An Afternoon Jam with Ira Cruz

Guitarist Ira Cruz is like the kuya that I never had but I guess unlike the usual kuyas with issues that you guys have, Ira and I never fail to always get a laugh out of something. Mali na nga at wala sa lugar na ata kung minsan e he he.

 

Excuse my brace faced phase

We go a long way back. I think I first met him when I was still working for Pulp Magazine. I've arranged numerous photo shoots with bands, and also gigs, that included a shoot with the original members of the band Kapatid.

Hay, memoriiiieeeessss! He has been one of the few people that I've become friends with in the industry. At one time I actually convinced him to do a fashion editorial, yes, I asked him to be one of my models! If that is not true friendship right there, I don't know what is! Hahaha! Too bad I don't have a picture here with me that I can post, tsk. With all biases aside though, Ira is one of my favorite local guitar players because of his versatility. Tugtog lang ng tugtog, that's the vibe that I get from him. Aside from his present band Hijo, he still sessions for other artists (he played guitar for Anne Curtis' concert recently). That's why it's a no brainer that I asked him to be part of this so-called "project" that I'm working on.

So OK, for those of you who are first time visitors of my blog HELLO! I'm working on this cover collab sessions where in I will be tapping my favorite local musicians and ask them if they can do two covers with me and we'll record it on video to be posted on my youtube account. What's the purpose of this you might ask? Nothing really. I just want it to be one of a few sources of my happiness, a happy thought generator if you will. One of these days it would be fun to look back at these videos and say that HA! I did that!(?)

Back to my afternoon with Mr. Cruz. I went to his house somewhere in Cubao and I brought him his favorite pancit which we dubbed Pancit Highblood.

 

This is the glorious Pancit Highblood that can only be found here in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. First of all, I love it because it has no onions! Second it is to die for because it has lechon kawali mixed in there somewhere. So before we recorded the covers, merienda muna! 

F na F sa unang subo

So after our cholesterol filled merienda, we practiced the songs and worked on our harmony for 311's "I'll Be Here Awhile." We made it a pitch higher so my voice won't disappear in the low parts of the song. 

 

 

At first he told me not to ask him to sing but I said that he has to because the harmony is the best part of that 311 tune plus the ten ten nen ten ten tenenen (that's my best rendition of the lead part at the beginning of the song). 

Enough of the text, here are the two covers that my friend Ira and I recorded, 311's acoustic version of "I'll Be Here Awhile" and Corinne Bailey Rae's "Like A Star." I hope you'll like them.