Songs Explained... EARTHBOUND ANGEL

And as promised, the lengthy explanation of the fan favorite song called Earthbound Angel from our debut album. So how do i go about this? Hmm... Honestly I always feel daunted everytime I am asked to explain what this song means. Why? simply because Earthbound Angel is my most personal song from all the songs that I have written. And it does not help that it became magnified when it began to catch the listeners attention. Most people who were able to listen to our album always pick Earthbound Angel as the song that caught their attention. So here I am today to give an explanation about the story behind the song... and what it means. The lyrics is posted below, my explanation will come next.

EARTHBOUND ANGEL

I gazed at the clear blue sky
Hoping somehow i could fly
Yet i'm just an earthbound angel
With no wings, no halo or robes
I resigned my self from flying
Leaving this world behind

I could choose to soar above the skies
And be one with the flight of angels
But I am here in this world for one purpose
To be with you and be your guide
To serve, to love, and to care
To be with you and be your guide
And be your earthbound angel

I need not leave you and fly
Cause the skies aren't mine
I belong here as an earthbound angel
To inspire, to guide, and share
If I just don't give up on trying
To leave this world behind

Earthbound Angel is my personal belief about love. I wrote this song a few years back during the times when I had doubts about love. When I was on the verge of trying not to believe in love again because of the many times that it had failed me. But then I have always had a strong faith in God. And as we all know, GOD is LOVE. So it would really be preposterous for me to believe in God, yet I don't want to believe in love. So I gave myself a little introspection and started writing my thoughts as well as what my heart was trying to understand at that time.

"I gazed at the clear blue sky..."

I wanted to escape and refuse to believe in love. I turned skeptical and shut down my heart from experiencing love. I refused to let anyone in. But deep inside, there is still this longing to find love and feel love. I have always believed that in order for one to be able to live a successful life, one should be able to share his love to another significant person. And for this love to multiply, one should be able to raise a very good family. This has always been my view about life. But then when you have been betrayed by love, somehow you would want to hold back from loving again because you fear of the pain that you would suffer if the love wouldn't work. You want to escape from that feeling and not want to come back... you hurt because you loved sincerely, and because you love sincerely, you are in pain because you lost that person whom you would want to spend your whole lifetime with, and most especially, you are in pain because you could never hate the person. All you ever wanted was to give the other person the one true love that you thought was what the other has been looking for.

So then breeds skepticism...

It is unfortunate to know that a lot of people nowadays seems to treat love in a less serious way. And because of this, the real meaning of LOVE is compromised. Love is being abused. Used for the wrong reasons. Spoken without heart. Love has been stained so much by false ideas that people would no longer seem to care or believe about it's sacredness. People have been fooled by Romantic Love, deeming it as just a passing of feelings and emotions and that when the feeling dies down, so too the relationship ends. In fact I could personally say, Romantic Love can be selfish. Why? because romance is always only about the feelings that you receive from the other. And when romance dies down, the relationship would start breaking down when one doesn't understand the core idea of what true love means...

Romance is just a part and parcel of the whole idea of love. It is not necessarily a bad thing. But relationships based only on romance can be self-serving. So what is true love? I personally wouldn't want to call it true love. I personally would want to call it Christian Love.  The core of finding the real meaning of True Love can only be found in the values of Christian Love. As the lines of the chorus of the song says "To be with you and be your guide, to serve, to love, and to care..." Being a devout Christian, my ideas about love has always been grounded from the values of Christian Love...

"To serve, to love, and to care"

Service is a selfless act of giving one's self to the other. For one to be able to show what true love means, one must know how to be a servant. What other better example can you show to the other person that you love them than to be their servant? We put our significant others beyond ourself and make them the most important person in our life... to the point that we would be willing to sacrifice our life for theirs. If we say that we love another, that we care for the other, we always put in our hearts and in our minds that their welfare and well-being should come first. I wrote those three in the proper order that I would want to put them. Because for me, service comes first above all, we cannot love if we cannot serve. and we cannot care if we don't know how to serve and love the other.

