10.31.2006
LET'S GO WITH IMAGO
TARA TARA TARA LET'S! IMAGO TALKS ABOUT SURVIVING THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE MUSIC BIZ, THEIR NEW ALBUM, THEIR FANS, AND THEIR FUTURE PLANS
It’s hard to believe that Imago has been around since the late 90s, if only because their third and latest album, Blush, contains songs that sound so bright and exuberant and enthusiastic. But though the band sounds young and new, they don’t sound raw or callow—and infectious lead single “Taralets” notwithstanding, Blush is more than just get-up-and-go ditties; it spans more meanings and moods. Perhaps lead singer Aia de Leon put it best: “There are songs that are upbeat, there are some songs that are steady, there are some songs that make you sit down and think, there are some songs that make you sit down and listen.”
Imago’s first incarnation formed when the last big Pinoy Rock boom was ending—their first album, Probably Not But Most Definitely, was released in 2001. As drummer Zach Lucero puts it, “One thing we really appreciate was going through hard times in the music biz. We know when the scene was really down and the industry wasn’t signing anybody, the record companies were broke, nobody was buying stuff.” With their second album, the enormously well-received independent foray Take 2—which spun off such favorites as “Akap” and “Anino”—they helped usher in a new wave of enthusiasm for local music, and now with Blush, they’re back, with a major label and twelve fresh new songs.
We sat down with Aia, Zach, guitarist Tim Cacho and bassist Myrene Academia over pasta and mint tea, and talked about surviving the cycles of the music industry, their new album, their fans, and their future plans.
ON SURVIVING AS A BAND
TIM: When we started, ‘yung intention to form the band was not to make money or anything.
AIA: Or to make it big.
TIM: First and foremost, parang, o sige, tugtog tayo, because we want to play. We want to come up with songs, sarap lang tumugtog. It wasn’t really a make it or break it target na “Oh, let’s give this five years or three years, if we don’t make it by then, quits na.” Wala namang ganon eh. That makes Imago different siguro from some other bands, I’m sure. May kanya-kanyang kuwento rin ‘yung mga kanya-kanyang mga banda, but, iyon, it’s basically for the fun of playing. Tapos, everything just fell into place na lang.
AIA: And siguro, on the latter part, what makes us last is because we enjoy the same attitude or approach towards music-making. ‘Yun bang walang pumapalag sa way ng growth, sa direction ng growth. Parang everybody’s, hey, game! Play tayo diyan.
TIM: Parang consensus na lang ng banda na, without even talking about it, pare-pareho ‘yung focus, pare-pareho ‘yung direksyon na gusto mangyari, tapos ‘yun na lang, inaareglo na lang along the way kung may konting gusot.
AIA: Relatively peaceful.
ZACH: And, importantly, we’re all friends. I’ve known Tim since college, Myrene officemate ko, so lahat kami may mutual respect way beyond the music, as friends. That’s why it lasted this long, also.
AIA: Love and respect. Mutual love and respect.
TIM: Tsaka nobody’s treated like a sessionist. Kahit yung mga sessionists namin, we don’t treat them as sessionists, kunyari, for one gig wala si Maps [Myrene], kukuha kami ng sessionist, for that night, that member, that sessionist is part of Imago, that member is Imago. So ganun, parang respe-respeto lang.
ON PLAYING LIVE
So you guys are known, among many other things, for excellent live sets...
TIM: NAKS! Sino nagsabi niyan? Ikaw lang ‘yan eh. [laughter] It’s not like when we first started out, ‘di ba? Sobrang conscious ka about playing. Ngayon kasi, araw-araw ka nang tumutugtog halos.
ZACH: If you notice, what we sound like live is kinda different from what we sound like on the album. Iba talaga eh. And we all excrete this… [burst of laughter from the others]
TIM: Excrete!
MYRENE: Ikaw lang.
ZACH: …hormones, pheromones… mga ganon. When we’re together, it’s a signature unique to the four of us. I can close my eyes, alam ko si Aia ‘yan, alam ko si Myrene ‘yan, alam ko si Tim ‘yan, naglo-lock. Kasi kunyari, Myrene has been with us for three years, grabe, iba, meron na siyang tunog Imago na kasi…
AIA: Tsaka she stamped her appeal, her signature thing…
ZACH: Kunyari, pag may nag se-session, iba na ‘yung ine-excrete non. Pakiramdam ko eh.
