05.17.2007
GOOD VIBRATIONS: THE BLOOMFIELDS MAKE MUSIC FOR EVERYONE
THIS BAND'S 60S SOUND APPEALS TO FANS OF ALL AGES, FROM LITTLE CHILDREN TO GRANDPARENTS TO SCREAMING TEENAGE GIRLS
Rock ‘n’ roll has always been the domain of the young: parental rage has been one of its by-products since its inception in the ‘fifties. So it’s not often that you can bond with your parents—or grandparents—over music. Unless of course, it's their brand of rock ‘n’ roll you're listening to.
The Bloomfields are a young, fresh-faced band who find themselves bridging that gap: with a sound drawn from the popular music of over four decades ago, they garner fans that range from little kids to their parents and grandparents, to—of course—mobs of screaming teenaged girls.
Made up of Jay-Jay Lozano on lead guitar and harmonica, his brother Pepe on guitars, Louie Poco on bass, Lakan Hila on keyboards, and Rocky Collado on drums, with all of them doing vocals, The Bloomfields released their first album—containing five original songs and twelve covers—under EMI records last March 23, 2007. The launch was held in Eastwood City, Libis, where they had been playing every Wednesday for some time. The well-attended event was a definite high in the career of a band that, in theory, plays music that only your mother (and father) would love.
The Bloomfields is more than just a sixties tribute band; while their repertoire consists of hits from some of the sixties' biggest acts like The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Smokey Robinson and The Beach Boys, they've also rearranged Pinoy classics like Bodgie Dasig's "Ale" and Tito Vic and Joey's "Iskul Bukul"—as well as composed their own songs—in that inimitable sixties style.
"Most of [our arrangements] are done by Jay-Jay and sometimes, our vocal coach, Mr. George Mercado, helps us out. And actually, Lakan helps out, too," Rocky says. Jay-Jay explains his songwriting process: "Personally, I would really explore the melody first... whenever I would go to his [Rocky's] place, I would play the piano, find the melody and write it. Really, that's how I write," he says.
Talking about “Wala Nang Iba,” one of their originals, Rocky explains, "Jay-Jay came up with this melody and I put English words to it but it didn't sound right, and then George suggested that we write a Tagalog song." "And of course, the rest of the guys helped us arrange it," Jay-Jay adds. The result was a song that everyone agreed should be the first single.
"It was unanimous. Even EMI and our manager loved it," Rocky says.
As of this writing, their first single, "Wala Nang Iba," has been receiving successful radio airplay, with "Ale" following suit.
The Bloomfields strive for sixties authenticity with more than just their music. From their haircuts to the Rickenbackers they swing around to, of course, their suits, they try to get the details right. The suits, they say, were Jay-Jay's idea.
"We were iffy about dressing this way, but Jay-Jay really, really insisted on it. ’Come on, let's dress in suits. Let's have some suits made,’” Rocky confides. "We all thought it was too much but one time, we played for this debut... and we had to be in formal clothes, and we said, 'Okay, we have an excuse to be in formal clothes, let's try it out.' It turned out pretty well. We kept on doing it."
The Bloomfields currently have around five suits each, plus a special one that they use only when they play by the sea. "We're going to be using that only at the beach. So if anyone goes to the beach and sees us there, it'll be unique," Rocky says.
Despite the universal appeal of happy sixties music and the good vibes it brings out in most people, getting The Bloomfields off the ground had its share of hardships. "We've had a lot of comments like, ‘They're never going to sell, people are never going to understand them, they're only going to be for the oldies,’" Rocky says.
"The first timers go, 'Who are these guys?'" Jay-Jay laughs.
"It happens, I guess," Rocky muses. "When you go into the market, people are going to start criticizing you and that's all right."
Before they found their mission to spread the happiness that is sixties pop-rock, Rocky, Jay-Jay and Louie were in Bloomfield, an alternative punk band, while Pepe and Lakan were in the shoegaze band Weedisneys.
