Making Friends From Across The Miles
By Stacy
Swim
As
most people know,
MiG Ayesa is originally from the
Philippines, so when this opportunity arose to interview
Edelveiss [Edel] Cañada, who is
also from the
Philippines, I jumped
at the chance. Another
thing widely known is that the
Philippines
voted in large numbers for MiG during “Rock Star:
INXS.” Edel
watched RSI on Star World, a cable channel.
She then learned about MiG through an article
written by Mr. Ruben
Nepales of the Philippine
Daily Inquirer where MiG was featured frequently.
She also logged on to rockstar.msn.com to find
out more about MiG and the show.
Edel learned about Team MiG via the MSN board
and joined the Team MiG message board when it went up.
She said she joined the forum because she
“wanted to be updated on news about MiG and also to
meet and bond with fellow MiG-lovers!
I never really imagined I’d be making friends
from across the miles!
Truly amazing and I feel really blessed!”
From across the miles, I wanted to learn about the
Philippines. Edel
began by telling me, “The Philippines is located in
Southeast Asia
and is said to be the ‘Pearl
of the Orient.’
The
Philippines
is an archipelago with 7,107 islands. It is divided into three main island groups:
Luzon
, Visayas, and
Mindanao. It was
discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and was named
after Prince Philip II of Spain. We were
under Spanish rule for over 300 years.
The three stars in our national flag represent
the three main island groups of
Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao
while the eight rays of the sun represent the eight
provinces that first revolted during Spanish rule
which includes the province that I come from, Tarlac.
Our former President Corazon C. Aquino is also
a Tarlaqueno as well as her husband, the late Sen.
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino whose assassination
prompted the People Power Revolution (otherwise known
as the EDSA Revolution I) which put an end to the
Marcos regime. According
to a Wikipedia article, we are the third largest Roman
Catholic country in the world.
We have many dialects but our national language
is Filipino (Tagalog).
We are known for our hospitality and our love
for freedom.”
Edel said she was not really good in history
and geography and had to do some research for this
interview. Wow,
am I glad she did!
But now I wanted to know more about the
province she comes from.
Tarlac
City, Tarlac is “dubbed as ‘The Melting Pot of Central
Luzon.’ Among
the places that we are famous for are the Capas
National Shrine, St. Domingo and Capas Death Marchers,
Mt. Pinatubo Trek, Hacienda Luisita and the sugar
mills among others.”
Since
she began to mention what her province is famous for,
I was curious if there was anything she would call a
must-see. “I
won’t be able to mention all, but here are some of
them. I’ll
be focusing on Luzon
because that is where I come from. Luzon: Banawe Rice
Terraces (sometimes referred
to as the 8th Wonder of the World); Baguio
City (Summer Capital of the Philippines) - One of the
favorite vacation spots of MiG and family; Mayon
Volcano (I’ve seen it up close from the window of
the airplane and I tell you, its cone shape is
perfect!); Hundred Islands ( I was able to go there
when I was young...beautiful islands!
But, of course, I never got to see them all!
Too many!);
Pagsanjan Falls; Taal Volcano (It is one of the smallest active
volcanoes in the world); Rizal
Park
(Named after our National Hero Jose Rizal whose
monument lies at the center of the park.
This is where our national hero was executed.);
Fort Santiago (Jose Rizal was imprisoned here before
his execution in 1896.); Mt. Pinatubo (Matt Rosenberg said in his article
that ‘Mt. Pinatubo’s
eruption was the second largest volcanic eruption of
the twentieth century.’
It erupted in June 1991. The eruption was so huge I could see it as a
giant grey cotton cloud looming over us and to think
Zambales was far from Tarlac.
We experienced ash fall for quite awhile and
had to wear gas masks to school.); Corregidor Island
(It was an island fortress during WWII and is also
called ‘The Rock.’); Palawan Island (It has been
declared a national sanctuary of the world); and, The
Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (The
Catholic University of the Philippines was founded in
1611 and is ‘the oldest existing university in
Asia’ and is ‘the largest Catholic University in
the world located in one campus.’). I am proud to be
Filipino!”
Edel
was also proud to tell me her story of how she met MiG!
“I met MiG last November 15, 2005 at the MTV
Studios, Taguig City, Philippines through an
‘intimate’ meet and greet session organized by his
cousins, Ms. Suzette
Legarda-Montinola and Mr.
Alex Legarda of the MiG Ayesa Pinoyfans (MAP)
Yahoo Group and in coordination with MTV Philippines.
