And so we're moving to new beginnings

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June 11, 2006
Sunday

It's been months since my best-friend/former Half Life Half Death bandmate Rain Paggao (who's in the Philippines) and I thought of collaborating via the Internet to produce an album. Encouraged by friends and inspired by the band The Postal Service, whose members--Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel and Figurine--despite living states apart--were able to finish an album by exchanging musical files via postal mail...

Rain and I finally started our musical project.

I and Rain (seated, middle) with the rest of the original members of Half Life Half Death (Joel Reyes, bass; Jonathan Mejino, drummer; and Edmund Villafuerte, keyboards) in 1988

Rain will record most of the music in his home studio, while I lay down the vocal tracks as well as add keyboard melodies with the help of friends here in Canada who also have recording studios at their homes.

Rain and I hope soon to come up with an album of New Wave covers and new original compositions.

Rain and I, in 1991

I've also begun designing possible CD cover sleeves, another productive use of my time and creativity.

We'll prove that, despite distance, music will always have the power to draw friends together.

Our first try...
"More to Lose" by the obscure '80s New Wave band known as Seona Dancing.

Rain recorded the guitar tracks of this particular song in his home studio in the Philippines, as part of his recently finished album Girl in Mind (independent, 2006) under the moniker The Rain (with his brother, JB, doing the vocal chores).

Then, yesterday, with the help of my friend Jason Paredes, who also has a home recording studio here in Canada, I added various keyboard melodies as well as laid down vocal tracks. Using a recording software, with Jason's assistance, I rendered a draft mix of a 'Classical version' of "More to Lose." Click this to hear it.