Mano-a-Mano With Paranoid City: Part 3 - Seoul-Searching

09/15/2016 12:46:04 AM

From the previous experiences, we go to the a bit of the future, their upcoming Seoul-searching. They are scheduled to play at the all-indie Zandari Festa this coming October 1 as part of their 3-gig sojourn.

SlickMaster: There's an upcoming gig in Seoul. What are the details behind it?

8-Bit: To clarify, we were invited in this year's Zandari Festa, it's like the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) sa Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea. When I went there last April, alam yun ng kapatid ko, kasi frequent visitor siya sa Korea eh. Sabi nya “Sana September ka pumunta.' Sabi ko naman, “Bakit?” Sagot niya, “May festival dito eh.” Sabi ko yun pala yun. When I went home, I immediately applied for it.

4Track: And take note, tong Zandar Festa, hindi to K-Pop. Indie talaga. So ang saya.

8-Bit: It's the closest to SXSW sa Pilipinas. So nag-apply kami. Tapos nagtext na lang si Cris Ramos, yung manager namin. “Guys. Shit just got real.” Yun na yun. It's a showcase festival. Hindi siya financially compensated.

4Track: I remember si Japo was telling us, “I know guys you'll be angry at me, another gastos na naman 'to. But look into the brighter side. We'll be performing another international gig again.”

SlickMaster: So muntik pa kayong mag-away nun?

4Track: Hindi naman. Natawa na lang kami. Parang “Dude, another gastos. I need to sell some stuff.”

8-Bit: I asked them repeatedly. It all boils down to the question “How bad do you want that?” Kasi kung hindi naman gusto yun, we can easily shrug it off eh. Wala tayong pera, huwag tayong tumuloy. Eh kaso gusto rin naming lahat, na parang ganun kami kasiraulo.

SlickMaster: How did you guys know you were playing there?

8-Bit: We knew about it by July. The officially released it on first day of August. So parang di naman namin in-anounce. Baka mabati o mawala pa invitation?

Screencap of Just Like The Movies from YouTube

SlickMaster: Since then, ano pa ba ang ginawa niyong preparation prior to the gig itself?

4Track: Yung music video. (Pertaining to their latest single Just Like The Movies)

8-Bit: Basically, when we go abroad, sinusunog talaga kaluluwa namin sa stage eh. As in talaga itatapon namin.

4Track: As in literal 201 percent

8-Bit: Parang Olympics yun Eh. Kumbaga, dala mo yung Pilipinas. Ayaw namin mapahiya ang Pilipinas. We wanna put out a good word sa bansa natin.

SlickMaster: Pinoy Pride ba kung Pinoy Pride?

8-Bit: Oo, may masamang Pinoy Pride, pero may maganda rin naman. Yung iba kasi, kapag sinabing Pinoy Pride, masama na kagad kahit hindi naman. Hindi ganun eh. Again, it's a very competitive world. And we wanna show them. Na parang yun nga eh parang kami nga umaararo ng bukid eh. Para makadaan. Para ba tayong mga trojan horse papasok dun para sa mga banda rito, bakit hindi?

SlickMaster: From there, ano mangyayari?

8-Bit: We're gonna play in Cafe Veloso on October 1^st, 6 PM. The day before that, we're gonna play at Club Freebird in Hongdae, Seoul, thru our good friend Darren of An Honest Mistake. After namin tumugtog sa Cafe Veloso, lalagare kami sa Thunderhorse Tavern with An Honest Mistake.

This, apparently, make other musicians take notice on them; like asking questions on how did they scored international gigs. And Paranoid City came up with encouragement statements.

8-Bit: A lot of bands are asking us, “Uy, pare pa'no niyo nakuha yung gig?” Sabi ko “'Tol, kaya niyo rin yun eh.” Again, we're not playing para magyabang. Kaya kami tumutugtog para ma-realize niyong lahat na, “Kami nga apat na mga bugoy, nakakatugtog sa abroad, kayo pa kaya?” 'Yun ang point namin. It just so happens na mas baliw kami sa inyo.

4Track: Yung pagtugtog sa abroad parang for me, hindi galit or whatsoever. Pero we want to prove something. Dito sa Philippines, if you guys don't listen to this kind of stuff, maybe someone na hindi from the Philippines will be hearing our thing, and even dance to it (laughs), and feel appreciated. Sobrang fulfilling.

8-Bit: Yan din sinasabi ko sa mga artist dito na nawalan ng loob. Dude, you just have to find your audience. Kung ayaw nila sa atin dito, ang laki-laki ng mundo eh. Ibalato na natin sa kanila 'tong Pilipinas, tas sumugal na lang tayo sa abroad. Again, sugal ng tanga yun eh, pero wala namang mangyayari kung 'di tayo susugal eh.

4-T: Cliché sounding na lagi mong maririnig sa ibang tao o sa mga famous people na parang “think out of the box.” 

8-Bit: And to think na our music is not the best in the Philippines.

The dual synth operator also has important advice. “Don't be a dick.”

8-Bit: “Kasi hindi rin kami makakapag-abroad kung malalaki ulo namin. At the end of the day, it's all about making friends or connections without expecting anything in return. Kasi mabait naman ang karma eh; na parang may ginagawa ka na legit at tumutlong ka, bigla na lang kakatok yan, surprise! Merong babalik sa'yo.”

At the end, Paranoid City tells it all boils down to helping and keeping the passion alive.

8-Bit: Again, guys, may good karma sa mundo. So feel free to help out without expecting anything, because the world or the universe will balance itself. Yung music nila, alagaan nila. Ang gagaling ng mga bata ngayon. If they wanna do what we are doing right now, siyempre hindi rin masama na samahan nila ng tamang tulong.

4Track: Masasabi ko lang, when I was in my elementary saka high school days. I told myself “One day, I'll be singing in front of many people sa stage. Hindi ako titigil.” Yung friends and bandmates ko nagkaroon din ng ibang banda eh (Chicosci, Slapshock, etc.). Lahat sila, they lived their lives tremendously. And yung iba naman nagstop dahil sa work or whatsoever. Pero ang masasabi ko, if you have a burning desire, tuloy-tuloy lang. Eventually, yung passion mo naman, hindi siya mawawala. Pero it's up to you lang. Parang ikaw yung maging architect o designer ng sarili mo. So it's up to you kung make it or break it.

So that wraps up our hour-long conversation with Paranoid City (well, ¾ to be exact). If you noticed why 8-Bit and 4Track spoke most of the time, Dax had to attend family duties at the middle of our mano-a-mano conversation and it's understandable (family first, folks!).

Do follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/ParanoidCity. Also, check their Twitter and Instagram pages by following them @paranoid_city. Their tracks under the album Viewfinder Dreams can be heard at Spotify and available for download at Amplify.PH! Check out their latest music video Just Like The Movies at YouTube or here in this post.

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions