THE song goes, “tonight’s gonna be a good night!”, and Clint Holton P. Potestas parties with two gentlemen who are taking the Cebu club scene to a higher level.
From a “literary” point of view, JP Chiongbian’s eyes were blindfolded when deciding on a project that would launch Cebu as a destination of another sort. All right, the beaches are fine, but he couldn’t just rest on that idea. Instead, he shut his eyes and listened to an inner vibe.
“I didn’t care about other aspects; so long as I am feeling the vibe and it feels right, I’d go for it,” he explained.
Do men nowadays also have those instincts that women possess, this so-called “intuition”? Look what his vibe brought him. 9 years in the club scene, with what can be considered a fixture in Cebu City’s nightlife: the club that even manila’s “party elite” recognize – Vudu. Yet even at the last minute, he made some changes according to his vibe.
“Because our concept when we started way back (in) 2001 was jungle-inspired, I was going to name it ‘Voodoo,’ but in the last minute, I changed it to “Vudu”. I thought there would be some violent reactions if I continued with it, which was better because it sounded more hip,” he continued.
For the business to reach its objectives, he needed two sets of eyes: his cousin Jay Chiongbian for the financial management and sister Jaja Chiongbian-Rama for marketing and media affairs.
“During 2001, there was a boom in bars and clubs, and most of these venues liked trance music. I wanted it to be a place where you can start the night, enjoy the company and have good drinks,” JP said “initial challenges were the competition, but I never thought of them as competition but as “partners” in driving the Cebuano nightlife culture. I always wanted to be the trendsetter and do events, and parties that were against the norm.”
Jay agreed: “He has a very creative mind, but sometimes, he forgets about the financial aspect of the plan. That’s where I come in.”
And it was a good plan since JP’s strategy created a perfect venue for various music genres. Party goers were intrigued by the set-up. When the trend was inviting show bands, JP veered into alternative music. When parties played house music, he turned to RnB and pop songs.
The ambiance has also changed in the course of the club’s existence. In 2003, it was transformed into a bar that played jazz music. Then in 2008, it went back to being a dance club.
But for this year, something big is in store for the Cebuano party scene.
Vudu, JP promises, will be re-invented once more, and will redefine the way Cebuanos look at clubbing.
The smile on JP’s face after making that promise bore a faint trace of satisfaction. Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s that sixth sense that he has? Yes, it’s the vide. That vibe that tells him, as the pop group Black Eyed Peas put it, “Tonight’s gonna be a good night!”