Chapter Text
“Tangina oh, bakit biglang umalis si Will ng walang paalam?” Aldo groaned in frustration upon receiving the news.
“Pwede naman yan gawan ng paraan.” Vincent tried to calm him down as he sat beside the man.
Worse, they received the message via chat. Will didn’t really take the effort to formally bid farewell to his bandmates. He was their lead vocalist of “Rookies and Cream”, their band name. Vincent is the drummer and Aldo is the guitarist. Will’s reason wasn’t exactly specific on why he truly left all of the sudden. He just said that he had important business to take care of hence him abruptly leaving.
“Ilang linggo na lang yung Concierto oh, na para bang napaka dali mag hanap ng lead vocalist. Amputa naman. ”
“Eh ano gusto mo, mag dropout tayo sa listahan?”
Aldo’s pessimistic mindset was irritating Vince a little, causing him to run his palms through his face. Sure, this situation can easily make someone panic but that doesn’t mean they should give up. As a rookie indie band, they adored their supporters. The two of them are very passionate about this career choice. So Vince had a bit more faith when it came to finding a solution with the time they had left.
“Hindi naman sa ganon, Vince…” Aldo sighed, finally calming himself down.
“Magagawan naman ng paraan, audition ulit tayo. Pero sa ibang gigs natin, sino muna vocalist?”
“Syempre ikaw na yan.” Vince playfully bumped your shoulders before returning to his drums, twirling the stick around his fingers.
“Ayaw mo ba mag try? Maganda naman boses mo ah.”
“Asus nambola pa.”
The atmosphere felt light again, full of hope and laughter. It was always like this before the band. The playful banter between the two seems to never fade with their age. It’s like they’re still two freshmen, trying to survive and adapt in college life until they meet. They then proceeded to rehearse some of their covers for their gig and reviewed the list for the Concierto again. Actually, they were also planning for a big secret at the end of their performance. They’ve been planning for this for a long time, an EP. At first, they were a little hesitant to do so. Their band survived by doing amazing covers from different genres but they haven’t really produced anything themselves. But with the love and support they’ve been receiving, it felt like the right time. Although, adjustments were needed since their main vocalist is gone.
“Kakayanin kaya to?” Aldo contemplated as he looked at the lyrics for their 3rd song in the EP called “Siguro” mainly written by Vince. It wasn’t entirely done yet but it’s close to completion.
“Hahanap tayo ng vocalist tas mag-rerehearse pa para sa kanta natin malapit na rin yung finals. Parang kukulangin tayo sa oras. What if ipostpo–”
Vincent had to stop the man from speaking further by snatching the lyrics and picking up a pen.
“Kaya natin to, Aldo. Trust me. Malapit na naman ito matapos, konting kembot na lang.” He gave Aldo a reassuring tap on the shoulders before walking towards the low window, hoping that inspiration would come sooner to him.
Half of the song is complete. They got the beat, the rhythm, the chorus and everything. But somehow, they’re stuck on how to end the song. They want something similar to Narda by Kamikazee, the beat slows down as the bridge comes. Vincent believes that the bridge is the blood of the song. The chorus is the heart, it tells what the center of the song is. The bridge is what completes the chorus, pumping the flow of the story and conveys why the chorus is the way it is. Its unfiltered emotions completes the chorus as a whole. They tried to sing it again and again, trying to find the missing piece in the song but failed to do so.
“Bridge na lang naman kulang. Kayang kaya yan ihabol. For now, atupagin muna natin yung audition.” And they did, they cleaned up their practice area, which is sa tambakan area ng bahay ni Aldo, before they decided to take a little break and eat something for lunch. It was Saturday. The road is still busy with commuters. They’re lucky that they were able to pick schedules that have Saturday and Sunday as their rest says. Aldo and Vincent decided to eat at the mini food court near the universities and ordered sisig.
“Eh yung kakilala mo, yung Thomas, hindi ba kumakanta rin yun?” Their career talk continued as they ate their lunch. Reasonable enough considering they were on a time crunch.
“Hindi na nga eh, tumigil na sa pag jamming para magtrabaho. Sayang.”
“Ah ganun…sayang nga, pogi pa naman.”
“Si pogi naman to!” Aldo nudged Vince’s elbow and chuckled, almost choking on his food before he drank some red iced tea.
“Eto naman joke lang. May kilala ka pa ba?”
“Konti lang din kasi mga musicians sa campus. May mag aaudition naman dyan, don’t worry.”