"To inspire"

We are an inspiration to the other. If we love right, we can inspire others to believe in love and help spread that love. Common folks are afraid to be put inside a microscope under the scrutiny of possible criticisms about their self. Some wouldn't want to be called a role model because of the heavy responsibility and pressure that would come from it. But when we love, we should also seek to inspire. Because our lifetime that would be spent with our significant other should be filled with inspiration not only for the both of you, but also for the family that would come along from the both of you. We build love not only for ourself but also for the next generation to see, to learn from, and for them to share. 

"To guide"

True love would also mean that we are willing to guide our partner in the life that we would be sharing. The key word there is guide if you may not have noticed. Not teach, nor lead. Why guide? because to guide would mean that we are walking that step WITH him/her. To teach would mean that there is some form of dominancy because one is more knowledgeable than the other. And to lead would also mean that there is a form of dominancy because you are leading instead of walking with him/her. I found guidance to be a key ingredient in order for relationships to work. Because i have always firmly believed that nobody is perfect. But that does not mean that we are going to use it as an excuse for us not to strive harder in our relationship. There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. But with the guidance from both parties, whatever wrongs that would be encountered, whatever failures that would be experienced, and whatever challenges that would be faced, one is assured that they are not in it alone. There is someone there to guide you amidst the storms.

"To share"

I believe that the one last thing that would really make us understand how true love works is the act of sharing. When we love, we open up our hearts to another person because we want to share our heart to him/her. As delicate as our hearts may be, the act of sharing is one of the strongest form of expressions that we can show to our love ones that we indeed love them wholeheartedly. The life that we have is meant for sharing. We were not born to be secluded in our own world. But we were born to share this life with another. And being able to open up to another person and have your life, your heart being put under their care is a tremendous form of expression of our love for them. Because the act of sharing our life means that we trust them. We cannot share if we can't trust.

My friends, Earthbound Angel is my expression of what Christian Love means. I know that during these time, there are a lot of us who turns skeptical when it comes to loving another. And we can't blame ourselves for feeling that way. Love has been tainted by so many false hopes and dreams. When I started writing the song, I was in a struggle. In between believing and not believing. And it is evident from the opening lines of the song alone that I was hoping I could fly away from all of those false hope that comes with loving. But then I remembered the values that makes love work. I could have chosen to fly away from believing. And join the multitude of others who wouldn't want to give love to another significant person... (though they can still love in other ways, thats why I still call them angels) but I chose to believe in Loving another significant person all over again... Let's not gloss love with too much romantic hopes. Romance could die, but Christian Love is eternal. Why be an angel up in heaven when we can be Earthbound Angels with our significant other?

A birth of a new production group?

                                                                                                                    Thoughts And Notions

Somehow, after having been able to step away from doing a hands on approach in managing a band, I was able to take a closer look at the whole band picture and gave me an opportunity to think outside the box. Last December 15, I was able to come up with a huge event in cooperation with the radio and TV network RPN here in Cagayan de Oro City. It was for a huge twin event that was billed as The Grand Finals of the Bagong Kampeon 2007 and the Grand Draw of the Shop and Win At Kevin and Keimart Part 3. Long before this, I already was able to immerse myself in Events Production jobs when Oido Events was still around. We used to bring Rivermaya, Bamboo, Paolo Santos, Hale, MYMP and others here in Cagayan de Oro City for Concerts and events. So basically, I could say that I already have an extensive experience when it comes to Events Production. The event last December 15 was Successful as I might say. Of course, we wouldn't be able to pull this off without the help of RPN's established hosts. It was the first time that (well excluding the Nescafe Soundskool Regional finals held in Davao) three bands which I would want to call as brother/sister bands shared the stage together. My band, Thoughts And Notions, shared the stage with Nobelista Pasta, and EuKryp2. I would want to call them as brother/sister bands because in one way or another, the three of them has a certain connection with each other. Of course, I began everything with Thoughts And Notions. Our connection with Nobelista Pasta is that our guitarist Erikson Gloria, and our Drummer Adonis Berongoy, are also a part of Nobelista Pasta. Eukryp2 on the other hand started out just recently and I wouldn't be surprised if I would find out that the reason why they decided to start a band would have some connection with Thrina, our vocalist. Thrina has been good friends with the band members of Eukryp2 and in fact their Lead Singer, Larah Grace Fermill, once helped me out in getting photos of the band during a gig in SM CDO. So one way or another we already have a connection.

