1.21.2007

music has never been this sweeter...

... or is it bittersweet?

last night proved to be one of those rare moments wherein one can say to himself that for once one was part of something great.

ever since the break i've been practicing with my Jobim's band for this gig which a mutual friend gave them. of course this meant i was to do session work again. they took me in as their bassist for that particular gig. somewhere in the middle of the road i learned that Aldrich was going to migrate to Canada in this summer. without having to say anything i knew that this gig was going to matter to him, to Jobim, and to Isaiah, because this was the last time the three of them would take arms and play music for their friends, and themselves.

and it would matter to me, as well...after all, Aldrich is my friend, too.

yesterday was the summit of all our 2-4 hour practices at Circus Studio Loyola Heights (aka Jim Paredes' house).

it was our last practice before we finally hit the stage. with a 1-3:30 sked, we did everything we could to make our set a great one... even to the point of learning to play a fourth song for our 20-minute set on the fly! well, all this, while Jobim's girlfriend took pictures of us with Aldrich's cam.

we hit the road 3:45, but not before having a little time to buy dirty ice cream for everyone (deeelish!).

let's just fast forward to the main event...

after some technical difficulties we warmed the audience up and went on to play one of the best ever gigs i've been in... not because we played what Jobim "real" music, the likenesses of Bamboo, P.O.T., and Dave Matthews, among others, but because i took arms with my friends for the first time. they weren't a manufactured band created to be famous; they were just friends who wanted to play music together for their other friends (Danah and Stacy Gutierrez *ahem!*). and on top of that, they took me in to help them in that kick-ass set we had last night.

on the way home i got this message from Jobim:

"Phenomenal job tonight, guys. We had the most connection with the audience, we were the most memorable. It was a pleasure and an honor working with all of you. It's a shame it had to be our first and last time."

a bottle raised to that.


now i want to thank them...

Jobim - what can i say? working with you was one of the best things i've done. i expected much, and you delivered more than what i was hoping for.

Isaiah - meeting you is one of the best parts of being with you guys onstage! salamat sa paghatid sa'kin pauwi kagabi!

Aldrich - i'll always be grateful that you tapped me to do bass for you guys. great to be part of the good times you'll be remembering once you've set foot in Canada.

and to you good friends, who are collectively known as Almost Heroes, it's been an honor and my greatest pleasure to have shared last night's stage at Colegio de Sta. Rosa with you, playing good and sound music.