When I was in high school, New Wave was in vogue especially in the cities. But in Tiwi, Slow Rock ruled, and my buddies loved the music of the German rock group, Scorpions. We learned how to play their songs on the acoustic guitar and sang our lungs out to Always Somewhere, No One Like You, In Trance, When the Smoke is Going Down, Still Loving You, and Rock You Like A Hurricane, just to name a few.

We decided to call our group "Basag 49ers" one summer night -- we would usually meet up at night at places like the premises of the Tiwi Rural Bank, at Queens Park, the Japanese Garden, and on most occasions on the sidewalks adjacent to the bridge along the national highway in Basag, to jam and pass the time like most teenagers would do at the time and stay out until the wee hours of the morning especially on weekends doing nothing but singing those high-pitched rock songs and tinkering with the old guitar.

I remember Awo (Emmanuel Canale) who could belt out those high notes like the lead singer Klaus Meine effortlessly while strumming his guitar. I remember a casual friend Aba (RIP) who sometimes joined us with his drum set fashioned out of nylon taffeta from old discarded umbrellas in tow. I remember the times when we would strain our eyes from trying to read the lyrics of songs from the list in "Songhits" magazines under the dim street lights.

And I remember the endless jokes and silly banter, as well as the occasional drinking sessions that we had but were kept under wraps because some of us didn't have a "lisensya" from our respective parents yet.

On September 6, 2007, which was more than a decade ago, I made a 2-hour drive to Pine Knob in Clarkston to attend the Detroit stop of the Scorpions Humanity Tour. I did it not only for a respite from the daily grind but also to relive the memories of my teenage years.

Here are two of the video clips from that concert which I stumbled upon while reviewing my archives of my old Gateway laptop this afternoon.