Bend without breaking
Bamboo continues his quest for musical greatness even if it means giving in to mainstream proclivities at times
Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lea Salonga and Sharon Cuneta, rock singer Bamboo is, no doubt, as mainstream as it gets. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Being a family man, he needs to earn good money.
Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lea Salonga and Sharon Cuneta, rock singer Bamboo is, no doubt, as mainstream as it gets. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Being a family man, he needs to earn good money.
So far, Bamboo has released two albums and these are “No Water, No Moon” (2011) and “Bless This Mess” (2015). But for all the clout that comes with being seen on TV almost on a daily basis, Bamboo is yet to score one hit that would establish him a solo star. Sure, he has had a couple of minor ones in “Questions” and “Firepower,” but these pale in comparison to the landmark tunes he made with his former bands Rivermaya and Bamboo. And he knows it, too.
“That’s the goal, actually,” he said in a recent interview. “That has been my main thing, to write something that would speak to the masses.”
Bamboo is not losing sleep over it, however, saying, “it will come if it will come.”
For now, the singer is busy with “The Voice Teens” where he sits as judge alongside Lea, Sharon and Sarah Geronimo.
The format excites Bamboo. “Teens are different from the kids we handled in the past. Ito, they have more angst so it makes things more interesting.
Mas makulay,” he noted. He promises to be more patient in picking people for his team this time
around. “Yeah kasi mas alam ko na ang hinahanap ko eh,” he said. “I don’t want to dwell on the contestants’ backstories. Ang question for me now is ‘How could I bring them into the finals?’”
How does he feel when contestants do songs he has popularized?
“Well, honestly, sometimes I’d rather they do not kasi parang may aspect na nao-obliga ako to give my nod na hindi dapat. But it’s nice, I appreciate it.” Bamboo admitted seeing some of his wards not make it through the finals still gets to him. “Masakit but, of course, alam ko na mas masakit for them and I feel that so ang hirap, It sucks so bad,” he said.
It is such, he said, “I’ve opened myself up to them. Sabi ko, ‘Whenever you need me just give me a call.’ Like for a show or sa recording, whatever. I want them to know that I really do care.”
Telling him how we miss hearing him sing songs like “Tatsulok,” he said, “That song still speaks to me.”
He added, “I see what’s happening in the country, the world and you know, I have my own opinion about it but yeah, I’d rather not talk about it at least on camera.” But why? “It’s not my thing,” he said. “I’d rather sing my thoughts, you know. That’s why, like I said, I want to write something that would express that part of me and have people relate to it and I’m still on it. That’s what I’ve been working on.”