A U-Turn worth taking

Thirteen may be an unlucky number, but to Teri Sambajon, formerly of the all-female vocal trio FOJ (First of June, remember?) and Vanna Vanna, it certainly is not. It is on her 13th year as singer that she broke free from the bland uniformity of an all-girl group to go acoustic, this time with U-Turn, a band that draws in the crowds Saturdays at Tapika Restaurant and Bar, which is celebrating its first anniversary on Oct. 12.

"It’s more substance than from now," she describes her change of style. Before, she had to dress the same way as her two fellow band members, blend with their voices, go with their singing style. Today, as the only girl of the eight-month old U-Turn with the chinky-eyed Richard Poon and dusky Edwin Dimaranan, she can express her individuality – in the way she dresses up, and in how she interprets songs, R&B style.

Richard, on the other hand, can go on composing and arranging his acoustic songs to his heart’s content.

Singing with the heart is nothing new to Edwin, either. The folk singer from Biñan, Laguna, has done it several times at Conways Makati Shangri-La, Hyatt Hotel, Kiko Bar and other places where he accompanied himself on his guitar. No stranger to acoustic music, Edwin’s gentle, relaxing singing can soothe frayed nerves that need relaxing after a hectic work week.

The musical teamup was born quite innocently, the way most of such partnerships start out. Richard and Edwin met one fine day, discovered their common passion for things acoustic and found themselves jamming the night way with their voices and the plaintive strumming of their guitars.

That was only last January. Three months later, the guys found the missing link in their act. Richard invited Teri to watch him and Edwin perform. Convinced that this was a duo whose musical style matched hers, Teri agreed to jam with them. Things happened fast since then. Before they knew it, Teri has officially joined the group as its lone female member. And, a strange twist of fate: Vanna Vanna had split up.

How they called themselves U-Turn is another story worth telling. Richard was driving down South Superhighway when he saw – you guessed it – a no U-Turn sign.

Suddenly, a light bulb flashed in the mind of this Marketing expert who happens to be a relational marketer and trainer for Millionaires in Business.

"Why not name the group U-Turn? The name has instant recall," he asked Teri and Edwin.

U-Turn it has been since then.

The group takes its craft so seriously they make it a point to set aside one whole day to rehearse their repertoire. All seasoned vocalists, the three take pains turning a song around, giving it a fresh, acoustic twist, and rehearsing it as a group for effect.

"We put a big premium on the audience," says Edwin. Thus, don’t expect a U-Turn performance at Tapika (220 Katipunan Road, Blue Ridge, Quezon City) to be a been-there-done-that, ho-hum, affair. It has lots of jamming with the audience, talking to them, drawing them out of their shells.

"Richard sends the girls swooning," teases Teri and Edwin. Richard – he with the Chinese mestizo looks and gift of gab, refuses to be carried away by the good-natured ribbing.

"It’s still the music that carries the day," he shoots back.

These guys are clearly having the time of their lives doing what they love best. Their audience, sensing this, must feel the same way the minute they take centerstage every jampacked Saturday night at Tapika.