Fil-Am guys show devotion to music

It isn’t just the worlds of professional basketball or modeling that Fil-Ams (Filipino-Americans) are invading. Count in music and entertainment, too. One of the most-talked about new musical acts in the country is composed of a group of Filipino-American guys from California who’ve come home to share their music with their fellow Pinoys.

Richmond Andal, Eric Cruz, Rodney Hidalgo, Ian Pesigan and Paul Riturban – whose ages range from 23 to 26 – all hail from Orange County, California where they became friends through school, church and their families. Richmond, Eric, Rodney, Ian and Paul first met in early 1997. After discovering a common interest in music, they decided to get together and pursue it formally.

They picked a name that would reflect not just their music but their heritage. Thus, the name Devotion, which hints at the very Pinoy trait of being devoted to the people you love. It also speaks of their devotion to their music.

Things just seemed to fall into place for the guys. In 1999, their impact began to be felt in Asian-American music circles with the release of their first single, When I. The song became one of the top sellers in various Tower Records stores all over the San Francisco Bay area. It reached the Top 20 in sales for the Stones Town Mall retail store in San Francisco. In February 2000, the group released its first album, Image of Devotion.

Even bigger things were to come their way, which included performing the US national anthem before a capacity crowd at a WNBA Sparks game at the Great Western Forum in LA. Their popularity spread mainly through word of mouth and performances all over California, including appearances on KCBS and Bay TV. They would also front-act or guest for Filipino artists like Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez and Sharon Cuneta whenever they visited the US. Eventually, the group was invited to tour across the US (Los Angeles and New York) and Canada.

Their hard work has paid off. The guys have been offered a deal by Viva Records to come home and record an album. That self-titled album – which boasts smooth vocal harmonies that remind you of US-based groups like N’Sync, All 4 One, Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men – is out in the market, and has already spawned a hit single, So Wonderful, which topped the charts on Wave 89.1 FM. Their second single, 3 Words, featuring lyrics, music and arrangement by Rodney and guitars by Mon Espia, is also doing well.

The guys say they don’t regret leaving what they’ve started in the US to come to the Philippines and do this album.

According to Richmond, there was no hesitation whatsoever on their part about leaving family and friends behind to come to the Philippines. "We never had second thoughts about coming here," he says. "Besides, what’s to regret? In fact, we’re lucky to have been given a chance to share our music with people in the US. Now we have a chance to share it with Filipinos, which is even better."

What do they think are their chances of making it in the local music scene which is already populated with all-male groups like the Freshmen, 17:28, Power Four and others (and that’s not even counting F4 of Meteor Garden fame)?

The guys say they have something unique to offer. "We’re a little more different (compared to them)," says Ian. "Like, we wrote majority of our songs, we produced them, we sang, we even played instruments. That’s why we don’t consider ourselves a boy band or a boy group, because we don’t just sing. A boy band is not what we are. We’re singer-songwriters."

Richmond, Eric, Rodney, Ian and Paul have just inked a three-year, three-album contract with Viva. They will also appear on different variety shows and will do the rounds of campuses and malls to promote their new album.