Interview with Blogger Tomi Uysingco

By The Pakistani Spectator • May 18th, 2008 • Category: Interviews • No Responses

About Tomi Uysingco:

23 years old. Atheist. Fine arts undergrad. Currently taking up Journalism in Manila Times College. Masterminded and runs PKi! Commune since 2005. Writes and directs films. Plays in a handful of bands. Contributes writing to zines, and sometimes the Manila Times newspaper. Strongly influenced by post-modernism, the beatniks, leftist thinking, and the Dada Movement. I blog here.

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
I’m Tomi Uysingco and I run Puro Ka indie! (roughly translated: You’re So indie!) Commune. Puro Ka indie! Commune, or commonly abbreviated as PKi!, is a small independent record label/art collective in the Philippines that holds the DIY/punk aesthetics close to its heart. I believe, along with other members of the Commune, that art should be shared to everyone who wants it, with minimum to no cost to everyone involved. The only way we profit (which is really seldom) here is if someone wants a physical copy of any said art released by us. Idealism fuels this ship.The PKi! blog hosts all of our musical projects, all free for download. Also, it helps out other artists by putting up shows, releases, etc. for any piece of art that tickles our fancy. This was made so we could encourage others that they could “Do it yourself” without the financial backing (or any other backing for that matter) of shady businessmen who are there only for the sake of profiteering from the hard work the artists. PKi! is riding the waves of a digital revolution.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?

Yes. A friend of mine once paraphrased: “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” And this, no matter that it’s somewhat a parody, holds true when it comes to writing. And as a writer, it’s important just for the fact that it helps you wield your craft to the best of your abilities.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
The most memorable would be the slew of hate mail I got when I first started this blog back in 2005, back when I was still running a myspace site for the collective. Besides being a record label’s blog, I was posting some nasty gossip about known personalities around our local music and art scene, all of which are first hand information from very reliable sources. My brash, which some called “fearless,” writing peppered with colorful language raised a couple of eyebrows. The only reason I did this was to bring down the “rockstar ego trip” these people are floating on. We wanted to blur, if not completely destroy, the lines between “fan” and artist. As a matter of fact, we believed that there is no line at all.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
With the technology today, that is already an easy feat. A comment here, a link there. Every bit helps.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?

Politics for me is a very sensitive issue. Being raised in a country run by the hoodlums elected in office, it made me abhor all these political nonsense. But I guess that’s a far off answer to your question. So let’s see. Once CNN reports about how a US presidential candidate with the most friends in Myspace or one of those social networking sites could possibly win the election, then I say that’s innovation, albeit sounding really ridiculous.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
Oh yes, indeed. For one thing, most people today are jacked up in cyberspace that it’s a feat on itself not to be responsive to anything at all.

What do you think sets your site apart from others?

Honesty. I am honest to the bone, that most of the time it comes across as me being a total jerk. When it has to be said, I say it. And I, nor anyone in PKi!, don’t hide behind internet anonymity. It’s like we’re egging people to throw a punch at us just to prove that we were right all along.Also, although this is being done by other netlabels as well, we endorse and fully support file sharing, making any endeavor of ours free to be downloaded through simple clicks of the mouse. Its more community based. Artists and non-artists alike helping each other out so they could get their work out there, so other people could appreciate and possibly start making their own art, rather than just making a quick buck.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?

Like my answer above, honesty. I try to be honest to the best of my ability. No BS.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

I’ve been most recently happy with all the projects getting done the past few weeks. I’ve been also writing a book, a compilation of short stories, which would be released independently through PKi! as well, so I’m also happy about that.

Gloomiest was probably when the music died.

Do you think [the use of Twitter and other social networking tools by politicians] is bandwagon jumping or what?

Of course. But it does have huge advantages, I’ll give them that. With the massive amount of people you could reach just by a click of a button is a very huge advantage to tech savvy candidates. We like to call it “viral marketing.”

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?

USA, but just because I have family there that I haven’t seen in a long while. Second one would be Africa since my parents run an NGO for AIDS awareness, it would be great to experience first hand how it is being treated there, or if it is being treated at all. Last would be China, quite possibly Tibet.

What is your favorite book and why?
Choosing one is a really tough decision; I’m telling you that now. I would possibly settle with William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. It revolutionized the way people see, read, and feel about literature.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
I would be lying if I said that the first thing I notice is their personality or some other trite quality. Like most people, the first thing I see, since it’s the most prominent, is physical appearance.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you couldn’t write?

Not really. And it bugged me tremendously. Not be boastful, but everyone chirping praises that were unwarranted gets old really fast. No one challenged and critic. I want to be scrutinized so I could further hone my writing.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
In my field the only profit we see are from a handful of orders we get for physical copies of music CDs. But then we are not really focusing on benefiting financially anyway. Although in general, there’s one word: advertising.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Probably. Issues of maintenance and whatnot.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?

Corporate blogs should be held under scrutiny. It makes life a hell of a lot easier which sometimes causes people to let their guard down. People should look into it and know what they are getting into.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?

This is a tough act because we should remember that bloggers are different people with different beliefs and ideas outside the realms of the internet, and people tend to disagree with other people’s opposing point of view. Generally, even if it’s hard to catch through typed words, the tone of how people talk to each other should be considered.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
The staff of Buddyhead.com most definitely. They have clever wit and use irony very well. They also have a real potty mouth which adds to its flavor.

Beyond that, I don’t usually read blogs other than ones run by friends or music blogs with downloads of full albums.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?

The post that garnered most traffic than the others was my “declaring war” against the tired capitalist concepts of Major Labels. I talked about how the corporation doesn’t care for the artists and was just out for a quick buck. Also, that post blasted a local music channel for airing an “expose” on music piracy and downloading, which I saw as propaganda to kill off independent music buy inserting all these talk about “money making through CD sales,” while at the same time said channel used a song by one of the artists here in PKi! (free download) before they cut to commercial break. This wasn’t the first time we had issues with this channel, and it probably won’t be the last.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

Honestly, everything I know about Pakistan and its people is what I see on western news, which most of the time don’t really put the Pakistanis in a very good light. In my opinion, a tremendous disservice to the Pakistani people. I would like to see and experience Pakistan first hand someday.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?

Buddyhead. I can’t stress this enough.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?

I wouldn’t know since even though they say the Philippines is a developing country it still has a long way to go. And I can’t really compare since I haven’t been out this country to actually do a bit of comparison. Well, besides the obvious factors of livelihood, issues, etc.

What is the future of blogging?
The future is now. Its how it’s going to be used is the question.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?

Personally, besides some people not getting it and hating my guts for doing this, I do get a tad bit of recognition for being a purveyor of an aesthetic also held dear by a small group of people. Professionally, I get zero income.

What are your future plans?
More music releases, compilations, art shows, films, literature – the whole nine yards.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?

Keep on fighting the good fight.