What Sitti and Pooh have learned in the biz so far

Sitti

Sitti pauses as she ponders our question: What has she learned so far in an industry that has rewarded her for unwittingly bringing back the bossa nova trend 10 years ago?

The singer thinks hard before opening up about her frustrations instead. “I don’t actually like being labeled as just a bossa nova singer,” she says, adding that she herself wrote two songs that deviate from the genre in her latest self-titled album.

She cites two more causes of her fretfulness: Radio doesn’t play her songs, especially those from her new CD; and she feels the need to further develop her self-confidence.

“But I’m more in control of my career now,” she declares, pointing out that her management, Backroom Inc., gives her the freedom to make personal decisions.

In fact she was the one who asked another Backroom artist, the comedian Pooh, if she could have the Music Museum as venue of her concert—because both of them are doing shows on the same date, Dec. 29.

Pooh was accommodating enough to agree, picking the Metro Bar in Quezon City for his own venue.

He has every reason to be kind and happy these days, he says, because he has just finished paying for his own condo unit: “Tinapos ko na, para hindi malaki ang interes.”

As far as lessons learned in the biz are concerned, Pooh says two things stand out: good interpersonal relations and dealing with challenges.

He explains: “Natuto akong makisama … kahit na pagod ako sa trabaho. At sa lakas ng competition sa comedy, ang challenge ko yung hindi ako basta nagbibitaw ng (kahit anong) punch lines … Iba kasi sa comedy bar at sa TV…”

Pooh, who has successfully made the jump from doing stand-up in clubs to acting on the ABS-CBN gag show “Banana Split,” cites two foreign comedians—Russell Peters and Kathy Griffin—as his idols. “Ang galing talaga nila magpatawa kahit walang props.”

He says he believes that a good comedian doesn’t have to insult a member of the audience to get a good laugh, adding that he’d rather make fun of himself to achieve the same result.

(The concert “M.R.S.: Most Requested Sitti” will be held Dec. 29 at the Music Museum with guests Brigada, Duncan Ramos and Martin Nievera; The comedy show “Pooh Live” goes onstage on the same date at Metro Bar with guests Jason Gainza and John Prats, among other surprise artists.) Pocholo Concepcion