Local music scene: Neglected or unseen?
At 28, Christian Saoh is a farmer in Tubigon, Bohol. Alongside being a farmer of a hectare of poultry and crops, he formed the band August Skyline nine years ago from nothing but scratch. He plays the bass guitar. Surrounded by a healthy music scene, the band had its ups and downs.
“The scene was there but the growing was step by step,” Saoh said.
The band’s first few gigs sometimes only had two to four people and Saoh said the band had to tour all over the country to be heard.
Last Oct. 1, a local music production celebrated its 11th anniversary. Harakirimosh was founded by Shak Mancao and Mirza Barcenilla in 2005 alongside the rise of local music bands. In the same event, 16 local bands came together for a night full of fun at the CAP Activity Theater on Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City. Some of the local bands started out during the early 2000s, but others were not taking the music industry very seriously until now, like August Skyline.
Finding Apollo is one of the 16 bands that played in the event and drummer Ricky Enriquez said that the members of the band started out in the industry from different groups that ended prematurely.
“Ever since the international music evolved and became the youth’s preference, it was hard,” Enriquez said. The band composes its own songs and might produce another album later this year. When asked about the impracticality of the craft: “I bought my own drum set and it ran for about P30,000 but I feel like it (the price) is nothing compared to the feeling of playing. This is my passion and I, personally, will continue this.”
Hardwood, formed in 2006, had its shows in Lahug, Cebu City. Lead guitarist Jonathan Tejano said the evolution of music is one of the contributing factors why the band had to stop. “We are more on instrumental and we were invited to weddings and some events but people during those days preferred show bands.” Tejano is currently a mentor at the International Academy of Film and Television in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Saoh thinks that the local music scene suffers from a degree of leveling. “Other bands create this kind of thinking that just because their music is harder, they’re better.” His band creates melodic song and he said they have been discriminated by bands creating punk or hard metallic songs.
“The local music scene lacks support from within. Some bands do not support the others because they think they’re superior. But I think it’s wrong. We have the same goal: to create music.”
For Mancao, the local music scene needs love and support especially from the teens. “We want to encourage children to get into music, pick up a guitar, form a band with their friends, hone their skills and let out their creativity.”
Benitez, on the other hand, when asked how to encourage the youth to love the local music, his concern was different: “As long as the young people don’t do drugs during parties.” Party drugs have been very prevalent nowadays and because parties and bars target the youth, they become very vulnerable to this. Moreover, Enriquez said: “Because it is always better to spend the money on noble causes like your passion than drugs.”
Saoh said teens should take it into account that creating a band means a whole lot more than just creating music. “They should always remember to create a bond before a band. You don’t need to be good at anything at all because if you have a bond within, it will be easy.”
Local music scene may be a shadow of the different famously conventional music but Mancao added: “Musically speaking, there are a lot of local talents that deserve attention. We are humbly just a speck of the whole scene but we do what we can.”
But even though they are shown low-lying love and support, Enriquez added, “I think there are many of us who will continue this.”