The last time we had Ben & Ben on the Monster was when they performed at the RX Concert Series way back 2018! This time, we hung out and chatted with all the band members via Zoom! But even Zoom cannot handle the kulitan of the band members with Rico and Karla!
First to join the call were vocalists Paolo and Miguel Guico wherein they let everyone know how they're both doing and what they have been up to. Miguel became very honest and raw and expressed how the anxiety and worrying has totally hit them because of the big change they have to face. But they took advantage of the situation and turned it into something positive, together with their friends, by lending out a helping a hand and organizing their own way to help and contribute with the relief efforts. It not only felt a blessing to them but also helped keep them sane because it meant putting all their efforts, energy, heart and passion into something.
Ben & Ben held 2 fundraising shows for the COVID-19 effort: Puhon on Facebook and their "Doors" single launch on Youtube.
For the Facebook online fundraiser, the band were shocked and surprised because of the reception they got from the online concert. Miguel shared that it first just started out as an idea but they were having doubts about it 'cause of how logistically and technically possible it would be and if people were actually gonna donate to the fundraiser. They also got the idea of an online concert from Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin's Together At Home online concert! Their Facebook fundraising concert was such a success that it amassed 170,000 viewers!
You can still watch their fundraising concerts on Facebook and Youtube if you missed it or just want to re-watch again!
After their online fundraiser shows, the band also wrote songs and recorded music via video call! Talk about hardwork and dedication at a time like this! So how was recording via Zoom like for the band? Besides the overlapping of voices, it was a whole lot of fun process for them!
How was it also like for Paolo to be in lockdown with brother Miguel for a long period of time? "I would liken it to a domesticated husband and wife relationship." Oh, Paolo! A man of few words but you definitely crack us up! But kidding aside, Paolo and Miguel have formed this dynamic where they know when to back off and stay out of each other's face even just for a bit and everthing will be fine after things get light, just like any set of siblings! "There's always a season of getting in each other's nerves and a season of living in harmony."
We all know how big Ben & Ben of a band is, not just in fame but also in numbers! There are 9 of them in total so we wanted to know who came first, how it started and such. Miguel explained that all 7 others came in at the same time. Since they've been doing gigs quite a lot and hang out most of the time, they all had their band meeting in a mall foodcourt where they "defined their relationship" and went all the way to officially become band members! As Paolo quoted Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, "No regrets, just love."
The other band members entered one by one, a la reality tv show style and the second one to enter the Zoom session was Poch Barretto, guitarist of the band!
Poch also told us how has he been keeping up with the quarantine. He shared that although he is an introvert, Poch likes going out and having his alone time outside or hanging with his close friends. It definitely was a struggle as well for him at first since he's living with his family who mostly have strong personalities. But as Paolo and Miguel said earlier, because of their online fundraisers it helped Poch as well clear his headspace since he's channeling all his energy into something that he loves doing, despite the limited movement which made the weeks go by easier for him. Poch has also been working out quite often during the lockdown and of course, learning and playing music. Oh, and cutting his own hair too!
Joining next on the call were Patricia Lasaten who is the keyboardist and Agnes Reoma the bassist of the band! So what have been these two ladies up to? Well, Agnes is close to cutting her own hair as well while Pat is consistently working out and baking cookies!
The rest of the band entered the Zoom call after; Jam Villanueva the drummer, Toni Muñoz and Andrew De Pano who are both the percussionist and backing vocals! Kiefer Cabugao, the band's violinist is the last one to join just because he is not a morning person and did not wake up on time!
How has the band been keeping in touch during this lockdown? Zoom calls are the key! They have been doing Zoom calls almost everyday, mostly talking about music and projects with a little how-are-yous and inside jokes, just like your typical 9-piece barkada! In terms of writing, the band were able to write and record a couple of songs during quarantine. Good thing the inspiration is still there! The main challenge was how to put the record together, but eventually the band did pull it off! In terms of playing via Zoom, how did the band feel playing and performing digitally? Andrew said that it was more of the matching of energy that was the challenging part. It wasn't the same as how it was live but it's something that they did manage to pull through! Although, of course, they still prefer to perform together live and in person and we'll all be waiting for that day to come again!
On a more comic note, the band talked about viral memes, TikToks and videos about the band and the first one being Paolo's meme as he got compared to Sadness from the animated movie Inside Out! How did Paolo react to that? By actually dressing up as Sadness for Halloween! Paolo shared that he and his girlfriend went as Sadness and Joy from the film for Halloween 3 years ago! Way to embrace and flaunt the meme, Paolo!
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The band were also asked about the viral TikTok of the "My Heart Went Oops" challenge of these two twin girls who transformed into Paolo and Miguel! Of course, as the embracer of memes, Paolo and Miguel just had to recreate that TikTok! It was definitely a funny yet clever TikTok-ception! The other members also agreed that it was indeed funny, clever and definitely spot on!
my heart went oops- ba kamo (COVER) pic.twitter.com/yVzf4Qk5aF
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) April 1, 2020
Another viral moment that they looked back on was not a meme nor a TikTok but a "stage accident" where Agnes the bassist fell down a hole on stage while performing their song "Ride Home". Thank goodness, she came out safe and conscious even if she got a little injured from it. Agnes was all good and found the incident funny and thought about the band's safety as well! She even laughed when she first saw the video but of course a lot of people expressed their concern for her well-being. Andrew also thought of getting the bass guitar from Agnes and continue with finishing the song! Agnes just a had lot of passion and energy during that set and even a hole on the stage wouldn't stop her from doing what she loves best!
Update: @agnesreoma has been injured but is safe and conscious. We'll update you more soon. https://t.co/tYCUhSgTR5
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) January 25, 2020
In terms of new music, we can definitely expect more of that from the band! They actually just released a new single a week ago called "Lifetime" which was inspired by fan's story on one of their Youtube comments! So how did they give life and meaning to the fan's story by writing a song about it? Paolo saw the comment because it was posted and went kinda viral online, and showed it to the band members. He shared that the song wasn't intentional but more of an inspiration since the story was very compelling. “[When an inspiration comes] it’s like a bolt of lightning. One moment it was not there and the next one, it’s a picture already in your head. That's kinda how Lifetime happened.” Paolo shared. He even broke down how it was made: the melody and the lyrics of the chorus came at the same time, which eventually grew into a full chorus and an hour later the verse was written. The song was finished on the same night as well! For the beat, it was different at first but Poch suggested a simpler but moving beat to Paolo (which is the one used in the actual song) since it highlights the words/lyrics more. And the rest of the band definitely worked their magic which produced a beautiful, meaningful song.
update: so.. this kept us up last night that we ended up writing a new song about it https://t.co/hzDmgQmPo2
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) May 12, 2020
More funny moments, stories and fan questions from Ben & Ben's Facebook live here on All Out with Rico and Karla:
Part 1:
Part 2: