Joey Albert & Norman Mitchell in Sydney

Caricature feature
It was typhoon-friendly Manila a few weeks ago, now it's good to be back in rainy Sydney despite missing that rare duststorm which left a strange layer of dust all over the guitars and piano.


It seemed I was only 7 days away from weather disturbances from here and there. A week after touching down Manila, typhoon Ondoy's big flood sunk Marikina and suburbs. I was staying in Pasay where it was half-a-femur deep. The water receded after a week and so as originally planned, we (family) were ready to scale up Baguio to see BenCab and his museum. However we procrastinated because of typhoon Pepeng and decided not to. That same week Pepeng assaulted the Pine City and caused a lot of havoc and fatalities. In Kennon Rd alone there were 80 landslides that trapped a lot of tourists. Then only a week after I left Manila all flights were cancelled because of typhoon Santi.

It's all over now that I'm in Sydney's arms but it's kind of hilarious to think that typhoons are following me, (this time the entertainment kind) so here are caricatures of two talented guests, Joey Albert and Norman Mitchell who were promised to blow Sydney away. They are being brought here by Apo Jim Paredes who seems not to run out of talented friends.

Well, lucky us Sydneysiders; Joey is a fine singer who has received Dreamgirl Filipina, Tinig and Awit awards and made famous the song "Iisa Pa Lamang".

I asked Joey:

1-Why Sydney?

an answered prayer... thanks to Jim Paredes

2-inspiration?

my children... my family... my music... my God.

3-Dreams?

"Carnegie Hall Presents Joey Albert and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra"

4-Filipinos?

worth sacrificing for... have the greatest sense of humor and the greatest sense of hope...

5-Filipinos abroad?

hardworking... integrate well... should all acquire dual citizenship so they can all vote and get corrupt politicians out of government...

Apo Jim assured us "of a night of lovely singing and the 'laughingest' night of your life. Joey Albert will serenade you with her timeless hits like 'Tell me', "I remember the boy", 'Minsan pa', 'Yakapin mo ako', 'Larger than life', 'Points of view', 'Ikaw lang ang mamahalin', and many others. Joey has performed with the APO on many tours and each time, she delivers to her crowd with grace, generosity, charm and feeling. What can I say? They simply fall in love with her each time!.."

Visit Joey's site: http://www.joeyalbert.com/

Norman Mitchell (above), is a stand-up comedian and musician and is special guest of the concert. I asked him, too:

-why Sydney? to bring happiness to my fellow kababayan, give them a good laugh..

-inspiration? my family and my 2 grandson.

-dreams? good health for me and for my family..more blessings.

-Filipinos? to have a very good leader,good economy.

-Filipinos abroad? to be with their loved one's, that they will not have to leave the country just to have a good life.

Here's more good words from Jim .. "Norman Mitchell will show his uber talent in comedy that has earned him the fear and respect of many established artists he has performed with. My APO friends and I have performed with Norman in the many shows and we know that we better be in top form when he fronts for us because he can outshine us if we are not careful! I have watched him many times and have laughed so much my tummy and jaws actually hurt. To me, he is the funniest comedian in Philippine entertainment."

Okay guys, don't miss Joey and Norman. Should be a fun night. I'm also here to help friend/neighbour Apo Jim spread the word. No worries, mate!

Details here about the concert: http://haringliwanag.pansitan.net/?p=895