A Christmas Promise fulfilled (part 1)

One of the highlights of my job in Letran Bataan's Center for Public Affairs & Media Development is the production of our Christmas music videos.

It is in this type of project I work with a team driven to come up with a video which will make Christmas time more special for the community. 

The purpose behind it is the belief that works of art can move people to action, sort of like an inspiration for them to tap into the selflessness in themselves... 

We thought we, as a nation, needed this 'selflessness' more than ever. 

This is the story of how Pangako ng Pasko came about.

THE SONG

The lyrics to this year's song was written by Arli Atienza, a 3rd year Education student. I asked my colleague and friend Marlon Holgado to approach him, as Arli was a student of his, with the concept of Christmas promises. (Arli actually submitted song lyrics to me before during the KantArriba songwriting competition and was impressed by his style. Therefore I thought, 'Why not make him the writer for this year's song?')

He submitted the lyrics to me the next day in a yellow sheet of paper, handwritten. This was early October. 

I was impressed with the words he came up with. With just a little tweaking and additional lines here and there, I put the melody line with Arli's lyrics, working on nights after office hours with the keyboard in my room at my house. The melodies were composed separately for the songs different parts as shown in the recordings I put on my iPhone (so I won't forget the tunes.) Look at how on different days the song came about.

The recording process was one of the longest I've ever done because there were many ideas in my head on how the song should sound. The song's instruments were recorded in my studio.

The first demo which was recorded by Carmella Servera (one of the Letran Bataan All-stars singers) and faculty member Jayson Viray, was quite a slow version of the song. 

I had to acknowledge Carmella for helping me improve the melody lines to make it more 'pop'-sounding. (Side note: Her demo vocals for the bridge, "Lumbay ay para bang napawi..." were the ones used in the final mix of the song because everyone just loved that take when they heard the demo. By everyone, I meant all my friends and colleagues who previewed the track.)

I remember playing the demo to some Communication students who would be working on the video with us. I think I remember them saying it was "OK". That wasn't the response I wanted especially coming from them. I got a bit paranoid thinking that the song wasn't good. 

Then I went back to the studio to do the final arrangement for the song which will be the version used by the students and the one which will be released.

This took about a week and a weekend because I wasn't happy with the mix I was coming up with. One version sounded so 90's, while the other sounded just terrible. Our song had to be "very good" and not just "OK"!

It was a good thing that it was just October then. I had plently of time. 

Then I decided, the rhythm should be patterned to "Ang Awit Ko (Ngayong Pasko)", our first Christmas song back in 2011. Everyone liked that touch. I also put in a lot of string and horn sections reminiscent of "Star ng Pasko" of ABS-CBN. 

So from there, the final backing track of the song emerged. It was still melancholy, but the beat was strong and solid enough for young adult listeners to embrace. (Marlon kept on inisisting bells and chimes throughout the song which is why the track has this sparkly quality all throughout.)

For the vocal recording, it was two-days me on standby at the recording booth of Letran Bataan as I await possible soloists. 

I decided to stick with the usual vocalists we had for the past two Christmas songs but I remember asking Marlon to get me some new talents. I also remember approaching Limuel (of Limuel and Frienda band) in the hallway to invite him to be part of the song.

I didn't excuse students from their classes so I just had to wait for their free time so then they could put down their vocals. This extended the recording period, I guess.

I think it was 20 minutes per vocalist and it was just one line or so that we would be recording.

As a producer, it was important that I heard what was their best vocal take. Repeat repeat repeat until the singer was in his or her element for that line. So that took about two days. 

(There were some more extra days because Jeanne Gabaya was not in school so I think I recorded her vocals separately.)

This picture shows the high school students doing the chorus part. 

 

Eventually, after mixing the tracks for several days, the song's final mix came about and it was time to sit down with the team to do the storyboard for the video.

(To be continued...)

Check out Eleven Zones Cafe Lounge

There are some nights when you just want to kill yourself because of boredom or probably you're going through a rough patch.

Whatever the case, this new bar in my city made me smile. Probably it's because the hostess was so very nice.

