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  • 2 days ago
The Dawn sits down with Esquire Philippines on the eve of their KWARENTA concert for an exclusive interview.

The Philippine rock legends open up about the band’s evolution, the hard realities of the current music landscape, and why they refuse to become a mere nostalgia act.

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Music
Transcript
00:18I think it really starts with loving the music and loving playing music first of
00:26all. Most of the people who've lasted in the band have that curiosity and that drive to try and create
00:36something fresh, I guess. Even if the result might not seem that fresh to outside ears, internally yung
00:45trying to get there, trying to cover new ground, I guess.
00:58That we're a disbanded group reuniting. I still get that, man. To this day, there would be a gig or
01:12there would be someone...
01:13So we have a reunion concert. Yeah, it's a reunion concert, guys. We got back. I mean, I've gotten tired
01:22of explaining.
01:23No, dude, we're back. We never left. No, we did leave. I mean, from 94 to... We got back in
01:321999. And from that time,
01:35we never really left. We kept on. And I guess even with social media and such, it's still hard to
01:45let
01:45everybody know the same thing. We're not reuniting. We're here, man. We're just doing a 40th
01:54anniversary concert. This time, it's to celebrate 40 years of the band. So yeah, it's funny in some ways.
02:10I don't know, because I won't be here.
02:13I think age qualification pa lang medyo. Hindi na kami papasa.
02:20Wala na papansin sa atin. Tatandaan mo kaya. And plus, may kanya-kanya ng, you know, may more
02:30responsibilities na. Parang hindi na... Kung hindi ko naging full-time job ito, hindi ko isipin na gawin ito this
02:38late.
02:39Diba?
02:40Very passionate pa lang.
02:41But yeah, kong passionate din lang, of course. But, you know...
02:45If you guys were as young then, as you are, you know, when did you start now?
02:50It would be different. The songs would be different.
02:54Maybe I'd be approaching it with a little bit more trepidation, because I always see this as a challenge now
03:01for young musicians.
03:02That's why I admire them actually more, because grabe yung competition for eyeballs and ears now eh.
03:12Dati eh, pwede ka pa talagang mag-stand out eh.
03:14Um, but now with Facebook and YouTube and everything, vying for attention, I don't know, I probably wouldn't.
03:25Honestly.
03:26Andami mga galing na banda ngayon. Andami kong naririnig.
03:30But, you know, the tito in me would ask,
03:34Oh, galing. Asikat ba yan? And then, yun pala, hindi. Hindi sila kilala. Pero ang galing-galing nila.
03:38You know, and then you realize, common sense takes over.
03:42Oo nga pala, kasi when you release a new material now, there's probably 10,000 others releasing at the same
03:48time as you.
03:56Ayan, daming changes eh. How do I answer that?
03:59So, uh, we had to adjust to the internet, the download thing, because of course our era, 1980s, 80s, uh,
04:08there's a physical product, there's a single.
04:11There's one song on one side, and another song on side B.
04:15Is that minus one on side B?
04:16Oh, side, correct, my minus, yes, yes, minus one.
04:21So, we had to adjust, we had to, we had to move forward.
04:26Um, uh, canina, Bimbo mentioned, well, in another interview, the technology has caught up, it, technology has made things a
04:34bit, not a bit, a lot.
04:36Like recording, you can record with your laptop.
04:40Yeah, dati, you need a studio, the size of, grabe.
04:43So, there, there are pros and cons on, on, on, on, on technology today, the internet.
04:51I miss the physical product
04:52The album
04:54The artwork
04:55You're holding something
04:58It's not just a download
04:59You download one song
05:01It's not the whole story
05:03You didn't see the whole movie
05:05You saw one scene only
05:17Well, for starters
05:18We still play a lot of the songs
05:20That Teddy co-wrote
05:22And co-arranged
05:23From the time that he was alive
05:25And with us
05:27The energy
05:28That became known
05:32With the band
05:33From 1986 to now
05:36It's become
05:39Part of the band's DNA already
05:49If there's one thing
05:50I guess they can all agree
05:52If there's one thing
05:53We don't want to be
05:54Is to be a nostalgia band
05:55I think any senior band
05:59Doesn't want to be a nostalgia band
06:00But of course
06:01There would be gigs
06:03Where we would be hired
06:04Because the theme is 80s
06:07The theme is 90s
06:08Okay lang yun
06:08But
06:09Of course
06:10Who are you kidding?
06:11We came from that era
06:12And we'd most certainly
06:14Love to be a part of that
06:15But
06:15We're not doing cover versions
06:17Of ourselves
06:18Definitely
06:20In fact
06:21A lot of our songs
06:24Have had iterations
06:26When you play them live
06:27They don't quite sound like
06:30How it was
06:31Except for the legacy songs
06:33I say
06:33Enroved Ideas
06:34I stand with you
06:35More or less
06:36Ganun yung areglo
06:36But
06:36A lot of our other songs
06:38Have
06:39You know
06:40Have
06:40What do you call this?
