"Take me down, Six Undergriound..." For what seemed like a Camelot-like brief shining moment, the basement of the Glass Tower in C. Planca Street in Makati relived its glory days as a music haven for folks looking for something off the beaten path. Through the decades the venue had been many things - the jazz joint Cafe Alvarado in the 80's, the legendary rock dive Kalye in the 90's, and a bewildering array of ersatz Irish pubs.

Named after a tune by trip-hop band Sneaker Pimps, it was revived in 2005 as 6 Underground, a venue that sought to relive the glory of the Kalye days, while combining the bar/club concept with a full fledged recording studio that ended up documenting a number of fine live performances for posterity.

The result of those many hours of live recordings has been distilled into a CD compilation of rare live performances from some the best bands in the Philippines called 6 Underground Live & Raw.

6 Underground co-founder Bel Sayson dropped off a CD at our place, and e-mailed this piece announcing the album.

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Underground Records and Warner Music Philippines present an unusual gathering of some of today’s top bands and indie artists into one live and rocking raw album: Underground Live & Raw.

Imagine Pepe Smith singing “Titser’s Enemy No. 1” accompanied only by his wall of guitar distortion; or The Dawn singing “Salamat” live that sends chills down your spine; Kjwan’s Marc Abaya pushing the crowd to sing with him on “Daliri”; or the old Rivermaya having an unusual great time playing “Liwanag Sa Dilim”. Imagine no more as this album brings together these rare gems into a single live compilation hardly been done before.

Adding more firepower to the list are Kapatid, Skychurch, Kiko Machine, The Amandas, Whorelocke, Overtone, Endofcontracts, One Big Jesus, Project Mayhem, and Neighbors. Despite the diverse music genres, these 15 tracks have one thing in common: they were captured live at the mythical 6Underground Bar, showing a glimpse of its spirit and energy night after night.

To the uninitiated, 6Underground was then founded by 6 people, including actor Ryan Agoncillo and musician Bel Sayson, despite having no previous bar venture experiences among them. It was located, quite fittingly, in the basement of a commercial building in Makati, hence, underground.

Their only objective was to give an exclusive venue for all types of original Filipino music to nourish regardless of neither commercial potential nor genre. Quite surprisingly, it became very successful where, on any given night, one can watch big name artists share the stage with less than famous but talented up-and-comers.

After 3 years, it was untimely closed due to a property buyout of the building where it was situated. The performances included in this album were minimally edited in the studio to remain true to its principles and reflect the essence of underground music: Live & Raw.

Among the prominent bands, Rivermaya was one of those who frequented 6Underground. Japs Sergio, bassist for Rivermaya recalled, “There was a time when 6Underground was like my second home. My other group (Daydream Cycle) was actually one of the very first bands who played there. Rivermaya even shot a television special, “Rivermaya Live @ 6Underground”, shown on Studio 23. Parang ‘Maya din ang 6UG… nadadapa pero bumabangon muli. Cheers to the bar!”

Likewise, Ikon champion and Red Horse Beer endorsers, Kjwan, was often seen performing at the fabled club. Jorel Corpus, Kjwan’s guitar player remembered, “It was a great venue for me to play with my bands, Kjwan and Happy Meals. The equipment was impressive and the place had a unique vibe not present in many venues. I miss it.”

Francis Reyes, guitarist of The Dawn, also shared this sentiment, “6UG had pretty good equipment. I liked going and having gigs there without wondering if the amps will work or not. It felt like the musicians were taken cared of because truthfully, most rock clubs tend not to care about sound quality. Not at 6UG, the bands’ sound was always top priority.” In the end, there were nearly 600 artists who performed on the underground stage.

Relive the venue’s mystic via this collection where it does not only epitomize one bar but more so, gives a good representation of our current alternative music scene: alive and fresh of many talents. Join them too at the rebirth of the new 6Underground opening very soon! In the meantime, the album is available at record shops and you may log on to www.underground.ph for more information.