Begin again: music vets, screenwriter mentor 60 campers, Part 2

READ PART 1. The long goodbye to a life-changing music camp

For five days, 60 songwriters from all over the country learned, sang, wrote, collaborated, bonded, ate, laughed together and affirmed that their lives won’t be the same. They found new friends, collaborators and, possibly, new versions of their own selves at the fifth annual 7101 Music Nation’s Elements Singing/Songwriting Camp in Dumaguete.

Joey Ayala discussed the history of Filipino music and emphasized that people need to seek out artists who are not part of written history.

He flashed photographs of known musicians, 90% of which were identified by the young campers.

But Ayala made it clear that these well-known artists are products of precedents who probably did not find as much commercial success and are rarely, if at all, mentioned as part of history.

Ricky Lee: needs, not wants

Renowned screenwriter Ricky Lee may seem like an odd choice to be a speaker in a music camp but he humbly offered that it was always his dream to be involved with music somehow. As a longtime music fan, Lee listens to music while writing, from Cat Stevens to Kings of Leon.

He says that musicians are always “in the moment” whereas writers are not… and this is what the latter aspire to.

To be storytellers, one must address “needs” not “wants,” he said.

Lee then showed a well-known burger commercial where, on the surface, the main protagonist wanted to be called by her Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather by her name (“Karen” and not “Gina”… you remember this, yeah?).

When she was referred to as the favorite granddaughter, her actual need was met and it touched the audience.

Jim Paredes: ‘Just f-cking do it!’

Jim Paredes, in his module “Creativity and Fear,” reminded campers to “write because you are a writer… just f-cking do it!”

He also reminded everyone that the playful child inside births creativity, not the whispering cynical adult self.

“Self-criticism,” he says in this case, “… is child abuse.”

Jun Sy: identify your purpose

Jun Sy, the industrialist who co-founded the songwriting camp, outlined parallelisms between entrepreneurs and musicians.

In a nutshell, successful entrepreneurs identify their purpose just as a musician should.

Ultimately, musicians are brands unto themselves.

Gary Granada: seek out the fringe

Gary Granada was the unannounced guest, his appearance kept secret to the point where even the other mentors were taken aback happily.

He outlined the music industry’s operational flow peppered with acidic wit and reaffirmed Ayala’s point to seek out influences that lie on the fringes of the mainstream.

At the farewell dinner jam, he regaled the participants with three songs including “Saranggola sa Ulan.” (Ayala ended up singing with campers until sunrise)

Jungee Marcelo: bouncing back after a long, dry spell

Jungee Marcelo, who as usual acted as comedic host for the modules, gave a touching closing inspirational talk (“Pabaon”) and admitted that there were moments in his career when he became arrogant and was eventually humbled.

Primarily a gospel songwriter, he wrote hits for Gary Valenciano such as ‘Hataw Na’ and ‘Sayahweh’ but faced a 15-year lull that made him feel washed out.

Marcelo bounced back in recent years with hits (“Nasa Yo na ang Lahat” for Daniel Padilla for example) and won big at the recent 2014 Philpop songwriting contest with “Salbabida.” (Throughout the camp, his co-mentors ribbed him about sharing the P1 million prize.)

“Itaas ang noo… at ibaba ang kilay,” he says, smiling.

Major labels represent

Also in attendance were representatives from record labels Warner Music and MCA.

Their presence seemed fitting as the campers were also educated in business matters (publishing, copyright, legal and moral rights), which will help them as they pursue their careers.

Whether any of the campers will be signed up as artists or songwriters remains to be seen, but the record reps got a chance to see and hear (and be impressed) by the 60 who qualified.

Meet the campers

So how were this year’s batch members?

There’s Benny Giron who shimmied and sashayed while strumming his ukelele, a natural performer and live wire who instinctively knew what mentor Audie Gemora demonstrated in the performance workshop.

Equally boundlessly energetic is Beatrice Lorenzo. She sang her bluesy number sitting down but clearly wanted to fly off her seat.

Volts Vallejo, Rich Griner, and Mike Regalado all are singer/guitarists; Regalado’s songwriting in particular made an impression on mentor Ebe Dancel.

Regalado’s demo uploaded after the Camp:

Peer support

Thea Pitogo’s voice is utterly unique, far removed from the pop timbres of most other singers, but just as powerful and her music is country influenced.

Pitogo, who wonders if she’s too different is shushed by Toni Brillantes, a piano virtuoso and powerful vocalist: “Nobody here, or anywhere, sounds like you.”

This example of peer support is common in the camp.

Slippers and fractals

Jireh Calo wrote a funny song about slippers minutes before her performance, replete with jazzy chords and, well, a slipper she slapped on the keyboard to generate dissonant accents before inviting people for an extended jam.

BP Valenzuela she came armed with a mini synth and a pair of looping devices thus extending the visual and sonic perception of what constitutes a singer/songwriter (especially around a beachfront).

Mariel Wang said something else during one of the dinners: she wants to study the actual physics of music and talked about fractals.

Gerard Salonga and spontaneous recordings

In his commencement speech, Gerard Salonga admitted, “When you’ve been in the business for so long, you tend to become jaded. But you guys… reminded us why we chose to be musicians.”

He observed that everybody was, in a way, mentoring each other.

A few minutes before the rescheduled flight back to Manila (their flight the day before had been cancelled) , the Radio Republic team gathered the campers and mentors for a live-in-the-airport-lobby recording of Gary Granada’s “Saranggola Sa Ulan.”

Smoke machine

The atmosphere was more relaxed than the previous day, the campers ready to say their good-byes, relaxed enough to know that their friendships and collaborations will continue, beginning with their Facebook accounts.

Recording done, they march into the plane, eager to go home, but dreading the payday Friday Manila traffic.

Comments of “smoke machine!’ occasionally break the silence, a reference to the over-enthusiastic application of the device during the performance showcases, and turned into one of many in-jokes unique to every Elements batch.

On Facebook

Mike Regalado says his good-byes on the tarmac but he has to wait in the airport until 10 p.m. for his flight back to his native Aklan for a gig.

Somewhere else, Lyriel Gonzales is waiting for her luggage on the carousel and may have had the chance to say extended farewells to everybody else. Perhaps she’s crying a little bit less (or maybe more), and as she looks forward to her band’s EP launch in a few weeks’ time, she knows she will be bringing new things to the table.

Upon arriving in Aklan, Regalado immediately sends a message on Facebook, thanking and missing everybody… and off he goes to gig.

Not fame but possibilities

Not everybody in Elements will be part of written history. Some may find fame upfront, others might work in the fringes, a few may shake things up in the trenches, others may retreat to their shells and stay behind the scenes… or disappear altogether.

The Elements camp does not promise fame, only possibilities.

And for everybody, camper or mentor, as each head back to their homes and gigs armed with knowledge, inspiration and insights, they know it’s a darn great place to begin… or begin again.

READ PART 1. The long goodbye to a life-changing music camp