Sunday, May 27, 2012

Chatting with Rock Royalty

I happened to be in Calbayog City, Philippines the same time as a major concert featuring some legendary Filipino performers. I decided to interview them because I figured much of my audience would be interested since I have a lot of followers from the Philippines. I talked to Parokya ni Edgar right before they headed to the concert. I was not too familiar with this group, but I knew they are very popular and I had seen their video "The Ordertaker" so I knew they'd be a lot of fun. I especially had a good time teasing bass guitar player, Buwi Meneses. After the show, I sat down with Kamikazee. I was familiar with a couple of their songs, and I decided to surprise them by singing one of their hits at the start of the interview. These guys were also a lot of fun and they have a great sense of humor. I was happy to hear that they were familiar with me before we sat down to talk. I also sat down with Rico Blanco. I had worked with Rico before as an actor, doing scenes with him on ABS-CBN's TV series, Imortal. Since I had a little experience with him, I knew he is a very serious guy so I knew this interview would be a lot different from the others. My goal was to just sit down with him and have a candid discussion and maybe it would give his fans some insight into what makes this artist tick. Some people that don't know Rico have commented that he seems a bit arrogant or disinterested here, but I assure you that is not the case. Rico is a very serious guy and it would not be fair to expect him to be a comedian like Parokya ni Edgar or Kamikazee. My theory is that he draws on his inner turmoil and uses it as fuel to create his music that moves people so much. I can't read his mind, so I can't say for sure, but this may be one of the reasons he is one of Asia's finest singers and musicians. I really think he enjoyed doing this interview and chatting with me, even though it was very late at night and I am sure he was tired from his concert. He is truly a class act.

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