Music is child’s play for them

What destiny has brought together, let no man put asunder. No, we’re not talking about a marriage between man and woman but another kind of partnership, a professional one, between two dyed-in-the-wool musicians.

The first is a vocalist and the other a Yamaha keyboardist. Their partnership has been so fruitful they’ve been a tandem for past six years, a feat in the fickle world of live entertainment where artistic tempers wreak havoc on many a professional teamup.

Dominic Cruz has been joining choirs since high school, where he met Joel Jacobe, whose family owns Tapika Restaurant along Katipunan Road, Quezon City. Marriage and the family business have failed to rob Dominic of his passion for singing. In fact, he’d get invitations to sing in birthdays and debuts now and then.

Burton Sambile, has the same story. Like Dominic, the 23-year-old Burton is into a family business, this time on military supplies. But one thing he can’t get over with is his beloved Yamaha Electone. He’d lug the instrument to various gigs, among them a band competition where his group, Lights, won first place at Hard Rock Café several years back.

Lights was where Dominic and Burton first played together. Since then, the musical soulmates have been inseparable. They even had a name for themselves, Two-Tone, until a group gave themselves the same moniker and denied Dominic and Burton the right to call themselves as such.

Now, simply known by their first names, Dominic and Burton are Tuesday mainstays at Tapika where they are scheduled to hold a back-to-back Valentine’s show with soloist Jimmy Bondoc.

Dominic and Burton are so musically in synch they have remained together even after Lights disbanded years back. They jam wherever their music takes them, like bars and lounges around the metro.

The pay is not much, but what the heck. They love what they’re doing and it’s not work at all. The minute it becomes work, Dominic and Burton know they’d better pack their bags and head for the nearest exit as fast as they can.

As it is though, that day is light years away. Dominic and Burton are so at home on stage together a gesture is all they need to understand what the other is up to. It may be a new way of delivering say, a Stevie Wonder song, or a novel interpretation of a Bryan McKnight love ditty. Dominic knows how to shift vocal styles to suit Burton’s Yahama accompaniment.

"Sometimes, I just want to put one over Burton through my vocals and he gets it. He easily catches up," explains Dominic.

They’re so in tune with each other they can even see themselves jamming together until their hair turns gray.

Their chemistry is so strong Dominic and Burton were even able to compose a love song, which they called Missing You, one inspired evening over bottles of beer.

Other times, Dominic would just call up Burton with an invitation, "Come accompany me on the keyboards for a singing engagement. I’m already so at home with your (musical) style."

So let the good times roll as Dominic and Burton weave their acoustic spell for the sheer love of it. To hell with the pressure of being the stars of the show, or the one big crush of every teenager who goes to Tapika with friends.

Dominic and Burton will do what comes naturally: make music as if there’s no tomorrow.