Unfortunately for my friends and classmates, my high school band had the good fortune of being able to perform our renditions of then-current favorites (a lot of Incubus, Finch, Thursday and The Used, as well as a lot of karaoke sing-along songs; we were young and a little misguided) for them over the duration of our three years together. I suppose I can say I’ve had my fair share of time at the mic. (Not enough, though. Never enough!)
Being on the radio, however, only happened once. NU had this Incubus contest that involved going to the station at a certain time and singing your favorite Incubus song for the chance to win "meet and greet" passes. After much protestation and an incalculable number of butterflies in the stomach, my friends managed to drag me there to give it a shot. Surprisingly enough, I made it to the finals, but I couldn’t go because they coincided with my chemistry final. (I ended up getting a low grade on it, anyway. Oh, the heartbreak! Oh, Brandon Boyd!)
I’ve never had the right voice for the radio (I have the intonation of a geek and the lingo of a gay man, which is endearing only to my friends), and I speak too fast for most people to understand, so I never thought that I’d actually be invited to co-host a show, of all things. Imagine the shock when Mico Halili texted me, not about Halikinoise (more on that later), but about co-hosting on the show "Halikinu Radio."
I had my share of apprehensions. First, the fact that my voice sucked and I had a nasty tendency to babble like an idiot. Second, that I knew absolutely nothing about college athletics, and very little about the Ateneo de Manila University (since I’ve only been here for a year and a few months). Third, that I might accidentally say something like "AMP is like a lover," like the much-loved and now (in)famous individual who co-hosted the week before I did. (AMP is an organization for Atenean musicians and I’m a member and an officer.) Mico dismissed all my silly fears and told me that I’d do okay. Since I’m usually up for any new experience that doesn’t involve heights, insects or eternal embarrassment, I agreed.
All I was supposed to do was read all the AMP-related radio plugs and ask the guests some questions. Every week, "Halikinu Radio" plays a few tracks by one of AMP’s roster bands. It amused me greatly to find out that the band they were featuring that night was the one that my former bandmates went on to form after we broke up. Who better to talk about our embarrassing history and their incredible talent than me? I was a little less scared of sounding like a total moron on air. At least I knew I’d have something to say.
The usual suspects, hosts Mico Halili and Mhel Garrido, were really friendly and funny and they did everything they could to make me feel comfortable, which I eventually was. We interviewed Doug Kramer, talked about Salisi (my friends’ band), AMP, and the org’s president, Jaton Zulueta (the aforementioned "AMP is like a lover" guy), and it was a lot more fun than I initially expected it to be.
The hour flew by quite quickly, and before I knew it, it was over. And I didn’t make any tragic mistakes for my friends to ridicule! Awesome! My voice still sucks, but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Sure, maybe I wasn’t on the radio to play my music (not that I have any), but it’s still one step closer to my ultimate goal of rock stardom. And after that? The world!