The Time When I Sang With Ebe Dancel

If there's one local band that actually made me cry during a gig that would be Sugarfree. I'm not sure whether I was really sad at that time when I first saw them play at 70s Bistro or maybe because I was really taken by the lyrics of some of their songs, particularly Burnout which happens to be one of my favorite songs ever (here's my cover of it). I remember telling vocalist Ebe Dancel after their set that their songs made me feel many..uhhmm..feelings and I just cried during their set (yes...I like to embarrass myself once in a while) and he just laughed and apologized and continued by saying that it wasn't their intention to make me cry. But that's what made Sugarfree one of my favorite bands to watch, their songs have that "tang'na...yan talaga yung nararamdaman ko e!" thing to it.

Imagine the sadness that I felt when they decided to break-up. I was so affected by it that I was not able to go to Eastwood and watch their last show. I thought to myself, why would I travel all the way to Eastwood just to be brokenhearted? Ano ako, tange? So I just stayed at home and sulked. I attempted to tune in to the live airing of the show over a radio station. I heard my friend Quark introduce Sugarfree and when I already felt my cheeks starting to burn up and my tears starting to build up, I turned the radio off. It was painful. Eventually though, I got over it, I moved on. I even had a chance to interview Ebe who was at that time planning for the launch of his first solo album and had been working on gigs.

The interview happened at the Warner office in Ortigas. As always, it's fun and at the same time humbling to be able to interview musicians that you really like and look up to because luckily enough for me I get really good answers from questions that sometimes I deem silly or redundant (sakit yan ng mga ibang di ganun kabihasang manunulat gaya ko...hayaan nyo na).

Fast forward to this year, seeing that Ebe is obviously one of my favorite local musicians, it's no longer a surprise that I would want to include him in my list of people that I would like to jam with for my Cover Collab project. I sent a text to him asking if we can do the Cover Collab and gladly he agreed. We tried finding a schedule that fit us both and luckily enough he was able to. I went to his pad, which he shares with his beautiful and talented wife Nikita, and we ate pizza first before the recording. Nikita helped in setting up, rearranging some things, making sure that the "aesthetics" are taken cared of. She stood as our DOP / PD that night (thank you, Nikita!!!).

Ebe and I decided to do a cover of a Beatles original as well as a song from the Indigo Girls. I suggested the first one which he agreed because it was one of his favorites, and he suggested the second song because he just loves singing it. I have not heard the Indigo Girls' song for years and I did not have the time to memorize it so I had to use my gadget to read the lyrics while I sing (wow...what a pro, Mallabo). Anyway, without further ado, here are the 2 covers that Ebe and I performed. Enjoy!

 Thank you, Ebe!