06:42Have had facelifts already
06:43If you will
06:44You know
06:45Because
06:46May botox na
06:48May collagen
06:48May gluta
06:51May gluta
06:52Parang si Bimbo
06:54Only because
06:55We evolve
06:56Naturally
06:57We progress
06:58We're not stuck
07:01Junboy stressed
07:02The importance of
07:03Looking back
07:03To move forward
07:04I believe in that
07:05Wholeheartedly
07:05100%
07:06But
07:06It doesn't mean
07:08Looking back
07:08It means getting stuck there
07:09Either
07:09You know
07:10So
07:11Botox
07:21Yes
07:22Salamat
07:26Of course
07:27I stand with you
07:28Then
07:28Papayig na
07:28Mawala
07:29Sa korel
07:30Sa
07:38Ako
07:39Ako
07:39When I first heard
07:39Autotelic
07:42And
07:43Four of Spades
07:44It's because
07:46Supposedly
07:47A Pinoy
07:48Rock
07:49Rock oriented band
07:50Or whatever you want to call it
07:51Has to sound like this
07:53I remember the first time
07:54I heard
07:55Four of Spades
07:56Hindi na
07:57Parang may
07:59New wave atmospheres
08:00And whatever
08:01And I reacted the same way
08:04That most people
08:05Reacted to the
08:06Dawn
08:06For the first time
08:07Is that a foreign band
08:10Tapos narinig ko yung
08:12Words
08:12Uy Tagalog
08:13And I ran up to
08:14My then housemate
08:16And I said
08:16Sino yan
08:17Sino yan
08:18And he said
08:19Autotelic
08:20Four of Spades
08:21Same thing
08:22Yung
08:24You're reminded of
08:26Pwede naman yun eh
08:27At pwede pala yun
08:29You know
08:30Ako
08:30Urbandab
08:31I mean
08:33Not as new
08:33But you know
08:34Urbandab
08:46Eh si Sancho kasi
08:49Sobrang galing ko kasi
08:50Gusto mo tanggalin ko na ngayon to
08:52May keyboards na tayo
08:53Ano actually
08:53Very good question
08:54No no
08:55Actually
08:56Kabatis ko na fan
08:57Alam mo naman
08:58Diba
08:58Okay
08:59Ano lang yan
09:00Kasi yun
09:02From Teddy Diaz
09:03Ano palang
09:03Guitar band talaga
09:05Ang dadong
09:05Plus
09:06Si JB does
09:07Did the keyboard parts
09:09Early days
09:09So parang
09:12Yun
09:13Ano to
09:14I saw you coming in
09:15Si JB yun
09:16So parang
09:18There really was no need
09:19In the recording
09:20I would play the keyboards
09:21But live
09:21I cannot
09:22Kaya may session
09:23But that went on
09:25With Ted's
09:26The evolution was such
09:27That
09:27Una si Teddy
09:28One guitar
09:30And then
09:31That held true
09:32With Francis
09:34And then we
09:35Decided
09:35What if we added
09:36A session keyboard
09:38Para may makatugtog
09:39Nung mga keyboard parts
09:40So it became
09:42Guitar
09:43Keyboard
09:44Bass
09:44Drums
09:46Session lang talaga
09:47And then
09:48It came to a point
09:50Where it became
09:51Two guitars
09:52And a session
09:53Keyboardist
09:55It went
09:56Like that
09:56For a while
09:58Until
09:59Until
09:59Medyo
10:00Naging
10:01Too many
10:02Too many cooks
10:04In the
10:04You know
10:05We're spoiling
10:06The broth already
10:07Parang ganun
10:08So
10:09We go back
10:11To the very essence
10:12Of the
10:12Guitar band
10:14For Quarenta
10:15We do have
10:16Special guest
10:18Keyboardists
10:20For one thing
10:21Our MD
10:23Is Gino Cruz
10:23Highly respected
10:26Music arranger
10:27And keyboardist
10:29No relation
10:29No relation
10:30To Tirso Cruz
10:30Yeah
10:30Then
10:33A couple of
10:34People that we've
10:35Worked with
10:36Will be guessing
10:37Also
10:37Dodo Fernandez
10:38We're playing
10:39A little piano
10:39Lenny Lapitan
10:41Used to be with
10:42Identity Crisis
10:43We'll be
10:45Doing a couple of
10:46Things
10:47Here and there
10:48Then
10:48I mean
10:49The thing is
10:50The name
10:51Pagminsan-minsan
10:52May keyboards
10:52Music
10:53Of The Dawn
10:54But not
10:55But not always
10:57So
10:58They're more
10:59Right now
10:59They're more
11:00Diba
11:00Parang
11:01Parang
11:03Ideas
11:03Like a riff
11:04Like Love Will Set Us Free
11:05Yung kailangan yun doon
11:06So anybody else
11:07Can play it
11:08Kiko plays keyboards
11:09Also
11:10In and out
11:11Right
11:11So
11:12More than it being
11:13A main instrument
11:14I mean for regular gigs
11:16At least
11:17You know
11:18It was not
11:19A conscious effort
11:20I did not tell
11:22Ted just worked
11:23Nagkukawang keyboard
11:23Sa ako lang yan
11:24It just happened
11:25It just happened
11:26This way
11:27Na hindi say
11:29Wala tayong
11:30Keyboard member
11:31Wala
11:31We did not
11:32Baka
11:33There's no big
11:34You might think
11:34It's that
11:35That's the reason
11:36No no no
11:38It just happened
11:40To be this way
11:41It's not a conscious
11:42Effort
11:43Pero si Sancho talaga
11:44May kasulahan
11:53How lucky
11:54We are
11:56Really
11:57I was about to say
11:57The same thing
11:58It's
12:00Like in the case
12:00Of me and Junboy
12:02We started
12:03Without any expectations
12:05Of where this was gonna go
12:08Of course
12:08In the back of your mind
12:09There's that dream
12:10Diba
12:11Uy
12:11Sana sumikat
12:12Tung bandan to
12:15But in the beginning
12:16The songs weren't really
12:18What you might call
12:19Pop
12:19Or an easy sell
12:21We were everything
12:23But that
12:23We had envelope ideas
12:25We didn't even know
12:26That was gonna be a hit
12:27Now we're here
12:29Forty years later
12:30Talking to you
12:31In the Sony Music Office
12:33I mean
12:34Yeah
12:34This is
12:36Getting old
12:37This
12:37Is cool
12:39If it's like this
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