A salesman of music

Just two years ago, Paolo Santos was a typical sales and marketing yuppie punching in at nine, pulling long and stressful hours running after clients, ploughing through paperwork. It was a good job, a stable job. But he hated it.

So Paolo quit. His heart marched to a different drum – or more accurately, a different guitar. "I wanted to be a musician," he says. "Or maybe, I needed to be a musician. I knew I’d be successful in sales, but I would never be happy."

Now Paolo is a full-time musician and one of the few who specializes in solo acoustic guitar. "There are a lot of acoustic bands, but with the exception of Noel Cabangun, very few decide to take the stage alone."

Perhaps it is the vulnerability, the intimacy, of facing an audience armed with nothing but strings, a song, and your own soul. Britney Spears can hide a bad voice with special effects and a skimpy outfit, but acoustic performances are the musical equivalent of standing face to face.

"Music is very private, very personal – not just for the performer, but the audience," Paolo elaborates. "Songs bring back memories. I can see it on their faces: some happy , some look sad, some get all romantic and mushy with their dates. They aren’t just hearing notes or singing to lyrics. They’re thinking of their own lives."

So in a way, Paolo is still a salesman. But now, he’s peddling memories – old ones, yes, but also new ones. "Performances an be fun, too. I want my audience to leave the room thinking, "Hey, I had a great time.’ And I want to leave the stage thinking, ‘Hey, I gave them a great time. I helped make this night special," he says.

In a way, Paolo’s "performances"  haven’t changed since he was 17 years old. He used to play for his friends. "We would meet for pizza and beer, and after a while I would take out my guitar, and we would sing. I never thought I would make a career out of it: I just wanted to have fun with my friends," he says.

It came to the point that Paolo would always have a guitar in his car trunk – ready to entertain, ready to let song and memory take flight.

Then one night someone asked him if he wanted to audition for Art Ave. "Katuwaan lang, I decided to try – and was really shocked when they called and said they were interested.

Paolo was also shocked by stage fright. He didn’t realize that performance could be so terrifying. But everything seemed to fall into place the moment he strummed the first note. "When I play the guitar, I enter a different world. I focus on the music, and what it means to me and those who are listening," he elaborates.

The songs allows him to connect to the strangers who are in the audience. They are no longer artist and audience, but friends letting song and memory take flight. "That’s why I try to keep my music flexible to accommodate the different tastes of my listeners. Some musicians say, ‘I only play rock,’ or ‘I only play jazz. I let the audience give me their requests, and if I know the tune, I’ll do it. It’s more special that way," he explains.

Of course, Paolo has preferences. He loves the music of folk singer Joni Mitchell (known for the thought-provoking lyrics of songs like Circle Game and Blue); the upbeat, romantic songs of Christopher Cross and Paul Weller of The Jam and Style Council; and the soulful tunes of Every thing but the Girl. Of all the singers, he most identifies with John Meyer, a folk pop singer. "We both have the same playing style. Very raw," he says.

And now, two years after he decided to go full-time, Paolo has found a wonderful setting for his music: Rockwell’s Club Rock. "It’s really a different place. I play at the fountain in front of Page One, and people just gather around and listen. It’s very informal, and very one-on-one. In bars, people don’t always pay attention to the music: they’re there to eat, to talk, to drink. But at Club Rock, everyone’s there for one reason: the music," he reveals.

Paolo is also amazed that the concert venue is within a mall. "It may seem like a strange place to perform, but Rockwell has really fixed the place up," he says. "There are mattresses and pillows, so people can just grab a seat, unwind, sit with their friends." The arrangement truly suits Paolo’s musical style and his attitude towards performance. "I had so much fun that I ended up playing a lot longer than I really had to. I just wanted to give more to the audience and accommodate their requests. I didn’t want the night to end."

Paolo hopes to recapture the fun of the evening in his next performance at Rockwell Club tonight. "It’s night like that that remind me of the joy of performing, and why I quit my job to do music full time. There are days when I think, ‘What am I doing?’ and I’m tempted to give up. And then I see the faces of my audience, and I feel the thrill of playing for them, and I wouldn’t give this up for the world," he ends.