Music Hero’s advice to aspiring musicians

Music Hero

If he were to give a piece of advice to other young and aspiring musicians, Manly Ocampo, the lead vocalist of “Eat Bulaga’s” resident pop band Music Hero, would tell them to remember that “music is for everyone” and that staying humble pays off.

“Music has no age limit; it doesn’t discriminate. You have to set a goal and never lose sight of that. You have to be grateful, remember where you come from and who helped you along the way,” he said.

The group is also composed of eight other musicians: Radlee Laquian (acoustic guitar), Fender Dimalanta (electric guitar), Joaquin Rodrigo (drums), Jim Tan and RD Benavides (keyboards), JayR Corre (bass), Brian Feliciano (saxophone) and Dominique Casacop (violin). The members are all products of the noontime variety show’s competition, which is likewise called Music Hero.

“We encourage everyone, especially the youth, to try and play instruments or hone their vocal skills. We want them to find their own voices and have that confidence in owning their talents,” JayR added.

The band’s first single “Walang Papalit”—a song about heartbreak and finding happiness—recently topped the music stream service Spotify’s Viral 50 Philippine chart. “It’s a relatable song because, one way or another, we all have experienced love and heartbreak,” Manly related. “Through the song, we want people to feel that there’s always a second chance at love.”

Moving forward, the instrumentalists and singers said they hoped to follow in the footsteps of the R&B group South Border. “They play timeless music that we want to produce. We want to sound like them, but also want to have our own flavor in every song we play,” RD said. —ALLAN POLICARPIO