Uncovering Boyce Avenue

Boyce Avenue, composed of the Puerto Rican-American brothers Alejandro, Fabian and Daniel Manzano, formed a trio in 2004 after Daniel graduated from Harvard Law School and moved back to Florida where Alejandro and Fabian were studying at the University of Florida.

It wasn‘t until 2007 did the brothers begin posting on YouTube their videos of covers of classic and popular songs, most of which attracted a record 10 million viewers. Soon, Boyce Avenue, named after two streets where they grew up, started creating their own music in 2008 for an album called All You’re Meant To Be, and performing in sold-out shows around the world, including the Philippines which they first visited in 2009 and then in 2010 when they performed with American Idol winner Kris Allen and the Jabbawockeez.

The boys will be back on Monday, Dec. 30, for a concert at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila, co-presented by Ovation Productions with The Philippine STAR among the sponsors. (For inquiries, call 908-8000 local 7700; and for tickets, TicketWorld at 891-9999.)

Ovation boss Renen de Guia arranged for Funfare an exclusive phone interview with Alejandro (the youngest Manzano, with Daniel as the eldest) who called from Florida. Excerpts:

Why did you decide to immortalize those streets as the name of your group?

“We brothers used to play on those two different streets. There’s a lot of good memories of hanging out and playing a lot of music together on those streets, so it’s logical to use the names of those streets that have a meaning to us.”

What kind of music did you play during those times?

“We grew up on the music of our favorite acts like Coldplay, John Mayer, Matchbox 20, Vertical Horizon and many others.”

Did you come from a musical family?

“Our family has a passion for music. My grandfather plays some musical instruments; he has a very pleasant voice. During family gatherings, we love to sing together. We…Fabian, Daniel and I…were the first ones who treated music like an occupation.”

Boyce Avenue became a part of YouTube before everybody else did. How did the posting of your covers start?

“My brothers and I have been playing music naturally since way back. We’d been playing local pubs, in different place and different events, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we tape what we’re doing at pubs and just put it online and kind of share it with the world?’ We are pretty fortunate that people who saw the videos would spread the videos among their friends. Then we felt a responsibility between ourselves and our fans.”

Do you always agree what music to play?

“Uhm, we have very similar taste in music although it varies a little bit. But we have enough common ground to decide what songs we are going to play, the kind of songs we are going to cover and the kind of style that we want the album to sound like.”

During the two times you visited the Philippines, you were very new in the industry, an unsigned artist, and yet you drew huge crowds. How did that Philippine experience help your career?

“You know, the Philippines is a huge influence in our career. Whenever we are asked what are among our most memorable experiences as a group, we always mention the Philippines because it was the first time we ever set foot outside of the US. We had little knowledge what to expect when we came over. We have a fan base in the Philippines and whenever we put videos online, we get so many comments from the Philippines. Our Philippine visit was a big turning point for us; it was a very humbling experience for us.”

In interviews, you mentioned how important college education is. How does it benefit you as musicians?

“I am the one who focuses more on the music side. But it’s pretty cool to have Fabian, who is an Architecture graduate, take care of how to make the set visually artistic. He’s the one who designed our websites. Daniel is a lawyer so he’s a big help when it comes to reading contracts.”

What’s the biggest advantage of brothers as a band?

“The big advantage is that we get along very well because we have a very similar mindset because we grew up together and we started playing music together. We go in one direction, unlike some bands whose members sometimes want to take different directions.”

What tips would you give budding artists who want to be noticed via YouTube just like your group?

“My main advice would be, ‘Just be yourself!’ because if there’s one thing that comes across through the camera is that you’re being genuine enough. In the beginning, you may not know what kind of sound you wanna do but that’s fine. But once you find the sound that fits you, then try your best to be good at it.”

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