The long winding road that took us to where we are now... REUNITED!

 

Whatever happened to CDO’s Power Pop Christian Band, Thoughts And Notions?

They were one of the most hardworking bands in Cagayan de Oro, playing in small productions groups on various bar joints as well as huge concerts playing support act to some of our country’s biggest bands and artists. Then like a blip in radar, they disappeared.

The last post in their blog before the long hiatus was the news about their nomination in the 2009 NU Rock Awards under the U-Rock College band of the year category. And a few post before that, a supposed gig at Star Mall Mandaluyong before it got cancelled due to the typhoon Ondoy. Those twin events were supposed to be their introduction to Metro Manila’s music scene, perhaps a stepping stone of what’s to come next. They just had a very successful album launch in their hometown CDO a few months prior, with a record label ready to sign them and distribute their recently launched sophomore album (Love, Faith, Hope, Redemption). “I guess I pulled the plug back then because I was set to transfer to Manila and start my family there.” Jasper, the lyricist/manager of the band recalls the circumstance behind the hiatus. He would be separated with the band that was just in college in CDO back then. Like how he treats the band as a family, he would choose to prioritize starting his own family. Thoughts And Notions is very personal to him, because this was a project that was very close to his heart. As their story goes, he started the project with Wilbert Tan and Thrina Dimaano back then as a fund-raising project for their Church when they decided to record and produce a 10-track album called “In Awe of His Amazing Love.” Little did they know that a Christian Music Record label would took interest on it and signed them to a contract. Starting a Christian band wasn’t the plan, but they were encouraged to start one once a record label took interest on them. 

Wilbert however was committed to start his own sojourn to Manila with another band, but he committed to be still involved with the band at least as Jasper’s songwriting partner and the band’s producer. And while Thoughts And Notions stayed active in CDO, he would forge his own path in Manila, playing for various bands and even played/collaborated with such established rock artists such as Dong Abay, Mike Hanopol, Basti Artadi, Louie Talan among others. During the hiatus of Thoughts And Notions, Wilbert would be kept busy playing for other CDO bands that are now based in Manila. However he would also face his own uncertainty in the music industry when the pandemic hit and the live music scene was shut down. Even with him just starting his own family, he was lost and alone with his music, uncertain if he would still be able to play music. So he experimented on going solo and just release instrumental tracks on Digital Music Streaming platforms. Jasper would soon discover this and thought about releasing their back catalogue too. But his time away from the music industry made him clueless on how things are being done. Fortunately, during a random conversation with Mark Escueta of Rivermaya, Escueta would encourage Jasper to release all their songs on the Digital Music Streaming platforms rather than let it gather dust on the CD stockpile. He introduced Jasper to an aggregator who was actively looking for artists with back catalogues, thus setting up the return of Thoughts And Notions at least on the digital music space. Their release enjoyed early success when the carrier single (Beloved Savior) of their sophomore album’s digital music debut made it to SPOTIFY’s New Music Friday Philippines Playlist.   

However, there was one more missing link. The band’s chief vocalist Thrina Dimaano couldn’t commit to a full on return to her vocal chores yet. Since the dissolution of the band, Thrina was the only one left in CDO to continue singing for other bands. I was kind of curious how it was for Thrina back then if being a frontwoman of a band that doesn’t shy away from their Christian identity was more fulfilling than to sing for other bands post-Thoughts And Notions.  “Performing as a Christian band in a non-Christian gig was initially intimidating and challenging. But I always kept our mission as a band in mind, and that kept me motivated. And whether a gig was a Christian or non-Christian event, it was such a fulfilling experience to sing for an audience that appreciated uplifting and faith-driven music. It felt amazing to share our love for God through music, and to connect with our audience is truly inspiring.” she reminisces. Thrina eventually would move on from singing with other bands and settled down and started her own family. When Jasper and Wilbert came knocking on Thrina’s door to restart Thoughts And Notions, a return wasn’t in the cards as she prioritized her budding family. This left Jasper and Wilbert in a quandary. So just to test things out in the new look Digital Music industry, they decided to continue writing songs but this time to settle on collaborating with different artists to interpret their songs. This resulted in the experimental compilation album called Thoughts And Notions: PLUS, collaborating with different independent artists from across the archipelago. Again, one of the songs in the album (What Real Christmas Means to Me) made it to SPOTIFY’s New Music Friday Philippines playlist. This only encouraged them that there is still a place for them in the music industry after all. And to prepare for Thrina’s eventual return, they decided to release an unreleased old track that was cut from the second album’s final track listing. Featuring Thrina on vocals, the song “FREE” debuted at number seven on SPOTIFY’S Fresh Finds Philippines playlist, staying on the playlist for close to two months. For Thrina who was experiencing some doubts about returning to her vocal chores, this was confidence boosting news.