AIA: You meant ‘exude’?
TIM: Oo, exude na lang siguro.
ZACH: Hinde. Excrete, excrete.
ON THEIR FANS
ZACH: Being in a band is very difficult, especially with all the women going after you. Grabe…
TIM: Sino ‘yung mga ‘to?
ZACH: That’s why when I saw Champ [Lui-Pio, lead singer of Hale] shaking his head, I went up to him—“I can relate. Okay lang ‘yan, ganyan talaga eh.” [everyone laughs] ...It’s the mint tea.
Do you ever get any interesting gifts from fans?
ZACH: Dami! You know, sometimes, they research and they give me my childhood toys that I like…
TIM: What? I-separate mo ‘yung NU sa pagbabanda mo. [Zach was a well-known DJ and talk show host for rock radio station NU 107.] ‘Yan ‘yung mga stalker mo sa NU, hindi sa Imago.
MYRENE: Please, padalhan niyo naman sya ng bagong briefs.
AIA: Yes, please!
MYRENE: At sana ‘wag white, kasi he’s over 21 na eh.
TIM: ‘Wag Hanes ha. [more laughter] We get interesting gifts, ‘yung artworks na ginagawa nila, mga drawings…
AIA: Bracelet na ginagawa nila.
ZACH: Our fans are extreme… Sometimes, they can be really rabid, [especially when it comes to] defending their favorite album… Some people prefer the first. ‘Yung iba naman second, die hard, dehin na yung first. ‘Yung iba naman, dehin na ‘yung first two, yung third na, basta. And they defend it. Nakaka-touch din, pero easy lang kayo, album lang ‘to.
AIA: I think touching ‘yung students, ang layu-layo ng pinanggalingan, tapos they’re there to watch you play—three songs, five songs?
TIM: Like people that come all the way from UP Los Baños pa…
AIA: May isa pa, we had this gig in Fort Bonifacio, couple sila, dala-dala nila ‘yung dalawang anak nila, yung isa six, isa four. “Aia, this is my daughter, Nicole.”
TIM: Six years old.
AIA: Naglabas siya ng cam. “May battle of the bands kasi sa amin. Tumugtog si Nicole, tinugtog niya ‘Akap’.” She plays the drums. She could hardly reach the pedal, hindi mo siya makita behind the kit. And then, we asked her, “Oh, Nicole, you want to play for us?” “Okay.” Tugtog siya, walang ensayo, walang ano. Tugtog siya.
TIM: Straightaway jam kaagad.
AIA: She led us, she kept us together. We were so happy.
ZACH: And mind you, with the complex drumming style that I have on that track… [laughter] Fantastic. Six years old, drumming? Wow. Nung six years old ako, nag-gi-G.I. Joe lang ako atsaka Transformers.
ON WHAT SETS BLUSH APART FROM THE PREVIOUS TWO ALBUMS
TIM: Maganda ‘yung explanation ni Zach eh, na parang instead of the second album being the second album, ‘yung Blush sounds more like a second album in between Probably Not… and Take 2.
AIA: Take 2, galit eh. I mean, we were ready, we ditched acoustic guitars and we were ready to, you know…
TIM: Di ba, kasi ang tagal ng interval eh.
AIA: We really took on being a rock band.
TIM: A lot of people don’t know how long it took from the first album to the second album, ilang taon rin ‘yun, na nag-iba iba na ‘yung tunog ng banda.
AIA: And in the course of performances namin.
TIM: Ang narinig na lang nila, o, ito ‘yung sound ng first album, ito ‘yung sound ng second album, bakit ganoon?
ZACH: Ang sagot namin, bakit hindi?
TIM: Oo, bakit hindi, di ba? Hindi nila alam yung backstory, so…
AIA: We’re all music lovers. We all really listen, we appreciate and we find joy in listening to different kinds of music.
TIM: And try to make different kinds of music as well.
