While music keeps him sane, scriptwriting now Mcoy Fundales’ bread and butter

Mcoy Fundales

While he first made a name for himself as the frontman of the pop-rock band Orange and Lemons, Mcoy Fundales now considers scriptwriting for television as his bread and butter. Music, on other hand, has become his “dessert.”

“My main profession now is scriptwriting. But it’s music that makes life sweeter. I hope it stays in my life because it’s my dessert—pantanggal suya. So I work, work, work and then write songs. Music keeps me happy and sane; something I know I can always go back to,” he told the Inquirer in a virtual conference for his new single, “Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw.”

That’s exactly what he did. Amid writing for GMA 7 sitcoms and variety shows, like “Pepito Manaloto,” “Bubble Gang” and “All Out Sundays,” he felt an urge to put out a follow-up song to his previous release, “Bakit Kita Hahabulin.”

And unracking his brain for ideas, he remembered writing the theme song for a 2018 romance-comedy series called, “Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw,” whose story he also conceptualized. “The song back then only had one stanza and a chorus. So, I thought of finishing the song, for posterity. I wanted to record and arrange it in a better way,” he related.

Serendipity

Like the show, the song—released under the GMA Music sublabel AltG Records—is about serendipity. “It’s about two people who are surrounded by the same people, but for some reason, don’t know each other,” he related. “When you meet ‘The One,’ either of these two things happen: That person becomes your ‘forever,’ or ‘the one that got a way.’”

The song sounds hewn from Orange and Lemons’ croony love ballads. “I have always thought that the ballady side, the romantic, kundiman side of the band was me… that was my contribution, I feel. So now, [as a solo artist], that’s what you will hear from me,” he said.

While his music career is no longer his top priority, Mcoy still hopes to play live shows in the future. “I have been getting inquiries to do gigs abroad. Maybe I can do shows where I’m accompanied by just a pianist or an acoustic guitarist and do intimate versions of Orange and Lemons hits and my own songs,” he said.

The 44-year-old singer-writer never imagined that he would one day become a television scriptwriter. “But the humor was innate. I was the jolly one in the band. I wanted things to be lighthearted and not overly serious. I tried to see the lighter side of things… I didn’t see myself writing comedy, but perhaps it was destined because I love making people laugh,” he said.

Mcoy found himself doing television work through the late Bert de Leon, whom he looked up to as a father figure. Bert, who was directing “The Jose and Wally Show Starring Vic Sotto” in 2011, told Mcoy that production was looking for a new cast member. Mcoy, who was then looking for an oncam job, tried out.

Awkward

Soon, Mcoy realized that being in front of the camera was awkward. Instead, he found himself getting drawn to the team’s brainstorming sessions. “I started pitching ideas… and then I told Direk Bert and [writer] Jojo Nones that maybe they can tell me if there’s an opportunity to write,” he said.

Later on, he got a call from “Pepito Manaloto.” Michael V, the show’s lead star and creative director, asked Mcoy to give samples of his work. He liked them. “And then Bitoy told me, ‘Sulat ka ng buong episode,” he recalled. Before long, GMA 7 was drawing up a writer’s contract for him.

“I’m a late-bloomer when it comes to scriptwriting. I discovered it late. I loved telling stories. And I loved the idea of talking about my stories through songs. But I found out that scriptwriting is a bigger medium to express my imagination,” related Mcoy.

How does he juggle writing music and scripts? What if the dreaded writer’s block strikes?

“Kung marami kang bayarin, sisipagin ka talaga magsulat,” Mcoy quipped, laughing.

But turning serious, Mcoy said that he approaches songwriting and scriptwriting differently. Music is more organic; television is more intentional.

“When it comes to music, I like it when an idea comes without me consciously thinking about it. But scriptwriting is work now, it’s what I do. So I spend my mornings sitting down, thinking and writing, thinking of ideas for ‘Bubble Gang’ and ‘Pepito.’ It’s like writing puzzles, where you have to connect the main and subplots in a funny way.”