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By Paul John Caña, Contributor
There was a huge downpour Saturday night. But
inside Club Dredd in Eastwood City, Libis, equally heavy “fire”
was raining down on the beer-guzzling audience.
And everyone was clearly loving it. London-based
band Firefalldown were showing off their punk ‘n funk style
meanderings that recalled seminal groups like P.O.T., The Red Hot
Chili Peppers and Incubus, and for an unheralded three-piece from
out of town that barely anyone in these parts have heard about, the
applause and hoots of approval from an audience that included
staples from Manila’s own rock scene was encouraging. Guitarist
and vocalist Jon Blaylock, drummer Andrew Hodgson and bassist Joel
Sablayan are in town for a whirlwind two-week tour that have seen
them play at all the usual rock hotspots around town, and I was
lucky enough to have caught up with them a couple of days earlier.
The Manila Times: So who’s going tell the
story of how you guys got together?
Andrew Hodgson: Our story began with Joel and I.
We met in church, where we played music in the same church service
back in London. That’s how hard rocking we are. We met Jon after
and we realized we loved the same type of music and we started
jamming. This was around 2006.
TMT: For those who have no idea what you
guys sound like, how would you describe your music? Who are your
influences?
Jon Blaylock: It’s rock, and there’s a bit
of punk in there. A bit of soul and some funk. Influences? There’s
Red Hot Chili Peppers, P.O.T., Blink 182, NoFX and Incubus.
TMT: So what brought you guys all the way
here in Manila from London?
JB: The reason that we initially wanted
to come back was to shoot a music video for one of our songs. One of
my friends has a video production studio and we were band mates for
a very long time here in Manila. So we wanted to come back to shoot
the video here because obviously it’s more expensive to do it in
London. But then, since we were coming back anyway, a friend said,
“why don’t you do a couple of gigs?” That eventually turned
into an all-out tour.
TMT: But what made you fly to London in
the first place?
AH: We all have different stories.
Joel Sablayan: I came to London as a
nurse. But before that I was playing in a show band back here in
Manila. I’m still a nurse, but we’re still working on that.
Eventually, I hope to give that up and focus on our music. But right
now, I can’t quit my day job yet.
AH: I came from Cape Town in South
Africa. I went to London after finishing my studies. I wanted to get
a job so I figured I might as well go abroad and try it out. I
checked out the music scene, and started playing with a band. I’ve
played in about three or four other bands before I met these guys.
TMT: I bet you didn’t expect to come
all the way over here.
AH: No, definitely not. But that’s the
great thing about London. It’s a melting pot of different
cultures. Everyone’s there.
TMT: And you, Jon?
JB: I wanted to finish school. I went to
an international school here in Manila. And you can’t finish the
degree here; you had to go to an affiliate school abroad. And so I
chose London. I was into music already. But I wanted to learn more
about music. I was taking up a business and marketing degree. After
that I took a guitar performance course in London. I’m just about
to finish. And I took a post-graduate music business course.
JS: So this is basically just a school
project. (Laughter)
TMT: How’d you come up with the name
Firefalldown?
AH: It took a while before we settled on
a name.
JB: There was one name that some people
really, really wanted called Blades Death Poetry.
AH: But it didn’t exactly roll off the
tongue.
JS: I originally wanted to be called
Vatican Assassins.
TMT: That would’ve really caught
people’s attention.
AH: Yeah, it would’ve.
JB: Firefalldown, to me kasi it really
conveys…inspiring people and motivating them to reach out, to let
them know that they’re alive and convince them that there’s more
to life. To me it conveys passion. And that’s what we’re about.
JS: We want to start a revolution.
AH: The fire is like a purging fire, like
a soul fire.
TMT: You guys have an album out?
JB: We have a four-track EP with a bonus
track.
JS: But the thing is, we’re realizing
that the music industry is changing. And we’re exploring other
avenues in terms of distributing our music. An album is probably the
logical step forward, but it might not be the most practical way of
doing it.
AH: We’ll see what happens
JB: But the one thing that we’re
decided on is that we want to do as much as we can on our own.
TMT: That means you’re not going be
signed to a label?
JB: Not in the near future. I don’t
think it’s a smart move—for now.
TMT: So why do you think should people
come out to see you?
JB: I think we put on a pretty good show.
JS: And people should see Jon’s biceps.
(Laughter)
JB: One good thing about our show is that
we try to balance catchiness and sophistication. So there’s
something for both musician and your average listener.
AH: Our originals, you wouldn’t say
that we sound like this or that band, that we sound like Incubus or
RHCP. We sound like Firefalldown.
JS: And they should see us because it’s
boring to play when there’s like only three of you in the club. So
bring your friends!
Check out Firefalldown’s music as well as
their remaining gig skeds here in Manila at www.myspace.com/firefalldownmusic
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