Of love lost & love found

MANILA, Philippines - You got to admit it, especially you guys. The band’s female vocalist, Anna Melissa, can make your eyes pop. Arko’s only female member (other members are Brian on guitars/vocals, Ivan on bass/vocals and Boyet on drums) goes on stage in mini-skirt, shorts and tight shirt. And she’d make burn-the-bra activists out there happy .

But there’s more to her than braless shirts and to-die-for legs. Yes, she did strike sexy poses for the March issue of Maxim magazine. But Anna Melissa also happens to be a former Vanna Vanna member before the all-girl group disbanded.

Bring in the three guys who can write songs as well as sing, and you have a band that impressed Rico Blanco so much he agreed to produce their debut album under the label Synergy Music.

The band’s manager Bong Agustin says, “Arko got its name from the word `arcane.’ The band does covers. It has the visual edge, enhanced by a stylist who checks the band’s overall impact.”

Ask them to sing Batles, U2, Duran Duran, 99 Luftbalons and Borderline and the band will do so at the drop of a hat..

They’ve done it in various venues like 19 East and Blue Wave, where the band performs regularly. The band has done the rounds of school campuses too.

And each time, it brings with it not just old familiar songs but fresh arrangements as well. After all, the members just don’t dish out songs. It also creates them.

The band has been tapped to compose and sing new songs for new GMA 7 shows (Asian Novelas). Thus, the band came up with Tula and Parting Time , a revival of an OPM hit.

Boyet Sta. Ana, for instance, created most of the songs in the band’s debut album.

The music is loaded with angst, guitars, the melancholia of love lost and the euphoria of love found.

Carrier single Bituin shows all is not lost.

“That track was chosen as carrier single because it’s all about hope,” explains Bong.

The choice proved to be right. Bituin is already playing on Energy FM 91.5, Magic 89.9. DWTM and other radio stations.

The band’s MTV is also being shown every hour on music channels.

This makes Agustin and the band itself feel confident and inspired about coming up with a follow-up album this early. And next time around, Agustin says, it will be an all-OPM effort (the debut album features a mix of Filipino and English songs).

Here’s one band that doesn’t repeat itself, under pain of sounding predictable and hopelessly passe before its time.