Stephen Speaks vocalist praises Bam Aquino for openness to work with musicians

(From left) Rockwell Ryan Ripperger and Bam Aquino. Images: Instagram/@stephenspeaksmusic, INQUIRER.net’s special election site

Rockwell Ryan Ripperger, frontman of American pop-rock band Stephen Speaks, expressed his gratitude to senatorial aspirant Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino for making an effort to meet with music artists in hopes of “working on policies that will benefit” them in the future.

Ripperger took to his Facebook page on Friday, April 11, to share that his “music attorney” Mark Piad and musician Lean Ansing were also part of the Aquino-led gathering.

“My music attorney Mark Piad is seen here with my friend Lean from Slapshock, meeting with former senator Bam Aquino to work on policies that benefit musicians in the Philippines,” he said.

Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Stephen Speaks

The singer also hoped that such efforts to address the needs of his fellow musicians will be done in the US.

“Very cool — I would love to see this sort of thing happening in the US. Keep up with the good work fellas,” he said.

Aside from Piad and Ansing, also part of the gathering were P-pop girl group YARA (composed of members Gelou, Rocher, Christa, and Kim), Chelsea Alley, Pio Balbuena, Morobeats, and DJ Medmessiah.

Ripperger and fellow singer-songwriter TJ McCloud formed Stephen Speaks in 1999, and released the group’s first full-length album “No More Doubt” two years later.

The group is best known for their hit songs “Passenger Seat” and “Out of My League,” which topped the local music charts in 2003. Both songs have also been a favorite of Filipino households and have been a common fixture in karaoke.