MANILA, Philippines - The last time they were in Manila was three years ago, before guitarist Cal Stamp and drummer Derek Lee joined the band. Today, The Speaks is back with the same rock sound edged with grunge. The five-piece band has re-released High (featuring Barbie Almalbis). You hear that song about empowerment all over the airwaves. Young people hum it to give their confidence an adrenaline shot, among other reasons (their parents can take the cue from them).
The band’s vocalist and spokesman Raf Toledo will be the first to tell you they didn’t see it coming.
“We don’t plan the direction we’re taking. We play it by ear,” he says.
It won’t do any harm though, if they add something new, like electronica. And this is what Raf and Cal are doing these days.
“As a matter of fact,” reveals Raf, “it’s our project.”
If you’re looking for proof of how well Cal has blended with the band after he auditioned for the group, here it is — clear as day.
“Cal is a friend,” bassist Jerry Delino reveals.
Add the very American-looking Derek into the picture and you know The Speaks is no longer as purely Asian as it was years before (Raf and Jerry and guitarist Archie dela Cruz are Fil-Ams) when the band was just starting out in Washington D.C.
Now, theirs is a happy blend of East and West, a yin and yang. Thanks to this cosmopolitan mix, the band as the perfect example of racial harmony. Thus, the members understand why their Asian and Western fans react to them differently. Asian fans don’t show their emotions as openly as their western counterparts do during the band’s various world tours.
“Asian audiences are reserved while the Westerners are more demonstrative,” observes Raf. “The Western audience shouts, jumps and expresses themselves more openly.”
The sharp contrast, however, does not make say a Filipino less of a Speaks fan than an American is. Music the universal language, makes High, a track from the band’s new album This is the Time (MCA Music, Inc.) as appealing to Asians as it is to Americans.
High has been lording it over the radio charts in Asia at the same time the same song was named one of the top 15 local songs in the US.
The band’s music videos have been getting regular airplay over MYX and MTV Asia even as Washington Post has named The Speaks one of the top five local bands.
Their songs scored a million hits on YouTube.
Figures why there’s a spring to the band members’ steps, an extra ring of hope in their songs. Even the album title, This is the Time, speaks about great expectations.
“It’s about looking forward to a better tomorrow, taking the next step with a lot of hope,” says Raf.
This is the attitude the band aims to instill in their fans when they speak to their fans the best way they know how, through music: intense, piercing, explosive.
The band will rock SM Megamall tonight at 6, SM North EDSA tomorrow at 6 p.m.; SM Fairview on March 29 at 5 p.m., SM City Cebu on April 3 at 6 p.m., SM City Davao on April 4 at 6 p.m. and SM Mall of Asia on April 5 at 5 p.m. Autograph signing follows.
The heat is on, not just for us Pinoys this summer, but for The Speaks as well. And the best part of it is this band has Pinoy pride written all over it.