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Band Credo

A band is not merely a collection of individuals playing their specified instruments. A band does not just perform the music they have created over a period of time with precision like a metronome. A band is not a business venture saddled by constant gigs and looming deadlines. Nor is a band a group, such as ours, heavily influenced by the Gothenberg sound in Sweden (In Flames, At The Gates) typified by harsh vocals coming from a female (!), interlaced with guitar harmonies, frenetic riffing, and ripping leads, as well as a menacing rhythm section. A band is not as simple as that.

A band is a unified entity, collated by the efforts and ideas of its members. A band must strive for a vision, not only of one person within the group, but also by everybody else part of it; its members, its listeners, and the non-listeners. Once the vision is established, the band must work towards this vision, and not let the vision walk towards them.

A band decides as a group, not because a member says otherwise. Everybody must take part of the band and speak out their mind about band issues because it is the only way for them to progress and grow as a group. Silence due to lack of participation or a neutral stance is unacceptable, for it would only cause further grief and anguish in the long run, when other members are not giving themselves entirely to the band’s purpose.

A band is an expression of the lifestyle they live for in this world. It is the brand of music they play, the style they exhibit, and the attitude they emanate, that determines how they want to be seen by the people around them. The band forges its own identity by enfleshing the sound and attitude the members have come up with. Simply put, the individual part of the band plays this particular kind of music because it is what makes him. Without it, he or she loses face in this world.

A band is bound by respect and confidence for each other. At some point, the members of the band would eventually have to consider each other as friends because not only are they sharing the same choice of expression, but also becoming the person that they must be through the help of each other. They must work each other’s weaknesses to grow as a band. Furthermore, in times of crisis and problems, the band must support and talk their issues with each other, since a band happens to be a collective effort. Nobody must talk sole responsibility of a particular decision. Once a choice has been made, everybody in the band becomes accountable for its repercussions.

A band is in no way a form of escapism, but it is a reaffirmation of what we hold dear in this world: music and its proliferation to the masses. One must not use the band as a medium to merely reflect and contemplate on the ‘what could have been’ and the ‘say it ain’t so’ in one’s life, because instances in life similar to this would have gone and passed like a fleeting memory longing to be forgotten. Rather, a band must march on, improving life by singing and performing their creations, making changes in our current situations, to become better people, and sing about what really matters, what we can still redeem and save.

A band is all about having fun. Playing music is about releasing oneself from the straddles of everyday life. Success lies not in the number of records that one sells, or the number of gigs they played on, for they are superficial achievements that are sure to fade in the near future. Success, therefore, is achieved with the camaraderie the members of the band shared, and the way they have built and strengthened each other throughout the years. This is the key to having a great band.

A band, after all has been said and done, when everybody has given their part and has at the same time enjoyed the fruits of their labor, grows beyond the member’s comprehension. The band is not anymore reliant to its members to exist. The music does not have to be associated with the personalities that are integral in the creation of the band. Instead, the band becomes an idea in itself. In the end, people ultimately would not remember the members that made the songs possible, but they would remember the words, the note, and the music that moved them, and that has given hope in their existence.

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Bakit ganon? Bakit nagmamadali na lumabas ang mga tao sa sandali’t nagbukas na ang labasan ng MRT terminal? Saan ba sila pupunta? Mahalaga ba ang kanilang pupuntahan? Hindi ba makapaghihintay ang kanyang pupuntahan? Bakit ganon?

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