December Avenue renews ties with director Paolo Valenciano

MANILA, Philippines — After 15 years in the local music industry, December Avenue will perform in a major concert venue, the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, for their concert “Sa Ilalim ng mga Bituin” on Aug. 30.

It has taken the five-piece indie pop/alternative rock band this long to stage a major concert after being in the mainstream indie circuit for more than a decade. Yet, they never pushed the date to advance to anything earlier.

Concert producer Nancy Yang is mounting December Avenue’s show under her NY Entourage Productions, with Paolo Valenciano as stage director and Nikko Rivera as musical director.

“When we announced the concert last July and came out with the tickets, at 8:30 p.m. on the same day, we were already 65 percent sold,” Nancy disclosed. “We added an SRO (standing room only) area to accommodate more fans.”

A 32-piece orchestra will back up December Avenue for their major concert. “We gathered specific musicians for this concert,” offered band manager Koi Busalla. “They were simply assembled for the concert itself. They are called the City Lights Symphony Orchestra, just for the MOA Arena concert.”

After the MOA Arena, December Avenue will also perform in Hong Kong this year, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. In November, the band will also take the stage in London.

In February next year, December Avenue will also embark on another US and Canada tour. Moreover, they will perform in the Middle East and in other parts of Asia.

Meanwhile, Paolo is no stranger to December Avenue. He used to share the stage with them when his band, Salamin, did regular gigs in performance venues until he decided to go into a different direction. Today, he is one of the most in-demand concert directors.

“I handled the previous concerts of December Avenue,” Paolo said. “This is something that we’ve been talking about for a very long time, especially with their manager, Koi. I remember, back in the day, December Avenue used to perform at Teatrino.”

“We were already imagining then, ‘One day, we are going to do Mall of Asia Arena.’ They were really on the road to becoming one of the biggest bands. I feel this is something that they really deserve. This is their commitment to the quality of their music,” he added.

“Well, it’s happening now. This is no surprise to me the band is doing something this big now. The fact that the concert is sold-out already this early, it’s something that they really deserve.”

December Avenue was never out of the limelight and the music scene after they released their first single in 2010. The band inched their way into the mainstream indie circuit and gained the group a steady fanbase.

“Up to now, we are still an indie band,” said December Avenue’s Bohol-born manager, Koi, who moved to Manila in 2008. “The things the band did as an indie group worked out so why sign to a major label if we’re doing the right thing by staying indie?”

“The group is good right now,” insisted Koi. “No pressure. The fanbase made our songs popular without any hard-selling. It was more of the people around, the following. They were the ones who pushed our songs to become popular.”

Paolo is no stranger to December Avenue. He used to share the stage with them when his band, Salamin, did regular gigs in performance venues until he decided to go in a different direction.

Photo from Paolo Valenciano's Facebook page

December Avenue represents the band’s songs and the meaning of their songs. Symbolically, their name represents the last month of the year, December, which is an avenue towards a new year and a new life.

“Our songs mostly talk about life and moving on,” granted vocalist-songwriter Zel Bautista. “December is actually the last month of the year, which is an avenue towards the new year.”

Joining Zel in the band are Don Gregorio (bass), Jem Manuel (lead guitar), Jet Danao (drums and back-up vocals) and Gelo Cruz (keyboards and back-up vocals).

Their first single, Time To Go, released in 2010, started December Avenue’s slow rise in the indie circuit.

“The band never sacrificed the musicality, just the lyrics,” said Koi. “We were never out of the indie world until 2018, when the group changed our lyrics into Tagalog.

“Since the band started writing Tagalog songs, Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig became a hit right away. Bulong became the follow-up, succeeded by Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw and Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig.”

The two songs Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw and Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig were used in director Cathy Sampana’s “Hello Love, Goodbye,” the huge box-office hit starring Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo in 2019. The sequel, “Hello Love, Again,” is slated to be shown in November.

“Every now and then, the band also writes English songs to fill the gaps,” said Koi. “We have a new song, Wala ng Iba, and we will launch it at the concert. It was written by Zel and Jet, two of the band members.”

Zel pointed out that there is always a “stereotype” when it comes to being with a band. “When we started, we had to spend our own money going to the shows,” he shared. “When you’re starting, no one’s going to watch you.”

“We experienced those kinds of moments for a long time. The good thing about that is that we were able to build chemistry. We also maintained day jobs to sustain our passion, until it just came naturally to do both,” he added.

Paolo recalled how December Avenue played before when no one was watching. “Actually, we were waiting for them to finish because we were the next ones to play onstage,” Paolo recalled.

“December Avenue became a success for inspiring musicians. They went through a number of years when they were not earning from their gigs and spending their own money. They waited for years before they had their first hit song.”

Through the years, the band members inevitably had clashes due to their different personalities. “There were clashes because of our creativity,” Zel explained. “As time went by, we just accepted each other and we learned to adjust.”

Today, the quintet continues to make waves in the country’s music scene, amassing more than three million monthly listeners on Spotify. December Avenue became Spotify’s Most Streamed Artist in the Philippines back in 2019.

The band is also behind the Most Streamed Album of all time, Langit Mong Bughaw.”

Barbie Almalbis is a special guest in December Avenue’s “Sa Ilalim ng mga Bituin,” concert, along with a surprise front act set to delight everyone.