Now 15 years later, they are set to reunite with a new song. Aptly titled “Countdown to Forever”, the three of them are back to making positive themed and Christian Faith inspired music. It took them this long to restart their so called mission to “help uplift wounded souls with their brand of music”. So I asked Wilbert, as a well traveled musician writing for other bands, what makes it different with his songs with Thoughts And Notions. He only has this to say: “My approach to Thoughts And Notions songwriting is different in the sense that I take into account what we've done before while ensuring there's palpable growth in both our music and spirituality. As a Christian band, music and spirituality go hand in hand and it's my job to show to our audience that we have not only grown as musicians, but as God's stewards as well.” The concept of Thoughts And Notions is not actually new, as we’ve heard of similar opm artists such as Barbie Almalbis, Kitchie Nadal, Acel Bisa to name a few who oftentimes write songs that are inspired by their Christian Faith. However, it’s amazing to know that a band exists outside Metro Manila toiling the independent music scene in their locality with an audience that might not be as huge as here in Metro Manila. And yet, they stuck by their songs’ message. “For us, that’s the only reason why we are giving this another go after the long hiatus. We’ve agreed that we are not doing this to please anyone but God. And at the same time we wanted to leave a legacy to our sons and daughters and that maybe they can continue to share our Faith stories for generations to come.” Jasper succinctly says.

The new single Countdown to Forever is now available for streaming on your favorite Digital Music Streaming Platforms worldwide!

Meet the founding members of Thoughts And Notions!

A few more days left and our comeback song with Thrina back to her old vocal chores will finally be released. So let's get to know Thoughts And Notions this coming 2025 as we get back to our roots!

 

Thrina Dimaano - Chief Vocalist

Thrina started with the band when she was still 15 years old, making her a co-founder of Thoughts And Notions. As part of her Church's Music Ministry, Thrina shared the stage with her co-founders in the Praise and Worship team before they decided to record and produce a 10-track album (In Awe of His Amazing Love) with the intention of using it as a fund-raising project for their Church. This would set into motion Thrina's foray in the local music scene. Thrina was responsible for breathing life into Thoughts And Notions' songs, and is highly valued as a very integral part of our story. Thoughts And Notions is very much a part of Thrina's personal journey as a vocalist, chronicling her development as an amateur teenage vocalist pushed to the forefront of carrying an album full of songs. And then in the peak of her adolescence as a gutsy frontwoman bringing our songs to the live audience. Thoughts And Notions is basically her story too.

Though we reaped local accolades in Cagayan de Oro City back then, our biggest to date was when we were nominated in the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards for U-Rock College Band of the Year. This was Thrina at the peak of her powers leading the band to where she is able to. Though we disbanded and went on a long hiatus, Thrina would pinch hit for other bands as a guest vocalist. When we did our Digital Music comeback last 2021, Thrina had to delay her return as she prioritizes her kids and family. But this did not stop our old releases (featuring Thrina on vocals) from back then to be recognized and playlisted on Spotify's prestigious New Music Friday Philippines (Beloved Savior) and Fresh Finds Philippines (Free) official playlists for debuting songs. We merely warmed the seat for her and waited for her to resume her old spot as our chief vocalist. Come 2025, she's back to finally reclaim her place as the voice behind our songs.

Wilbert Tan - Composer/Producer/Arranger/Multi-Instrumentalist

Wilbert (with Wile Lile as his alter ego) is a seasoned veteran in the local music scene. Having played with various bands and did session work on stage with some of the Philippine's legendary OPM Music icons such as Mike Hanopol (Juan Dela Cruz band), Dong Abay  (Yano), MOCHA USON (Before her transition to Mocha Girls), and Jinky Vidal (Freestyle) to name a few. He's a sought-after Cagayan de Oro talent that various bands in CDO (Drizzle, Switch, and Ram Chavez among others) had sought to recruit him and play for them. He even collaborated with some of the biggest OPM Rock Icons like Basti Artadi (Wolfgang), Sammy Asuncion (Pinikpikan), Louie Talan (Razorback) to name a few. He's a self-made multi-instrumentalist that studied the art of music since his younger days and pursued a career in music. Experiencing everything from TV appearances, Music Video feature on music channels MYX and MTV, to even playing in large music festivals like the PULP Summer Slam. 

