February 26, 2022, we had our pre-production/live recording at South Republik. We performed 7 songs; 4 covers, and 3 original compositions. At first, when I knew that we have a schedule for live recording, I was doubtful. When I looked at the bands who performed in South Republik, I lost my confidence. 😁 They were all good, and most of them were playing metal songs or heavy metal.
By the way, South Republik is a group of local musicians in the Philippines who help other local musicians in South Philippines. They aim to gain more audience and make the local musicians be heard. As far as I know, 3 people are managing South Republik, Mr. Jan Najera (former drummer of Yano, financer), Mr. JR Madarang (bassist of Yano, audio engineer), and Mr. Sydney(financer).
FYI, Yano is one of the famous Filipino folk/punk rock bands in the Philippines since 1992. I met the 2 members of the band, and it was an amazing experience. They are so humble, and very nice people.
We had our 1st practice on February 4. Our first practice for me was shitty. LOL, I wasn't really confident with the songs they wanted me to play, but I still tried. After that, I was hesitant to do the live recording because I felt like I will make a lot of mistakes, I will get cramps while playing, stuff like that. There were a lot of negative thoughts that came to me.
February 11, we had our 2nd practice. This time, I'm kind of comfortable with the songs. If I would rate my confidence, maybe around 6 out of 10.
February 18, our 3rd practice. This is when I rebuilt my confidence. Our practice schedule is usually 6 pm, but this time, I went an hour early to practice the songs since I don't have my own drum set. Poor me. My confidence level this time was 8.5. Unfortunately, the bassist couldn't make it due to diarrhea. I think he was just bullshitting us, cause he had diarrhea at exactly 6 pm when we usually have our practice. HAHAHAHA what a coincidence! 😒
So there were only 4 of us... this is Harvey, our vocalist. He's the youngest member of the band by the way.
February 23, our last practice in Darkeum Studio. This time, I can say that my confidence level is at 9. We only had 2 rounds of practice then we were done. That's how confident we are. LOL
February 25, final rehearsal in South Republik. Bruh! My confidence level from 9, went down to 7. That's just normal especially when you're at a new place. The drum set is new. Everything is new. But, I was still able to manage it.
This is the drum set in the studio.
Drummer's POV:
February 26, pre-production day.
Setting up everything.
Groufie before they interview us.
After the interview session, we double-checked everything. The gadgets, lights, etc. That's me, doing soundcheck and testing the headphones.
I didn't have a photo of us while playing because we were really busy and so focused. We just wanna finish early. HAHAHAHA it was a full-body workout for me.
At least, we have a photo with Mr. Jan Najera. 😍
The result will be posted maybe 2nd Saturday of March. :)
I hope there will be more live recordings in the future, and meeting new friends in the music scene. And I hope you support us, and the other local musicians in the Philippines. That's all!