She introduced herself and asked how my day has been. This took me by surprise. I ended up telling her that I slept all day and stuff. 

She made sure my friends and I were well fed and even said we can stay as long as we wanted to although they were supposed to close at 9pm (because they had a function during the day which led to her and brother doing almost everything that night. No servers. No chefs. I dismissed it immediately as a lame bar until this hostess/owner won us over with her rapport).

This was a stark contrast from the usual arrogance or indifference I get from the places I frequently go to.

This got me thinking. Connection. That's what's lacking. We need it. So that we somehow feel alive...

Let's enjoy the night!

Cold-hearted

This is a point in my life when I feel I'm being redundant. Irrelevant. 

I feel no one is interested with what I have to say about something anymore. 

So i just shut up and keep it all to myself.

What is it really that I want? Am I already there? Where am I going?

Have I reached the summit already and this is the descent? Wait. That sounded arrogant.

Did I turn into a conceited, arrogant prick? 

Maybe I've always been...and this is just me peeling off my sugary layer because I've grown tired with people's bullshit. 

I have little energy for people's bullshit that's why I cut people out of my life. That's much easier than dealing with their drama.

Yet this is a cold place.

Just like the weather.

Updating My Sound

So I'm downloading some compilation albums over at the iTunes store just so I am still attuned to the "now" sound.

As a producer, I've always made it a point that the music I come up with is current, so that I would stay current. The worst approach to pop music production for me is building a track using decade-old sensibilities (like 90's pop groups dragging their sound to the teen market with their comebacks). 

Although the mixing of 70's/80's sound sometimes work (e.g. Bruno Mars's song "Treasure"), I think I prefer to dabble with the kick-heavy, synth-filled sound I hear today. 

They ask, what training to you go through to come up with these sounds? I say, listen. Listen. That's how I've always learned. 

Diane, CJ & Me: Fun in Bataan

Love love love these college friends of mine. Our friendship has transcended our college years and we still make it a point to have a get-together every now and then to catch up. It's always non-stop laughter and stories when it comes with these two.

Last April 26 & 27, we went to Morong, Bataan at the Bataan White Corals Resort. Lots of hanging out by the beach, checking out the people, and us generally laughing out loud a lot.

Lately I've been experimenting with this app called VideoStar and all of my beach/pool trips this summer are captured using this video software, transformed into a montage music video. So nice.

(Included in the video is this weird shot of us imitating the statues featured in the thumbnail image of the video which we later thought was kind of offbeat funny.)

From Baguio to Sagada to Banaue (Admin Outing)

This year I got to make the most out of summer because I was able to visit places.

Last April 5 to 10, I joined the Administrators' Outing and Retreat held in Baguio, going through Sagada and Banaue. This particular outing was quite long for me because I had to miss six days of my Insanity workout and my routine Balanga-life. The good thing about it was that I got to be acquainted with my administrator-colleagues in Letran. Plus, I got to see places and learn culture which felt foreign to me.

I learned more about the Igorot culture, got to eat at tacky places in Sagada, trekking, long nights by the bon fire, and dinner and drinks with the Dominican priests.

One thing I noticed are the red stains by the streets of Banaue. Apparently these are spits of residents chewing nganga. Most of them chew these red seeds concocted with a leaf and this powder (sorry, I wasn't paying attention to the tour guide as he explained this to us).

The rice that they serve in Sagada is red or brownish, the sort that you buy as a special rice in the supermarket. And I also noticed that the chips are over-inflated, maybe something to do with the air pressure? I don't know.

The vegetables and fruits that were served to us were oh-so-fresh that if one was going to go on a vegetable&fruit-restricted diet, it wouldn't be a problem.

I didn't feel comfortable with the heights and the long drives overlooking the cliffs along the highways situated in the mountains. Ugggghhh. I swear I felt we were going to fall off any second.

My dad used to take us hiking along the mountains of Mariveles, and I was always the one with the fear of heights compared to my sister. I still felt the same whenever we would go trekking. I always reminded myself, "Don't look down. Don't look down.". This eventually would make me look as if I was an old fart hanging on to dear life whenever we would go through a tricky or a steep trail.