But before all of that, he was a part of their Church's Music Ministry team where he met and shared the stage with the co-founders of Thoughts And Notions. He was instrumental in bringing life to the songs of Thoughts And Notions as he and his co-founders decided to produce an album for a fund-raising project for their Church. Though he never really shared the stage with Thoughts And Notions (except for a gig or two). Because he was a part of another band (Drizzle) that he started and transferred to Manila to explore a serious career in Music, with Thoughts And Notions being a one-time project only. But the simultaneous unexpected signing of Thoughts And Notions under a record label at that time would validate his place in the OPM Music scene (and this was just the beginning for him). Since then, almost every release by the band has his imprint whether as main composer, arranger, and producer. He currently plays for two other bands (Bloodflowers and Tirada) in Cagayan de Oro as the lead guitarist (his instrument of choice and expertise), but he continues to resume his work as the main composer, arranger, and producer of Thoughts And Notions. Simply put, without him, there would be no Thoughts And Notions.

     
It is thru Thoughts And Notions where he could explore the other side of his musical artistry, where he can express every note and chord as he sees fit with the lyrics presented to him. A marriage of feel-good positive music to the positive words that Thoughts And Notions seeks to express. But that's not all, to hear his musical genius unleashed and unhinged, one has to explore his alter ego Wile Lile.

Jasper Tan - Lyricist/Manager

He always considers his existence in the music industry as an accident. With no musical talent nor a good singing voice, he oftentimes wonders why he stumbled into this realm. Admittedly however, he is a huge fan of music. Especially from non-mainstream ones that he loves to discover even from way back. It is through this passion where he came across the Christian Contemporary Music genre. Becoming an instant fan of Jars Of Clay , Sixpence None the Richer, Switchfoot, and other Christian Contemporary Music Artists. He used to serve as their Church's Youth Ministry Spiritual Formation Head and backup Worship Leader. As well as Editor-in-Chief for their Church's Youth Group's National Newsletter. Contributing to more than a dozen articles and stories in various publications both online and print. Most notably for the now defunct Philmusic.com, the Philippine's largest online source for OPM Music at that time. In short, writing had always been his passion. And it is through this medium where he could express his "thoughts and notions" to those who are interested enough to know about his stories. In fact, he runs the long running (since 2006) Official blog page of the band, chronicling all of their stories from yesterday to the present.

As a co-founder of Thoughts And Notions, it all began for him when he suffered a major heartbreak that shook his Faith. It was through this circumstance that he chose to rediscover his Faith and wrote about it to serve as a chronicle of that journey to rediscover God's Amazing Love for us. That became the main content of their debut album "In Awe of His Amazing Love." An album that he recorded with his co-founders Wilbert Tan and Thrina Dimaano as a fund-raising project for their Church. It wasn't a serious thing at pursuing a career in music, but God opened doors for them when a major Christian Music record label offered to sign them to a contract. Since then, their journey as a band went to places. With the largest being when they were nominated in the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards under the U-Rock College Band of the Year category. And then Jasper quit music. Which set the stone of the possible end of their story. But then like as earlier mentioned, his involvement in the music industry had always been an accident. Their return to the Digital Music streaming landscape was helped largely by the encouragement of Mark Escueta of Rivermaya to once again make their songs available to the public. Introducing Jasper to Believe Music (a company based in Luxembourg) who had signed them to a contract to release their songs in various Digital Music Platforms. Thus, from the confines of their hometown in Cagayan de Oro, to the current digital music streaming landscape, their stories continue to live on and now is being listened to all over the world. But despite all of this, Jasper always considers Thoughts And Notions as just a small project with his co-founders where they can express their common goal. To bring positive Christian Music that aims "to help uplift wounded souls with their brand of music!" And on a personal note, Jasper considers this project as his brokenness as a Christian. Where he continues to chronicle that journey to become whole through the story of Thoughts And Notions.

And so the REUNION happened!

Thoughts And Notions Reunited at last!