AIA: Blush is… hindi namin siya pinilit. As the word suggests, it’s spontaneous. We did not sit down and say, “O, we make an emo song.” Or “We make a like that song.” Kung ano, kung ano ‘yung lumabas…
TIM: ‘Yun na ‘yung kanta.
AIA: O, game, game tayo diyan!
TIM: It’s not like you can sit down and say, I want to have children and they will be tall and blond and blue-eyed. Hindi mo magagawa basta-basta ‘yon.
ZACH: Ako, I can predict my kid will have black hair. Because it’s a given.
TIM: It’s not a prediction if it’s a given.
ZACH: Actually, ang hindi naiba at hindi nagagalaw diyan is melody line and lyrics ni Aia. Kasi ang music iba-iba talaga eh. I would come up with something, she would come up with something, we’re all helping out with our own little arrangements, but what is always constant is her melody line and her lyrics.
TIM: Tsaka siguro ‘yung musicianship na rin, ‘yung we try to play the best that we can, kahit it sounds simple on some songs, na parang, ay, dali lang ‘yon.
AIA: Kasi intention ‘yun eh. Di ba? What is the intention of the song?
TIM: ‘Yun ‘yun eh. The execution pa rin… The thing is, it’s the way it’s arranged, it’s the way the members of Imago interact with each other and execute the song that makes it an Imago song. Kasi, hindi puwedeng gumawa ng isang kanta lang ‘yung isang tao from Imago, and it’s an Imago song automatically, because everybody puts in their own two cents’ worth into the song. That makes it Imago.
ZACH: And our own executions have mixed so many times when we’re onstage. Going in, it’s that energy that you feel—not necessarily smell—that makes us one and whole as a great energetic force onstage. [everyone laughs]
ON RECORDING BLUSH
ZACH: Experience really plays a big part, I guess, just like a mother who would give birth to a child the third time…
TIM: Eto na naman tayo…
ZACH: …would be easier than the first time around.
TIM: You know what not to do, alam mo na ‘yung…
AIA: You anticipate.
ZACH: But nevertheless, it is a process that I would say was not easy.
TIM: Not easy but quicker. Mas mabilis talaga kasi in a month’s time, tapos na agad ‘yung whole album eh. But pre-production wise, medyo mahaba-haba rin eh. But you know, the actual recording and finishing of the album, mastering, tapos agad in a month’s time. So, it’s quicker than all the other albums na ginawa na namin.
ZACH: One month, record breaking. Kung ‘yung Take 2, isang taon ginawa, ito, isang buwan ginawa.
TIM: Ideally, mas mahaba sana to do the whole thing. Pero may hinahabol kaming time, internal deadline between us, sa aming lahat. So, kaya ganon.
ZACH: Some of the songs were, we just wanted to get them out already. It’s been almost a year and half since Take 2.
TIM: Kating-kati na kami.
ZACH: Tsaka, cycle, you’re in a band and you’re making your own music, may cycle ‘yan eh, merong time talaga na gusto mo na ilabas eh. Meron namang time na gusto mong magtago and not show anything. And for us, we thought, we wanna explode.
ON THE SONGS ON BLUSH
ZACH: Ako, I like “Sundo” and “S.R.O.” and “Under Repair,” “Zelo,” “Taralets,” “Walang Misteryo,” all of them. [laughter] They stand out, like their own little…
TIM: Just like all your little, deformed children. Siguro ako, ano, “Closer,” tsaka “Under Repair,” and…
ZACH: Siyempre, ginawa mo ‘yung “Under Repair.”
TIM: Hindi, hindi, hindi! Hindi sa ganon. Kasi some songs lend themselves to be singles kaagad, you know they’re gonna be [popular], but I like those sleeper songs na parang nandu’n lang sila sa background, pero ang sarap pakinggan, ‘yung mga diniscover mo. Parang feeling mo, if you have the album, “Ah, hindi lumabas sa radyo ‘to, akin lang ‘to! Ako lang may alam nito!” ‘Yung mga ganon.
AIA: Pero ayoko ‘yung ganung ugali. [laughter]
Can we talk a bit more about “Taralets”? What went into it?