Ofcourse, I wasn't able to join the cave adventure in Sagada because that wasn't really my thing. But Sagada in general is a mystical place, like somewhere a horror film would be set, especially after hearing anecdotes from this woman who owns the town's museum. You should visit that place to complete the Sagada experience as much as you would go cave-exploring as she's quite a memorable character, speaking in eloquent English as she tells of her native Igorot collection ranging from baskets, beads to animal skeletons and weapons. That woman is armed with this dry, spontaneous sense of humor which cracked us up.

In Banaue, what was memorable to me was when I shared bottles of beer with a colleague in the hotel bar. We really got to have a great chat about life and love, and got to whine (just a bit!) about work. We also got to speak with two Canadian women and tell them about places to visit in the Philippines as they were going around the country for two weeks.

Thanks to Letran I got to visit the northern area of the Philippines!

When I got back from the trip, our house helpers posted something in the fridge door:

Dance

So on the way to work this morning, I was listening to Caedmon's Call's album, "Long Line of Leavers", one of the albums I frequently listen to when I was in college, and ultimately one of my influences in writing pop rock songs because of the accessible chord progression, creative turn of words and melodic choruses.

One of my favorite songs in the album is "Dance". So this track comes on and I suddenly I had tears running down my face. The song just got to me in the most emotional way. I loved the words and the song's idea. An elderly just wanting to dance.

"Dance" is sung from a point of view of Mary who lives in an old folks home. She expresses the joy she feels every time she dances and wishes to dance some more with somebody, hopefully dancing her way out of that place. It's just so amazing how Derek Webb, the writer of the song, encapsulated this longing from the lady to 'dance'. I've always thought that the 'dance' in the song should be taken figuratively, but what got to me is how I decided that this lady just wants to dance! And ultimately that's what it's all about. We all just want to dance. What a wonderful thought.

Here's the lyrics of the song:

Dance 

My name is Mary and I'm from Greenville, Mississippi 
But this is where I live, here in this old folks' dormitory 
Every Sunday night Sarah comes to see us 
And she plays that old upright 
But Sarah always seems to leave us

When she plays something comes over me
Goes from my head all the way to my feet

And I wanna dance 
I wanna snap my fingers all night long and dance 
I wanna move around the room just like a woman in a trance 
All night, I wanna dance 
I wanna wrap my arms around your neck and dance 
I wanna listen to the music that's been ringing in my ears 
And one day I’m gonna dance my way right outta here

I had three girls and a boy but now one's gone up to Heaven 
She's with her papa now 'cause he left for lack of penicillin 
The older that I get I figure everyone is dying 
They're all dying for a change 
But I know I'm dying for some action

But days like these Sunday seems so far away 
So until then I'm gonna sit right here and here I’ll stay

I wanna dance 
I wanna snap my fingers all night long and dance 
I wanna move around the room just like a woman in a trance 
All night, I wanna dance 
I wanna wrap my arms around your neck and dance 
I wanna listen to the music that's been ringing in my ears 
And one day I’m gonna dance my way right outta here

I'd marry you, if you could dance, that's what I say
'Coz where I'm going there'll be dancing everyday

Listen to this awesome track:

Mutya ng Lungsod ng Balanga Theme Song

As you know, my blog is all about me me me and me...and a huge part of me is MUSIC. So I'm going to have to feature bits and pieces of my musical past for me you to understand my musical present and future!

That sounded a bit too neurotic and narcissistic, don't it?

Anyway, here's a project that started in 2011 when Balanga's City Administrator Mr. Rodolfo De Mesa approached me with three talented individuals who wrote and performed the then-proposed theme song for the pageant, Mutya ng Lungsod ng Balanga. These young people were Shanne Velasco, RJ Velasco and Kakai Puzon.

So there they were with their guitar and they played me this really engaging tune. They performed it using the acoustic guitar, but instead, I heard it as a dance-track with its uplifting chorus that soars from the refrain.