***
Vincent was worried. He didn’t realize that they also have to juggle their finals. Multitasking wasn’t new for him—he was great at it actually. But he can’t help but worry about how much time they have left. The audition was set up online. His worries were set aside for now as they focused on the audition. They asked the student councils for help and permission before posting their sign up form online. The requirements weren’t really that demanding. Experiences with singing, bonus points if they have gone to competitions, gigs, and musical theater, and possibly composing were the key skills they were looking for in a vocalist. Of course, they also need to know if they are pretty flexible with their vocal ranges, since they sing songs in different genres. As their classes ended, the two men met at the quadrangle before going to the designated place for the audition. It was in a vacant room near the stage, mainly used for physical education classes. The room was spacious, perfect for the occasion. Tables and chairs were set as they did the preparations needed. Aldo and Vincent sat beside each other with a clipboard, going through the list of contestants with their basic information such as name, age, year level, and course. The set up was simple honestly. You can tell that it was made by students but it was enough to hold a proper audition.
One by one, the students began to gather inside of the room and sat down on the chairs. There were a total of 20 contestants. Still, it could be worse. They picked the schedule where it’ll hit the study period so all of the students were most likely available to come. The first candidate was a 2nd year tourism student, evident by his uniform.
“Ano kakantahin mo ngayon, Clint?”
“Ah ano po…’Butterflies’ by Denise Julia.”
Ay pak Denise Julia.
They required each candidate to prepare at least a 1 minute and 30 seconds song of choice to sing. It was only the first step of the audition after all, just to test the vocals of each person. For Aldo, “Butterflies” was…definitely an interesting song for an audition. Denise Julia is a great singer, yes, but he wouldn’t call a song like that an excellent pick. When auditioning for a vocalist position, you would want to pick a song that either showcases your vocal range or what genre you’re fully great and confident at. Songs that are very breathy and whispery do not make your voice shine the way it needs to shine. Clint still did a decent job at singing but it wasn’t something that wowed Aldo and Vincent. Shame considering that he knows and likes the band.
“See you na lang sa Concierto.” Vincent gave the man a goodbye wave as they exited the room.
The audition went on for more than an hour, having one break between. They had little progress than they expected. Only 5 students remained and they online liked 4 out of the 15 students. For Vincent, everything was going well. Aldo, however, felt the opposite. Everyone sucked. It may be too harsh or rude to others but that’s how Aldo saw it truthfully. He saw little to zero potential in almost all of the candidates. The 2 students they agreed to move to the final step were more like pasang awas. He was feeling hopeless now until…
“Agnes.”
“Gandang araw sayo, Agnes. Ano kakantahin mo?” Vincent replied with a smile as he reviewed the form she passed. She had experiences in musical theater during senior high school and was an intern at the BANGHIT agency. Her credentials looked promising.
“‘Cabaret’ po from the Cabaret musical.”
Putangina may panalo na.
Now that’s a peculiar yet fantastic choice. You can see Aldo and Vincent’s eyes glimmering of hope as she said it. A curious pick but “Cabaret” portrays such heavy emotions that it also requires a good singing technique—singing badly on purpose but still sounding good. They need to see how she expresses the message of the song, impact the audience with her singing and facial expressions. Even when playing in a band, those things make a significant difference when performing. And Miss Agnes definitely didn’t disappoint. It was almost as powerful as Jane Horrock’s Sally Bowles. Her facial expressions were on point, sharp and fierce yet not exaggerated. You can feel the tone of the musical it came from just from listening to how she sang it. They immediately wanted to give her the position as their vocalist but it would be unfair to the other 4 students. So they just let her pass the final step with much enthusiasm.
***
“Gago ang angas niya.” Aldo excitedly said as he and Vincent walked home together.
“The choice is already obvious.” Vince agreed with a firm nod and a chuckle. They definitely liked Agnes’ performance a lot. Maybe because the two of them also had some experience in the theater field that they felt more connection with her. After all, theater kids must stick together.
“Tas ang ganda pa ng style niya, halatang alt.”
“Oh ayan ka nanaman!” He nudged Aldo jokingly by the elbow, giving him a knowing look.
“Eto naman, cinompliment lang yung tao eh. Syempre walang tatalo sayo, lodi!”
Aba dapat lang
“Ewan ko talaga sayo.” Vince rolled his eyes at his playful remark.
The two of them continued to walk the busy roads of Manila. The sun was already setting. Thankfully, their class ended early. The whole audition was definitely tiresome to them. Rest was definitely needed. But also, the exciting future of Rookie and Cream awaits them.