                                                                                                                              Eukryp2

It actually all started when the bands went to Davao to compete when they were named as among the Regional Finalists of the Nescafe Soundskool Band competition. Nobelista Pasta emerged as the winner and the right to represent Cagayan de Oro in the Grand Finals held in Metro Manila. From there, the bands' closeness and Camaraderie developed. From there, I began thinking about holding an event that would feature the three bands. But since I was busy with other stuffs, it had to take a backseat. Now when I started planning on the show for our company's Grand Draw, all I had in mind was to only have my band, Thoughts And Notions guest for the event. But since this would be a 5 hour show, It would be strenuous and tiring for the band to take that much beating. So I decided to bring along other bands to share the stage with. So I asked Thrina which band she would want to share the stage with. Naturally, Nobelista Pasta and Eukryp2 came into her mind. I didn't have to panic or start worrying about the event because these 2 bands are good. So when the event proper finally started, Eukryp2 kicked things off. The show was also the Grand Finals of RPN 's Bagong Kampeon 2007, so there were a lot of singing and music on that night. The band did a very good job of keeping the intermissions lively. Thoughts And Notions was the one who formally closed the RPN event by debuting their new jingle created for Kevin Sardines and marked the day as their official day of formally agreeing to be Kevin Sardines' newest endorsers. Thoughts And Notions formally opened the band presentations followed by Eukryp2 and Nobelista Pasta. Nobelista Pasta was the main highlight of the 2nd part of the show as they shared their wining form to the Divisoria Night Cafe Audiences.

                                                                                                                            Nobelista Pasta

After watching the entire event, I somehow felt inspired to start our own production group. Here in CDO, there are only three production groups who are diligently pushing for Original CDO Music to be heard. Namely, Corridor Music Group (consisting of underground punk/emo/ska bands), Sonata Productions (a group pushing for original CDO art and music artists) and TUA Records (a group that brings popular artists to share the stage with local bands). I still am Thoughts And Notions' band manager, but right now, I feel that I need to step back and let the band grow by themselves. Let the band learn the ropes of the music scene by themselves. And there's no other way to do it but to create a production group where each member of the band would help one another in finding gigs, events, and other band related stuffs. And this production group will feature the three brother/sister bands plus other guest bands that would be willing to join them from time to time. I guess it's time for me to call a meeting and plot out the next steps. Abangan!      

Vocalists of the three aforementioned bands (from left to right) Thrina Dimaano of Thoughts And Notions, Marc Anthony Pupos of Eukryp2, Jhapz Perez of Nobelista Pasta, and Larah Grace Fermill of Eukryp2.

RPN Radio Ronda's Bagong Kampeon 2007 and Shop And Win at Kevin and Keimart Part 3 event

Photos of the event held at Cagayan de Oro Divisoria Night Cafe!

Never Fade

Start:	Dec 22, '07 3:00p
Location:	Frontstreet Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City

Corridor Music Group And Rotaract Club 3870 Presents... Never Fade. 3 years Anniversary of Corridor Music Group's Underground Scene. Featuring the bands: The Superflirts, Teacher's Stand Together, Leave Me A Note, Picking Up Carrots, Boobietrap, An Evening Blue, Fly By Juniper...
Plus Guest bands.... Gasulina, Kaa;pin, THOUGHTS AND NOTIONS.... and more....

Happening on Dec 22, 2007 at 3PM in the afternoon at Frontstreet Divisoria, CDO.

Entry P80 w/ drinks.
This is also a Fund Raising Project for KIRABA DAY CARE CENTER.

