Kapit Lang by Melissa Corpus (and how I made my way in it)

I was so invested with Melissa Corpus' song Kapit Lang so much so that it lingered on me for the past month. It is such a beautiful and heart wrenching song that tugged my heartstrings so much that I believe this song deserves to be heard. So basically, I was privy to a lot of the behind-the-scenes story of this song as well as the production process of the song. I even heard a stripped-down version of the song before the final version made its debut. In fact, this is the first time that I have been involved in a non-Thoughts And Notions song. And honestly, I feel blessed to be one of those who were able to hear a sneak peak of the song. So when the song finally made its debut in various Digital Music Platforms, I was one of those who happily cheered Melissa on and offered my support in the promotion of the song. And then one day, Melissa messaged me and asked me to help her in translating the song in English. It was an opportunity that I wouldn't dare miss. Because now, we can truly share the song's message not only to our fellow Filipinos, but to a greater audience outside the Philippines as well. So, it wasn't hard for me to say yes and volunteer a part of my time and contribute to the making of the Official Lyric Video with English translations of the Lyrics. Well, not really an exact word for word translation, but to get the original message and idea. And then translate it in a way that we would not dilute the message and keep it as pure as the original Filipino Lyric set out to do. It was also a huge help that Rochy was part of the translation team that offered a different point of view to the chosen words we used. It helped us stretch our vocabulary and a much better appreciation of the original Filipino Lyrics. Because Melissa is such an amazing writer that can express her songs in such a profound way. Her songs are usually honest, searing, and sincere. Or as we Filipinos would like to say, has so much "Hugot."

At Julius and Tintin Babao's National TV Program

Melissa Corpus by the way is an independent PWD singer-songwriter who just recently discovered her gift of songwriting during the height of the pandemic. Her songs usually talk about various life stories that she had encountered and experienced. She is using her platform as a singer/songwriter to help inspire not only PWDs like her but also those who need the inspiration and encouragement to pursue their dreams. That Physical Disabilities should not be a hindrance to reach for the sky. Before venturing into songwriting, Melissa is already a big fan of music, both local and international, that made her eventually to come up with a YouTube Music program that she calls Proud PinoyFan. I even guested on her Second Anniversary program talking a bit about Thoughts And Notions. And that's what makes her heart so beautiful because she has this soft spot for Independent Filipino Musicians, which is the focus of her shows. And you know having a good heart is always magnified and rewarded by God. Because Melissa eventually made her way to guest in a National TV Program in one of our country's major TV Channel. She appeared as a guest in Julius and Tintin Babao's Para sa Pamilyang Pilipino TV Program. Talk about being a host of her own YouTube show and having the tables turned to appear in a bigger platform on National TV not as a host, but to talk about her life, her songs, and her story. And you know how hard it is to work your way as an Independent Artist here in our country. But not surprisingly, Melissa's songs are trending over at Boomplay, another Global Digital Music Streaming Platform. And just recently, news has reached me that Kapit Lang is trending on the platform as well. Landing on the no. 14 spot for Top New Songs. Blessings just came in pouring for her. 

Team Kapit Lang, Me, Rochy, and Melissa at the Cre8Music Launch

I'm truly honored and blessed to take part in this process. And like what I've been advocating for since 2006, our songs are always about helping uplift wounded souls. And Melissa's is no different. It is truly a blessing to be a part of this process in bringing the song to a larger audience outside the Philippines. I believe the original Filipino version is still the version that is the truest and sincerest version. And there’s certainly no way of topping Melissa’s well written Filipino Lyrics. But I gave it my best shot.  The leading was all hers. Believe me, there is a story in every word that she wrote. And I'm blessed to have known the story behind the song. So, it was such a huge help for me to be able translate it in the best way that I could. And to keep the original message of the song without deviating or be distracted by the word translation barriers. I had to give justice to the story behind the song. And I hope you guys would get the message in its original form.

Screengrab of the Lyric Video Credits

The Lyric Video is already available on Melissa’s YouTube Channel. We would really appreciate it if you could check it out and send your thoughts as well. And, if you could share them on your Social Media Accounts. We need to touch that one soul on the verge of breaking. And tell them to Hold On (Kapit Lang). Help save a life today.

Get to know more about Melissa on this link:

https://thiswayinstead.com/2021/02/01/finding-success-at-the-height-of-the-pandemic/

Follow her on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0gju7dDWpRtQTmqAl8IH5x?si=b9er1wjPSpu5yFNzDehJrw

And on Boomplay:

https://www.boomplay.com/artists/42078891?from=search&srModel=COPYLINK&srList=WEB

What Real Christmas Means to Me

Since we've decided to return last year, one of the plans that we put into motion was to write a Christmas song. It is something that we have never done before, and it was one of the goals for 2022. In the Philippines, as early as September, Christmas tunes already abound the airwaves. And it is none other than the premier Filipino Christmas Carol balladeer Jose Mari Chan, who usually dominates radio stations' playlists with his song "Christmas in our Hearts." It is really a staple here in the Philippines for more than 30 years and counting. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Filipinos can memorize his song better than other traditional Christmas Carols. That's how big he is. Meanwhile, while the plans to revive Thoughts And Notions didn't come into fruition yet last year, the other half of Thoughts And Notions' songwriting duo, Wilbert Tan, was busy starting his own solo musical project under the pseudonym, Wile Lile. Not really a gifted vocalist, his musical excursions were mostly in the instrumental nature. And after one fine boring day, he decided to compose an intense Rock Metal version of "Christmas in our Hearts" just for the fun of it. We would later call it "The Nightmare before Christmas in our Hearts" in tribute of that animated movie headlined by the creepy Jack Skellington. Nightmare because we might have just ruined the most well-loved Christmas song in our country, by making use of Jose Mari Chan's vocals on a Rock Metal arrangement of his well-loved Christmas song. But it was just for the sheer fun of it. You can hear the sample of that project in the video I attached below:      

So, while it was nothing serious but just the mere pleasure of flexing Wile Lile's creative juices, I on the other hand was seriously thinking about writing a Christmas song lyric that would probably fit in the post covid world. And to find inspiration for it, I looked around and asked people I know what Christmas means to them. One of the most common answers was, Jose Mari Chan. This had turned to become a vicious joke in the local social media platforms in the past years or so. Some of those I asked would answer that Christmas would remind them about accomplishments/victories that they achieved for the year. Looking forward to the Christmas Bonus for a job well done. I asked some kids what Christmas means to them, and the common answer was the gifts/presents that they are looking forward to receiving. Or the Christmas parties that they will be attending. Or about that old guy in red, Santa Claus, if he would be visiting on Christmas Eve to drop some presents to those who were nice. And yet some would say, it's about the boy in the manger. Born on Christmas Eve, Jesus Christ, our savior. So, I put these all into thought and used it as an inspiration for me to come up with my first Christmas themed lyrics. Of course, the original intention was to write a song that would also sound something similar to traditional Christmas songs like the one Jose Mari Chan is singing. After I finished writing the lyrics, I sent them to Wilbert, for him to compose his music making magic to our Christmas song.