We recorded the song the next day as the instruments were put down. I gave it a summery, bouncey feel as the pageant was held every April, the hottest month in the country, and the candidates were going to be dancing to it, hips and all. (The tom drums in the end are reminiscent of the Baywatch theme, I must say.)

I remember when I sat there during the coronation night in 2011 when the song was premiered and first performed, my heart was pumping and I was practically blown away by the fact that the song which I produced in my studio was live and loud at the Plaza de Mayor de Balanga, with all my fellow Balangueños to hear. Amazing, amazing feeling.

So I just want to share this piece of music with you which I believe is my contribution to the city I grew up in- Balanga City.

Below you can hear the original mix of the song, followed by the 2013 Remix of the song.

The video for the second clip is produced by my friend and collaborator Michael Mateo who served as the official photographer and videographer for the pageant.



Check out the 2013 Remix of the song with a video produced from clips from Michael Mateo's video featurettes (another first for the pageant, in which all candidates were featured in a one-minute interview / documentary) and documentations, and Mr. Richard Buenaventura's swimsuit shoot.

Driving

I spend most of my time driving. Driving to work. Driving to the bar. Driving to the mall. Driving to a friend's house. Driving driving driving. 

It's been five years since I started going behind the wheel and taking on the road to take myself anywhere I wanted or needed to be. 

I sing aloud in my car. Have the most meaningful conversations. The most creative ideas. The most tender moments. The anticipation of getting there...getting to the destination.

But like any good 'ol driver, I try to enjoy the ride more than the "getting there" part. 

The feeling of getting somewhere and heading home is the best, and that's what driving brings. 

Although I try not to do it so much (as I could end up in the hospital), I try to enjoy the views on the window side. And when that sun sets and the car radio plays that melancholic song on cue, the feeling becomes eternal. I know any driver could relate. It's like you're on your own piece of film. You'd be sighing and thinking about your first heartbreak or stepping on the gas pedal slightly heavier as it's just so good to be alive.

Oh the joys of driving. And the joys of having your own car to serve as an extension of you, like a friend, a counterpart, to take loved ones to places...

Yes that's me. Driving myself crazy.

Finished Insanity 60-Day Program!

Yeah! I've done it. The gruelling 60 days of the Insanity program. 

Insanity is a cardio-conditioning program which pushes you to the brink of "insanity" as the moves make your heartbeat shoot up, to the point that you lose all mind processes...it's just you and yourself, pushing yourself to the edge! And that was just what i did! 

I never knew my body would be conditioned eventually to do the moves and recover more quickly to do the succeeding exercises. I think this is the best condition my body has been in. 

On the last play of the video, I told my workout buddy that I felt like crying because I never thought we'd come this far. And we really did! We lost a significant amount of weight and people really noticed. 

This is me after the last Fit Test. May 18, 2013.

Proud of my body! There's still more work to do but so far I'm bloody happy to have lost that 20 lbs! 

One more round of the Insanity program rolling in tomorrow! I hope you try it too. 

(Go to www.beachbody.com and order the DVDs. They take orders/ship worldwide which was how I got my package. Make sure you are initially active before going though this program. I had been working out and running when I found out about Insanity but I still had a hard time keeping up with the moves and the pace. Anyway, just do what you can and PUSH yourself!)

After such a long time!

Hello there dear readers. I haven't been able to check in for so long because of the surge of convenient mobile social media apps that make people blog less, or no longer. 

So here is my way of resurrecting my site!

So what's happening? I'm writing this using my iPhone and I just peeled myself from the bed. It's a Saturday and there's my Insanity workout at 11am then later in the evening, a pool party with officemates which is going to be great!

Glad to report that I've lost a huge amount of weight, at least 15lbs because  of a slight tweak in lifestyle (which includes a more intense workout and disciplined diet). That's been awesome, except for the fact that I can't wear some loose shirts and jeans that I bought ever since my weight gain. And to think I've donated my 'tight' clothes!!! 

So that's that. Here's a preview of my small transformation: 

What do you think?