Thoughts And Notions to Highlight RPN DXKO Radio Ronda's Twin Event

Thoughts And Notions is set to perform at the Cagayan de Oro City DV Soria Park for RPN's Twin events this coming Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 6pm in the afternoon. The band will be playing a full extended set after the event. Prizes and goodies will be given on the event proper. Everyone is welcome to join us and celebrate this early Christmas brought to you by RPN, Kevin Enterprises, Kei-mart, Kevin Sardines, San Miguel Beer, and the Cagayan de Oro City Government. 

Songs Explained

click on the link to access  Digital Streaming Sites where you can listen to our songs:

Thoughts And Notions - In Awe of His Amazing Love (bfan.link)

The songs below only includes the songs that were released on the Radio and Online music sites as singles. The songs not yet released as singles will follow... Or if you can't wait, get a copy of the album for yourself. It's a great Christmas gift for you, your family, and your love ones... 

(songs are put in order of their release as singles in Cagayan de Oro's Radio stations)

Savior

The song Savior was actually the first ever track that we have recorded in this album . The song talks about how we suffer different trials and problems in life. How we are in search of that someone who could cure the sadness that we feel and help us find our way back when we are lost. For those who are less in faith, or those who are yet to discover their faith in God, this song is a declaration of his presence in our lives. Once we find him, we have this overwhelming presence that fills our heart with so much joy that could even reduce us to shed tears of happiness. And hopefully to make a decision to live our life for God. This song is aptly titled Savior for the simple reason that God, whether we have noticed it or not, will always be the ultimate savior in our lives. The only one who could redeem and save us from whatever troubles that we are in. So it is quite fitting that Wilbert infused a rocking sound to it, giving it a more anthemic approach. Originally though, the first recording of savior was a bit stripped down. Simple strums minus the hard rocking sound that it has today. This particular recording never made it to the album. We saw it fit that Savior should be a rock sounding song anyway.

Written by: Jasper Lloyd Tan, Music and Arranged by: Wilbert Tan, Thrina Dimaano on Vocals

My Love Song

My Love Song was the second track that we accomplished in the album. The melody of the song is pretty quite bouncy. An upbeat song that hopefully wishes to express a sincere love for God and the people that we love in our life. The song talks about a certain moment in our life when we are introduced to someone whom we never even thought existed. Now this someone turns to be a person who is capable of loving us completely. And upon knowing the kind of love that we have never felt before, we are slowly being lured to this kind of love. Slowly falling in love with this person. There is no other kind of love in the world that is capable of surpassing Christian Love. This song is all about Christian Love. Christian Love teaches us about sincerity, it teaches us about sacrifices, the genuineness of what is in our hearts. The songs teaches us to fall in love with God for the simple reason that he is there giving his love to us unconditionally. Actually, there is a semi-acoustic recording of this song sang by Wilbert. We didn’t include it in the album because we are saving it for future use. And we also thought that My Love Song should be bouncy enough. Love after all is bouncy.

Written by: Jasper Lloyd Tan, Music and Arranged by: Wilbert Tan, Thrina Dimaano on Vocals

Earthbound Angel

Easily the crowd favorite of all the songs in the album and the most popular of them all. My explanation of this song will be written in full for another entry

Written and Music by Jasper Lloyd Tan, Arranged by Wilbert Tan, Thrina Dimaano on Vocals

Brand New Day

This was the last song that we have accomplished in the album. This was the hardest song that we finished because Wilbert was in a rut when he tried creating the melodies for this song. I on the other hand was shuffling different melodies in my head. When I finally presented the melody I had in mind to Wilbert, he waited no time in arranging it. We are quite satisfied with the way Brand New Day turned out. The music is so fresh, very modern and pop-rock at its best. The song is about the discovery that we have an assurance of a better future with God’s love in our life. It has always been our desire to find a better tomorrow in our lives. We wish that we would have a better future ahead. We can only attain this if we have God in our life. His immense love for us is a proof that the future will be bright. It may not be bright always, but his love alone is a proof that there is something to be hopeful for in this life.

Written and Music by: Jasper Lloyd Tan, Arranged by Wilbert Tan, Thrina Dimaano on Vocals