The mechanical engineer turned rock artist

Jett Pangan almost failed to mention in an interview one stormy morning that he is a licensed mechanical engineer and that he received his diploma in mechanical engineering from De La Salle University.

He was not trying to hide it. He was just too consumed talking about The Dawn, The Jett Pangan Group, the recent trip to Ethiopia of U2’s Bono, on why now is the perfect time for the Filipino youth to have the courage to "follow their heart" and his return to musical theater via tick tick...BOOM! directed by Bobby Garcia.

Talking to Jett, one perceives an artist genuinely happy with what he has accomplished despite the difficult but "courageous" choices he had to make.

Before hitting the psychologically significant age of 30, family and relatives were harping on him to raise a family, have a car and a house, among others, the 34-year-old Jett recalls. "I believe it is better to start a family when you are young so you can relate to your kids," he says. "But other than that, it is materialistic society pressuring you to accumulate all sorts of things. When I hit 30, I came to a point where I asked myself: What’s the big deal? Why the rush?

"As long as you keep moving on, as long as you are progressing, you do not have to impose a strict deadline on yourself."

Jett has come a long way from his days as a mechanical engineer working for a car dealer. His initial career path was marked by shifts and changes. From 1986 to 1995, The Dawn kept him busy. He took a long break, worked for Viva Records, formed The Jett Pangan Group, and rejoined The Dawn.

Jett describes himself as "a restless soul fascinated with diversity." He is into exploring other forms of music and art forms. From 1986 to 1994, he and The Dawn released the following albums: The Dawn, I Stand with You, Beyond the Bend, The Dawn Live, Heart’s Thunder, Abot Kamay, Puno’t Dulo, and Iisang Bangka Tayo. The last one was nominated Best Asian Video-MTV awards.

From 1997 to 1999, The Jett Pangan Group released the albums The Jett Pangan Group, Daylight, and Voltes V.

"I was blessed with The Dawn. When it started, it was a no-compromise band. We did not follow formula. We were not image-driven. We just wanted to make good music we know people would like. We’ve gone this far with this band and a music without a concept, a daring feat," Jett narrates.

As for stage-acting, Jett has earned critical acclaim as Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar, first mounted in 2000 and again in 2002 and in Trabajo Soliloquies as one of the four major characters (a job applicant) staged by the PETA Komedi Club.

From July 26 to Aug. 11, Jett returns to stage acting via tick tick... BOOM! at the RCBC Plaza Building, Makati. It is a musical about choices a person makes in the course of a lifetime. He joins Bituin Escalante and Michael de Mesa in a journey about life’s ups and downs as captured in Jonathan Larson musical.

In playing the role of Jon, Larson’s alter ego in the musical who is also a restaurant waiter and struggling playwright, Jett will reprise his own personal clashes with his demons as he goes through life. "Doing this is my way of satisfying a desire to act, which has been with me for some time now," he says.

Have the courage to make difficult choices, Jett advises people who want to experience life to the fullest. "Now is actually the best time to follow your heart. It is very ironic. There is a crisis going on, but there is no better time to actually do what you really want to do. You have nothing to lose. There is no job stability now. An employee may be retrenched tomorrow. In every crisis, there is an opportunity."

On Bono’s trip to poverty-stricken Ethiopia, Jett says that in the future and with proper preparation and education, he sees himself going to Basilan to call attention to the sufferings of Muslim-Filipinos in the area.

"I want to do something like that... help the people. But I want to educate myself first before I dive into something."