The up-and-coming band Blue Way composed of Ace Agamata on guitar and vocals, Josh del Mundo on saxophone, Nathan Manansala on guitar, Paul Matcott on drums and Stephen Lachica on bass are ready and raring to bring something new to the local music scene. As of this writing, they’re putting the finishing touches on their debut EP, which features six original songs written by Ace himself.
Ace describes Blue Way’s music as blues (hence the band’s name) with a little bit of classic rock and soul thrown in for good measure. Although he admits that blues isn’t a very well-known genre in these parts, Ace and his band mates believe they do have what it takes to win the hearts and ears of the public.
Nathan says, “Blues isn’t too far from rock, so I think it’s just a matter of having catchy songs with good lyrics. The musicians in the local blues scene are really talented and the blues scene itself is still growing. So if artists from the blues scene will be able to bring their songs to the masa, then maybe the genre will become more popular.”
“Some of our songs have the OPM feel, but the way we approached them is from a blues perspective. If you listen to our EP, you’ll see na parang kundiman yung melody and structure nung ibang kanta namin. So even if our approach or genre is foreign, Pinoy na Pinoy pa rin ang dating ng mga kanta namin,” Ace adds.
Blue Way’s music isn’t the only thing that’s foreign yet very Filipino at the same time. While three of its members were born and raised in the Philippines, the other two spent their formative years and then some in Australia and the USA. Even so, they’re all Pinoy at heart.
Ace, Nathan and Stephen first started playing together in 2014. “At first I started the band with two other guys, tapos naging busy yung bassist namin, so we had to find a replacement for him. That was when Stephen came on board. Nathan joined us a year later,” Ace says. “As for Paul, he used to do session work for us whenever our previous drummer wasn’t available for gigs, so when we needed a new drummer, Paul was our first choice.”
Josh is the baby of the band in more ways than one. (“I’m the newest addition and the youngest member,” he says.) But he quickly adds that he didn’t find it hard to gel with the rest of them same as Paul, even though the drummer is the oldest member of the band. Long before he married a Filipina named Brenda and settled in Manila with her in 2010, Paul lived and worked in his native Australia as a music teacher. He says he didn’t have trouble adjusting to life in the Philippines because all the people are so nice, especially his band mates.
“They’re the kind of guys you can just sit down and have a beer with,” Paul explains. “They’re very easygoing. Actually, Filipinos in general are very friendly, so I found the transition from my hometown of Victoria to here easy to make.”
That easygoing vibe is reflected in how they work with each other. For example, Ace is the chief songwriter of the band, so he usually starts a song then presents a rough cut of it to the rest of the band. Although Ace is more than capable of finishing a song by himself, he prefers to enlist Josh, Nathan, Paul and Stephen to help him do so. According to the members of Blue Way, cooperation is crucial to their success.
“Sometimes he’ll have the whole song in mind, so he’ll just tell us how he thinks the bass, drums, guitar, or saxophone should sound. We’ll make a few suggestions and then we’ll run through the song once or twice just to try it out,” Nathan shares.
The band’s first single is titled “Simbang Gabi,” and Ace wrote it about his wife. “I wrote it four years ago, mga December yata. My wife works at night kasi for an American bank, and at the time matagal na kaming hindi nakaka-attend ng Simbang Gabi, so I wrote that song kasi miss kona magsimba na kasama siya.”
The song “Simbang Gabi” may not sound like most of the songs playing on Philippine radio these days, but Ace believes even the masa will find it relatable because it’s about a universal subject—missing someone you love. Ace says the rest of the tracks on Blue Way’s upcoming EP (“Long Legged Woman,” “The Doctor,” “Romansa Blues,” “My Woman” and “Eleksyon Na Naman”) are just as relatable.
The second that Blue Way band is promoting now is “Long-Legged Woman.”
“Whether you’re happy or you’re sad, our songs can be the soundtrack of your life.You can play them when you want to relax, when you want to dance and have fun at a party, or if you want to impress your date. Our songs reflect what happens in people’s lives which is actually what influences my songwriting. Everyday life lang,” he says.
According to Ace, he and his band mates are determined to introduce blues to the masa because doing so is their way of revitalizing the OPM scene. There are a lot of people doing hip-hop, pop and rock these days. More and more Filipino artists are getting into EDM as well. But no one has been able to bring blues to the mainstream yet, and that’s exactly what Blue Way plans to do.
