Zach: Four..
Tim/Aia: Four..
Zach: Nagsimula kame nung… sixteen pa ko nun.
Dweighn: Hindi nga?
Zach: Oo, tapos…
Dweighn: You're Twenty lang? Zach: Twenty, wala ba sa itsura? Ilang taon ka na ba?
Aia: Eh, thirteen palang ako nung nag-start tayo. (Tim and Arvin were laughing hard this time.) Dweighn: Me? Seventeen lang… (sagot ko kay Zach.)
Aia: Twenty five (pointing at Arvin)
Zach: Twenty four (pointing at Tim) Ay! Twenty two pala.
Aia: Twenty three, (correcting Zach) ano ka ba!
Zach: Twenty two... Dweighn:You're Twenty? (asking Aia)
Zach: No, she's Nineteen. Gusto niya kaseng maging matanda sa mga bata. I'm twenty.
Tim: Sa Tingin mo nagsisinungaling kaming lahat?
Dweighn: Hindi naman…
Zach: Ah.. naghanap ako ng banda, pinakilala siya (referring about Aia) sakin nung kaibigan ko, hindi naman kaibigan, parang aquiantance. Tapos hinatak niya si Michelle yung violinist namen, na wala na ngayon. Si Michelle, siya yung nagdala kay Arvin. Tapos si Tim kaibigan ko nung college pa.
Aia: Hindi, basta ako sumulpot nalang. Sabi ko, sasama ko sa banda niyo whether you like it or not! (Strong words… Sa ganda ba naman ng boses ni Aia, may tatanggi pa ba?)
Aia: Original!
Zach: Tsaka, Outrageous and Original.
Tim: I-M-A-G-O-O na yun eh. (Parang wala si Arvin, noh? Nope… hindi naman siya tahimik while doing the interview. Actually, maingay nga siya eh, he may seldom answer my questions, but he often laughs… napaka-jolly.)
Dweighn: Yup! Kinalakihan lang. Zach: Guns & Roses, Poison, Duran Duran, Madonna…
Aia: Madonna?!
Dweighn: MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
Aia: Iba-iba kami eh.
Arvin: Oo, iba-iba.
Zach: We draw energy from Earth.
Aia: Actually, ang preference ko… kase eclectic talaga ko eh. Depende sa mood. Pero mostly hiphop, yung beat ha. Hindi ako medyo familiar sa mga yun… Pero yung elements ganon.
Aia: Its more of jumbled... Pwede mo siyang kantahin pabaliktad. Kung baga, more on phonetics ako nag-rely when I did that. Ang ibig sabihin lang talaga nun.. "Look away can you see it coming, can you see it coming. Gray skies, Gray skies, can you see it coming. Cool my fire."
Tim: Ha?!
Aia: Ay, Oo!
Arvin: Oo, ginamit yun.
Zach: Oo, pero sa trailer lang.
Dweighn: KUNG WALA KAYO SA "IMAGO", WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING?
Zach: I would be probably be a Marine Biologist.
Aia: I want to venture a film, studying in Mowel Fund to be exact… (same interest w/ dweighn huh?)
Arvin: Graduate ako ng Engineering. (Aia: Engineer naman talaga yan!)
Dweighn: PANSIN KO SA MGA SONGS NIYO, KARAMIHAN (actually lahat..) SI AIA YUNG NAGSULAT, TAPOS ARRANGER SI ZACH OR SI AIA DIN. PANO BA KAYO GUMAGAWA NG SONG?
Zach: Nauuna yung words, tapos yung melody.
Zach: Of course.
Aia: Oo, lahat naman eh.
Zach: Kase kung walang inspiration, peke yung kanta. Sinadya, Inihain na pekeng kanin. Arvin: Naks! Aia: Hindi kasi… Dweighn: Ang lupet kasi eh, yun talaga yung nagustuhan ko sa band. Yung lyrics niyo, promise… (i-enterupt daw ba si Aia, sorry di' naiwasang maging fanatic!) Aia: Uy.. thanks..
Zach: Hindi kasi si Aia, nung bata palang ganyan na magsulat yan. I mean nung nakilala ko siya. Yung sulat niya consistent, nag-improve pa ngayon, lalo! Tim/Ako: Naks!
Aia: Zach, sipsip!
Zach: fifteen palang siya nun ha.
Arvin: Oo naman.
Zach: Lahat.
Arvin: Madami.
Aia: Depende sa mood. Iba-ibang araw may nag fi-fit na kanta. Arvin: Oo, tama.
Zach: Kasi lahat yan, anak ng banda eh. So, kahit pangit yung anak, mamahalin mo.
Tim: Oo, ikaw kunwari nanay ka, ibig sabihin ba pag-pangit yung isang anak mo, mamahalin mo ng less?
Dweighn: Syempre hindi..
Dweighn: SINO YUNG NAG-ISIP NA I-REMIX YUNG RAINSONG? Zach: Si Raymond Marasigan (of E-HEADS)
Aia: Kasi sobrang kaibigan namin yun eh, sobrang mahal na mahal namin.
Zach: Binigyan namin siya nung compact, ng mga kanta. Namili siya, Rainsong yung ni-remix niya.
Tim: Hindi…
Arvin: Hindi..hindi… Aia: Sakin din.
Zach: Oo!
Aia: Pero, siguro sikat in the sense na, na-a-appreciate nila yung music.
Zach: Sikat na, with responsibility. In terms of meron kaming nagawa. It feels good, nakakatuwa… sikat in a sense na ina-appreciate ng listeners yung music namin, oo! Pero hindi yung sikat na… "SIKAT AKO!" (with matching voice projection)
Aia: Sikat na hindi mayabang.
Zach: Freddie Prince Jr…
Dweighn: Oh my God!
Zach: Yan din yung sinabi ko nun. Sabi ko, oh my God! Sabi ko, meron akong sariling identity. Stop comparing me to that guy.
Aia: I think its safe to say na, we earned our degree… or place. Kung baga, napagdaanan na namin yung hindi kami na appreciate. Pero ngayon, its nice to feel that may parte kami and yung music namin sa eksena. May nilalabas din kami, mahal namin yung ginagawa namin. In that way na iparamdam din namin yun sa audience. Naiintindihan na nila kami.
Zach: Yung feeling na nakaka-intimidate, amm.. siguro! Pero ngayon kasi, I believe na mas matalino na yung mga listeners ngayon, kaya na-a-appreciate nila yung music namin. So kahit ihalo kami sa rap metal, Ok lang. Like kanina si Cynthia (Talking about Miss Cynthia Alexander), nandon yung respect.
Zach: Yup! Meron..
Dweighn: WOULD THERE BE ANY CHANGES?
Zach: Definetly!
Aia: Oo naman..
Tim: Pansin mo naman eh, diba yung mga kanta namin. Pag-tinugtog namin ng live, kung minsan nagiiba yung sound niya. So sa new album, siyempre may changes.
ANY MESSAGE FOR YOUR LISTENERS OUT THERE?
Zach: One, do what you wanna do. Two, practice and three, make sure God is part of it. While Aia said the famous Jollibee quote "BE HAPPY". Sabi ni Tim and Arvin, sana mas maging matalino and open-minded yung mga listners ngayon!
To sum up
the whole night, it was a blast! What more can I say? After that barkada-like
chit-chat experience, (not to mention, that picture taking with Miss
Cynthia Alexander.) IMAGO was everything I expected them to be. Tasty,
Mystical, Deep and so much more…
this interview wouldn't have been possible if weren't for Crypto Gnome! Thank You!
5 and Up Y!groups 2002