New year, January 11, 2010
Unbelievable, how time just flies by.
To my Musikero 100 friends, I hope you’ve received the email. I’ll see you on Friday.
More thoughts on M100 and what it is:
My sister, Minette, is home-schooled now. She’s turning 16, and has decided to take on this less-travelled path. I am proud of her, and her desire to find her unique self, despite many self-doubts and difficulties. She is obviously a right-brain oriented person, leaning more towards artistry rather than numbers. In math, she suffered the same burdens as I did in high school. I may have been in the honors course, but my math level was definitely not at par with the rest. I struggled to keep up, and pretended to understand many topics when I actually didn’t, just to keep pace. Once, I was caught cheating by my 1st year math teacher, and I was shamed and confused. Luckily, my teacher met with myself and my mom, and she realized that I wasn’t really that bad a person. I knew she saw through me, that I wasn’t trying to be a cheater. I was just trying to pass.
Years later, I realized that I was good at math. I was just slow at it. My brain just asked too many questions. I wanted to see many angles of the same equation. My brain didn’t like memorizing formulas. It likes understanding them.
Back to Minette. She is now in a stage where she actually believes that she is not smart, at least not with numbers. And no amount of reassurance from her “kuya” can convince her otherwise. It’s frustrating, it’s heartbreaking, and most unfortunately, it’s NOT true.
I see intelligence in people, or the lack of it. I know when there’s not too much activity in between the ears of people. I also know when there is a fire of intelligence and passion, just by looking through the eyes. Minette is smarter than she thinks, or what her grades have implied. The Chinese have a firm belief in the old adage: “No such thing as bad student, just bad teacher.” Of course, I’m certainly not blaming her past teachers for her shortcomings. I’m saying that the only way that Minette can ever find her fire is if it is fuelled by PROPER instruction, that is designed to make sense to the right-brain person that she is.
Why is this connected to Musikero100?
I am retiring from showbusiness. But to my competitors, don’t get too excited. I’m still going to sing, and do shows. And I will still do Sabado Boys. I just don’t want to do this for a living anymore. I don’t want to do albums to earn money, or to do shows just to reach a quota. It kills my love for music. It makes it tedious, and boring, and heavy.
As a back-up plan, I have invested in Boracay, as some of you may know. I have developed a condominium there, in station 3, on a beautiful mountain overlooking the island paradise. 10 studio-type units and 2 villas. Beautiful and elegant. But that’s another story . .(if you're really curious, just go to www.boracaybellemontsuites.blogspot.com)
I shared that with you so that you won’t worry about me or my money. I was smart enough to invest in real estate, and I am surrounded by even smarter family members who believed in my Boracay dream.
I am going to make music that teaches. This is the kind of music I’ve always written, but these songs don’t make it to radio, because they say it’s not for “public consumption”.
And I agree, in a way. If I were the president of a record label, why the hell would I release an album that will cater to only 1% of the buying market? Ano ko, tanga?
MUSIKERO100 is an indie label. It’s independent. And the only source of money is its members. Every album is assured of at least a sale of 1000 pieces. That’s good enough to afford the album, plus it’s almost certain that most buyers will like/love the album. Because these M100 members have been supporters from the past. These members know that I have a song called “Balang-Araw Minette.” These people know my heart.
Back to Minette. Home-schooling doesn’t mean “no teachers.” It means “learn at your own pace, and your family should spend time with you and teach you.”
I am retiring from “needing” showbusiness because of this too. Because I am Minette’s teacher. Yes, even in Math. Poor girl? Hehe maybe.. But the instruction takes up half my day, which I used to spend sleeping and writing songs. But.. Life changes, and this is how it has changed for me. I’m glad to do it. I love to do it, and I love my sister. Nothing bad will happen to her on my watch. I don’t mind giving her half my life. Who knows, maybe one day, she’ll give me a kidney.
Thus,I have put together the Musikero100. Because I am still, as I will forever be, a musician. I can finally say "no" (very politely, of course)to tv guestings that I would rather not do, or stop going to parties of rich sponsors just to kiss the asses of the big boss. I shall write more. I shall sing more. No longer for profit, but for truth. Ballads, funny, satirical songs, alternative,rock, pop – you name it. But I will finally do it on my own terms.
My biggest hit was an indie release. And I’ve never topped the success of that anyway. So, in a way, I am not really changing my life. I’m just going back to how it used to be. Music for music’s sake, and spending time with my family.
See you all on January 15! I am happy this way, and I wish you all the same freedom and happiness.
