I haven't seen the three girls perform "live" yet, not until tonight (starting at 6 o'clock) when they present an exclusive show for the media in connection with their debut album Wired 2 Scream (Universal Records).
But for sure, the threesome doesn't look the way their collective name sounds -- that is, Wyrd which is pronounced "wired" and not, sigh of relief, "weird."
At the Sushiko Japanese restaurant on Quezon Avenue where Funfare had a brief chat with them, the three girls look just like any typical schoolgirls -- reserved, even shy, garbed in casuals any teener would love to go around in, and pursuing big dreams and big goals. Just like any typical teenager.
Wyrd is actually an acronym which means "We're Young Rockin' Dudettes" -- and how they rock!
Towards the end of the interview, Funfare requested the trio to give a sample of their music, a cappella, and they do sound, well, different from other girl bands, local and/or foreign, no wonder Universal Records lady boss Bella Tan fell in love with them and signed them up to a contract at first hearing.
Meet the Wyrd girls: Nikka Paloma, vocalist and keyboardist; Jelly Pangan, drummer; and Babes Tolentino, guitarist.
Fifteen-year-old Nikka is the moving spirit of the group. She composed most of the songs in their maiden album, including the carrier single, Scream.
Nikka's grandpa is the late veteran journalist Vic Tañedo, from whom she inherited the writing genes. She wrote Scream at the age of 14, but it's not really her first creation which attacted overwhelming attention.
Her first big break came when her original tune, Chums (written when she was 12), won MTV Asia's The Next Big Thing search in the Philips Out Of The Box portion in 1997. Out of thousands of entries from all over Asia, Australia and as far as Nigeria, Chums performed by Wyrd won the international contest.
"Joining the search was kind of a hard task for us," Nikka recalls. "We didn't have a single connection in the industry then. We combined all our allowances and recorded the song on a simple demo tape."
The Chums tape was sent a day before the deadline through the "quickmail" courier, but still Nikka and firends doubted if it would arrive on time.
Yes, it did and it even grabbed the much coveted prize!
Nikka attributes her musicality as a gift from the Big Poppa (God) and additional genes from her grandma, who's the most accomplished pianist Nikka has encountered.
She also gives credit to her dad who's a good singer from whom she inherited her voice and her mom who's a good storyteller who told all those original bedtime stories (the real ones) to her during the baby years; thus nurturing the creativity in her during that formative period.
Babes' full name is Nerirose Poblete Tolentino, a full-blooded Batangueña who's based in Lipa City but stays at the UST dorm during school and work days.
She just graduated from the Pontifical U last March 26 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology, which she chose as her pre-medicine course.
But lately she's considering to pursue law studies instead of medicine to have time to continue playing with Wyrd as a guitarist. A consistent honor student, Babes also won awards in oration and declamation contests. She also excelled in math tilts and was a consistent winner in quiz shows.
Babes also joined several clubs in school and is also active in the Youth For Christ Movement since 1993.
She loves listening to solo artists like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and to her favorite group, Dream Theatre. Babes loves baking cakes and pastries which she eats herself, so it's a big wonder how she maintains that slim figure.
Jelly Casis Pangan is also 15. She's very much accustomed to showbiz life since her dad Gayjee Manuel Pangan is a stage and movie director. The late comedian Chiquito was her uncle.
In addition to the drums, Jelly also plays the guitar during her freetime.
A future lady grandmaster, Jelly has just won the Trinity College Intramurals Chess Championship last month and has also added the Battle of Boards Championship last February 2000 to her conquests.
Jelly contributed one song, Love I Guess in their album.
Meanwhile, here's a reaction letter from New York-based Ana Marie Datuin to a Funfare item about Raymond Red's short film Anino which is in competition (Short Film Category) at the Cannes Filmfest:
I believe any Filipino, who knows the importance and glamour of being chosen to compete in the Cannes for the Festival, should be ecstatic over the fact that the Philippines is currently being represented in this most prestigious international film festival by Raymond Red whose short film, Anino, is in competition. I think we don't have to wait for Raymond to bring home the Palme d'or Award for us to give him the accolades he deserves. At this point, he is already a winner and he deserves recognition and our cheers for having made it to the top 10 out of 517 entrees from all over the world.
I am not pushing for Raymond because I know him personally and that I have the honor and privilege of working with him through the film Sakay. I am rooting for him because I strongly believe he deserves it and we, Filipinos, should begin to learn how to give credit where credit is due. I am saying this because when Marilou Diaz-Abaya was positioning her film Rizal for the Cannes Festival, it was the topic of all major newspapers. I am not saying Marilou Diaz-Abaya doesn't deserve our attention because she is a good film director. But, I guess, the point I am driving at is that, why is it that now that someone, who's only claim to fame were his films Bayani and Sakay which both made it to the top 100 Filipino films anyway during the last century, finally made it to the elite circle of the Cannes Film Festival, no one is talking about it?
Come on, now! It's not too late for us to cheer for Raymond. At this point, he needs all the prayers and moral support he can get from all of us. After all, if he wins, he's not only doing it for himself -- he is also (once again) opening the doors for other members of the Philippine cinema like what the late Lino Brocka did through his films Jaguar, Orapronobis, Bayan Ko, and Bona and as member of the Cannes Film Festival July in 1986.