Tirada on the overall band music

And to be honest, I never really thought that the song would sound like what it is right now. I was mind blown, and aghast that our song has turned into a non-traditional Jose Mari Chan like Christmas song. But Wilbert's continuing creative juice to come up with an edgier sounding Christmas song has taken the reins during his creative process. And since Thoughts And Notions basically for the year operated as a songwriting duo that features various Cagayan de Oro based artists to interpret their songs, Wilbert suggested to me that we'll let his Glam/Alternative Rock Band Tirada interpret the song instead. At first, I really wasn't sold on the idea. I still wanted a more solemn and traditional Christmas Carol like song. But Wilbert told me he wanted to be different and non-traditional. There's no way that we are going to be remembered for a Christmas song that will always pale in comparison to a monolithic 30 plus year old song by Jose Mari Chan. So, I finally gave in. I mean sometimes our musical tastes differs, but I've always let Wilbert do his musical stuffs when it comes to our partnership with Thoughts And Notions. Good thing that both of us have this habit of being non-traditional when it comes to our songs and are looking to innovate whenever we can. So, the first order of things was really to make this a collaborative process with some of the most active musicians in Cagayan de Oro's local music scene. And what a cast of musicians we've assembled. 

AJ Alburo on Bass

Apart from the usual suspects (Wilbert and Me for Thoughts And Notions), we have Wilbert's band Tirada record the instrumental parts of the song. For added bass kicks, we got AJ Alburo, a bass guitar prodigy, jam in with the band. Then we got Elvis Rock Cabillar, of the 13th Philippines Music and Press Corps Star Awards Rock Artist of the year nominee Bloodflowers, to do the vocal chores. And then finally, Wilbert will turn into his Wile Lile persona to do some instrumental solo towards the end of the song that would rekindle us back to his solo instrumental outputs with his legendary Progressive Rock band Oblivion. And the final product he turned in? A beautifully written and recorded Frankenstein of a Christmas Song! No joke, my mind was blown away with the final product. I never envisioned my Christmas lyrics to turn into this ensemble cast of musicians with deep and various Rock influences to deliver one of the most unique Christmas songs that I have ever heard. In fact, I don't remember any Christmas song as intense as this.

Elvis Rock Cabillar on Vocals

But the final question will always be, do I think the song would be relevant to our times? Or make a mark to those who would be able to listen to it? That I don't know. But with all the countless Christmas songs and carols out there that glorifies the commercial power of the Christmas Season, I just wanted to contribute to helping people refocus on what Real Christmas truly means. And it has always been about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He should be celebrated like how we celebrate the rock stars that we look up to. I believe we should be loud and boisterous and even proud to have him in our life. There is always a time for solemnity and calm. But wouldn't it also be great to be in a festive mood to celebrate Jesus? He who made our life extraordinary by living among us and then eventually sacrificing his life to save us from our sins. Because after the Christmas Season ends, and we'd be facing another New Year. The question remains, have we been a better Christian to our fellowmen for the year that was? 

Wile Lile on that sick lead guitar solo towards the end

But before the New Year comes, we hope you celebrate with us by Pre-Saving our song. And if you like it enough, help us make the song reach as many listeners as we can. Let's be loud and proud that Christmas is and will always be about Jesus!

Pre-Save Link:

https://bfan.link/what-real-christmas-means-to-me  

UPDATE!

What Real Christmas Means to Me just made it to the Official Spotify Editorial Playlist "New Music Friday"

Cre8ion: The Official Cre8Music Record Label Launch!

Would you believe that the last Gig that I co-produced and actually attended was in 2009 when our band Thoughts And Notions had our album launching for our second album? It was that long ago when I last attended a gig at a resto bar. Today also marked the official anniversary of our band's official Digital Music Release on various Digital Music Platforms. Mind you, this was unintended, and it was a mere coincidence when we officially set the date of our Record Label Launch. That it coincided with when I officially announced my return to the Indie Music scene a year ago. Yes! What a difference a year make. And to be honest, this was part of a longer plan, and I did not expect to make the leap in just a year since my return. But I guess I just had a lot of confidence with the team that I am with. First off, with Miguel Llado (of the band The Mox) and Namfi Fernandez (a budding Christian Singer/Songwriter), they have been instrumental for me to build my confidence to give this music thing another try. I was just observing on the sidelines how to navigate this thing all over again, and I saw the passion Migs has with his New Pinoy Music Collective, an Indie Music group that he had been nurturing and leading since before the Pandemic. I had a peek of his future plans in one of our conversations. I took careful notes of it. Namfi Fernandez, who I saw has this overflowing and infectious passion for Christian Music (something I have never shared with since I started way back). I feel that this is God's intended connection for me to find that drive and motivation to pursue the mission in bringing Christian Music to more audiences in our country, outside the confines of the Church. A personal mission of mine since before. And of course, the icing on the cake, Calvin Anchores, the President of Cre8Multi-Media, who embraced my original endeavors of starting a music label that aims to bring positive uplifting music to the listening audience. Cre8Music is under his umbrella, and I couldn't be happier to establish that as it goes in sync with his greater plan for Cre8Multi-media. These are the people that made the Record Label Launch happen last night. Dubbed as Cre8ion: The Official Cre8Music Launch, we finally formalized our entry to the Indie Music scene by featuring four of among the best and talented artists that we could find in the local indie music scene. Namely, ForSomeReason, Nico Frayn, Rockalyt, and Nadj Zablan. Of course, we have more on the wings like Jonah Agas, Dud Lemon, Rochy, and Ramen Response. But due to time limitations, we decided to launch the aforementioned four instead.

The event was officially opened with Migs and guest Co-Host Beverly introducing the other artists under us who were not performing on this night. This just gives our audience an idea of who are the other artists on our roster. The rocking evening however officially began when ForSomeReason took the stage and performed their original songs, including exclusive previews of songs that are being currently recorded. ForSomeReason was a personal recruit of mine to join us in our fledgling label. And actually, one of the strongest reasons why I decided to kickstart this label in the first place. The band used to be called Blameless 8:1, a Christian Rock band who were very active in Christian Band competitions back in the day. If memory serves me right, they've made it to the finals one or twice. So, it was a natural that their vocalist Benedict and I bonded on a common mission and goal, promoting Christian Contemporary Music in our country. And while we do acknowledge that it will be a tall order, getting people to buy in to the shared vision on how to approach that, makes things much easier for me. But for now, they go by the name of ForSomeReason, and they are singing about some mundane tunes of the daily laments of the common folks in the Rock/Alternative genre. Be it love, aspirations, pet peeves, or just the daily relatable journey of the common folks. But we are definitely preparing for the ressurection of Blameless 8:1's songs in the very near future.   

