E Real Records bats for Pinoy talent

I had brunch with Warren Nocon, executive producer of E Real Records, during my recent trip to L.A. and I was impressed by his effort to showcase Filipino music/talents in both the US and the Philippines.

"That the Filipino talent is world-class is already an established fact," said Warren. "I want to give my humble contribution to promoting Filipino talent by discovering new ones."

Already in E Real’s fast-growing stable of Filipino talents are the band Blow whose members include Diether Ocampo. Yes, Diether Ocampo! Perhaps because people have been conditioned to Diether’s image as a "hunk" and as a movie/TV romantic idol, it might take them a while to accept Diether’s other talent as a singer which is more known in L.A. than in homegrounds.

"Diether is a very good singer, actually," confirmed Warren.

The Blow’s album has been making waves abroad although locally it’s known only to an elite market.

What company but E Real would have thought of launching Viva Hot Babe member Sheree as a singer? (E Real has offices both in L.A. and in Manila.)

"Besides being a good dancer," said Warren, "Sheree is also a good singer, that’s why E Real didn’t think twice about putting her under contract as a recording artist. E Real has just released Sheree’s debut album."

Recently, E Real has signed up the four-member group 6th Day whom Warren brought to Manila a few months ago for a series of introductory personal/TV appearances. The quartet is composed of Filipinos born and raised in the US, namely Cyrus Mallare, Jose Penala, Andrey Silva and Errol Viray.

"Actually," explained Warren, "the guys came from different groups. They met in New York City where they decided to band together."

Each of them was asked to go to New York/Philadelphia to represent their respective groups, Jose for Drop N’ Harmony, Cyrus for Innerlude, and Andrey and Errol for Kai. Weeks earlier, after learning that they were booked for the same events, the four guys met to write an original gospel song dedicated to the victims and survivors of 9/11 (bombing of the World Trade Center).

During the recording of the song that came to be known as Your Call, the four guys felt a genuine rapport among themselves; there was instant chemistry among them. Reno Ursal of BrownJungle.com and Ed Banacia of Columbia Records heard the song and on the spot offered the guys a slot in a compilation BrownJungle.com and Columbia were working on, proceeds from which were also earmarked for the 9/11 victims and survivors.

Your Call immediately attracted attention. The four guys were asked to do a show in New York by 5 Star Originals at the Downtime. They were a hit! They had been working together for five days prior to the Manhattan show. So as not to forget those five days when they bonded, on the sixth day the guys decided to form a band and name themselves 6th Day.

E Real, which signed up the group last year, has recently released 6th Day’s first album.

Before Warren and I parted, he passed on to me a copy of a 6th Day Q&A. Here are some interesting excerpts:

How would you categorize your music?

Errol: I guess it depends on our kababayan. If they allow us to categorize our music as OPM, it would be a great honor. We are very proud of our heritage and we feel that our kababayan have the talent to take center stage in the world theater.

Do you think your kind of music could be appreciated by Filipinos (in the Philippines)?

Andrey: I think a new chapter in Fil-Am and Filipino relations is dawning. With the advent of the Internet, the world has become much smaller and our homeland much closer. Many Fil-Ams have grown up with the same rich values as other Filipinos around the world. Our music is a reflection of who we are. When it comes right down to it, we’re Filipino listeners. We hope that everyone can find a song or two that they can relate to. They’re based on our "real-life" experiences.

How would your album stand out against other R&B and soul acts?

Jose: During the summer of 2004, we toured the "Deep South" (in the US), the birth place of rhythm & blues and soul, dominated by Afro-American crowds. The crowd reacted favorably to us. The pure heartfelt emotions of OPM done R&B style proved to be an unmistakably powerful combination. The meeting of these two forces is very evident in our album.

Are you getting enough support from your fellow Pinoys in the US?

Cyrus: More than enough. The only problem is that the huge marketing machines in the States tend to only want to push black, white and Latinos claiming that an Asian (Filipino) act just won’t sell. It’s tough getting the word out but Pinoys who know us give us more than enough support.

The 6th Day guys agreed that breaking into the American music industry is "tough, tough, tough," saying that "the prevailing social climate of the American mainstream doesn’t allow for Asians to be artistic as it relates to Popular Americana."

Said Errol, "The problem is not the regular American people but the major record labels which feel that the entire package is not salable to the masses. Although Filipinos are recognized to be ultra-talented, major labels just don’t see the financial sense of it. It’s not enough to be as good as the competition; we as Filipinos need to be better than them. The time is near when the likes of Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Regine Velasquez and other Filipino talents will be recognized for their true genius."

Meanwhile, shouldn’t 6th Day and other Pinoy bands/talents in the same situation be very thankful that there are "small" companies like E Real Records willing to, so to speak, stick their necks out for them?

I should say, "Keep up the struggle, Warren Nocon!"

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