describe how much I appreciate him.

Q: If u win the 2010 Miss Asia Pageant what will that mean to your community and to you?

A: If I win the Miss Asia Title, I would put my everything into representing the entire Asia continent including my country, Iran. I will try to spread love, peace and equality.  As Miss Asia, I would raise awareness of topics that I or others felt the need to be highlighted.  I would definitely act upon my convictions. Winning would be a complete honor.

Q: Do you want to give a shout out to anyone?

A: I would like to make a shout out to my parents, my step parent, my adorable little brother, all my family in Seattle, my little baby cousin Nicole (I’m half Iranian the list could go on and on lol) my best friends Tara, Nooshin, Nicole, Ariana, Kylie, Jason, Nima, Ana, Eric, Jael, Manny, Shabnam, the family I’ve made within the pageant. I hope I didn’t forget anyone =)
oxoxoxooxoox

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BOSTON- The Celtics tied up the series!   Thanks to Glenn ‘BIG BABY’ Davis who scored 19 tough points as the Celtics pulled ahead in the 4^th quarter 96-89.

The ‘Big Baby’ had his way with the taller Lakers in the paint.  That was the best I ever seen him play. Davis used his wide powerful frame and aggression to get key offensive boards.  It’s inspiring to see undersize players with a lot of heart do well.

The ‘Big Baby’ is not really undersize he is just more mass of man.  Instead of tall he is just a wide load.  I think in college at LSU he was listed as 6′ 9″, 310 lbs.   On one drive he just lunged is body into Odom and Artest.   Punished them both and was able to bank it in after the contact for a 3 point play.

One reason the ‘Big Baby’ went off on the Lakers was that Bynum was on the bench.  Bynum is not the tallest Lakers but, he is the Lakers biggest body.  That key injury left the door open for the ‘Big Baby’ to play in the paint.

It wasn’t the big 3 tonight for Boston.  It was the Celtics Killer Bee’s.  The Celtics Bench, Bee is for Bench.  Nate Robinson was a spark, a boost and a big key.   Rasheed Wallace also played some nice minutes and hit a big big 3 when the Celtics needed it.

Two years ago the Celtics Beat the Lakers in the Finals.  Why did the Celtics beat the Lakers?  Boston’s Bench stepped up and won it for them.  Imagine if you’re a coach and you have 3 guys who can come of the bench and build on your lead.  At one point Doc Rivers couldn’t put in his starters because his bench was playing better than the first team.

The Lakers have to deal with that, Kobe and Fisher VS the Celtics Bench!

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BOSTON GARDEN- the fourth quarter of game 3 came and went.  When it was all over there was Derrick Fisher standing tall and emotional.  Count them, 11 of 16 points in the 4^th quarter.  If you’re a Lakers fan you loveeee Derrick Fisher.  If you’re not a Lakers fan you probably hate him a little more for what he did in game 3.  However, a player like Fisher is hard to hate all the way.  You can’t help but appreciate his heart, toughness and his tenacious game.

What can u say about Derrick Fisher?  In game 3 the Lakers had the lead and the Celtics were making a run to take them down, you could feel Boston coming on strong.   Fisher, with answer after answer stepped up big time.  Single handedly fisher pushed through and brought home the victory for L.A.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Derrick Fisher, saving the Lakers once again and taking them to the promise land.  Here are a few nick names for derrick fisher; old fisher man, gold fish, the general, prime time fish and Finals MVP?

You bet, Derrick Fisher will be the Finals MVP!  Mark my words.  If the Lakers win the NBA Title credit is due to Derrick Fisher.  The man who does everything to lift the Lakers to play like Champions. Fisher will finally get his dues.

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LOS ANGLES-  The Celtics knew the had to be aggressive and aggressive they were.  Led by Rondo and the hot handed bomb thrower Ray Allen, who busted 8 three pointers in a much needed victory 103-94.

The Lakers played tuff but, the Celtics played with great urgency to even up the series 1-1.

Ray Allen set a NBA Finals record with 8 three pointers.  Rondo was all over the place scoring and grabbing hella boards.  That point guard is an animal he does it all, Rondo really is the leader on the floor for the Celtics.

So the series is tied up 1-1 as they head to Boston.  Who will take the  pivotal game 3?  Will Kobe have a series break out game?  Kobe better, he played like crap tonight!  Will Kobe take over in game 3 or will Kobe continue to be quiet?

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Los Angeles- Once game 1 started one thing was clear; the Lakers were ready to show the Celtics that they were the big kid on the block.  Not only are the Lakers the big kid on the block they were focused played with some muscle.

I think the Celtics did not expect the Lakers to beat them at their own game and it looked easy!

The Lakers did get a lot of calls from the refs.  Kobe and Gasol were treated like NBA princesses, getting almost all of the calls to go their way.

The Lakers were defiantly more aggressive, especially that shooter, Ron Artest.  He was a big, BIG, reason why LA won game 1 keeping Paul Pierce in check.   Artest definitely brought his stud game.

All in all, the Lakers took the floor at Staples and showed Boston that LA is not only the “Kobe Show.”    The Lakes are damn serious!

WARNING TO CELTICS:  You better wake up.  Wear some old 80’s throwback jerseys and bring the hurt to game 2!

