MANILA, Philippines - While people are used to seeing Jed Madela in formal get up every time he performs and hearing him sing in a voice so powerful when it effortlessly soars to its highest, this coming Friday, May 18, 8 p.m. at the Music Museum, he will totally do away with
birit
tunes and let the audience see a rugged Jed via the show titled
Back to Basics
. So for a little over two hours, expect genres of pop, dance, rock and, even, rap to be included in the song line up, Jed announces.
Why? Is he trying to send the signal that he has grown tired of hitting high notes?
“No, I just want to let everyone know where I started. Many people think that I’m a product of a talent contest, I’m not,” says Jed. “I started in a band performing in bars every night so when they broached the idea of doing a show (with Lara Morena as producer) with band music as concept, I agreed right away because I also miss being in a band.”
Jed had been part of the band for six years as lead vocalist. He initially joined Pose through the help of his aunt who helped him fulfill his dream of becoming a singer. His dad, Jed relates, initially frowned on his entering the music scene because he wanted his son to have a stable job after finishing Business Management in college.
“I came here (in Manila) from Iloilo to work as flight attendant. In fact, I was already chosen to train abroad but my tita knew what I really wanted. So she helped me to be in a group and that was Pose.”
Unfortunately, Jed’s dad found out and brought him back to Iloilo. Still, that inner desire to sing never faltered. Thus, he asked his dad to allow him to be in a band and Jed was able to join Dyevest.
“Then, I told my dad to give me a year to sing in Manila and when he gave in to my request, that was the time that I became part of Prime Council. Within that year, I was discovered by Universal (Records) then sumali ako sa Voice of Asia. My dad saw how much I love singing na kahit ilayo n’ya ko bumabalik pa rin ako so eventually pumayag na rin s’ya.”
His winning the Grand Champion Performer of the World title in the 2005 World Championship of the Performing Arts (WCOPA) opened the door of success he enjoys these days. But Jed knows how to look back where he started. Whenever his schedule permits, Jed makes sure to watch Prime Council in gigs and jams with the group.
“And it is Prime Council that plays back up music during my concerts so here in Back to Basics kasama ko rin sila kaya parang reunion show namin.”
Back to Basics is a mix of everything that Jed and the Prime Council used to perform in bars back in the late ‘90s. They will perform a total of 20 songs comprised of hits by Toto, Earth Wind and Fire and other groups that became popular that time. Aliyah Parks, Radha and Gail Blanco are guest performers.
Asked if he is aware that bands are slowly dying in the music arena, Jed replies, “I don’t think bands are dying but they are not just that strong anymore as compared to the late ‘90s when different bands turned popular like Side A, South Border, Freestyle and others. I think, when acoustics came that was the start of bands slowly fading out of the scene especially in bars because probably they (bar owners) were just being practical like why pay for a six-member band when an acoustics duo can also gain an equal number of patrons? Hopefully, through this mag-pick up ulit ang banda because it’s more enjoyable pag banda ang tutugtog.”
Jed also is aware there are younger and better singers that will come and take his place as “the guy na bumibirit” but this doesn’t worry him. Instead, he takes it as a challenge to better his craft.
“You have to present a demo CD to recording companies first before you get an exposure. Now there are convenient ways to be exposed. You have the Twitter, Facebook and YouTube but the thing is you must be phenomenal to stay long.”
Singers nowadays are not only limited to recording songs and performing on TV and out of town shows but they are flooding musical stage plays. Does Jed imagine himself to be part of a musical?
“I’d also love to do that because almost all my contemporaries have already done it. Hopefully, time will also come for me to do it. But as of now, birit pa din ang hinahanap ng tao.”
(Tickets to Back to Basics, priced at P2,500, Orchestra Center; P1,800, Orchestra Side; and P1,000, Balcony, are available at Ticketworld and Music Museum.)