Mitoy stays with his band
When you have won the grand title in a TV singing contest called The Voice of the Philippines, appeared on a mainstream sitcom and collaborated with a lady named Lea Salonga, it almost follows that you are bound for a solo career henceforth even if you were originally just a singer in a struggling cover band.
Mitoy Yonting unusually countered flow in the way of things and for a good result. His band The Draybers, with him on board, kept its run intact in the midst of his personal triumph in the eyes of the TV-viewing public. So much so that it is being celebrated with an anniversary concert reminding everyone that the group has continuously been active for 10 years now.
The show, called Biyaheng Diyes and officially branded under the name Mitoy Yonting and The Draybers, happens on Oct. 30 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. The group, deservingly so, will share the stage with veteran performers Dulce, Randy Santiago and Nyoy Volante, along with Tawag Ng Tanghalan achievers Ato Arman and Noven Belleza, and theater actress Tanya Manalang.
“Malabo na sa amin ang magwatakwatak (It’s unlikely that we will go separate ways),” Mitoy voiced out with clarity. “Nalagpasan na namin yun (We already got over the hump).”
He need not elaborate on his statement, for it’s easy to read between the lines that whatever possible cracks in the pavement, it couldn’t be enough to derail the path. The other guys in the band, obviously under his leadership, definitely understood that his solo breaks benefited them altogether. Besides, they went through tough times as one wolfpack and there’s no point to quit now they’ve gotten both industry and audience respect.
The Draybers, which began its journey as a contestant in a small battle of the bands and endured moraleinflating unpaid gigs, has transformed into a major act in the regular gig scene over time. It has created a good following on the strength of its regular night gigs at Resorts World Manila’s Bar 360. One of the band’s avid fans attended the recent presscon to promote the upcoming special show, noting she didn’t want to miss a thing.
True enough, the group performed its medley of Afterimage songs and the applause-worthy version of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ right in front of her and the media.
Paolo Valenciano, the director of Biyaheng Diyes, has a lot of nice things to say about The Draybers, which strongly revealed why he excitedly took the project in. He detailed, “I’m thrilled to work with this group as they have such global appeal in terms of playing music. They are real rock stars and they should be treated that way.”
Paolo continued, “I would like to unleash them come concert night with the right lights and sound, and in essence introduce them to the world stage. People who see them regularly should come to see them perform in a spectacularly grander atmosphere.”
Interestingly, the group is best hailed as a live act doing covers of mostly classic rock songs. Small wonder they were awarded with Best Performer ALIW trophies thrice (2012, 2013 and 2017). So far though, the band’s originals are technically solo songs of Mitoy, thanks to the after-effect of being champ at The Voice back in 2013.
Nevertheless, it is not the originals that audiences will die for when seeing Mitoy and The Draybers perform in a major concert. It is still what originally endeared them to bar goers: Covers.
Mitoy explained, “Kung tatanungin niyo ako kung babaguhin ba namin ang repertoire sa concert, ang sagot ko hindi. Para lang yang nagustuhan mo ang adobo at babalik-balikan mo. (If you ask me if we will be altering our kind of repertoire, the answer is no. It’s like eating adobo, you want it over and over again).”
Rarely can you see a band frontman playing as a true team player and seeing that his band is not all himself. He quickly showed that last Oct. 10 when he allowed his younger brother Mylo to lead-sing Wency Cornejo’s compositions to greet everybody gathered at El Calle Food and Music Hall in Newport Mall.
Serving as strong backup musicians to their brotherly force are keyboardist Edwin Garcia, bassist Lucky Reformano, drummer Jude Santos and lead guitarist Cesar Uy Salazar.
Perhaps more than its act, The Draybers may take pride in the fact that its band is a good example for others that staying intact, regardless of how fate intervenes along the way, ensures good audience impact.
Could I have a photo with her to show off to my friends and readers (it’s on the “jump” page)? The bodyguard motioned a “No!” and Mariah intervened. The guard told me to stand at the back but Mariah said, “Come sit beside me!” Click!!! Then, she agreed to strike another pose with her holding a copy of The STAR, carrying a story about our Hong Kong (In Bed With
Mariah Carey) interview. Click!!! The Seoul encounter was not as eventful. The appointment was at 1:30 p.m. and Mariah showed up three hours late. Jetlagged!!! Just the same, she was so charming, so profuse with sincere apologies that, so infectiously sweet that we hardly felt the long wait.
Wilbros Live is bringing back Mariah for a one-night concert on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Araneta Coliseum and I doubt if I could have a “fourth time” with Mariah. (For tickets, call 911-5555.) Aside from those quotable quotes highlighted at the top of the opening page, here are some more. From the Hong Kong interviewOn = being a diva: Oh dear! These days, everybody is called a diva, so, you know, hmmmm… Well, I don’t think of myself in terms of sales or things like that… (but) I’m very, very grateful for that and I believe that I owe it to the fact that I am a person who has a lot of spirituality. I believe in God very strongly but I’m not necessarily a religious person. I just have my own beliefs and…maybe that’s being religious…I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just kinda my own inner strength that I found. = From the Tokyo interview On her BFF (Best Friend Forever): The friend that I had before I got into showbiz is the same friend that I have today. She and I would sleep together on a mattress we placed on the floor in our Manhattan pad. She used to help me get waitressing jobs. But I was so bad. I was 17 and I was too young to serve. I always got fired because I was listening to my Walkman all the time and to my demo tapes. I was a complete mess in that regards…a complete mess! From the Seoul interview = On how she deals with emotional issues: Well, I cry and cry. Then, I’m okay again. Crying has a healing effect. On how she manages to look gorgeous: I keep telling myself that I am 12 years old because a lot of good things happened in my life when I was 12. You know, if you keep repeating something to yourself, it becomes true. So when people ask how I manage to look the way I do, I tell them, “I’m forever 12.” (E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@ gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)