What does M.Y.M.P. wish for?

Is there another group around that is as lucky as m.y.m.p.? I cannot think of any. Juris Fernandez and Chin Alcantara have gone from total unknowns to the decade’s success story. Think back to the time when getting one gig a week felt great for these kids from Davao. They have weathered trends and storms. That means they went against Pinoy rock and the bossa nova and won. There was also the controversial departure of third member Michael Angelo, which generated tabloid items but tales about it have since petered out.

Now after a decade or so in the business m.y.m.p. continues to make hits. The latest is the album titled Now. This is its sixth. It might not reach the phenomenal sales of Versions and Beyond or of the two-disc audio and video package M.Y.M.P. Juris & Chin Live Especially For You At The Music Museum. But it is doing very well with the hit single Now and has another ace with the other original song in the cd, Wish List.

Wish List is a Christmas song composed of anthemic and inspiring words. It is a surprising change of pace from the usually laid-back, softly crooning sound of m.y.m.p. The list asks for love, peace, joy, kindness, humility, faith, hope happiness and others to last through the years. Those are things that everybody wishes for not just on Christmas but every day of the year. It is fitting that Juris and Chin recorded it at this point in their lives when they can sit back and bask in all their successes.

“I never thought this would happen to me,” says Juris. “My sister was the singer. I used to sing only with friends. I only started singing with a band as a substitute singer while I was still looking for a job, a real job.”

Music though was all that Chin wanted to do. “It was hard when I started,” he recalls. “We would sing anywhere. We were not paid much. Makakanta lang. There was a time when getting one gig a week felt great.”

But they never gave up. Juris still doesn’t know how it happened nor can she pinpoint the time. “All I remember was from one naging dalawa na ang booking and then more and more, until we started recording and there were concerts, at nagkasunod-sunod na.”

It is all more than they ever dreamed of, like getting all items in one’s wish list fulfilled. “This is me,” continues Chin. “Dito na ako. I think I will stay a musician until forever. Later on, I have plans to move to songwriting, arranging and producing for other artists or we can stay being m.y.m.p. But no matter what we decide on, I have decided that this is my career.

Juris has other plans. “I will be m.y.m.p. as long as possible but I also think of retiring and having a family and children. That might be nice. Pero marami pa kaming dapat gawin ngayon.”

Aside from promoting Now, tops on their agenda is performing in Back to Back to Back: All Hits Live, which goes onstage at the Big Dome on Dec. 1. The concert has Juris and Chin performing with their idols, Side A and Freestyle.

“Para bang there was no question about not accepting the offer from Viva Concerts,” says Chin. “Concert daw with Side A and Freestyle, nobody says no to that. One of my earliest music influences was Side A’s Hold On. Alam ko that it is in their second album I remember listening to the song over and over. Tapos ngayon kasama ko na sila.”

For Juris, the show is a chance to get together with Jinky Suzara of Freestyle. “We are both from Davao. My older sister who also sings, was her schoolmate. I used to watch them perform. Sikat na sikat ang Freestyle sa Davao, then they moved to Manila at sumikat pa rin.”

“Kaya lang, wala na si Totop,” butts in Chin, referring to Freestyle’s former male soloist. “Maybe now that Totop is not there anymore, wish ko sana they will let me sing his songs sa concert.

To find out if Chin will get his wish, get tickets to Back to Back to Back now. Available at Ticketnet (911-5555) and the Araneta Coliseum box-office are Patron A P2,625; Patron B P2,100; Lower Box P1,750; Upper Box A P1,150; Upper Box B P525; and General Admission P263.

Raymond Lauchengco sets photo exhibit

Raymond Lauchengco, singing idol famous for the Bagets films and songs like Farewell now turned photographer, is the artist behind Travelscapes at the r1 Corridor of the Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center in Makati City. It is an exhibit of some of his best works presented by the Yellow Door Gallery and Power Plant Mall that will run starting today until Nov. 30. For details, call 0920-9624347 or 0919-3916072 or log on to [email protected].