After ForSomeReason's rocking set, we tried to tone things down a bit and introduce Nico Frayn, our new Best Fraynd! For the evening's line up, it was only Nico who did the solo acoustic music set. I've heard some of his full band songs, and we believe that Nico also needs to have a backing band in the future, but we'll probably figure it out. But as it is, Nico can still hold his own with his acoustic guitar companion. I love Nico's confidence to banter with the audience. And I do feel his songs are what is more palatable to the current listening public's musical preferences. So, his set might not be as loud or as rocking as the others, but he held his own to tone down the crowd's energy a bit and prepare them for what was to come next. But yeah, his catalogue is something to watch out for. And we are releasing his EP very soon. Should be out maybe next year January with a new song and carrier single for his EP. So all I can say is if you are looking to hear some more tunes that are relatable to what is popular in mainstream radio now, then I suggest giving Nico's songs a try. Maybe someday, you'll make him your best Fraynd too!     

Rockalyt follows Nico's set, and oh my, I was totally floored by their performance. The venue was shaking as the crowd totally gave them all their love and audience participation. These guys have so much potential and just needs to be heard on a wider scale because they are in their peak element already. They've got a versatile eclectic mix of songs, and while rock music is still prominent in most of their songs, elements of Rap, Pop, and other influences abounds their song catalogue. Songs that harken back to the best days of the 90's and 2000's band explosion heydays. On a personal note, I also have a certain kinship with them as three members of the band are full blooded Mindanaoans who are now settling here in the Nation's Capital to pursue their musical dreams. In fact, the lead guitarist, Elpidio Ragas Jr., comes from my hometown in Cagayan de Oro. And had shared to me one time that when he was still a kid, he was able to watch one of our shows in Cagayan de Oro. So, talk about having a certain connection with his band. But to be honest, his story did tug at my heartstring a little. Because that just cements our band's legacy in Cagayan de Oro's local music scene. So while Thoughts And Notions never really went big on a national scale, but at least in our hometown, we were heard on a larger scale than we originally thought. So maybe, having Rockalyt as part of our start up label, would also mean that my dedication and mission to promote Cagayan de Oro's local music scene (and to an extent, the neighboring cities of Butuan and Surigao as well) would be represented by our partnership with Rockalyt. There are only two reasons why I'm in this music thing in the first place. And that is Christian Contemporary Music and Cagayan de Oro/North Mindanao Music. And Rockalyt will represent the other half of my advocacy.

And for the Grand Finale, well, there's no other artist to showcase from our label but the Veteran Rocker, Nadj Zablan. There's a funny story about how I met Nadj and kind of reeled him in to join my cause. I actually found his songs on one of the foreign playlists that my songs were in. Being the only Filipino on the playlist, I reached out to him and asked him to confirm if he was a Filipino too. And when he responded in the affirmative, I told him let's start something that can help our fellow Filipinos navigate the Digital Music thing. So, after months of exchanging ideas and thoughts about how to navigate this Indie Music thing together, well here we are, working together under one label. One thing I can say is that Nadj does have a huge, amazing heart to help fellow indie artists. In fact, two weeks ago, he rounded up some Indie Musicians we know from social media to guest on his regular Saturday shows at Cafe Lupe Antonio and shared the stage with them. Now that's talking about putting all the talk about supporting each other into action. Nadj's set was rocking in a more mature energy coming in from the crowd. A lot of his songs reminds us of the early U2 days and other such bands and I believe his songs best would be appreciated by the rocker kids of the 80's who are now basically the people running the economy now. So, I guess he'll be the older brother that should serve our roster of artists well as the one that they could run for advice. He's got the veteran presence of a battle-scarred rocker who had seen it all back in the day. Did I even mention that his old Rock Band Treadstone won a prestigious Nationwide Battle of the Bands as the Metro Manila Grand Champion? But he's not bringing that back, but instead transformed into another persona. A more Positive Rocker with a Positive Force to be reckoned with. And we are hoping that we can harness all of that positive energy to pass around to the rest of the artists on our roster.      

Missing Namfi for this evening

To end this blog, I apologize if these pictures don't look very good. I seemed to forget that my old job with Thoughts And Notions besides being the lyricist was being the designated photojournalist. That's the reason why I managed to have a lot of photos preserved in this blog, albeit using an inferior camera phone back in the day. But maybe I enjoyed the show so much, I forgot that there was another job that I was supposed to do. So, I just took screengrabs from some of the live videos we fed to our Official Cre8Music Facebook Page.  But we'll be uploading the official gig videos soon on a much more clearer video quality. So hit the like/follow button and wait for the videos to go live. It will be all worth the wait. 

And one last thing, we'd really appreciate it if you guys could support our start up label. We are not a huge Record Label like others would like to think. And we could never afford the payola rates that we are seeing. We were flabbergasted with what we saw. I guess, we operate in a much more different world now. But one thing is for sure, Music is freely flowing right now. And if you can add all of our artists' songs on your playlists, then we'd really very much appreciate it. It is already a huge help to us. This is just the First Phase. We are looking to launch the Christian Music side of things. With God's provision.

Spotify Links to our Artists:

ForSomeReason: https://open.spotify.com/artist/27BtAbkIvwSHA3qXh4phPE?si=poDFf51vTl2kXJe0cwirIw

Nico Frayn: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TI5gtQuKb7EYJw8X7GAGs?si=f0pebLQ5RuWxHoXbEI9GYw

Rockalyt: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xgt1VKuDivxLnrTg8J8wk?si=NwHsAdhUSOaqC1VZ5R3hVw

Nadj Zablan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1YXV92olK46f6XwGhjCW7Z?si=bMAcdFMiQpCI4q9QcCevAQ

Jonah Agas: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5F7cwhANPXcte982MjDVF9?si=bmA1N7jJTzCWMWNYfFgqVQ

Dud Lemon: https://open.spotify.com/artist/73P2wi3NS2g0vhuVF71vaH?si=gjak1I4GQXuqFrMCLMYaqA

Namfi Fernandez: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3nBf4tFooa4q0P1E346mQx?si=EuUoDq3yQpG5c8YcQh7xlg

The inside story of Iglap and our collaboration with Novelista Pasta

 

So, we've just recently released our new/old song "Iglap" with Novelista Pasta on the Digital Music streaming platforms. Why New/Old? Because the song is actually an old collaboration with Novelista Pasta. And as I was organizing our back catalogue and all the songs that I have written; I've decided to track down this old track if its original file was still around. Good thing Jhapoy Perez (the vocalist) still had them around. And not only this song, but their entire EP as well. So, I'm scheduling their EP release as well before the year ends. This will cement Novelista Pasta's place in the Digital Music space.

But who is Novelista Pasta? And how are they related to our band, Thoughts And Notions?

