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Why biggish OPM stars are signed to this smallish indie label

Save Me Hollywood, which is made up of members of ChicoSci, April Morning Sky and Typecast with a former MTV VJ on vocals, is signed to 12Stone. (Photo from SMH Facebook page)

So why are multi-awarded singer-songwriters Kitchie Nadal and Barbie Almalbis, alternative rock band Rocksteddy and new all-star rock ensemble Save Me Hollywood releasing their new music under a smallish, indie label called12Stone Records?

Kitchie has been with 12Stone since 2003.

Barbie is set to follow-up her 2010 solo album with a new one for the label.

Rocksteddy continues to gig under 12Stone even while individual members pursue other interests.

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And the all-star Save Me Hollywood—with Carlos “Calde” Calderon of ChicoSci, Kenneth of April Morning Sky and Melvin of Typecast with former MYX VJ and Meg Magazine model winner Julz Savard—could’ve signed up with a bigger label but didn’t.

Rounding up the 12Stone roster are kid punk group Absolute Play and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Ruth Legaspi.

Punk’s not dead

Maybe it’s about who heads up 12Stone.

Head honcho Tommy Tanchanco, who once steered the 80s new wave band Introvoys to mainstream success, was one of the original purveyors of punk in the Philippines. He was a member of the punk band Third World Chaos in 1980 and launched the Brave New World punk concert series the same year.

That indie rebel spirit remains.

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"We handle premium artists. I say premium because we don't really manage that many artists. We only handle those we really can and believe in," Tommy Tanchanco told Yahoo! OMG in an earlier interview.

12Stone has been in the biz for 10 years now and is also a talent management agency.

Barbie updates her pop cradle

Meantime, Barbie Almalbis is getting ready to record a follow-up to her independently produced album “Goodbye My Shadow” in 2010.

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“I’m excited about the new songs,” she says. “They have been written with an acoustic guitar though I have yet to figure out how to produce or arrange them.’

Barbi remains optimistic about her music career whose rewards include memorable concert tours in the U.S., in Singapore, China and Korea.

Kitchie fuses her new music and film

Kitchie Nadal has her album in the bag.

She is set to release here fourth album called “Malaya” this month. She has also just finished filming “The Muses.”

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“I used some of the songs I have written as soundtrack to ‘The Muses,’” she explains. “As a first-time writer and actor, I am happy with what I’ve done so far. I’m really looking forward to discover other ways of expressing my creativity.”

Save Me Hollywood just wants to create freely

Save Me Hollywood has just released their debut record “Your Story to Tell.”

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“It's a pretty exciting time for the band. We're anxious about the response to our music and we do hope people like our stuff,” they confess.

“Our music is basically rock, no other genre classifications needed. We'd like to be able to create freely with our music.”

On the road to a year-end music fest

12 Stone has already taken its artists on the road, launching 12Stone Music Tour at the Eastwood Center Plaza last June 1.

It went to the Lucky Chinatown in Manila on June 7 and at the Venice Piazza McKinley last June 9, where it was, unfortunately, rained out.

The tour will continue to Manila campuses and key cities around the country before culminating in a music festival later in the year.

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