All these “interests” moved on to become passions. The strong foundation I had from my childhood prepared me for the next phase of my life.
When I was in 2nd year high school in La Salle Greenhills, I was watching the drummer of Kundirana (a high school band) and said to myself, “next year, that will be me.” |
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That summer I auditioned and true enough, I got the spot. One night while I was playing drums, I thought to myself, “hey, those singers in front of me are getting more of the spotlight. I’ll be singing in front next year.” Sure enough, I became one of the soloists. One night, while I was singing, I said to myself, “what a beautiful song. I ought to be singing my own songs.” And as promised, during the break of one of our rehearsals, I stayed behind, went to the piano in the auditorium and wrote my first song. Since then, I have written over 500 songs (I stopped counting at 500!).
After all these, it was inevitable that I pursue a career as a professional musician. I wrote my first jingle for an appliance store advertisement at the age of 16. I wrote my first commercial hit at the age of 17 (“Tatlong Beinte Singko”) which incidentally catapulted my friend’s singing career. Once again, I found myself saying to myself, “I want people to hear the voice of the songwriter. I want them to hear how my songs should be sung.” Just for kicks, I gave a copy of one of my songs to Vince St. Price, DJ of 99.5 RT. After a week, the song “Hanggang Kailan” was in the RT Top 40. In less than a month, it was in the top 3. It wasn’t long before a record company signed me up and I went on to do major concerts here and abroad. Film director Laurice Guillen tapped me to be part of the film “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang?”. Acting and singing became my life since then. My schedule was horrendous and I practically lived in a suitcase. To keep my sanity, I had my magic and continued to harness this craft by creating and improving my skills. I had the world as my stage from those long plane trips, hanging out in hotel lobbies, meeting my audiences after each show. I was the only magician who can sing and act. Or it could be the other way around.
