PinoyMag. May 2008
What's the name of your latest CD?
it's called SELF-TITLED.
How long did you guys work on this CD from start to finish?
we started practicing January 2008. Mid or end of January, we started recording. we just finished recording last week (end of april).
it's now time for mixing and mastering... plus shooting the album cover and the video :)
Who writes most of the lyrics?
We all help write the lyrics... (see next question's answer)
What is your songwriting process this time around?
usually, jazz,and comes to a session with a chorus or a verse (or both)... then we all help (either individually or as a group) to finish the job.
sometimes, i come in with a finished song (lyrics and melody), and we arrange the song as a group.
sometimes also, jazz comes in with a finished song, complete with his idea of the arrangement... then we all try to insert our two cent's worth.
What were some of the inspirations behind the songs lyrically and musically?
Where does the band draw their lyrical inspiration from?
lyrically, we get our ideas from our own experiences, whether good or bad ones. Or sometimes, we also look into other people's experiences.
Or sometimes, we invent an absurd situation and get a laugh doing it!
musically, i think we've matured since our last album. We still love the Beatles, the E'heads, Bob Marley, and all the classics, but we've expanded our musical tastes some more (thanks to our mp3 players!)
there's a little bit of funk, disco, punk, and a little bit of everything else in this new album.
How did the band decide which songs would be released as singles?
Sony-BMG still has the final say, but we tell them what we want. Of course, we choose what we think are the best in the bunch.
When you went into the studio to record the album how many songs did you have and how did you decide which ones would make it onto the album?
we only had a handful of songs when we started recording... but everything fell into place once we decided that
it was already time to work! There were probably two or three songs that were cut out from the album. We decided to
make it an all-tagalog record. Jazz actually re-wrote an English song that we've already laid in.
he rewrote the lyrics AND melody over the arrangement. It was originally called She's Like You...
and it became Nahuli Mo Na Ba Ako.
Did you have an idea of what direction you wanted this album to go or did you guys just jump in and see what happens?
We really wanted to self-produce the album from the start. Aside from that, it was all "bahala na!"
This was our first time to produce a full length album, so we didn't have a clue! We didn't even have a proper
pre-prod. After Noon Time Show, we recorded a bunch of songs (for commercials, compilation albums, etc..) on our
own. We thought that it was as easy to do that for a whole album... we were wrong! :)
But it was a very good learning experience for all of us. ;)
How do you feel about your accomplishments and who inspired the band as a group?
when we started the band, all i wanted was to put out a major-label album... So all of this is just gravy for me.
We feel so blessed to have this job that we love so much! And we would like to thank everyone who has helped us from day one.
It is these people who inspire us to strive to be better at what we do. Our Manager, Kerwin Rosete; our itchycrew;
our record label, who believes in our music;and most especially, our loyal fans. We are nothing without these people.
What do you think of the scene now compared to what it was 5-7 years ago?
it's a double-edged sword for me. obviously, digital technology and the internet, helped globalize music, giving us
the chance to spread OPM all over the world. However, it also gave rise to digital piracy, which threatens to destroy the music industry.
but i truly believe that as long as there are kids, there will always be rock n' roll! ;)
What do you want people to know or understand from your band and your music?
that we're a fun and rowdy bunch that might come off as obnoxious or suplado, but it's just because we're really tight as a group.
we're really good friends who enjoy each other's company.
we also want to uplift the musical tastes of the masses, because we believe that it could happen!
On the average how many songs does Itchyworms write before going into the studio and recording an album?
we constantly write in between albums, we choose the best among those, and then start arranging and practicing them.
we probably prepared around 20 songs for this album.
Has the popularity of Itchyworms taken you by surprise?
"surprised" is an understatement! We have always believed in ourselves even during the time when our former managers and former labels didn't... but we never expected anything like this. We are truly lucky bastards!
So what's in the agenda for 2008?
Hopefully, more gigs!!! More school, mall and bar gigs! More corporate gigs! More out of town and out of the country gigs! :)
We can't wait to let you hear our new stuff! Thanks so much for the support! :)
Posted at 01:08 pm by JUGS
