Saturday, December 16, 2006 A little bit of homecoming By Rudolph Alama Durian Jam
"BAI asa nka?" It was a humid November evening when my good friend Eric texted me. "Bai naa ko MTS. W8 sa inyng txt?" I answered.
"Ah ky ingon ni juris did2 na magkta sa C5, sa may roxas near addu. Paad2 na mi ron did2." He replied and that text was the signal I had waited as I hopped on to my VW beetle and proceeded to C5 the new luxurious dormitel near Ateneo de Davao College campus.
Arriving at C5, I met my Durian Jam co-conspirator Gary Bautista, who for the meantime would be manning the videocam during the interview shoot.
It was a scheduled interview with Julie Iris Fernandez, vocalist of the hottest selling acoustic group Make Your Momma Proud or MYMP. It would also be a reunion of sorts for some of my high school chums who are also going to meet with their extremely busy friend who was on a very short overnight stay in this city for a much-awaited concert.
With the help of common friend Eric Madrazo, we were lucky to book an interview considering her hectic schedule such interviews cannot just be arranged that easily and what luck I had in having reliable high-school friends like Eric coming to the rescue.
Gathered at the spacious courtyard of the dormitel were long-lost friends engaging in a flurry exchange of pleasantries as we tried to update from each other. In the middle of the group was Juris herself just coming from their MYMP's Homecoming concert held at the Central Bank Convention Hall.
"Asa ta mag-interview? Didto nalang ta sa sulod.?" Juris asked us in perfectly crisp Dabawenyo bisayan. "Ah okay lang. set-up lang muna kami?" I answered. "Ah sige kay mukaon sa ko?"
It was our first conversation since we graduated from high school about 11 years ago. Juris was one of those people whom I didn't get the chance to meet after we marched off in the now-demolished steel covered court at our school's sprawling Matina campus.
Albeit mistakenly cueing Juris that we are a comedy show proved to be on our benefit. It was a blast watching the singer in her comedic element. Loosening up a bit, she turned on the tables by also peppering us with questions like why we were not in the Central Bank concert or if we really have purchased their CDs.
But of course it was a time to discover some things from the interviewee. She got to reminisce of old memories, reliving the time spent at Ateneo de Davao a time of eternal friendships and puppy-love crushes.
We also got to discover some of her varied musical soul and RnB influences like Patti Austin, Destiny's Child and Alicia Keys which had shaped her unique but beautiful singing style, a flavorful audio candy that had hooked us with hits like their debut single A little bit? to their remake of Bob Marley's classic Waiting in Vain or their version of Smokey Mountain's Kailan among the many others in their repertoire.
We did also get a peek at how her singing career started. After high school, Juris was destined to follow the footsteps of her doctor mom earning a psychology degree at Miriam College until she joined MYMP and where during a gig a FM station manager volunteered to produce their debut album Soulful Acoustic which later turned into a hit record and the rest was music history.
The tandem of Juris and guitarist/vocalist Chin Alcantara along with band members (info courtesy of the band's fansite www.mymp.tk) John Angeles-drummer, Oja Jimenez-keyboardist and Emil Rivas-bassist have made MYMP as one of the hottest acts in the music industry. Their album Version and Beyond alone is a certified 7x platinum winner, the country's biggest selling album in the decade.
In the interview we also get to see the transformation of the simple girl from Damosa Road into one lovely lady, possessing a sincere beauty that complemented her angelic voice attracting not just fans of her music but also ardent admirers.
Hailed as a symbol of Dabawenyo talent, we also asked what message Juris could give to Davao musical artists. Her humble answer: "Just love your craft, constant practice, Nasuwertehan lang kami na we were based in Manila where there are many gigs, and there we got discovered." Juris also reminded us of the limitless potential of our regional talent. "Dito galing ang South Border and Freestyle, maraming magagaling dito sa Davao."
Juris also taught me how I should always be prepared for every interview. Grabbing the microphone she dared me to sing an MYMP song. Egged on I could only muster were these lyrics:
"Especially for you. I wanna let you know what I was going through. All the time we were apart I thought of you. It was a tortuous and an unsuccessful effort to mimic the part of Jason Donovan in that original duet with Kylie Minogue, I'm glad she did not obliged me to finish the entire song.
After the unexpectedly amusing interview we huddled back into the group waiting in the courtyard. Swapping more stories with the gang, which continued an hour more before Juris and company left to catch some rest before their early morning flight to Manila. Some of us stayed behind for a couple more rounds of light beer to swap more stories and continue the impromptu reunion.
Notes:
MYMP will be coming with a new album titled New Horizons slated for release this December, one of their anticipated singles is a remake of Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. Do watch out also for their first-ever Christmas single. And they would be returning to Davao City to perform for a free concert to be held at the Rizal Park this December 19, courtesy of the City Mayor's office.
The Juris Fernandez interview will be shown on the Durian Jam monthly special at skycable channel 28 AVL block time (10 p.m.-12 a.m.) this month, watch for it.
Special thanks to batchmates Eric Madrazo, Jojo Corcino, Philip Tolentino, Auggie Calio, Ruby Pepito, Ben Barracoso, Wardy Puyod with their friends couple Jadee Lee and Cocoy Valverde. Durian Jam would also like to thank C5 Dormitel for its kind hospitality extended to us during the shoot.