AIA: Well, basically, I was on fire when I was writing the songs for the third album, meaning, so I’m born again now, I kinda renewed my faith, so the penning of the lyrics of the album, parang more of a tribute to God. And “Taralets” is a song that kind of invites people to Him. “Hey, stuck? Hey, check it out!” Parang ganoon. “Hindi ka niya mabibigo.”
“S.R.O.”— I’m not sure if you’d call it a downer, but it ends the album on a kind of melancholy note.
AIA: Melancholy! Melancholy in a, I’d like to say, in a beautiful way. Hindi depressingly, it’s more… Unrequited, unrequited love. ‘Yung parang taken for granted ka pero…
ZACH: Parang wala kang masayaw and it’s just you there and everybody’s dancing with everyone else, ‘yung parang lonely.
AIA: Oo.
TIM: Exactly. And no matter what explanation Aia gives, people are still gonna ascribe their own meanings to the song, kasi ‘di ba? As it happens, ito ‘yung na-experience mo, tapos, oy makaka-relate ka, ganito.
ON COVERING “EWAN” FOR THE APO HIKING SOCIETY TRIBUTE ALBUM
MYRENE: We were given a selection.
ZACH: Our first two songs, it just didn’t fit Aia’s voice… We already told Kerwin and Universal na pass muna kami kasi hindi talaga bagay. Tapos last minute, they said, “Why don’t you guys try ‘Ewan’?” It’s one of the more expensive songs, royalty-wise, because it’s not APO’s song, it was Louie Ocampo who made that song. So we tried it and we wanted to change the time signature to make it sound different from the usual…
TIM: [The original time signature was] 3/4. [We made it] 4/4. More danceable naman. Instead of swing, more danceable…
ZACH: Mas nakakairita.
AIA: Mas steady lang.
ZACH: Mas mabilis ng konti.
AIA: Di ba guy ‘yung nagsasabi sa kanta, parang, ewan. Ngayon babae naman, parang, ano ba yung “ewan”? Bakit ewan ka ng ewan? Light lang, ‘wag nang bigatan ‘yan, kasi ang ganda-ganda ng message ng song.
ZACH: Plus, the arrangements. APO arrangements are perfect.
AIA: Ang daming chords!
TIM: Mukha siyang malungkot, for me, yung kanta, before. Tapos, mas upbeat naman siya ng konti ngayon.
ZACH: Tsaka, you cannot better the original, eh, you can only give your own take on it.
ON THEIR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
ZACH: I wanna play in the U.S. and Japan and go around.
TIM: I guess ‘yun naman ‘yung goal ng lahat ng bands, play outside the country, get their music exposed, di ba?
ZACH: The farthest we ever had was Vigan, ‘no? Konti na lang, dagat na eh.
AIA: It’s nice to think that hindi lang dito ‘yung mga minds that you can relate with. It’s nice to think that in some other countries, parang mage-get nila.
TIM: May Indonesian version na ‘yung “Taralets” eh. Maiintindihan nila ‘yun. [laughter, he and Zach start to sing] Play a lot more gigs, tour the country a lot more… Whatever happens na.
ZACH: Basta we just wanna play. Until we die.
AIA: Make more music. More good music.
TIM: More albums. More good albums.
ZACH: Mag-artista actually. Some people say I look like Gardo Versoza.
You used to say you looked like Freddie Prinze Jr.
ZACH: Ah, ayon, isa pa ‘yon. So, I’m willing, I’m considering that if there are any offers.
You realize that when this comes out, people, they don’t hear the inflection of your voice or see your expression, so magmumukha siyang…
ZACH: Ah, yeah, of course, of course. Can you take a picture of me like this? [strikes a pose]
TIM: Panget!
SOME PARTING SHOTS FOR THE READERS
ZACH: Please buy our album, it’s out. I hope you all will support local Filipino acts. [thinks] Malamang Filipino, local nga eh.
AIA: Oy, si Keith Martin, local ‘yun ah. Local na siya ngayon. [laughter]
ZACH: Local acts, OPM, please support our own, we’re all brothers and sisters living in this country, so let’s all support. Blush is out, do check it out.
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TAGS: Imago Blush Zach Lucero Aia de Leon Tim Cacho Myrene Academia Universal