I always considered Novelista Pasta and our band as a Brother-Sister band. Simply because we both shared the same guitarist and drummer. Novelista Pasta is composed of Jhapoy Perez on vocals, John Erickson Gloria on Guitars, Adam Datoy on Bass, and Adonis Berongoy on Drums. Both Gloria and Berongoy were part of our band's sophomore album, contributing two songs (Cloudy Day, Beloved Savior) as the lead songwriters, and collaborations with me on three songs (Arise, Safer in My Heart, Stronger, Higher, Further). So, the connection was always there. Though our band existed first, Novelista Pasta became a side project for a time when Gloria and Berongoy decided to explore forming a band with a male vocalist. It wasn't a problem for me as I totally respect the artistic freedom and creative space of the musicians working with me. So, in a way, I took Novelista Pasta under my wing by bringing them along in gigs that I was able to book for my own band. In fact, both of our bands once made it to the Regional Finals held in Davao City for the Nescafe Soundskool Band competitions. But our band lost to them in the Regionals, paving the way for Novelista Pasta to make it to the Grand Finals held in Manila. This win would give Novelista Pasta an opportunity of a lifetime. As prior to the Grand Finals, Rivermaya was assigned to mentor them. 

We have always been a great fan of the OPM Rock Icon Rivermaya. And I'm sure it was an honor for the guys of Novelista Pasta to be mentored by a band that they look up to. For sure they were able to pick their brains on that 3-day event in Boracay. And although they did not end up as the Grand winner, the experience and learnings alone were a valuable tool for them to be able to start writing songs for their EP. But for that process, I wasn't part of it, except for the song Iglap. At the height of Novelista Pasta's band days, my own band took a hiatus. You could probably say a passing of the torch if you may call it that. But during my own band's hiatus, I still correspond with Adonis. And I remember that in the process of recording their EP, he asked me if I have any lyrics lying around that they could use. And since Novelista Pasta's songs are mostly in Filipino, I had to dust up my command of the language and wrote just my second Filipino Lyrics (the first one was an Ethnic environmental sounding track, Pagsapit ng Panahon).  

Iglap however is a non-Christian themed song. I also had to explore the other side of my songwriting capabilities as I rested Thoughts And Notions during that time and decided to write something that would fit in with what Novelista Pasta sings. Hence, Iglap came to be. But let me go back to what I earlier said about the band being mentored by Rivermaya? Iglap was actually inspired by Rivermaya's own hit song Kisapmata. Iglap in the English vernacular is translated as "in a flash" while Kisapmata is translated as "blink of an eye." It was a conscious effort by me to pay tribute to the band that I idolized the most in the Philipine Music scene. I guess, that is the only way I could express my gratitude and pleasure for all the great music that Rivermaya has brought in for me on a personal level. And knowing that these guys were mentored by Rivermaya, I guess that's the closest that I could ever be in terms of writing/collaborating with Rivermaya. So Iglap is written like your typical love song with unrequited love themes that seems to be a usual hit with the Filipino audience. We call that "hugot" in the local vernacular. Which also perfectly fits with what these guys from Novelista Pasta were writing for their EP.

So. there you have it. The back story of Iglap, and how my band Thoughts And Notions and Novelista Pasta's collaboration came about. This is the last song from my old back catalogue of songs that I have written. And it is finally organized in one profile where you can all access 23 of our songs with my band that I have either co-written or helped produce. Oh and before I end, if you are wondering whatever happened to Novelista Pasta now, they are still very much active. Though they have taken a different band name, calling themselves O-I-C now with a new vocalist. But from what I have been told, Novelista Pasta and Jhapoy Perez is just hibernating for the moment. A come back is still possible, But while waiting for it to happen, their EP will suffice. Announcements are coming soon once the EP is released before the year ends. 

Some Links to Consider:

Access to Iglap across major Digital Music Streaming Platforms:

https://bfan.link/iglap

Thoughts And Notions Full Song Catalogue on Spotify and Youtube

Spotify: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6i9X1vKsBAUjGqFPmRWXgy?si=QkTsdXk7RgWu_L3csMS2iQ

YouTube:

 totsandnotions - YouTube

Follow us on Facebook:

Thoughts And Notions | Facebook

We've finally breached 500K Streams on Spotify!

About this month last year, we started our Digital Music Journey. Thanks to Mark Escueta of Rivermaya, he was very instrumental in encouraging me to re-start my songwriting hobby. He basically paved the way for me to pursue this once lost passion of mine. Who would have thought that one of the members of your all-time favorite OPM band would also be the one who would encourage you to pursue music. It is not a privilege that a lot of struggling musicians have. So I’ve decided to pay it forward. And Ralf Gonzales’ patience to guide me has also been instrumental in the initial steps to find a home and a trusted Digital Music Partner. To be given this much trust and confidence to have a 3-year contract with my Digital Music Distributor is also an added fuel for me to make use of the 3-year period in the best possible way that I could. 

When I began my Digital Music Journey, the road ahead looked very daunting. The initial question was, “How can I reach 1,000 listeners/streams?” But then Nilo Quitoriano of Southrace (one of CDO’s veteran Legendary Rock Bands), reached out to me and volunteered to learn this Digital Music Journey with me. And we had a lot of sacrifices as well as research to get to know how this thing works. Not to count the Missteps along the way until we finally figured it out. Oh not to mention John Paul Gallego Derequito of Eggmen Productions and Bloodflowers Band (vote for them in the current PMPC Star Awards), who paved the way to bring our songs truly global. We understood that with Digital Music, there are no more boundaries. You have a world out there waiting for your song to be discovered.

Fast forward to today, in one year’s time (less than a few days to a year to be exact), we’ve finally made it to half a million streams. I know this is not much. As big time artists can easily make it in less than a day. But for some Indie Band from a small city in Mindanao, this is an accomplishment that we are truly proud of. Specially with the thought that we’ve been out of the music scene for more than 10 years. The comeback and the rebirth in the digital music space has been a liberating experience for us. Because right now, the world is our audience. And the quest to connect to the right audience has been the key goal now. Music is now free to listen to. All you need is an internet connection and you are set to go. Though that doesn't mean that we are forgetting our roots. Of course to be recognized and acknowledged in your home country is also one of the things that we are working on. But it won't be that easy specially if you don't have the budget for marketing. But hey, it didn't stop us before. So we'll just have to grind it out again.

I am forever grateful to the people who had continued to join this cause with me from the beginning. Wilbert Raagas Tan, the musical force behind my songs. Thrina Dimaano Escaño, the voice that breathed life to our songs. To the various musicians that joined our cause in the past. Special mention to Adonis Donshox Gomez Berongoy, John Erickson Gloria, Doris Isador Cadayuna Bangot, who were the last incarnation of the band before we went on a long hiatus and key contributors to our second album. Of course, John Fernandez, Tim Andrew Marquez, Alvin Carreon, Nelson Jr Dychauco. They were the first reincarnation of the band that brought our songs live. Our recent collaborators, Kai Huyno and Jhapoy Perez, it was a pleasure to work with them, breathing new life to our songs. Lester, Hazel M. Lim, and Chevy Lim should also be mentioned for providing me a huge assist in some of our album artwork as well as album cover model. Chevy has been the lucky Charm as this kid is a proven winner (She's a Top Ranked Archer for our country in her age group in case you don't know). And no wonder our song Runaway Angel has been the Runaway most streamed song so far in our catalogue. And to everyone who continues to support us by listening to our songs. There are just so much of you. Approximately 10k as per Spotify😅

We are just getting started. And I can’t wait to meet new people in this journey. And hopefully to encourage them to join me in my cause. The goal to uplift wounded souls by introducing God in their life through the songs that we are writing. Rooted on our faith stories. And testimonies. I know with our current setup that I'll be meeting more artists that we can collaborate with. Thoughts And Notions is just getting bigger. It is no longer a band. For something that started as a Church Fund Raising project. It has transformed to something bigger. And I know these all would not have been possible if it did not have God's blessing and direction. So I'll just have to continue trudging that path. And let him lead me to where our songs would take us.

