Finding Inner Voices
Fulfilling an “unfinished business.” That is the main reason the group Inner Voices decided to perform together again. The five-man band first ignited the music scene in 1992 and performed in popular venues like Sound Stage, Kampo, Chatterbox, Cosmo Bar and Top 40.
The band members shared the stage with some of the hottest acts of the era — After Image, South Border, Razorback, Rivermaya, Alamid, Color It Red, Vanna Vanna, Nexxus and Eraserheads. However, Inner Voices disbanded in the late ‘90s. The members pursued their studies and profession, but the friendship remained intact. Today, Inner Voices is back to continue what they started.
Nants del Rosario is primarily a balladeer, yet he has a versatile vocal range — R&B, pop, new wave and classic rock. He is the band’s vocalist and composer. Rey Roland Bergado or “Boying” is one of the founding members and is a pillar of the group. As an artist and composer, his main influences are The Beatles, Hall and Oates, as well as local artists such as Side A, Neocolours and True Faith.
Drummer/percussionist Ruben Tecson, fondly called “Bentot” by band members, is influenced by such artists as Phil Collins, Jeff Porcaro, Simon Philips, Alex Van Halen and local drum guru Michael Alba. Ruben has toured with several local performers such as Gino Padilla, Randy Santiago, Jovit Baldivino and Rachel Alejandro.
Lead guitarist Rene Tecson has played for a number of local artists and has been a session musician for TV shows like Pilipinas Got Talent, Wowowee and Happy, Yipee, Yehey. His style as guitar player has been highly influenced by Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Gambale and Steve Bai.
Alvin Pelina Herbon, a music major from the University of Sto. Tomas, has been a touring musician who brought his musical excellence to the band. He is regarded as the group’s backbone as far as the band’s rhythm section is concerned. His strongest influences are guitar greats Nathan East (jazz, rock bass, R&B player-vocalist) and American bassist Rocco Prestia.
Initially, Inner Voices recorded the demo song Find a Way and posted the song on Facebook. “The reaction of friends was so encouraging and that led us to our second song,” Boying recalls. “The rest of the songs followed suit until we came up with an eight-song compilation.”
Recording came as a breeze since all of them have the same preference when it comes to music. Find a Way became the carrier single. “The album is a reflection of our preferred genre — ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s classic contemporaries,” Boying, who penned six cuts, explains.
Nants, meanwhile, wrote two tracks while Ruben was involved with the arrangement. “It’s all about love and everything that goes around it,” adds Boying. “Right now, we are into pop and ballads, but certainly in the future, we will definitely explore other genres.”
The album contains power ballads, alternative pop and upbeat tracks. Most of the songs are for easy listening. “We feel that this album will certainly be a defining moment for all of us, not just as band mates but also as individuals,” Boying points out. “A lot changed in our individual careers after we launched the album, but we keep our fingers crossed that everything will be better for us.”
The group collaborated with Gary Perez, lead guitarist of Sampaguita’s band, for the song Buti Pa Sila. Other selections in the album include Hayaan, Please Stay, Shining Armor, Angel in My
Dreams and Sige Lang. Multi-awarded songwriter and hitmaker Vehnee Saturno is the album producer. Inner Voices will do bar and mall tours, plus shows even in the provinces, to promote the album.
Since all of them are professionals, the members of Inner Voices do not feel pressured to work double time and still earn their keep through singing. “We will go where our music will lead us,” Boying says. “We will take it one step at a time.”
Boying is lawyer who works with the government’s customs department. Nants is a senior engineer in a semi-con company. Rene is a marketing executive in a telecommunication service provider. Ruben owns a company that supplies, installs and maintains CCTV systems and Alvin is a full-time musician, being the only music major in the group.
With their regular jobs, they still manage to practice at least once a week, after office hours or usually on weekends. Thankfully, their respective families support their musical endeavor, which is very encouraging. Whatever they do, both individually and as a band, is undoubtedly rewarding and fulfilling.