Last Sept 7, 2024, the official Thoughts And Notions reunion finally happened in the Queen City of the South, Cebu! In a way, this had already been brewing for quite sometime since we decided to release all of our songs in various Digital Music Platforms worldwide. The three of us (Wilbert Tan, Thrina Dimaano Escaño, and me) haven't been together since sometime in 2009 (or was it even 2008?). And this meeting marked the first time that we have been together to talk about new developments in each other's respective lives as well as what the future might hold. Come to think of it, 20 years ago was also the first time we grouped together and decided to start this Thoughts And Notions project. When we first decided to write, record, and produce an album as our contribution to our Church's fund raising efforts. And 20 years went by so fast that now we are in the prime of our lives, now happily married and having our own families to take care of. Though the music stopped for a long period of time, the connection remained strong ever since we started to give this another go as our motivation to keep on working with this project remained true to its mission. And that is to help uplift wounded souls with our brand of music. Rooted from our Christian faith and the desire to share God's amazing Love to those who have yet to encounter it. This is the only reason why we are still here continuing the work to ensure that our songs would live on until the next generation.

Wilbert, Thrina, and Me

This reunion also had us revisiting our debut album and what our future plans for it would be. You see, Thrina was around 15 years old when we recorded that album. So she was very inexperienced when it came to singing and having her vocal work recorded. So whatever you think of our debut album, that is basically a historical artifact of an era during the time this project was born; anchored by Thrina's fearless resolve to take on the vocal chores for the album. Of course, Wilbert may have self-produced a couple of albums prior to ours, but he had yet to serve as an understudy of a renowned sound engineer in Manila. So his sound engineering was still very raw at that time. Then lastly, there's little old me who never experienced writing lyrics before. So there were a lot of grammatical errors on the lyrics if you didn't fail to notice it. I personally feel that as much as the album is a very important milestone for us, it is something that we feel needs to be revisited. So yes despite all of what I mentioned, the fact that someone took interest of it and wanted to sign us to a distribution deal for the album is still a huge mystery to me. But it is something that I believe that Divine intervention happened. And because of it, we now have a career in music for a noble purpose. So yes, we are planning to do something with regards to our first album. We just can't reveal what the plans are yet. Though we did have a day that was very well spent. From the morning to the evening, we were together to savor the very rare moments that we are in the same place together. I say rare because even though we founded this project together years ago, Wilbert left for Manila not long after, leaving Thoughts And Notions to Thrina and me as we built a band and started a music career in our hometown Cagayan de Oro. Now, we are scattered across the Philippines' major islands. So these are very rare moments to have.

With Mary Ozaraga, Thrina, Marco, and Wilbert

We ended the day by meeting Mary Ozaraga, a rising Independent Christian Artist from Cebu. I have always been a fan of hers when I encountered her music. And it was no surprise that Thrina (and her husband Marco) became instant fans too. I've always love the work ethic Mary has put into her songs and her hard work in promoting her songs to ensure that it would reach its intended audience. Which also reminded me of our heyday when I was working hard to promote our songs back in the day during the infancy of social media. We didn't have Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, X (formerly Twitter), Youtube, and even the Digital Music platforms back then. What we had were Friendster, Multiply, MySpace (online music app), and Youtube was still in its infancy. So it was kind of hard back then but it didn't deter us to make sure that our songs would reach its intended audience. So what Mary is doing now simply amazes me as not only does she write her own songs, she bravely performs them on various online shows too. I pray that her hard work pays off. Because she deserves the big stage and to be able to perform her songs to a live audience. So if I can encourage and motivate her to pursue forming a band to back her up, I'd gladly do it in a heartbeat. Mary's sound is so fresh from the usual trappings of Christian Contemporary Music. She fuses a variety of sound, from Folk, Jazz, Alternative, Pop, Acoustic, and Rock Music. With a strong command of her song's lyrics that cuts through the noise of mainstream music. If being envious is not a sin, I'd probably say that I envy her songwriting talent. 

So the day was not only spent on reunions, but we also connected for what the future holds. I mean as much as it was a lonely crusade back then to represent Christian Music in the independent music scene, we are also very much hopeful that this time around, we would have friends and allies such as Mary who are willing to share the same mission that we started. From the get go, the mission wasn't always been about us, but rather about the message of the songs that we are writing. And if someone can deliver it very much clearer than us, then we'd welcome that development. But let me end my story about the reunion part here. As there will be more surprises in the coming days. So keep your eyes peeled for the next entries...            

Being and Becoming… Acel’s Farewell Concert and Album Launch!

