Philippines is undoubtedly the entertainment capital of the world, having been a global producer of world-class musical artistry at every known joints and stages. And borrowing words from singer, songwriter and Grammy award winner, Patti Austin: "...Because you(Filipinos) are so ever loving talented. There's a thing in the entertainment business in general about people who know a thing about artists who come from the Philippines, whether it'd be a band on a cruise ship, or a house band in a club, or a singer in a lounge, you can tell if it's a Filipino artists or musicians because they know how to lay it down. They're very professional, extremely talented. And you know in America there's kind of a story out there that black folks are the best singers and they have the best voices, and among black folks in America, we think that the best singers are from the Philippines. We always talk about it, we tease it all the time, it's like "have you heard that girl from the Philippines?" And we just say "yeah she's from the Philippines, what do you expect, everybody sings their butt off in the Philippines"' is a testament that we are a force to be reckoned with.
It's true that for every Filipino household, there has to be one or two who can sing and not just a karaoke singing but really sing like a pro. And I don't mean to raise my stature, but back in the days, I have had my fair share of winning streaks in this field(Negros Navigation to Goldstar singing contests to name a few. Yup, back in the days where Goldstar was still Goldstar and not LG). And my musical influences are Jack Jones and Nonoy Zuniga, and you can't like Jack Jones and Nonoy Zuniga without knowing their songs and vocal deliveries very well.
But I would back in the days because, just like any talent, my voice may have perished from not having to sing frequently the way I used to during middle school and college. I was known to have always brought along with me a Minus One Cassette Tape. I scrimped on a lot of things to buy Minus One and Multiplex Cassette Tapes and some of my steal deals were that of Nonoy Zuniga(that album that contains a medley of Jack Jones and Lou Rawles), Louie Reyes and Eugene Villaluz voice training in Cassette Tape, Jaime Salazar Cebuano classics, etc.
And my singing style has been left out of style for today's generation. I still stick to a full bass, vibrato-driven, very linear range, while the new styles right now have less vibrato(and faster vibrato at the end of a note) but lots of vocal calisthenics(similar as to how RnB singers deliver up and down, wavy texture).
So to somehow alleviate the feeling of archaic rustiness, I went to our Christmas party at Music Bank, HK Sun Plaza, to sing my heart out. Still it didn't do any good though. :)
But more than that, it's also the food. I guess, I am more of a food now than a performer. So let's see what they have for us.
Taco.
Beef Steak(Filipino style).
Shanghai Roll.
Chopped Hotdogs with spicy sauce.
Spring Roast Chicken.
Fries.
Not in the picture are the 50 bottles of beer that comes along without the package(if I am not mistaken).
Complimentary fruit cocktail form the Music Bank management.
More than that, everyone was happy and indiscrimately singing. However, it turned out to be a My Way Fest as everyone seemed to render their own versions of the iconic, lethal, Frank Sinatra's classic.
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