[See the upcoming gigs of Moonwlk HERE.]
When I first entered Big Bad Wolf, the artsy café at the
ground floor of an expensive high rise in the Bonifacio Global City, I was 10
minutes late, and Moonwlk was already there. Nick Lazaro, the male half of Moonwlk,
the synth pop duo that had captured my imagination and dominated my FB chat
conversations, was languidly slumped in one of the large chairs, beer in hand
and bangs kinda punk, kinda Bieberish on his forehead. Gabbi Buencamino was sitting on the
couch, back straight, hair perfectly in place, hands on lap, dressed in a flowing
blouse and skinny yellow jeans. If not for the guitar leaning on the chair at
Nick’s arm, I wouldn’t have thought that this was my new favorite band. Yet, there
they were and here I was.
However, the true element to Moonwlk’s success is in their
chemistry; their writing, their vocals, their music flows together
effortlessly. It’s really the thing that makes them Moonwlk. Crafting and
editing to communicate strong tone, yet with their lyrics comfortably
ambiguous, the songs allow you to draw your own meanings and connections.
Ambiguity was a big point for them.
- Thanks to the staff and the patrons of Big Bad Wolf for being cool that night. And thanks to Antonin Laberge for playing key grip.
When I first entered Big Bad Wolf, the artsy café at the
ground floor of an expensive high rise in the Bonifacio Global City, I was 10
minutes late, and Moonwlk was already there. Nick Lazaro, the male half of Moonwlk,
the synth pop duo that had captured my imagination and dominated my FB chat
conversations, was languidly slumped in one of the large chairs, beer in hand
and bangs kinda punk, kinda Bieberish on his forehead. Gabbi Buencamino was sitting on the
couch, back straight, hair perfectly in place, hands on lap, dressed in a flowing
blouse and skinny yellow jeans. If not for the guitar leaning on the chair at
Nick’s arm, I wouldn’t have thought that this was my new favorite band. Yet, there
they were and here I was.
Nick and Gabbi are pretty opposite, I will gradually opine,
but both are totally cool and easygoing, with Nick doing most of the talking. Gabbi
excused herself, seemingly so we woudn’t watch her stuff her face with dinner—very
ladylike—while Nick opened up almost immediately about his music and even some
personal stuff like having divorced parents, his upbringing in the US, and his
missing out on high school as he toured the states with his metalcore deathcore band, Animosity.
“Despite what she tells you,” Nick said of Gabbi while she
was away, “she does so much for our songwriting.” I realize that it’s tough to
get her to fess up to the role that Nick gives her credit for. “I just parrot
him,” she jokes, but she's gone a lot farther than she lets on. She shows her jazz chops in a couple of YouTube videos as a pinch singer with The Executives, and has loads of experience in the choir scene, recently going pro with the Vocalismo Chorale Group and having toured Malaysia twice already. When I asked her when she became
self-aware of her beautiful soprano voice, she sidesteps to a story of her spoken voice being her first recorded sound when she
was just six, giddy over Michael Jackson. When asking her if she played an instrument,
she cocks her head to the side and says, “I only know three chords on the
guitar: D, A, and G,” and embarrassedly plays, “I’m afraid to fly/I’m not that
naïve,” and then segues into Leaving on a Jet Plane. If there were a more
fitting choice of songs that matched her incredible humility, I can’t imagine it. “I can
play the piano,” she adds apologetically, “but I can only read notes.”
ONLY. Sigh.
Nick is a veritable genius, or at least one of those musical
polyglots who can play any instrument known to the everyman. A composition
major who slashed his way through the US on tour with his metalcore deathcore band, Animosity, when
he was a teenager living there, he also played double bass for a year for his
cousin Jay Alviar’s swing/jazz band Brass Munkeys, and aside from Moonwlk, his
other band is Twin Lobster, where, as a 3-piece, they attempted to squeeze every bit of music from each instrument. But when he 'discovered' the midi and Ableton
software, he realized another side of him that could create every sound in his
expansive imagination. "And," he blurted like a man finally confessing to murder, getting it off his chest, "I wanted to sing more."