I’ve always been a huge fan of female fronted OPM bands. So much so that when I decided to start a band, I knew it had to have a female vocalist; thus, the reason why Thrina came to fold to be the final piece of the missing puzzle. From Hungry Young Poets to Barbie’s Cradle, Mojofly to Kitchie Nadal and later on with Lougee Basabas, Session Road and Hannah Romawac, Aia de Leon and Imago, and lastly Acel Bisa and Moonstar 88. These were the bands/artists that we used to cover their songs when we did our round of gigs back in the day. I’ve seen some of them play live on stage, but I’ve never seen Acel live. Such a bummer if you live far away from Metro Manila. Acel is perhaps best remembered during her Moonstar 88 days, but her solo efforts were no slouch either. So when I found out that she’ll be having a “Farewell concert”, I knew this was something that I shouldn’t miss. So I booked a VIP ticket with some friends eager to finally be able to watch Acel live on stage. Of course since this was a twin event being an album launching too, I was also excited to hear her new album, curious how she would sound now. I haven’t been following Acel and other OPM artists as of late when I personally took a long hiatus with anything related to music, so being able to listen to something new from one of the artists that we look up to was something that I was looking forward to; especially knowing that Acel has been a Christian for quite some time. In fact if I am not mistaken, we once shared the same Christian Music record label distribution company in Praise Music. This was the time when Acel decided to embark on a solo career.

Acel Bisa Van Ommen in her element

The show formally started a little past 8:00 pm with Acel welcoming her audience with the last track from her latest album. "My Cure" is an easy listening track that segues into a catchy sing song chorus that sticks with you as she belts out the chorus lines. Unmistakably, this is Acel in her element. And this is just the first song. As Acel introduces her next song “Second Choice” (the carrier single of the album that made it to Spotify’s New Music Friday Playlist), you’ll immediately know that this is going to be one special evening. You could immediately feel the positive vibe and the inspirational nature of the song that seeks to empower us by recognizing our self worth. The tone of the evening is set but then as Acel breaks into her third song, the haunting lullaby “Shut it Down”, where her emotive delivery of the song doubles as a plea for everyone to tone down the use of social media, changed the pace of the evening. It turned to be one filled with roller coaster of emotions. Good thing that her next song “You” reassures us again of loving and giving value to ourselves. Both songs send a message how the age of social media tend to turn most of us into narcissists or having that feeling that we are loved less when we start comparing ourselves to others, which is actually a wrong notion; because if we recognize God’s love for us, then we’ll never look for another kind of love or affirmation to fill that emptiness inside. This would then lead to her next song “Great Reward” which actually speaks about God being our great reward. That being able to nurture this relationship with him is the only thing in this world that matters. By this point, I knew that the album is something that I would like to listen more often and draw inspiration from.

Acel with her kids performs a Laufey original

It was also heartwarming to see Acel being joined by her two sons as they performed a cover of Laufey’s song “From the Start”. Acel also took the opportunity to introduce her NGO Charitable institution RIGHT START which seeks to empower and give opportunities to underprivileged children. Joined by Denice Lao and a trio of her kid scholars from Right Start, they performed a song that speaks of the value of Children in our society. The ever lovely Clara Benin also makes a surprise appearance as she belts out two of her songs as Acel takes a breather and wardrobe change. As Acel returned on stage, she belts out a couple of commissioned songs and covers, with her refreshing take of Rico Blanco’s “Your Universe” being my favorite one of the medley of cover songs (hey I’m a huge Rico Blanco fan!). Then it was at this point that my favorite part of the concert came. When Acel began her testimony of how she encountered God and how God saved her and turned her life around. Her testimony would set the stage for her to finally sing her song for God. “Be Still” is that one track from her album that redirects all of the other songs’ messages to that one faithful God that she has been talking about in her other songs. If there were some vagueness about who she has been referring to with her other songs, this song would refocus all the attention to God. It’s a similar writing style that we do when we release our albums; writing songs that has some vagueness to it so that secular mainstream audience would not be overtly turned off by the religious messaging of the song (at least when released as singles) yet dropping one praise and worship song in the album to direct the listeners that all of the songs in the album are actually our faith stories and our way of honoring God by witnessing his faithfulness to us.

