INTERVIEW: GELO GONZALES
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARCHIPELAGO, SHOT BY LENNSKI SANTIAGO
September 24, 2009 | 4037 views
It’s weird that people think that. Maraming artists ang involved sa mas marami pang banda. Truth be told, I am the Archipelago member with the least number of bands. For me it’s just Pupil and Archipelago. Wendell, our drummer, is with Hapi House, Pupil, and Archipelago, and he sessions for everyone. Chad is with Tempestuous Jones, Liquid Jane and Archipelago. And Pat is with TOI, Monkeyspank, and Archipelago.
Then I hear people say, “Ah nag-quit ka na ba para mag-solo?” On a good day, I just take it with a grain of salt. On a bad day, well, I get a lot of these messages in my Facebook, and I can’t answer everyone’s questions, so I just close the window. Of course, I try to answer everyone’s questions as well as I could.What things are you able to express with Archipelago that you really weren’t able to express with Pupil?
I’ve always wanted to sing in a band. In fact, when we put up Archipelago, the original plan was that I wouldn’t play an instrument. I’m still playing the guitar now, but eventually it will come to a point na magiging vocalist ako, na microphone lang and that’s it. And not because it’s better than playing the guitar.
Like I said, if it were true that I was unhappy with Pupil, I would have left Pupil. If it were true that I wanted to be a singer and just that, then I would have foregone playing guitars. Sinasabi ko nga sa mga tao: “I love being a guitarist in a kick-ass band.” And now, I have the new added experience of being a vocalist in what I hope will be perceived by people to be a kick-ass band too. We’re new so it’s too early to tell.
But it’s amazing how much articulate experience is brought out every night when you are the singer. The stories of all of the songs come through for the moment that you are singing them. When I play guitar, there is also feeling involved, but it is more abstract because I’m playing notes and not words. As a singer, you have something more concrete, you have the poetry that directly affects your experience from whence the songs come from.
