For love of music

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Twenty-four-year-old Kyle Banaag working as a DJ in one of his gigs. (Photo from Kyle Banaag's Facebook account)
CAGAYAN DE ORO. Twenty-four-year-old Kyle Banaag working as a DJ in one of his gigs. (Photo from Kyle Banaag's Facebook account)

IT ALL began with his love for music. Twenty-four-year-old Kyle Banaag, widely known as DJ Kyle, has his heart set on playing music, watching people dance and being happy as the beats of the song envelopes the place and its occupants.

"It started with my love for music and eventually I kind of felt like it was some kind of a stress reliever every time I do my set and see people dance. It makes them happy while I play," Kyle said.

People feeling alive and partying to the rhythm of his music was one of the reasons why Kyle spent 12 years (and counting) being a DJ.

Kyle began his career in the young age of 12 under the tutelage of his father, Cocoy Banaag, who is one of the pioneer DJs in Cagayan de Oro.

"Basically, when I was 12, I started playing in debuts, weddings and other corporate events. We didn't really aid in club, bars when we were young. I only started playing in clubs when I was in college already. And then eventually, those out of town gigs just came pouring because of recommendations from friends and other colleagues in the industry," he said.

His father is not the only DJ in the Banaag household as Kyle's older brother, RB Banaag, is also one, more known as DJ RB, and so was his dad's brother, Kyle and RB's uncle.

His mom, meanwhile, may not be a DJ like her husband and sons but she knows how to play music.

This, in turn, made family gatherings fun for this family of music-loving people, spending family events partying and playing music according to Kyle.

However, being in a family of DJs is not all fun and games as it also means pressure and expectations for Kyle as he strives to surpass his dad and make a name for himself.

"I think one of the biggest challenges in my career is that I need to prove something and be like my dad or be better than him. My dad is a very accomplished DJ in his time representing Visayas and Mindanao in one of the first DJ competitions in the Philippines in 1991. He even competed against DJ MOD, the DJ in Showtime, them being one of the first DJs who joined that prestigious competition called DMC Philippines," Kyle said.

"I really put it in my mind that I'll play my best because every time I play especially on out of town gigs, the next day my dad always asks, 'How was your gig last night?'" he added.

He also shared that he got his fair share of criticisms, but instead of letting them bring him down, Kyle kept all to him and sees it as something he can learn from in his career.

"I think you just need to keep all that, comprehend it properly and then learn from it, from what people say. I think you don't have to take it personally, you just need to use it as a lesson," he said.

Despite the pressure and criticisms, Kyle's love for his music, on being a DJ, did not go away. It just made him push forward and made him more determined to prove his worth to everyone with the music that he plays and loves.

"I think, basically, the effect of music to people is the main reason why my love for my job doesn't go away. When you're sad, music is there; when you're happy, music is there. Anything that you feel, music is always there or most of the time it's the thing that you're gonna do or you're gonna listen if you feel something," Kyle said.

Even though he is a music-lover, Kyle graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration major in Marketing in Xavier University.

"Actually, my first course was Accountancy but then my school schedule and my gig schedule weren't really doing well because I had gigs up until 3 or 4 a.m. and I had classes at 7:30 a.m. so after my first year in accountancy, I decided to pursue marketing because I can use my marketing skills to market myself as a DJ that's why I chose marketing," he said.

The 24-year-old DJ also said that he prefers to put up a school for DJ or a school for music rather than establishing his own radio station.

"Maybe put up a business like a school for DJs or maybe a school for music, but for a radio station, I'm not sure because its really expensive to put up a radio station. I know that because I'm working in a radio station as of the moment," Kyle said.

At present, Kyle is working as a radio jock in Magic 89.3 during daytime while doing gigs at night.

Asked for an advice for aspiring DJs and music lovers, Kyle said they just need to practice and be observant.

"If you really love music or if you really want to be a DJ or a producer, an artist, I think the best thing that I can tell you is just practice and practice and don't forget where you came from and always go to events which can help you observe and learn a lot of things," he said.

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