Moonwlk was his outlet.
What can you say about Moonwlk that isn’t self explanatory
on their soundcloud account? One of the first things Nick and I talked about was our
local music heroes. “When I
first arrived from the states, the first song that I heard that resonated with
me was ‘Perpekto’ by Dong Abay…” Aside from that, when we talked about labels, we both
admired Toti Dalmacion of Terno Records and talked about his favorite current bands, Ang Bandang Shirley and Musical O. And when we veered the conversation back to Moonwlk, he brought up
another common hero, Rico Blanco. Specifically, Nick loves 'Liwanag sa Dilim.' “After
hearing that song,” he said, “with Filipino lyrics so esoteric, Rico Blanco
inspired me to raise the level of my own lyric writing. To try harder.”
That’s the thing that I love about Moonwlk: they’re all about the craft. They love looking for—and finding—the hook! Each
song has something memorable like a lyric (“We seem so tired/And you lookupset/You do know there is north south east and west”), or a heart-wrenching
repetition (“Choose me when you are sober…Choose me when your thoughts areclearer…Choose me when I no longer belong to another…Choose me stillwhenever”), or a flange effect that resonates beneath the surface.
However, the true element to Moonwlk’s success is in their
chemistry; their writing, their vocals, their music flows together
effortlessly. It’s really the thing that makes them Moonwlk. Crafting and
editing to communicate strong tone, yet with their lyrics comfortably
ambiguous, the songs allow you to draw your own meanings and connections.
Of course they have their own meanings behind the lyrics. 20Twelve is about the Mayan doomsday prediction, for example. Choose Me is
a straightforward with the chest-crushing appeal to be desired. While it’s easy to guess
who wrote what, together, Nick’s technical prowess and Gabbi’s sincere modesty blend
as perfectly as their vocals, while remaining distinct as their characters. The
two friends who have so much in common—neighbors in the south Metro, both
teachers (him, music; her, math) in schools in the south, across the street from one other—play off each
other so well in person as well as in the studio.
Nick speaks plainly and
naturally when talking about their music (which I like). Gabbi smiles a lot and
is incredibly proud of their work (which is cool, too). Nick keeps up a mask of
intellectualism and praises Gabbi‘s voice endlessly. She demurs to him, but when
guests stop by to say how awesome their music is, she is the first to pump her
tiny fists in the air like a true champ.
Their shared love for the retro-future new wave sound brings
that confidence to an almost-punk level. The beats of 20Twelve (12-tracks) are each an adventure, yet vaguely familiar, nostalgic of Depeche Mode‘s
melodies, or Tears for Fears‘ meter, or U2’s persistent bass lines.
But there is more
to this band than a throwback Thursday with thirty thumbs up: it’s the deliberate creation of counterpoints, the confluence of contrasting
styles; the aggressive breaks, beats, and chords on one hand, and the innocent
harmonies and positivity in each song on the other. It’s the counterpoint that gives the word "surprisingly good" meaning; the counterpoint, the ambiguity, the compatible oppositeness explains Moonwlk’s impact, and looking at Nick and Gabbi, it is them.
And Gabbi smiles again.
- On Friday, July 12, Nick and Gabbi launch their album, 20Twelve at Today X Future, Cubao. Also on the bill that night: Turbo Goth, Nouvul, and Diego Mapa.
- See the upcoming gigs of Moonwlk and your other favorite artists on www.heygarch.com, by clicking on their artist profiles or search for them using the Search field.
- See the upcoming gigs of Moonwlk and your other favorite artists on www.heygarch.com, by clicking on their artist profiles or search for them using the Search field.
- Thanks to the staff and the patrons of Big Bad Wolf for being cool that night. And thanks to Antonin Laberge for playing key grip.
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