Here's to the road to a million streams!

Spotify link to our growing music catalogue:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6i9X1vKsBAUjGqFPmRWXgy...

We're back with a Brand New Song and a Brand New Reason!

Kai Huyno photos by Scott Tj R. Bandoquillo

After a very long hiatus, we are finally back to releasing new songs.... with a new direction! In my bid to resurrect the band, things just took a hard turn when the logistics of making it happen seems to make that plan a very difficult one to achieve. After all, the Philippines is an archipelago, and the band members live in different islands away from each other.  So I opted for a different approach. A bit different but defnitely back to the simpler times when we started our songwriting journey. As chronicled in my past entry, I've decided to go back to the roots of how Thoughts And Notions came to be. Wilbert, Thrina, and Me and our songs. This keeps things simpler in such a way that we'll just have to focus on writing songs and put them on Digital Music platforms for the moment. So Live engagements will have to take a backseat. Though I hope one day we'll be back on stage to perform to a live audience again. And yes, while this set up would work in the meantime, Thrina had to beg off in recording new songs for the moment. Because Mother duties beckons. And there's no more important thing for us than our families. So that left me and Wilbert to soldier on, with the dilemma that none of us are natural born singers. So we have to improvise.

Check out Kuya Bryan's Spotify Page

Fortunately, I've come to know Kuya Bryan, the founder of OBM Music, which stands for Original Bisaya Music. He's a prolific songwriter (not to mention that he's also a huge supporter of songwriters from Visayas and Mindanao islands) from the Queen City of the South (Cebu City) who is close to writing 100 songs in the native Visayan dialect and other languages commonly used in the Philippines. And his story and how he writes his songs inspired me in such a way that I decided to adopt his way of thinking. That is to continue writing songs and worry about the song interpreter later. (check out his songs on his Youtube Channel in this link by the way). From this thought, it opened my horizons to scout for up and coming singers that deserves a shot at having their voices heard. And just use Thoughts And Notions as a platform or a springboard for them to be heard and discovered to the multitudes of listeners in the global digital music platform. Of course this is by no means as a move to replace Thrina. Because whether she would sing again or not, she's still a vital part of Thoughts And Notions, and I personally would love to see her reclaim the vocal duties in the near future. But opening up the idea to feature new singers and artists as collaborative partners of Thoughts And Notions is something that sounds so in tune with the times when Music consumption is so much free and easier to access compared to the old times. One only needs an internet connection and you are set!

Meet Kai Huyno, the featured artist for this track

That said, the first artist that we'll be featuring with this new kind of set up is Kai Huyno. She's the daughter of Jessie Huyno, another artist that we used to do live gigs with back in the day. I've helped produce one of his songs, and I just realized now that I haven't posted it here yet😅. So a post about it should be in order soon. Apologies. But back to Kai, I discovered her doing a cover of Olivia Rodrigo's Driver's License on her defunct Youtube channel. And I kind of notice her potential. So I asked Jessie if I could launch Kai as the featured artist for our next song. Fortunately, Kai was open to doing it. That, considering that currently she has too much on her plate. And singing kinda took a backseat for her. Aside from singing as her past time, things are looking up for her in her budding Modeling career. Not to mention that she's one of the deadly spikers and blockers of her school's Volleyball Varsity Team. So getting her to sing our new song was an honor.

As for the new song, Brand New Reason. The lyrics was something I actually wrote years back. Sometime around 2007 If I am not mistaken. While there were recent new lyrics that I wrote which was intended for the band's reformation, I decided to use an old lyrics for this endeavor. I rewrote the whole lyrics of the song and transformed it to something better. Of course, finishing touches from Wilbert also was a big help. And since this will be the first song that Thrina won't be singing, I decided to change the song direction and make it sound different. Not a traditional Thoughts And Notions song that hovers mostly on the Pop/Rock genre. This is a straight up Pop song. A bit lo-fi with sparse instruments. I guess we just wanted to highlight Kai's unique vocal quality in contrast to Thrina's power vocals. It also does not help that as we grew older, our peers started to veer away from Rock Music. And this is partly an acquiesce to their comments. Not my regular cup of tea, but definitely loving the different vibe it brings. Oh I guess, what a way to relaunch Thoughts And Notions with a new song like this. Something that you've never heard of from our past catalogue. Would definitely love to work with Kai in the future. I'll just have to start writing new lyrics again.  

So without much further adieu, let me share to you our Brand New Song. Our Brand New Reason!

Stream the song on the following links:

https://bfan.link/brand-new-reason

We've got a Brand New Reason to keep this thing going! Hoping that you'll join us for this rebirth of some sort😇

It's been so long but here's some quick updates!

 

Just some quick updates! (well collated from our more updated Facebook Page that you might want to give a like and follow to interact with us as well as get up to date updates. It seems people are more into Facebook now than reading blogs? 😅)

We've finally hit 500 followers (well that took a bit more time don't you think?)

We were pleasantly surprised that we’ve gained 200 plus followers last July 20,2022 to propel us over the 500 followers mark. We are now being followed by 680 users on Spotify! Even more reason to write new songs and release them the soonest!  We are officially on the road to 1,000 followers, and we are hoping to reach more listeners who we hope could find some positive stories from our songs!😊

Meanwhile, Thank You to our 2,192 Listeners this July! This means so much to us. So just hold on a bit, more songs coming in towards the end of the year. 😊

As for out albums, here's some numbers that finally broke the 100k streaming mark for these releases!

The first ever album that we wrote/composed/recorded was this album. Which was originally intended to be a fundraising project for our Church's Music Ministry. There was no intention to release it outside our Church's confines. But things just got bigger and bigger when Praise Music offered us a contract to distribute the album Nationwide in CD Format. That was May 1, 2006. If I remember it right, we sold 500 CD's on the first few months. And I lost track how many were sold all in all. 

*Full Story can be found in our Band's Blog Page: 

https://thoughtsandnotions2013.blogspot.com/2021/10/a-retelling-of-our-origin-story.html

On October 29, 2021, we finally released the whole album in Digital Music Format. With Spotify as the most common source for the Digital Music streams for this album. Just last weekend, the album finally breached 100,000 streams. It's not as big as a million. But for the people who lent us their ears in listening to the songs in this album, we are grateful for making our songs a part of your lives.