Queens of OPM Rock Acel and Lougee Basabas of Mojofly

Yet the night was still full of surprises as Acel introduced her guest performers EJ DE Perio, a Christian artist himself that I have his songs on my OPM Christian Music playlist, as well as Lougee Basabas of Mojofly. Lougee also shared her story about how she encountered God with Acel’s help, turning her life around as a Christian. She then proceeds to sing her new song with Acel, a Christian Contemporary Pop/Rock song that she offers to God. Lougee has been a very able and talented singer-songwriter that took the reins of Mojofly when Kitchie Nadal pursued a solo career, owning the band with her hit song “Mata”, perhaps the most popular song in Mojofly’s catalogue. And that’s saying much coming from someone who had totally busted his first two Mojofly cassette tape albums featuring Kitchie on vocals being heavily played on the cassette player. Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without Acel performing her greatest hits, “Sulat” and “Ang Pag-ibig kong ito” (a Leah Navarro original) from the second Moonstar 88 Album, “Torete” from the Moonstar 88 debut album, and her first solo hit song “Pitik Bulag.” She completes her originals by ending her set with the final song from her latest album, the song “Buhangin” which succinctly encapsulates her upcoming journey, like sand that is blown by the wind to new places worth discovering. In between those songs and some song finales for the evening, Acel breaks into praise and worship mode as she belts out covers of some of the most popular Christian songs now (You’re Love is Extravagant by Casting Crowns, Gratitude by Brandon Lake, Always on Time by Elevation Worship, Goodbye Yesterday by Elevation Rhythm and Gracie Binion), joined by her friends (Lei Bautista of Prettier than Pink to name one) and her family. She even quipped that it feels like everyone is in Church this evening.    

The finale breaks into an impromptu Praise and Worship evening

To be honest, to be able to witness this was a thing of beauty. For someone who’s been fighting and advocating for Christian Music to someday be heard more and being accepted more by mainstream audience outside the confines of Church, it just puts a smile to my face that I am not alone in this ministry after all. To see Acel being able to shift and turn the evening from being a secular concert celebrating her songs to turning it into an impromptu Praise and Worship night filled with her life’s testimony, and witnessing how God worked his love to find and saved her. It’s something that I can only dream of for our band and our songs. To know that someone has already done it, it gives me great comfort and joy that with this ministry that I have been fighting for since 2006, someone actually shares it too. And not just from some start up artist, but someone who has a name and already has a platform to speak from.

I went home inspired to continue with the mission. To write songs to help uplift wounded souls.

Thank You Acel for this evening. May God Bless you and your music. May it inspire multitude of lives to seek God and start a faithful relationship with him. I am at peace knowing that there are more of us working for the Lord and willing to be his witness and storytellers to share his great love for us in song form.

You can visit Right Start on their website for more details and how you can be a part of their ministry on this link:

Right Start - We provide creative caring spaces for the poorest children in the community

 

It's another Friday!

 

And we just woke up to another news. Our latest release "FREE" has just been added to ChristianDance.eu's New Music Friday Christian Contemporary (CCM) playlist! 

 

If last week was a surprise when we got playlisted on Spotify's Official Fresh Finds Philippines Playlist, this was even a bigger surprise considering ChristianDance.eu is a UK based Christian Music Playlist Curator. And placed at a higher spot at that, number 4! 

 

These past two weeks was kinda crazy for our song "FREE", but I think the song has done its purpose. Despite being a 15 year old song, it has broken through to today's audience via the Fresh Finds Philippines playlist and the International Christian Music audience through this playlist.

 

And if you don't have a Spotify account, there's always Youtube. As we just released last night the official music video of the song. The music video features never before seen archival footage and photos from our past gigs from some 15 years ago that we have kept in the vault until now!

 

Check out the link to the music video here: 

 

 

Thank You God for this blessing! It just inspires us to continue with our mission to write songs to help uplift wounded souls with our brand of music!

 

Our latest single "FREE" charts at number 7 on Spotify's Official Fresh Finds Philippines Playlist!

 

 

This was unexpected!

