ANNE Mendoza is a five-member band composed of Anne Mendoza (vocalist/guitar), Mic Fernandez (drums) RJ Tan (bassist), Kimwel Bentulan (guitar), Ronn Eric Lemostre (keyboards). Just recently, they launched their first EP.
Anne came from a family of singers. As a kid, she used to perform in front of relatives during special family occasions and join singing contests at school. She wrote her first song when she was 13 years old, and has been perfecting the craft ever since.
She was part of the Elements Songwriting Camp in 2012. Elements is a yearly songwriting camp held in Dumaguete that brings together aspiring singer-songwriters and music professionals led by Ryan Cayabyab to learn experiences, styles and techniques.
The band was formed in 2010 courtesy of a birthday party. Mike (drummer), the band's former bassist, and Anne through common friends were invited to the party. During the occasion, the guys discovered that Anne is a musician/songwriter and they jammed the night away.
Later, they invited Anne to form a new band. Subsequently, Mike and Anne met RJ (bassist) at Davao's indie haven, Sales Bar. The band met Ronn (keyboardist) and Kimwel (guitarist) individually through common friends, and consequently invited them to become part of the band.
The band plays pop music, tinctured with soul or blues elements every so often. The songs draw inspiration from different subjects, from mundane, everyday things, to dreams, romance, and stories of other people.
Anne works as a proofreader by day, occasionally managing company projects as well. Two members of the band are currently taking up Civil Engineering, one is managing a business, and another is senior developer in a web development company.
In an interview, Anne said the Davao indie music scene is thriving as Davao city is currently blessed with many great bands and artists of different genres, creating their own music.
Currently, there are different productions and media outfits promoting original Davao music -- Davao Music Nation, for example -- and Sales Bar Tekanplor among others as venue for these artists. "We believe Davao music will stay in blossom," Anne said hopeful of the scene.
And in this landscape, Anne Mendoza had released their first extended play album titled Escape. The album features original songs composed by Anne and the band. The EP launch was held last June 13 at the Sales Bar Tekanplor with friends, fans and supporters attending the event.
For updates you can check her out at Facebook (annemendozamusic) or in Soundcloud (anne-mendoza-music).