WEARING HER TATTOO
The Unconventional Charing, Part 3
What a beauty. I didn’t realize I had emotions that ran deep. When I heard “Silent All These Years” for the first time on radio, I cried a good cry deep inside. There is absolutely no one like Myra Ellen Amos in the whole world. Winasak niya ang lounge pianist mould. Winasak niya ang concert pianist mould. Winasak niya ako in 1993, second year college. I fell madly in love at first sound.
I started playing Myra's piano-driven masterpieces by ear after my friend Reggie V. gifted me with a cassette tape (!!!) of “Little Earthquakes.”
Up until that point, I had been simply playing piano instrumentals– inspired by new age stuff by David Lanz, Jim Chappell, Suzanne Ciani, George Winston, etc. as well as all 80s new wave music - and then singing while being accompanied by someone else, perhaps my friends like Eric G. or Rolly M. I had no trouble singing the music of other artists and providing my own touch on the piano. I had not tried playing the piano – and singing – at the same time, much less compose my own original songs. The frightening “solo piano and vocal” act. I mean, why inflict such cruelty upon yourself?
But after listening to Myra, reading her biography, and snapping up all her albums (right up to "The Beekeeper"), I realized a little sadomasochism and multitasking could go a long way.
Oh wow. One can sing a melody and then play a different melody on the piano at the same time? I didn’t know that was possible!
Myra Ellen Amos, a.k.a Tori Amos. Diyosa.
I copied. And copied. Transcription, in music school parlance. Chortals, she calls it. As a kid, I was actually good at finger-drumming. Now, I could do it again with these chortals. Chortals. Like that pain-reliever med. Pound a beat with my fingers, using just two notes, and not those corny block chords.
Ok, I think block chords are also awesome. But I have bad fingering technique, so I play them slipshod. My friend Khavn D.C described it best: “Para kang ngongo. The velocities are uneven and the sounds don’t stand out.” Then he played a piece on his baby grand to show me how and I was floored. I wish I’d had good fingering technique and been a good boyfriend to all the pianos I’ve ever loved!
Well, I am still trying… Here's an excerpt of me with Jing Gaddi and Frances Escape doing a cover of her beautiful heartbreak song "Northern Lad" (from her album From The Choirgirl Hotel).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQsHhASqTEc&feature=youtu.be
By the time I came around to producing my first ever demo, I was married to the best music video director of all time, one of the great pioneers in this now-massive field. This is the guy who directed most of PNE’s award-winning music vids lang naman. And has worked with my crush BB. Oh not that one. The rockstar one. I don’t know what this brilliant man (the director) ever saw in me. But I am thankful to Allah the most beneficent (and a little maleficent) that I was seen, loved (and still being loved) by this beautiful man.
Hi Robert Q. Aylabyu. O diba, nag-rhyme pa.
Anyway, because husband, I was promptly introduced to members of his circle, and one of these beautiful contacts is an amazing man named Buddy Z. I was intimidated by his musical and pop culture pedigree. He was one fourth of just the most influential band ever in the country. But when I met him in person, all my fears vanished. Nakuha ako sa ngiti. Kindly face and a pure, highly evolved spirit that only wants to share and enrich. Being smiled at constantly by Buddy Z. is fangirl heaven; imagine working with him! May layers din talaga ang heaven ano. Unbeknownst to many, Buddy Z. the bassist is also a superb piano player. He helped produce my demo and we recorded some of my songs at Greenhill Sound in Valencia.
The Yamaha baby grand over there is one of the best I’ve ever experienced. Soft, warm sound, just a touch of treble breaking through. David Benoit has recorded there, said the engineer, Joel M. The ivory keys are weathered yellow and some say there is a ghost in the room.
Too bad that piano enthusiasts like myself no longer have access to Greenhill Sound, as it has been taken over by a big company.
I worry about that baby grand sometimes. I hope it is still being loved.
Ear for Queer
I wanted so much for my music to be heard, and for my face to be hidden. Like I said, I got bad teeth. Also, my father would rather that I did not display myself too much and stayed at home praying. Which I believe I’d already done in another life.
Again, these conflicting desires. Popularity without facial recognition. Worldly fame and transcendental meditation.
Fortunately, a path cleared.
In 1999, Cris P., a pioneer of Pinoy queer cinema, had started working on his debut film Duda/Doubt and needed music for his opus. I let him listen to my song “I Don’t Love You Anymore” which I’d recorded some months back at Greenhill Sound. The song ended up being part of a pivotal scene in the movie. And I was made to compose music for the rest of the movie.
I promptly took over my husband’s Powerbook, that heavy beast of a laptop made of airplane-grade metal, attached an audio interface and a MIDI controller keyboard to it, and proceeded to master Garageband and make dramatic music for many lovemaking scenes (among others). So there. I became a composer. And the projects arrived in a steady trickle. And they still arrive in the same healthy peeing trickle today.
Public Service Announcement: Playing at the annual Tori Amos Night being organized by the tireless Charms Tianzon at Conspiracy Garden Cafe QC to celebrate our goddess' birthday month and the release of her new album Unrepentant Geraldines. This will happen on August 2, 2014 (Sat), 8pm onwards. I am guesting on the set of Travatoriam at 8pm, and Matilda at 10pm. See you there!