 

But we are honored and ecstatic to have our latest single "FREE" to be featured on Spotify's Official Fresh Finds Philippines playlist. Charting at the number 7 spot. This is our first time to have been featured on this editorial playlist and we are thrilled to have this one last song that we recorded from way back in 2009 reach a new generation of audience. I honestly kind of resigned to myself that since this song was recorded about 15 year ago, this song must have been outdated for today's audience's taste. We haven't landed in any Spotify Editorial Playlists since that Alternative Rock Christmas song that we released last 2022. So my hopes weren't as high. So this came as a complete surprise. But first of all, I take no credit for this song. I wasn't involved in the writing and composition of this song. This was all John Erickson Gloria and Adonis Berongoy, as well as Doris Bangot's and Thrina Dimaano's efforts from 2009 to come up with a song that would be included in our second album. "FREE" was written by John Erickson Gloria (Guitars) and Adonis Berongoy (Drums) with additional inputs by Doris Bangot (Bass), and arranged by the band. This was their contribution for our second album from way back but unfortunately didn't make the final cut (there were too many songs to choose from). Fortunately however, I was able to preserve a pristine copy of the song. And decided to release this song as a tribute to that final iteration of the band. And by the looks of it, we've done the unthinkable. A 15 year old song making its mark 15 years later!

This also proves to be a testament of Adonis' songwriting prowess as this is also the second time that a song written by him was featured on an Official Spotify Editorial playlist. The other one was the carrier single of our second album, the song "BELOVED SAVIOR", which made it to Spotify's New Music Friday Philippines playlist two years ago. Of course, "FREE" wouldn't be a classic Thoughts And Notions song without the familiar voice of Thrina Dimaano. So from the three of our Editorial Playlist feature, This iteration of the band was responsible to two of those placements. I always considered this iteration of the band as our peak form from way back. And these accomplishments in the digital age of music proves to show their talents are here to stay. Cementing our place in Cagayan de Oro's local music scene.

When the second album was released, I did not exercise a monopoly in the songwriting department as I allowed the band to explore and showcase what they are capable of in terms of songwriting. So "FREE" is one of those products. My only contribution to this release is the artwork of the song (photo taken by me at Kryal Castle in Melbourne, Australia with limited graphic design work helped by FOTOR). And of course, the marketing of the song as well as whatever marketing collateral that I have self-made with my limited skills lol (Don't worry, you'll see one more post-release video that I made). Like this poster that I made as seen above. It somehow played a huge part in making people take notice of the forthcoming release. This is actually the first time that I tried doing something like this. I exerted extra effort in promoting this song compared to the previous releases. Perhaps this song meant so much more to me than the recent works that I did. Even if I didn't write the song. But it's just like the way it was back then when I managed the band. They focused on the music, their performance on stage, songwriting, and other music related stuff while I explore opportunities for them to be able to maximize what they are capable of doing with their music. This was truly a cathartic experience for me. Perhaps a full circle moment. This also proved to show that the band that we have was oozing with potential. We just never made it to the finish line. But along the way, we did make some various stops (i.e.the 2009 NU 107  Rock Awards College Band of the Year nomination, Spotify New Music Friday for our second album's carrier single Beloved Savior, and some other various local recognition from the past). We did it our way despite the limited resources that we have, and we wouldn't have had the strength to go on without the support of our friends and families.

 

So Thank Yous are in order.

 

Thank You to our families, friends, and those who supported us from yesteryears. I really don't know if you guys have found us again in this Digital age of music. But we are still here trudging on. We are fighting with you to keep our music alive!

 

Thank You also to Ralf Gonzales who had been very patient in assisting us in our digital music journey thus far. We wouldn't have made it this far without his guiding presence.

 

Most of all, Thank You God for continuing to lead the way. You very much know that deep within our hearts, we are in this Thoughts And Notions project only to honor you. We never aspired for more but to offer ourselves at your service for the Christian music industry.

 

Let me also take this opportunity to thank the band who was our engine during our twilight years. To Adonis, Erickson, Doris, and of course Thrina. I couldn't be prouder of you guys. This is an accomplishment and a milestone that marks what you are capable of achieving together. Will a live reunion ever be on the offing? I'd jump at the chance to make it happen.

 

This definitely is not the end. One half of the band are still going strong with Erickson and Adonis still teaming up with their other bands. Especially for their upcoming Red Horse Music Laban stint representing Cagayan de Oro. You'll also definitely hear more from Thoughts And Notions. So keep posted for what's next. As for Doris, we're waiting for her big comeback when time permits. She's going to be a force to be reckoned with. 

 

This last hurrah from a bygone era, what a way to close this one out. This milestone marks the final achievement of this iteration of the band. For Thrina, Adonis, Erickson, and Doris. What a way to make a final bow from that era! Definitely more power and more music from you guys. I'll always be here to make sure that your songs would be heard for generations to come.

 

Thank You Jesus for this blessing and opening doors for our music!

 

 

P.S. 

 

We’re just starting our efforts to promote "FREE" to where we can take it to. Watch out for the music video that I'll be releasing maybe next week. And more stories to come!