“I think, with our songs, we write and record partly because we want to express ourselves,” Ace says. “We can actually always go on and rather be known for playing a lot of instrumental jams and covers of classic songs since that’s the common public perception of blues artists; but that’s not what Blue Way is all about.We also consciously write original songs that other people can relate to, because that’s our main objective as a band. We want to share and promote Philippine blues and contribute to make it a permanent part of OPM.”
There you have it. Make way for Blue Way!
55 Comments
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Great information. Lucky me I came across your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve bookmarked it for later!
I really like it when folks get together and share thoughts. Great website, stick with it!
Hello friends, good paragraph and fastidious urging commented here, I am actually enjoying by these.
When I originally commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. There has to be a way you can remove me from that service? Cheers!
Thank you for your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Excellent site you have here.. Itís difficult to find excellent writing like yours nowadays. I seriously appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post! It’s the little changes that make the largest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
This is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate infoÖ Thank you for sharing this one. A must read article!
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog.Really thank you! Really Great.
This is the right web site for anyone who really wants to find out about this topic. You know so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really will need toÖHaHa). You certainly put a new spin on a subject that’s been discussed for decades. Great stuff, just wonderful!
May I just say what a comfort to find somebody who genuinely knows what they are talking about on the web. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people really need to look at this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you aren’t more popular since you surely have the gift.
Say, you got a nice article post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
You said this well. Incontience With Flomax
şanlıurfa hava durumu; şanlıurfa için hava durumu en güncel saatlik, günlük ve aylık tahminler.
When someone writes an piece of writing he/she retains thethought of a user in his/her brain that how a user can be aware of it.Thus that’s why this post is amazing. Thanks!
Great article! We will be linking to this great article on our website. Keep up the good writing.
This page really has all the information and facts I wanted about this subject and didnít know who to ask.
Good write-up. I certainly appreciate this website. Keep writing!
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the most useful blogs online. I am going to highly recommend this site!
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Thanks a lot!
Do you have a spam issue on this blog; I also am a blogger, and I waswondering your situation; many of us have developedsome nice methods and we are looking to exchange methods with other folks, why notshoot me an e-mail if interested.
Hello there, I think your blog might be having internet browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Apart from that, fantastic website!
Good way of telling, and pleasant article to obtain information regarding my presentation focus, which iam going to present in school.
Heya! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new apple iphone!Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to allyour posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
I really love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you make this web site yourself? Please reply back as Iím attempting to create my own website and would love to learn where you got this from or what the theme is called. Thank you!
Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it ;) I’m going to return yet again since I book-marked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.
The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t fail me as much as this particular one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read, nonetheless I actually believed you’d have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you can fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.
There’s definately a great deal to learn about this issue. I like all the points you made.
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t fail me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I really thought you would probably have something useful to say. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something that you could possibly fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It will always be exciting to read through content from other writers and use something from other websites.
Hi there! This blog post could not be written any better! Looking at this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I most certainly will send this information to him. Pretty sure he will have a great read. I appreciate you for sharing!
Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Many thanks, However I am going through troubles with your RSS. I donít understand why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone else getting similar RSS problems? Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanx!!
This is a really good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate infoÖ Thanks for sharing this one. A must read article!
This page really has all of the information I wanted about this subject and didnít know who to ask.
Your style is very unique compared to other folks I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and Ifind It truly useful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to provide something again and aid others such as you helped me.
Thank you ever so for you post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
I really enjoy the post.Really thank you! Want more.
You need to take part in a contest for one of the finest blogs online. I will highly recommend this blog!
Great blog you have here.. Itís hard to find high quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
There is certainly a lot to learn about this subject. I love all the points you have made.
I blog frequently and I truly appreciate your information. Your article has really peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted in for your Feed as well.
I blog often and I seriously thank you for your content. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to book mark your site and keep checking for new information about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed as well.
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images on this blog loading?I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s theblog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Say, you got a nice blog post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
I want to to thank you for this wonderful read!! I absolutely loved every bit of it. I have you bookmarked to look at new things you postÖ
Right here is the right website for anyone who hopes to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want toÖHaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject that’s been written about for a long time. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful!
[email protected]
Good blog post. I absolutely love this site. Stick with it!
I will right away snatch your rss feed as I can not findyour email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletterservice. Do you have any? Please allow me understand so that I mayjust subscribe. Thanks.
is azithromycin a sulfa antibiotic – azithromycin otc zithromax for acne reviews
Great article! We will be linking to this particularly great content on our site. Keep up the good writing.
Link Alternatif QQ adalah agen yang menyediakan banyak informasi mengenai link – link dari berbagai situs judi bola online seperti bandar QQ1221
It is actually a nice and helpful piece of info. I am happy that you simply shared this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.