MiG is everything I imagined him to be and so
much more! I
know I might sound redundant because everybody says
this, but it’s really true.
He’s the sweetest, kindest, humblest
international star there is!
When I first entered his dressing room, he was
the first one to approach me.
He extended his hand and introduced himself...OMG!
When I shook his hand, I lost all coherent
thought! All
I ever did during the entire duration of our meet and
greet was to smile and nod and just stare at him.
I was able to utter a couple of sentences but I
know I probably looked really dumb.
When it was time to sign the pictures that we
brought with us, he saw my name and sang two lines
from the song 'Edelweiss' and that brought me straight
to MiG cloud nine!”
Edelveiss
Cañada is 28 years old and is Edel on the Team MiG
board. She
comes from Tarlac
City, Philippines
and works in Manila,
Philippines.
She obtained a degree in Accountancy from the
University of Santo Tomas in 1998 and is presently
working for an author of books in Accounting.
Pics From Edel:
Taking it to the Street!
(Street Teaming made fun and easy)
by Gisele Williams
What makes a recording and performing artist a Rock Star and International Sensation?
Well, you need:
Talent ~ MiG’s got that, no question!
Charisma and charm ~ MiG’s got that too!
Stage presence ~ MiG has phenomenal stage presence!
‘The Look’ ~ no need to elaborate on that!
‘The Buzz’ ~ the buzz?????
The Buzz?
Buzz is ‘talk’ or excitement that generates interest in something. In our case we want to excite the world about MiG Ayesa! What can we do to create ‘buzz’ so that the rest of the world, the ones who didn’t watch the Rock Star show, will become aware of MiG and his talents? Be part of the Street Team effort! Does that mean that you have to sign up or register on a membership list? Although it might help you to get ideas as well as feedback on your own efforts, the answer is no! Every fan of MiG Ayesa can generate ‘buzz’, even those of us who don’t officially belong to any of his fan-based websites or forums. Everyone can take part in helping spread the word about who MiG is and what he does!
“Implementing a Street Team is something an artist MUST HAVE to capitalize on if they want to utilize every promotional opportunity and increase their visibility as an artist.” Laura Alber, Co-Owner of Team MiG said recently. Even INXS has, as of last month, jumped on the concept of street teaming. Why? No one really knows what makes a song a hit or an artist a superstar. I believe the answer is, in part anyway, simply based on human nature. The first component to the answer is repetition. Did you ever wonder why INXS had J.D. Fortune sing ‘Pretty Vegas’ over and over (and over)? Repeating that song each week created familiarity. We tend to like what we are familiar with. The other component is peer pressure. Certain studies have confirmed that, for the most part, people like to be ‘on side’ with what everyone else likes and does. It’s just human nature.
How?
The goal of our Street Team is to see MiG succeed as a superstar! In order for that to happen, we need the effort and commitment of his fans, both short and long term, to promote and ‘sell’ him. Will you have to give up your day job? Not in the least! Does it mean that you have to do wild and crazy things? Not unless you want to! In fact, as a fan of MiG’s you’ve probably promoted and ‘street teamed’ already without even realizing it, it’s that easy! We are limited only by our creativity and imagination! Here are just some of the things the MiG Ayesa Street Team is suggesting we can do to create ‘buzz’. I have broken them down into ‘cyberspace promotion’ and ‘physical efforts’.
Cyberspace Promotion
For those who have the skills or, as in my case, have access to people who do, the Internet can be a great tool for Street Teaming!
“The MiGStreetTeam Group site was established Feb 21, 2006 for the purpose of coordinating street teaming efforts” confirms Laura Alber. There are wonderful suggestions and ideas on Street Teaming that might be helpful to you. The world is at your fingertips. Go for it!
We can now access MiG’s original songs at http://www.myspace.com/miguelayesa. Know this internet address and give it to everyone you can. Encourage them to listen to MiG’s songs and if they like what they hear, ask them to pass the link along to others. Go to MiG’s MySpace page often and play the songs, all the songs. Increasing the ‘song play’ count helps MiG. “Universal is aware of his MySpace…they'll be checking the numbers,” Laura told me recently. Some people have found it convenient to open MiG’s MySpace page and while playing his songs, simply minimize the page while they work on emails and other computer related things. It’s a painless way to not only increase MiG’s numbers but to enjoy hearing him sing while you work!