They found their current sound in college, playing Ritchie Valens songs during odd gigs. They decided to stick to the sound, and as a result, introduced a "new" kind of rock to today's youth that their parents knew more about than they did. As expected, The Bloomfields’ crowd is as eclectic as any rock crowd can get.
"We get families most of the time," Rocky says. "We've got regulars. There's this one family that's been coming for five, six straight weeks now. That's a lot. We're really amazed."
"You'd be surprised also because we also get youngsters like four-year-olds—" Jay-Jay adds.
"Yeah, four year-old kids." Rocky continues. "And they'd be bringing their toy guitars and jumping around. I'm not kidding. You should see them one day."
The Bloomfields may also have the distinction of having the only parents in rock and roll history who were truly happy with their sons forming a band.
"They really, really love it," Rocky says. "Our parents are always there, in almost every gig. I guess that it's not everyday that you get a kid who shares the same interests."
In an age where angst is magnified and everything is more dramatic than it should be, one tends to wonder if it's hard channeling the simplicity of the sixties, especially if one happens to not have lived through the era. For The Bloomfields, this isn't an issue at all. "Right now, we don't think that it's hard. It's not work. It doesn't feel like work. We have a lot of fun on stage, God knows that," Rocky says. "Channeling the sixties vibe, we've been listening to it so much that it just comes naturally to us now, I think. We don't listen to a lot of other songs. I mean, we do, but not as much as we do this kind of music. So yeah, it's in our blood now."
A part of channeling the sixties vibe includes watching the people without whom there would be no sixties rock, and—when possible—opening for them. So far, The Bloomfields have opened for Gary Lewis and the Playboys and Herman's Hermits when they performed in this country. They also got to watch The Beach Boys perform. Each experience, the band says, was amazing. In fact, they can't seem to stop gushing about it all.
"Oh man, 20,000 fans in Arantea Coliseum. I mean, they weren't our fans but I mean, 20,000 people there and they were screaming and that was awesome," Rocky shares.
"Gary Lewis and the Playboys were really nice," Rocky adds. "They kept giving us advice about staying together and being friends and all that. Most band people do. They keep telling us to stay together, don't fight, be friends and all that."
In terms of rock and roll, The Bloomfields break the mold. Aside from avoiding angst and playing "happy music," wearing formal gear when performing, and getting parents to go to gigs with their children (and enjoy themselves too), they also don't think of themselves as a rock band.
"We prefer to be called a pop band. We're not rock," Rocky says.
In fact, they go so far as encouraging people to call them a boy band. This points to extreme confidence, especially in an era where rock bands don't want to be "liked by girls" or "thought of as boys" or "pogi." After all, if you're comfortable with your music, who cares what other people think?
"To be called a boy band is a compliment. I mean, obviously the girls think they're hot," Rocky quips. "So, if we're being called a boy band, it might mean something good, right?"
The Bloomfields are in between worlds in more ways than one. They play rock and roll, but don't think of themselves as rock musicians. They don't mind being called a boy band, yet play their own instruments and can write their own music. They sing in English and Tagalog, covering both American sixties and Pinoy seventies rock, and if you're lucky enough, some Britpop as well. Which begs the question, where do The Bloomfields fit in the current Pinoy music scene?
"Every artist in the Pinoy music scene has one goal. That's to entertain the Filipino people. That's what we're doing. That's what we're trying to do," Rocky says.
Other bands seem to take their presence in stride as well.
"They don't beat us up or anything," Rocky says, eliciting a round of laughter. “They don't call us losers or anything."
"They've been very nice to us," Jay-Jay says. “Like Slapshock and Sugarfree. They've been very nice."
When asked what else they hoped to accomplish in their music career, Jay-Jay candidly said, "Success. Everybody wants success. I just hope that we can keep on doing this because we really love what we're doing and we hope that we can just keep on doing this for a long while."
Visit The Bloomfields online here and here .