It was an amazing journey for three individuals, Thrina (Vocals), Wilbert (songwriter/sound engineer), and me. To get it to a point that we started in a little city in Cagayan de Oro some 17 years ago. And now to have it heard in a global scale albeit in Digital Music Format. I guess we are blessed to have been able to preserve the songs and our Faith Stories in this album. Thank God for all the guidance thru all those years! And of course to all of you!

Our story has just began in this new Digital Age. We hope you'll be here in the coming months and years to come! Still, we proclaim, to God be the Greater Glory!

Stream the whole album here in case you still haven't😅   

 https://open.spotify.com/album/5v5BHdLYKY8BfKGv6O71Xq?si=MdMs8IRBRE61WoZoWMUoFw

P.S.

We think an update for this album is really due. 😅

On the other hand, our sophomore album (released on Digital Music Platforms last March 2022) finally breached the 100,000 streams mark yesterday. Unlike our debut album, this album was something that we never thought would see the light of day. Originally released in 2009 independently, and produced using CD-Rs and DIY packaging, the album never had a formal nationwide release as the band took a hiatus after being nominated in the prestigious NU 107 Rock Awards. There was a formal contract offered to us for Nationwide Distribution by a label, but we never pursued it when we disbanded. So to release it Digitally and in a more global scale, this milestone is truly something that we treasure. Specially when we thought the story and the songs of Thoughts And Notions would die with it. 

That said, we are very honored and thankful to the listeners of not just this album, but to all of our songs as well. We have always felt that this album marked an improvement to our overall sound. And getting it released this year for the people to listen to it is already a huge accomplishment. When we decided to return, we always had this sense of loss because we lost all of our fans and followers back then after more than 10 years away from the spotlight. But to gain more and in a global scale as we started to rebuild again, you all are truly a blessing to us.

And as we look forward to the road ahead, we would like to quote our main vocalist Thrina Dimaano Escaño's haunting singing/wailing of our song "Arise" which is track one of this album. 

 " I will NEVER give up..........."  

Thank You from the deepest recesses of our collective hearts!

Stream our second album on this link if you still haven't🙂:

https://open.spotify.com/album/26LyTJ3c4GFpFwIfuARtw0?si=cHDF6jp6RkqXlMtdL6UmvQ

And the most streamed single we currently have...just made it as our first 100k streamed song! Runaway Angel continues to be well accepted by Finland and the United States, growing to be the places where the song is getting most of its streams. This song was the song that gave us a nomination in the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards from the now defunct premier Rock Radio station in the Philippines, NU 107, some long long time ago. And it is getting so much love in this Digital Music version. 

Full Story: https://thoughtsandnotions2013.blogspot.com/2009/11/nu-rock-awards.html

Streamed it again here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3E6ElgY2j4HWPzzcpL1My2?si=Ux2yie7bR5usT0QaCIrm7g

As always, we thank you for all your support. And we are hoping we are all in this together for the long haul…. on to the first million streams?😅

Thoughts And Notions just made it into the inner Top 100,000 Artist rankings on Chartmetric!

A little bit of good news came our way!

Chartmetric Monitors your song's Digital Music Profile all across Digital Music Apps. We've been using this in the past month to monitor our progress and today we are shocked to find out that we zoomed 600K places up to make it to the top 96,570th spot on the worldwide Digital Music Space. This is the highest gain we got thus far! Getting the number 1 spot is still a long way to go. But we are happy for this gain. Now it is back to work to get our music freely being streamed in the digital music space. Thank God for these small victories as we continue to do the work in sharing Positive Christian Music to the willing listeners out there.

The Story behind the Repentance Lyric Video

Since it is the season of Lent, I think it is about right that I talk about the backstory of why I decided to produce this Lyric Video. But let me share first about the story of how I wrote the lyrics and the inspiration for it. Of all the lyrics that I have written, personally this one stands out for me in terms of writing a very personal and introspective song about Jesus Christ. Visually, I borrowed heavily from the scenes of the movie The Passion of the Christ. Which was very controversial back in the day when it was released in movie theaters. And you could really see how bloody it was for Jesus. And seeing his suffering, it just hit me so hard that I became so angry at myself. Thus, I wrote this very personal song for Jesus. Back then, when I wrote the lyrics of this song, I visualized myself as being present on the day Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. I internalized the visuals that went through my mind and penned a personal message to Jesus. With Wilbert's assistance, he composed the sound structure of the song according to the emotions that I felt in each word and sentences written in the lyrics. Thrina then supplied the vocalization to the best of her abilities. Well, you might be wondering why such an introspective song turned out to be on the heavy side of Rock Music. It was personally designed that way by me because I was experiencing a bevy of emotions while writing the lyrics. There was part remorse, part anger, part realization, and just the pure desire to repent. So you could see the build up of the music from a semblance of introspective solemnity thru the light guitar strums and the hums. Then as the realization hit me of how a fool I was for drowning in sin, you would hear the heavy rock music of the angry guitars and the drum beats. And then when the decision to repent is finally made, you would hear the softening of the guitars until the outro. I think the way the music was composed might not be palatable to those who are looking for a more solemn song for the theme of Repentance and remorse. There are a lot of solemn and ballad type of songs with similar themes that I used to sing and make me cry. But I think for me in writing this song, the anger of being in the bondage of sin was very strong in me. Especially when I visualized the violent suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. It really hit that hard. I guess I needed to let go of that anger to truly find healing within me. So writing this song was in a way very cathartic for me.  

Now as for the Lyric Video. The back story of the production of this was, I was looking for ways how in my own little ways that I could contribute to something during this season of Lent. I have been planning for this since January and timed the release of our second album's carrier single "Beloved Savior" weeks before the Holy Week begins. But I wasn't confident enough that the song could be used as an instrument to reach many listeners. Or make it to a bigger Spotify Editorial Playlist and reach as many random Spotify listeners as it could. So I decided to do other things like this Lyric Video instead. Then in the middle of finalizing the video, I suddenly received a message from our Digital Distributor that our song Beloved Savior made it to Spotify's New Music Friday Editorial Playlist. So it totally came in as a shock to me. Because the moment (to have our song reach a lot of listeners this Lenten Season) that I have been hoping and praying for suddenly came to fruition. Truly, Divine intervention happened. And it was by God's design and his plan to grant my prayer and use one of our songs as his instrument to touch people's lives. So as this happened, I still continued to pursue the Lyric Video and was determined to finish it nevertheless. So here it is in its entirety. This is just a little testimony of how I encountered God's mysterious plans for me. All I know is that my heart is truly dedicated in the mission to share God's Love to as much willing listeners as I can. God knows about that. It is my commitment to him. And that is the only motivation that I have why I decided to pursue this Music Ministry that I started since 2005.

This Lenten season, we would like to share this song to everyone and appeal for everyone to repent from our sins and embrace Jesus Christ in our life. Let us be reminded of how he died for us to save us from our sins. How his sacrifice should not be in vain. Because when he died for us, he knew that we would rally behind him and find salvation in him. His life was precious. God's only begotten son. But our life is precious too and worth saving.  

This is the story of the song called REPENTANCE.

Beloved Savior makes it to Spotify's New Music Friday Philippines Playlist!

