Gigi De Lana shares humble beginnings with band before success over pandemic
Gigi De Lana and the Gigi Vibes band are among Pinoy artists that saw the potential of social media platforms to entertain their kababayan during the pandemic. The singer and the musicians faced the birth pains of performing online and doing live streams and they carried on. After some time, Gigi and the band had found their footing and created a following. Theirs is a story of how a unified group could adapt and pivot successfully.
“We, as a group, started (out) by performing in weddings and debuts,” said Gigi, the band’s vocalist, in a recent press conference about the musical act’s humble beginnings pre-pandemic.
Other members of the Gigi Vibes are Jon Cruz, the musical director, who is on keyboard; Jake Manalo, bass; Julius Traqueña, guitar; and Romeo Marquez, drums. “The time I (was about to do) weddings, I only knew birit songs because I would join contests in the barangay and (on TV like It’s Showtime!’s) Tawag ng Tanghalan. So, I needed to know standards and malumanay lang (do soft and slow songs) because in weddings, I don’t need to belt out songs. That’s how we started.”
Starting over again was the tall order for Gigi and her band when the pandemic came into the picture and the live performing scene was also directly hit.
“It was Jon who insisted that we go live and do YouTube and FB,” she shared and recalled that their first performances were held in a warehouse and eventually in a garage.
With the support of their viewers and after saving up for three weeks, the group was able to purchase a router and avail a decent Internet connection. This is how the band got by.
“Yung mga nanonood sa amin ay mga 50, mga 100 (The initial number of our viewers was around 50 to 100),” said Gigi. “One hundred fifty was the highest number we had. If we got lucky, we would have 500 viewers, marami na yun sa amin.”
It’s safe to say that Gigi and her band never faltered and they simply persevered. As the Filipino adage goes, “Kung walang tiyaga, walang nilaga,” which is equivalent to the Western saying, “Patience is a virtue.” All the group members’ hard work and commitment have paid off. They also acknowledged the role of technologies for them to continue performing.
From entertaining netizens via social media in humble venues, Gigi and the Good Vibes can now have The Theatre at Solaire, a lyric theater, as their musical playground for the Feb. 18 concert titled, G Rules, at 8 p.m. It’s a follow-up to the band’s successful Domination show tour that had Gigi and bandmates perform from Manila to the Middle East and the US last year since countries had transitioned into the new normal. G Rules is presented by ABS-CBN Events and Solaire Resort Entertainment City.
From the piece of information given to this paper, Gigi shared that she and her band see the upcoming show “as intimate as possible, yung abot kamay lang nila kami (the audiences feel like we are within their reach). It will be something new, tampok ang mixed emotions sa show namin (mixed emotions are the highlights of the show). And syempre hindi mawawala ang kulitan (and of course, there’s the fun and friendly banter).”
As for the list of songs that Gigi and the Good Vibes will perform on concert night, their answer was a secret, but it’s a product of collaboration among the artists and the director. Since Gigi and her band became known for their rendition of Roselle Nava’s Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita, concert-goers expect to hear it live, along with other covers like Through the Fire and If Ever You’re in My Arms Again and songs Sakalam and O Bakit Ba that they have performed.
“We’re just doing our best for our craft,” said Gigi when inquired about the challenge of making a balance between doing cover songs and original tunes. “When we do covers, as much as we can, patutunugin namin siya na parang kami (we will make them sounds like our own).” Adept in doing ballads, the singer shared that she considers rockstars her idols and has interest in alternative rock. She even studied a type of singing technique called scream. This is evident in her cover songs like Unholy. “There are screams, it’s not na ginagasgas ko, it’s a technique at hindi ako napapaos (it’s not that I’m scratching or hurting my vocal cords, it’s a technique that when done properly spares me from hoarseness).”
When it comes to composing songs, Gigi said she and bandmates can do it, but Romeo is really into it. They can do songwriting and performing and believe that each creative work requires time and effort. “If we don’t give (any of them) time and effort, wala talagang mangyayari, (we won’t be able to accomplish something). I think, in all the things that we do, we need time and effort.”
For details, visit Solaire Resort Entertainment City’s website at www.solaireresort.com and follow @solaireresort on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Tickets, available on ticketworld.com.ph and Solaire Box Office, are priced at P6,480 for SSVIP, P5,400 (SVIP), P3,780 (VIP), P3,240 (gold), P2,160 (lower balcony) and P1,620 (upper balcony).
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