Write an email! There are many television talk shows and programmes we can write to and ask that they consider MiG for their show. Thank you to Laura who, for quick and easy access, has agreed to list these shows on an anchor thread on our board and on the Street Team site. Add ‘pizzazz’ to your request and send your email from your TeamMiG email address! It’s a free service you can access through a link on our home page or click
http://www.teammigayesa.com.
There are some wonderful Street Teaming suggestions both in the Street Team thread of our message board
http://teammig.proboards52.com/index.cgi
and the Street Team site, http://groups.myspace.com/MiGStreetTeam
including examples of press release requests prepared by Laura Alber which will help you get on your way!
Physical Efforts
Again, these efforts can also be simple or more complex, depending on how involved you want to become. Physically promoting MiG can be as easy as getting a t-shirt from the
Team MiG
store, and wearing it to the gym, a ball game, the shopping mall or even as a beach cover-up while on holiday! The possibilities of what can happen when you wear a MiG shirt are incredible, just ask my co-editor Stacy Swim who met MiG while she was wearing her MiG shirt! "When MiG walked up to me, one of the first things he said was how much he loved the shirt! And Simmy said the same thing! They knew before they even arrived at the event that someone from Team MiG was there because I wore the shirt!" she exclaimed. Don’t forget that as a double bonus, for every purchase you make at the MiG store, you will be supporting MiG’s favourite charities. A picture calendar at my desk at work has prompted many questions from people who are unfamiliar with MiG. Not in your price range? How about a mouse pad for your computer or a mug so you can chat about MiG with co-workers or clients over coffee?
Write to your local radio station using a MiG postcard and, if you live in the U.S.A., mail it with a custom MiG stamp! All of these items are available in the
Team MiG Global Fan Site
Store.
How about putting up posters where music lovers congregate? I am jumping at the opportunity to access over 15,000 ‘RockStar’ fans at the INXS concert in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on May 14th . You bet I’ll be hanging posters and handing out cards! Be creative. You don’t have to spend a whole lot of money printing large posters. Tile several 8 by 10 ‘posters’ to create one very large one. You can get posters and card downloads from the
Street Team
site!
You can burn a CD of MiG’s songs from the multimedia section of the Team MiG gallery. We have the Lionheart Radio play of two of his original songs right here at Team MiG; ‘Send Down the Angels’ and ‘Nothing You Do’, along with the RSI versions of ‘Do or Die’ and ‘Home In Me’. Don’t forget to include ‘Baby I Love Your Way’
and 'Lola' on your CD! I have given out many sample copies of these songs in the past 5 months!
Both the Team MiG Street Team thread and the
Street Team site
have wonderful ideas and recommendations and even provide instructions for effective Street Teaming. In the end it all boils down to creating opportunities to talk to people about MiG. If wearing a t-shirt, drinking coffee at your office out of a MiG mug or playing his CD constantly while driving people around in your car gives you that opportunity to promote MiG, you are doing your part to create buzz!
Conclusion
It takes time to produce and release a quality CD and MiG is working oh so hard doing that right now. We must use the time that MiG is, for the most part, out of the public eye to promote him. Let’s prepare the rest of world for his CD so that when it is released, people will already be motivated to listen, to buy, to request airplay from their local radio stations and to attend concerts! Be clever, be timely and most of all be excited!
We all want MiG to realize his dream and he needs our help to do it.
Whether you get involved in small simple ways, or by jumping in, head first, into heavy physical and ‘cyberland’ promotions, it all helps. It all counts.
It all makes a difference. Help make a difference in MiG’s growing career as a rock star and join the Street Team effort and simply tell the world what you love about MiG Ayesa and why they might too!
MiGbits...
Meeting MiG at The Roxy!
By
Stacy Swim
Well, I can’t guarantee you that if you wear a MiG t-shirt that MiG will magically appear, but look what it did for me! Michele (board name nuafaol) and I met MiG at Deanna Johnston, Ty Taylor, and Brandon Calhoon’s gig at The Roxy on March 1st. Thank you to Deanna’s friend, Dyanne, for making sure we met her. Thank you to Brandon and Deanna for being so nice as to talk with us and take pictures with us. Thank you to all three rockers for putting on amazing rock’n’roll sets! Special thanks to Brandon for asking Suzie McNeil and MiG to sing a song! Last, but certainly not least, thank you to MiG for being his kind, gracious, and engaging self, for spending time with us, and taking pictures with us. It was a night for my history book! For full details of the evening go to
http://teammig.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=rock&action=display&thread=1141281451&page=1. And to purchase items from the Team MiG store go to
http://www.cafepress.com/teammig
Stacy
Swim - Co-Editor