Last March 24, I received a text message from our Digital Music Distributor. It was a message of congratulations. Bearing news that our hand picked carrier single for our second album's digital music release have been added to the much coveted Spotify's New Music Friday Philippines playlist. I was pretty much in shock and surprised that the song Beloved Savior made it. This was the fourth time that we pitched a song for the playlist's inclusion and the previous three tries did not make it. So I didn't expect for any of our songs to make it there. I did my research and I found out that most songs that makes it to the playlist were songs that were backed by huge Record Labels. And mostly, what is being featured are mainstream and secular Pop songs by mainstream artists. So landing on the playlist was some sort of a miracle for us. To which I believe that it was by God's design. Because weeks before the album's release, I was already planning to release a song that would be relevant for the Lenten Season. I wanted to remind people in whatever way that I can of God's presence in their lives. And as an independent Christian Contemporary Band, it would be undoubtedly hard to be able to share our songs to an audience most specially that our long hiatus made us lose most of our listeners back in the day. Just a day before the album was released, I even talked about how I was hoping that we could find new listeners and followers now that we are releasing our songs online. So it was like God heard my prayer about having an audience to listen to our songs again.

The original Lyric Card and Sticker that was packaged with our Second Album's CD Release

Beloved Savior was actually a song that I did not wrote. It was written by our drummer, Adonis Berongoy, long before he joined our band. As part of their Church's Music Ministry, he composed an original song and sang it in his Church. Recording it was not even part of the plan. But when Adonis joined the band and as we were finalizing the song line up for the second album, he contributed the song to us. As the Chief Lyricist of Thoughts And Notions, I was always adamant that our album should have at least one Praise and Worship track. And in the process of finalizing the songs for the second album, I told the band that they should also contribute songs for the album as I wanted to showcase their songwriting talents too. And Beloved Savior was a perfect Praise and Worship track for the album. Wilbert was also very instrumental in contributing to the final sound of the song. As the stripped down acoustic composition of Adonis was further enhanced by Wilbert's additional work in giving the song its final sound. Even back in the day, we always valued the song. In fact, when we previously released the album in CD format, we included a pocket sized lyric card that printed the lyrics of the song. The idea was that for those who were able to purchase the album, it would be easier for them to bring the lyric card with them and used it as something like a prayer card that they could put in their pocket and carry along. We wanted Beloved Savior to be more than just a song. But a Praise and Worship prayer too. Or a Love Letter to God. That one can read/use to honor God on a day to day basis. So when I asked Thrina which song should be the carrier single for the second album's digital music release, her handpicked choice was Beloved Savior.

Getting on the playlist was a huge opportunity for us to be discovered by more listeners as our listener base jumped from 800 plus to 2,000 plus listeners the moment the song made it to the playlist. It was like an answered prayer to the things that I was wondering just a day before the album's release. It also heartened me when I saw a sharp increase of people saving and putting our songs on their personal playlists during the time the song was put on the New Music Friday Philippines playlist. I really appreciated it that the song was making a dent in one way or another as the Lenten Season was in full swing. So it was really some sort of a divine intervention for God to work his wonders again. I mean, from the moment I decided to revive Thoughts And Notions on the digital music space, I offered everything to God and just stayed faithful to the mission and vision that I made for the band. And that is to share God's Amazing Love and help uplift wounded souls in need of God's grace and healing. That remained true now as it remained true back then. God is in complete command in everything that I do for Thoughts And Notions. And I always ask for his discernment in every step that I take this time around. 

The Text Message that I received from our Digital Distributor

After a week, Beloved Savior disappeared on the playlist. As New Music Friday Philippines is updated every Fridays weekly. So what's next? Spotify usually adds some of the well engaged (streamed/saved/playlisted) songs to their other genre specific Editorial Playlists. Right now, I don't know if the song would be placed in another Editorial Playlist. Will I receive another text message form our Digital Distributor? But either way, it served its purpose. I would want it to reach more listeners. But like always, I trust God to take control of our songs and use it according to his wishes. I'm just so thankful and blessed that from March 24 to March 31, he was able to use it to touch the hearts of the listeners of the New Music Friday Philippines Playlist. What comes next will all be up to him. And like what I always say, even if we don't reach One Million Listeners, as long as our song was able to touch that one lost soul and bring that someone back to God, then everything was well worth it. 

Beloved Savior appeared at Number 76

You can still stream/listen to our entire album by accessing these links below. And, if you could save our songs and add it to your playlists and share it too. We'd really appreciate it if you could be part of our mission to share God's Love through our songs. Maybe we can reach that one person in need of God's Love 😇

Spotify:

    

Youtube:

As always, to God's Greater Glory!!! 

Thoughts And Notions: Love, Faith, Hope, Redemption. A Retrospective!

I haven't found much time updating this blog in the past month. Been busy with promoting our songs on the Social Media landscape as our Debut Album's digital music release and the succeeding singles that I released (which is also part of this upcoming album) were taking too much of my time. I still have a lot of backlog stories to share, currently on draft. These were stories mostly from 2006-2007 which I wasn't able to upload in this blog. I used to frequent the defunct Social Media site Friendster before, but then lost all of my blog when it shut down. So I'm currently reconstructing those stories and transfer it here in this blog. But I guess those will have to take a momentary backseat in favor of the upcoming release of our sophomore album, which happens to be released tomorrow by the way. So this blog entry will be a retrospective on the lead up to the recording and the production of the sophomore album. Though you can read the very old stories of our journey right here in this blog too. The lead up to the release can be read here. CD Packaging concept, which I carefully planned to incorporate a more environmental friendly product can be read here. A store SKU promo display which I personally made can be found here. And lastly an early review of the album which can be read here. So now, let's get to the retrospective.

For those who are familiar with our origin story, Thoughts And Notions was really an unplanned project beyond the confines of our Church. It was just our way of contributing to our Church's fundraising project, as well as my personal therapy from a heartbreak that I was nursing. But then God had other plans for us. Praise Music signed us to a contract and asked us to form a band so that we could further promote our music to a live audience. This we did as we pursued in making sure that our songs would be heard by a larger audience. So as the debut album was released (which you can now hear on Digital Music apps like Spotify and Youtube by the way), we spent more time honing our skills to prepare us in bringing our songs to a live audience. But beyond a couple of mall shows and album launching, we basically operated as an independent band. We played in small shows to build our reputation as a legitimate live gigging band playing original and cover music. As well as playing as support front acts to various popular bands and artists that visited Cagayan de Oro City where we were based. And like every other bands out there, we endured numerous line up changes as some moved on from the band. It probably took us a year or so before we finally settled as to who would be the personnel behind the band. Of course, the music and sound behind the debut album was a solo effort by my songwriting partner Wilbert Tan. And the arrival of new band personnel would mean that I will have a host of new musicians who could help bring a new sound to my lyrics. So basically, the follow up album would mean a newer sound of different varities, and a more youthful sound overall. 