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LA- Phil Jackson, coach of the Lakers, landed the first jab of the 2010 NBA Finals.

“We don’t have a smack down mentality.  We don’t go out there to smack people around,” Said Phil Jackson, referring to the Boston Celtics style of play.

What was the “Zen Master” trying to do with this comment?  Who were the comments aimed at?

Fist off, you would think Phil is just calling the Celtics a dirty, hacking and hard fouling team.

Secondly, the comment might be warning  referees to police the over aggressive  Celtics with their wistles. The Celtics won the title 2 years ago over the Lakers by over powering them in the paint.

The third target of Phil’s comments might be his own Lakers.  Especially Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom who were blamed 2 years ago for being too soft.

Andrew Bynum did not play 2 years ago because of injures but, he needs to be put on notice.  To step up and play hard and with some authority!

Phil really needs his back court 3 to play big and aggressive all at the same time.  The coach is calling his big men out.  Step up Lakers big men!  Show the Celtics just how tough and aggressive the purple and gold big men can be.

I don’t think his comments were aimed at the Celtics. The Green Celtic machine will be nasty no matter what.  Slowly the comment will start to seep into the Celtics head, that everyone thinks they play dirty causing them to lose there aggressive edge.

The comment was more directed at the Lakes big men. Letting them know they better be prepared for a fight, not to back down in the Finals.  If they do not answer the call to be ready for war, the Lakers will be in deep doo-doo!

So what do you think?  Who were Phil’s comments aimed at?

Zen Master\’s Philosophy of Success

1. The Celtics, just calling them a dirty team?  Getting in there head a little.
2. The Referees, to call the game close so the Lakers will benefit and the game will be called closer.
3. The Lakers Big men, calling them out to battle and not  to get smacked around like 2 years ago?
4. Or all the above and Phil Jackson is “The Zen Master”!!!

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The Philippines is truly the melting pot of Asia. It’s a heterogeneous country comprising of numerous islands; many with each own unique culture and dialect in combination with other cultures derived from many foreigners who have chosen the Philippines as their home.

The Filipino culture has also been influenced by other cultures since it’s been under some type of foreign control numerous times such as Spain, Japan, and Britain during its history. But the Spanish probably had the most influence in the country due to the length of their stay.

As with other countries once colonized by Spain, the Philippines no doubt has a problem regarding skin tone. When a person watches Spanish television, they will see people with European features and in the Philippines it is no different. It’s done to such an extent that it can’t be denied that people with ‘mestizo’ features are given preference when it comes to the entertainment industry. A sign that colonial mentality is still a big issue in the country.

Basically if you don’t have ‘mestizo’ features, you are pigeon holed to comedy or villain roles at least most of the time. Can anyone name a Filipino celebrity with a large following that has a dark skin tone? Even some of the biggest ‘morena’ stars, Angel Locsin and Sarah Geronimo are now two of the biggest endorsers of whitening products.

No wonder, more local Filipino celebrities are using whitening products for the sake of their careers. Celebrities who use to be ‘moreno’ are now walking around with pale white skin. The pressure to use lightning products is even more now with the arrivals of new competition from those Filipinos with foreign blood.

Now one of the top industry in the country are whitening products from cream, pills, soaps to vitamin c injections. Just walk around the busy streets of Manila and you will be bombarded by huge billboards of celebrities endorsing different whitening products.

According to an article by Cheryl Chan for Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism it was a reported that a 2004 Synovate survey concluded that about 50 percent of women in the country uses whitening products. A startling figure but it might be much higher now with the increase of money used by manufacturers for advertisements in the country. Is there any show in the Philippines that doesn’t end by thanking a whitening product manuracturer or medical groups that advocate it?

A number of Filipinos already have an obstructed view of what defines being beautiful from its colonial history and influence from other nations and reinforcing it constantly through the media only makes the problem worse. It not only reinforces the stigma against Filipinos of a darker skin color but lowers the self esteem of many and lessens our credibility.

It is a sight to see when a Filipino quickly reacts angrily against foreigners when they mock their skin tone and at the same time put down a fellow Filipino for having a dark skin color. The stories of Filipino moms telling children to go inside the house when the sun comes out because they might get dark has become a familiar joke, but it’s a sad truth in reality.

It’s easy to say that one is proud to be Filipino, but it’s more important to actually show and act like it. If I had a penny every time a Filipino had to say they are part Spanish when asked about their ethnicity, I would be a rich man already. Nothing wrong with being part Spanish, but the truth is many Filipinos who say it don’t even know their genealogy and does it to fit in because of the lack of Filipino representation in the media.

Remember the chocolate called ‘Filipinos’ that was once sold in Europe? The once advertised as ‘dark on the outside and white on the inside.’ Sure, some politicians complained about it, but did they do anything else? Complaining and making a ruckus is one thing, but actually discussing the problem and finding a solution is more important.

Why did Filipinos even make a big deal out of it? Was it offensive? Definitely and it should have never been made. But it also hurt because many in the community know that there’s some truth to it. There’s a famous quote by John Eyeberg, “Truth hurts – not the searching after; the running from.”  It’s time to put the issues within the Filipino community on the surface and actually do something about them.  Complaining without confronting the issue to find a reasonable resolution is only waste of time.

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