‘Rock star’ anonymous

“I only wanted to play back-up” he tells me, but a great band with great music does not permit the luxury of anonymity especially if you write and sing some of their hit songs. Strangely enough, my friend also thought he would simply be a “behind the scenes Christian”, content with helping in his own small way.

With his youthful looks, soothing voice and a penchant for writing love songs that make it to the honor roll of wedding songs, Joey Benin had Rock Star status and was officially labeled as a “heart throb” of many fans of the “Side A” band. Who in the Philippines above 40 years old has not heard of the platinum love song “Forevermore”? Yes, Joey Benin was living the life. The band travelled on road tour and concerts, guested in TV shows and had hit song after hit song.

But what Joey Benin never publicly admitted was that he never wanted it. Yes he loved his music, he loved writing songs, but all he wanted was to be a back-up musician but not have to live “the lifestyle”. As a husband and parent of four growing kids, the lifestyle had gone from road trip to road block! As a couple, Joey and Bing (Ledesma) knew they had to get away from it all and what started as get away trips to Bing’s family farm in Silay City turned out to be both destination and destiny.

There before them was the “Hacienda” of Señor Jack Ledesma who loved the farm but could not spend as much time building on his dream. Long story short, after several vacations, Joey asked “Papa Jack” if he could work for him in the farm thus paving the way for Joey Benin to leave Side A and the Rock star lifestyle. He traded lyric sheets and Bass guitar for research and experiments on Sea Bass, Bangus and prawns.

To quiet the raging music monster, he helped in the music ministry of Victory Christian Fellowship in Bacolod City while doing musical scores or “theme songs” for Negrense foundations such as Tapulanga and Kalipay that were dedicated to helping poor kids. As he viewed images of poverty and transformation in order to enhance it with his music, little did Joey realize that he was being transformed.

His scale downed, low-key lifestyle was his GOD appointed transition to understanding the vicious cycle of poverty first hand. As he went through the learning curve of farm management, he dealt up-close and personal with real farmers and farm hands. Day to day he would watch and learn how and why poor children also grow up to become poor farmers. What Joey saw was the children born and raised in poverty don’t grow up challenging the system, they adapt, some even aspire to be “just like their father” a good farmer. Because of the economic rules or restriction, most of them don’t bother to dream differently. Unfortunately, when you go to a far-flung public school with 60 kids to a room, survival takes precedence to ambition.

Since Joey is not a rabble-rouser or a social activist, he decided to just include a handful of kids every time he conducted a summer song-writing seminar at the hacienda. What he learned was that given a level playing field, with the same attention, instruction and opportunity, the poor kids produced the same quality of songs that well-to-do children did.

Like many, Joey Benin does not rush to the front of the line to volunteer. He even confessed that the word “compassion” was nothing more than a word to him and a concept that he had no emotional connectivity with. Instead he was a walking billboard of gratitude for having lived the Rock Star life, and now, a substitute haciendero that allowed him to be a good father and husband. Life was good and he was content. Contentment however comes with a curse. Our contentment is never complete until we share that which brings us contentment.

After his daily encounters with poor kids, exposure to foundations and volunteers, and discovering what poor kids were capable of achieving, Joey Benin soon found himself swimming against an emotional torrent all the while realizing that GOD just called him for a “Command Performance”. Joey shared his moments of denial, his “take this cup away” pleas, as well as pulling over from the road and crying a bowl of tears, feeling afraid and fearfully inadequate. The hardest part of it all is the fact that GOD just like our parents has a hearing problem every time we resist doing what’s good for us.

Soon after, Joey was composing, not a song but a possible solution to the poverty around him. Soon he was sharing the vision with Bing and their children. What do we call the project? His son Boey replied “Para Kay Toto” since the project was for the young kids in Negros. Joey contacted his former band mates in “Side A” and made the pitch; do a fund raising project by staging a concert and all the profits will be donated and distributed among several successful foundations who have shown excellence in their work. This way, Joey’s group of volunteers doesn’t end up competing with other foundations but actually help them financially.

Apparently the members of “Side A” liked the idea so much that they suggested the project should not be limited to Negros or Bacolod. Similar concerts and fund raising projects should also be done in other provinces where the specific project will be called Para Kay Boy, Neneng, Dudoy or whatever generic term of endearment is used for young people.

So on December 1, 2012 at 8 pm, at the University of St. La Salle, in Bacolod City, The “Side A” band will sing their hearts out in a concert “Para Kay Toto”. The band has donated their talent fee to the cause, Joey Benin has promised me that he will, if the band permits, sing his monster hits like the song: “Forevermore” etc.

I spent two days with Joey and the brave but traumatized- first time producer of the concert Keng Vizmonte-Jison and I learned first hand how this act of goodwill has made them experience “tears for fears”, panic attacks and the pervasive sense of doom and possible failure. The last thing they want is to embarrass the “Side A” band having to perform in an empty coliseum, they don’t want to see the early beginnings of a goodwill project dashed by low attendance at the concert. Equally disappointing would be to lose the seed money that went into renting the venue, printing tickets and posters as well as the organizational expense to launch “Para Kay Toto”.

So please help in whatever way you can to promote the show or to give life to a project that is designed to bless the children. To learn more go to www.facebook.com/parakaytoto

God Bless.