Make way for Marc Angelo - Sounds Familiar by Baby Gil

Part rock, part pop and part Pinoy jukebox is the best way to describe the music of newcomer Marc Angelo. His is the sort of singing style that Filipinos find difficult to resist and this is most evident in the way they are reacting to his first single release, the Jade Nicdao composition, Sana’y Maniwala Ka. The title tract of his first solo album has been getting very good airplay and prospects are hot that he will soon have a major hit in his hands.

Marc Angelo is the newest Cebuano native to make a bid for singing stardom in Manila. He comes from a musical family and has been singing since he was seven years old. He later became a consistent winner in talent competitions like the Singing Star Interschool Contest, the Inter-Barangay Singing Contest and the Interschool Choir Competition Championship, a major music event when he was soloist of the University of Southern Philippines Choir. Marc took up Computer Science at the USP.

Marc was discovered while singing at a Max Fried Chicken restaurant in Cebu. This is regular gig, which he continues to do despite the warm reception towards his album. He is also still the lead singer of the Pure Souls Band, another job which he intends to keep because the group’s frequent performances give him the opportunity to explore various types of music and to improve his singing. So that must be why although the album’s obvious intention was to turn him into another jukebox idol, there are also efforts to show that he is also capable of interpreting other kinds of songs.

Check out Marc Angelo’s Sana’y Maniwala Ka and watch out for Hahanapin Mo, which seems to have the makings of another hit single. The other cuts in the album are Masisisi Mo Ba Ako, Tunay, Ang Pag-ibig Mo, a duet with Yamani Santa, Stay in Love, Flowers Don’t Mean Nothing, Here We Go Again, Halos, Time Will Never Fly and Baby It’s You.

FILSCAP dinner

The Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Filscap), will hold its annual dinner and awards night at the Shangri-La Hotel Makati on Nov. 3, Friday at 7 in the evening. Guests will be treated to musical numbers by Filscap members like Willy Cruz, Vehnee Saturno, Heber Bartolome, John Lesaca, Snaffu Rigor, Odette Quesada, Babsie Molina, Mon del Rosario, Jimmy Antiporda, Ito Rapadas and others who will be together in one show for the first time.

These well-known names in local music will perform Filscap’s choices for the most publicly performed songs during these past few years. One of these is Del Rosario’s rendition of Born for You by David Pomeranz and David Zippel. There is also the duo of Antiporda and Rapadas who will sing Antiporda’s own composition, Kasalanan Ko Ba? These two are the most performed songs for the year 1999.

Filscap will also hand out plaques and trophies in recognition of various accomplishments in the field of music publishing during the past year. These will go out to the founding members of the organization, National Artists for Music Dr. Lucrecia R. Kasilag and Levi Celerio and the composer and director Tito Arevalo. Those who will be honored posthumously are Ariston Avelino, Constancio de Guzman, Antonio Maiquez, Delfin Manlapaz, Simplico Suarez and Restie Umali.

Other honors that will be given out during the dinner are appreciation awards to two of the moving forces behind the organization. These are Ang Kwee Tiang, the regional director of the Asia-Pacific office of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and Carissa T. Franco, former Filscap general manager. Then there is this year’s recipient of the Filscap Filipino Artist Award which is the late National Artist for Music, Prof. Felipe P. de Leon. An award for Licensee of the Year will be presented to Jollibee Food Corporation.

Young and preppy

The sound over the airlanes these days remains young and peppy and unmistakably MTV-influenced. Leading the pack is the perky duo M2M with Pretty Boy. Others dominating the hit list are Lucky by Britney Spears; Come On Over by Christina Aguilera; Music by Madonna; Breathless by The Corrs; Doesn’t Really Matter by Janet; Life is a Roller Coaster by Ronan Keating; Rock DJ by Robbie Williams; If You’re Gone by matchbox twenty; and Holler, the latest by the Spice Girls.