FREE - The last unreleased Thoughts And Notions song from 2009

I could no longer recall the circumstance why this song was left on the cutting floor when we made the final decision on what would make it to the final cut of our second album. Granted, it was an album that featured 12 tracks (which included a bonus song that financed the recording and production of the album). So something had to give. But luckily, despite the song being on our vault for the longest time, the CDR copy that I had it in held up to the ravages of time. So I was able to preserve a pristine copy of the song (to which I could not say for the other songs that I deemed as demo recordings of our other songs). The song "FREE" is a song that I didn’t write or co-wrote with Wilbert Raagas Tan. It was penned by John Erickson Gloria and Adonis Donshox Gomez Berongoy, lead guitarist and drummer of our band, and was recorded from way back in 2009. "FREE" is a feel good song that celebrates one’s freedom from all the problems and anxieties in life. And just looking forward to a bright day ahead. Wrapped by Love and Faith. Why? Because you knew that you lived in FAITH. And you’ve got Jesus Christ to thank for! This isn't the only song that Erickson and Adonis had contributed to us back then. They are actually responsible for some of the other songs in our second album. Most notably the song "Cloudy Day". They were also the ones who supplied the musical arrangements for the lyrics that I wrote for the songs "Arise" and "Safer in My Heart". With Adonis contributing to perhaps our greatest worship song ever called "Beloved Savior", which later on would make it to Spotify's official New Music Friday Philippines playlist.

Thoughts And Notions line up from 2009

I have the most fondest memories of this group if I might say. This was perhaps the most prolific of all the band line-ups that we have went through. Because this was the tightest that we have ever been. Simply because the four of them had a tight relationship at that time.Thrina Dimaano (lead vocals) and Doris Bangot (bassist/backing vocals) are best friends that dates back to their high school years. Adonis and Erickson has been buddies in Church. And that chemistry would bleed through the live performances that we had during that stretch run from 2009. Of all the countless line up changes that we had, this was the only group that really put their headspace on recording new stuff for the band. And that resulted to a more infused youthful sound as evidenced by the songs in the second album that was either penned by them or musically arranged by them. But back to the song "FREE", the song title is actually quite telling in the sense that this also marked the end of the band as it was constituted. Because months later after our album launch, I would literally set them free as I embarked to build a career and start my own family in Manila. But this didn't stop them from forging on, as they continued playing together for quite some time, continuing their own run of finishing the year as a unit and even recorded one song that was written by Doris and fully arranged by the band. 

Adonis and Erickson would later on become crucial pieces to these bands

Though all good things sometimes come to an end, and even if they eventually went their separate ways, Erickson and Adonis would eventually build a strong career with their other band Novelista Pasta. I would later on write one song with them, the song called "Iglap". And when that band went on a hiatus, a new band emerged called Brandibelly, and even did a Bisaya translation of our song "Safer in My Heart". The band would went on to tour in different places in Mindanao. Making a name for themselves as the new voice of CDO's Bisrock music scene. As for Thrina and Doris, they would continue playing as a unit with Erickson, getting booked for various gigs in different resto/bar spots in CDO. With or without me, the band had indeed proved their worth as a unit or as separate musicians. In fact, they really don't need me to show how much they are capable of restarting their careers and show what they are capable of doing. I am just a big believer of their talent and support what they are capable of achieving. As of today, I'm trying to ensure that Novelista Pasta's legacy lives on in the Digital Music age, helping them upload and release their songs on the Digital Music streaming platforms. I think that is the least that I could do for all their contributions to our band. 

Getting them all back together will be a very impossible task to do. That's why moving forward, any idea of Thoughts And Notions being a live playing band again is doubtful. Because we are situated in different parts of the country now. I do however hope that when the right time comes, we could all come together and have a reunion show that would feature all of the musicians that played for our band. And that includes John Fernandez's band Sadhana, or should I say the first ever iteration of Thoughts And Notions. But for now, let us all celebrate the release of "FREE", the one last hurrah of the band before that chapter is closed. This is the final output of the band. And they deserve one final bow with the release of this song. For Thrina Dimaano, Doris Bangot, John Erickson Gloria, and Adonis Berongoy. Thank you for being a part of our beautiful story.

Pre-save the album on this link and let us all celebrate the freedom to find all the good things in life and appreciate the blessings that comes with it.

https://bfan.link/free-36