That one time we had Wilbert join us on stage for our Anniversary Concert

But this does not mean a complete departure from Wilbert's influences. He is still the main arranger and the final mixing and mastering still went through his hands before the songs is fully finished after the band recorded it. The debut album was mixed and mastered by a still developing Wilbert, and some improvements had to be made for the sophomore album. Thank God though, Wilbert was more experienced this time around as his stay in Manila would further train him to hone his skills after serving stints with various bands of different musical styles. His stay with Drizzle, an acoustic/pop/alternative band, as the lead guitarist would train him to have more pop sensibilities to his ear. Serving as the lead guitarist to Ram Chavez's Band, an Original Pilipino Music friendly alternative rock sounding band, would also train him to find a more Filipino flavor to his sound. And as part of the Industrial Rock duo Switch, his influences on Alternative Rock music would marry with the Synth Rock laden music of Switch. This is on top of his various musical influences that trained him to become one of the most prolific but underrated songwriter from Cagayan de Oro. For this sophomore album, he would be responsible for the music and sound of six songs in this album. Namely Runaway Angel, When, Like A Child, A Promise (which by the way was a solo effort by Wilbert), Like Heaven, Pagsapit ng Panahon, and a collaboration with the entire band in the song called Stronger, Higher, Further. His newfound influences are littered all over the aforementioned songs.  

Thrina's Vocal Recording for the second album

Thrina meanwhile had also started to hone her vocal work in the lead up to the recording of the album because by this time, she was already exposed to singing solo more to a live audience rather than as part of our Church's choir. The debut album was really her baptism of fire as a recording vocalist. And her inexpreience I guess were evident in some of the songs. So the live singing experience with a band prepared her in such a way that she now had more chemistry with a band rather than doing vocal work through a pre-recorded finished song. I'd probably say that she's not perfect when compared to more established artists but the improvement from the debut album is clearly seen. And I have always believed that our sophomore album clearly had a lot of potential as the song Runaway Angel was even picked up by NU 107, Philippine's biggest Rock Music station back then, and got us nominated for College Band of the Year. Of course we didn't win that award. But to be nominated was already a feat, specially considering that we came from a far flung city in Mindanao. Thoughts And Notions is basically Thrina's journey and development as a vocalist. So whatever you hear from Thoughts And Notions is basically a snapshot of a bygone era of how someone got dragged along to sing for a recorded album, and never thought the songs that were recorded would ever travel outside the confines of the Church that she was singing to. Of course these recordings were some 10 years ago or so. And we are plotting to release one more album of songs that we hope could feature Thrina's familiar vocals once more. And that is with two kids later. So how would an older Thrina sound like?      

Thoughts And Notions line up that recorded our sophomore album

As for the rest of the band members, Adonis Berongoy (drummer), John Erickson Gloria (guitarist), and Doris Bangot (bass/backing vocals). The sophomore album was their debut in the recording circuit. I took them in and exposed them to the world of recording. And their contributions as part of Thoughts And Notions is forever engraved in the band's history. I had some very productive collaborations with the band in the songs Arise (to which the composition of the sound was a band effort). Safer in My Heart (a collaboration with Adonis Berongoy), as well as giving them their own showcase of the songs that they wrote and composed in the songs Cloudy Day (Erickson/Adonis), Beloved Savior (Adonis), which was a favorite in Adonis' Church before he contributed the song for our sophomore album. I have also handpicked the song Beloved Savior as the carrier single for this album's Digital Music Release. Even back in the day, this song was the band's favorite because not only is it a Praise and Worship song, but the entire band also felt that everyone was at their best and was greatly inspired to record the song as our way of honoring God and giving him thanks for the talents that he gave us as well as all the blessing that he showered us with in the lead up to the recordings. Post Thoughts And Notions, the three of them (along with Thrina) would form their own respective bands and further explore the other facets of their talents. And they would earn even more accolades in the local music scene in Cagayan de Oro. But as for this moment, we are also working on some new songs. Exploring the possibilities of coming up with a follow up album. Though distance and work demands might be too much a challenge to make things work again, most specially that some have moved on to explore their respective musical passions. But it will probably push through with God's blessing.

Self-Made Shelf Display as our album is being sold at one of the record bars in CDO 

Originally, the album was released simply as a self-titled album on CD format. Simply Thoughts And Notions. But for this digital release, I wanted to change things up. There was actually an alternative title for it. And that's what I'm using now. Naming the album as Love, Faith, Hope, Redemption. I feel that this is a much better suited title for this Digital Music release. Back then, I wanted to move away from wordy titles as the Debut album had a wordy title. It was also a debut of some sort for the band. So Thoughts And Notions was I think the better choice. It was also a safer choice when the album gets picked up by the mainstream audience. Somehow, Christian Contemporary Music is not yet that well accepted in the Philippines. So that was part of the challenge back then. But now, I think making those decisions was a mistake. Because we never should be ashamed of our Christian Faith. I know it was made with a "marketing" mindset. Especially for us who operated as an independent band treading the lines between mainstream independent music and Christian Contemporary Music. The thing was, the first album sounded very Christian Contemporary. This second one veered away a bit from it. Though it was made with a strategic decision in mind. However, every Thoughts And Notions album will always come with a Praise and Worship track. That is an uncompromisable stance that I choose and will continue to choose. That is non-negotiable when it comes to releasing an album done by Thoughts And Notions. I feel this second album was the best that we have ever done at that point. For one, to be nominated in a prestigious national award giving body was something we never thought of. Secondly, there was already one recording company that was ready to offer us a distribution contract for the second album. All it took was my signature to finish the deal. But then we went our separate ways. Maybe because we all had some growing up to do. Or maybe it wasn't part of God's plan anymore. To this day, I really felt it was a missed opportunity for us. But we can never go back in time and try to undo some mistakes. All we can do is to learn from it and move forward with the lessons. I even thought that was totally the end of Thoughts And Notions. Until God nudged me back to this Music Ministry.

The Original Environment Friendly Album Packaging as designed by Jenipur Wapano

This is the last Thoughts And Notions album under my possession. And finally, it will see the light of day through its availability in various Digital Music Apps. I'm anxious if this could still be appreciated by our listeners who already grew older and have moved on to other musical tastes. I'd say we've lost a fan base that really supported us from the beginning. We've been hibernating for so long that I don't know where to find them. But this digital music beginning is bringing us new fans and listeners nevertheless. And I'm praying and hoping as this album gets released, we'd be appreciated by a new generation of audience who continues to seek positive Christian Music to help them get by. And with this, let us share again the story of God's LOVE. Let us continue to grow our FAITH in him, no matter the circumstances that we are in. Let us HOPE that there will always be a brighter tomorrow. And finally, let us find the REDEMPTION that we so deserve after holding on to God's Promise, and putting our entire TRUST in him.

Pre-Save our album now by clicking the link below:

https://bfan.link/love-faith-hope-redemption

And for those who are joining us in our new journey to share our music in the Digital Music Space, thank you for your continued support. We hope that our songs would mean something to you. As it used to have to those who fully supported us back then.