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Meet EJ Lebrilla, Jay Aballe, and Joel Diche, collectively known as the B-Boys, the grand prize winners of the first ever Greenwich UltimateBandkada search. Along with the honor, come PHP100,000 in prize money as well as a recording contract from Viva Records.
After six long months, B-Boys emerged as the winner of this not-so-typical battle-of-the-bands contest. Apart from proving they can seamlessly mash genres up, B-Boys along with 7 other finalists, were sent to a bootcamp where they received Grade A training from Flipmusic’s Pow Chavez, Freestyle’s Top Suzara, EDM practioner Kio Priest, and recording execs from Viva.
We caught up with B-Boys to ask about what they’re going to do with the PHP100,000 prize money. Nah, just kidding. We asked them about what it’s like being in a band these days, when genres are all mixed-up and bands are no longer just limited to alternative music.
In another interview you mentioned, kayo lang yung acoustic so may problema sa tunog. What do you mean by that?
We thought of ourselves as the underdogs, because we only had the sound of the guitar and the electric drums to complement the vocals so, before every performance we had to make it clear to our audience what genre we we’re performing. It wasn’t an easy task given the different genres we had to mash up.
Do you guys write your own music? And what or who is the inspiration behind it?
Yes, we do. Our family’s our inspiration behind our music and success, as with all other artist and performers.
What’s the biggest challenge your band has ever had to face?
Definitely the Ultimate bandkada challenge! During the finals we were all shaking, kasi kinakabahan na kami. And then there’s the pressure of writing songs, we had to make sure na papatok sa masa!
You guys have just been in a band for three months before joining this search. Did it get to the point when your band almost fell apart, pressure and all?
Luckily no, it has never gotten to that point yet. We have hard times and misunderstadings but, we talk about it as a group and resolve it quickly, we try not to let pressure get in the way of our friendship.
During rehearsals, who’s always late or pasaway?
We think.. ‘di naman maiiwasan yung accidents? And we all have our fair share of trouble sometimes, but we make up for it during practice.
Pow Chavez said that each band must have a style and a brand. Have you found yours yet?
Yes. We are just keeping it real. Our music is pretty much our personalities: chill and suave but still with an impact.
Who among the judges can you say was the thorn on your neck?
It would have to be Viva Records’ Executive Vice President Ms. MG Mozo. And galing talaga makinig si Ms. MG. [She can tell] kung maganda yung song o hindi, even before pa our sessions. She along with Sir Civ, kasi we think, they’re musical geniuses.
Okay what would you like to say for young hopefuls?
Ahh… practice a lot! Try lang nang try, wala namang mawawala. Just be humble and trust in your bandmates and of course, God. Get rid of the negative attitude. Treat your as if they’re your siblings. Ang ganda nang tugtugan hindi binabase sa galing ng drummer, gitarista o kung sino mang myembro; it’s the overall sound of the music your band makes.
