So what else don’t you know about Mr. Big Mouth?

Curtain-raisers:

Aiza Seguerra, who’s turning 30 on Sept. 17, has found a new love. The girl is a former beauty queen, an award-winning actress and, like Aiza, fancy-free after she separated from her husband (by whom she has a child). If you’re patient enough, watch for The STAR’s exclusive interview with Aiza who will give more details although not directly identifying the girl. No wonder Aiza is blooming.

Could it be true that a hunky actor had the disquieting habit of sneaking the door every time he visited his (former) actress-girlfriend? Why, was it his way of avoiding being seen by the neighbors? One time, he got so excited that he broke the hinges of the backdoor but he had it fixed right away...by a carpenter? You wonder, does he still practice the same “sneaky” habit when he visits the house of his new actress-girlfriend?

Congratulations to the starlet (product of a reality-TV talent search) who just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy a few days ago at a hospital in L.A. Her boyfriend was with her throughout the long hours that she was laboring. The couple is said to be talking about marriage, just like Melai Cantiveros who is proudly announcing to the world that she’s pregnant with her and boyfriend Jason Francisco’s baby even if she should be quiet about it. Showbiz-watchers predict that the out-of-wedlock pregnancy might trigger the downward spiral of Melai’s career.

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As the whole world knows, the life — and loves (yes, plural!) — of Martin Nievera is public knowledge, very much like a best-selling book in a public library that has been dog-eared, read and reread, passed from hands to hands, with every juicy bit in it lapped up with gusto (especially by the gossip-crazy).

You knew that Martin and Pops Fernandez, when they were still married, never took a bath together, didn’t you? So what else didn’t you know?

“A lot more!” admitted Martin over lunch at Ryu Ramen Japanese Restaurant (on Tomas Morato Avenue, which Ogie Alcasid co-owns with his friends), unveiling more of his yet-unknown side in his characteristic unbridled “big mouth” style. (Yes, Martin prides in being called Mr. Big Mouth, a “title” conferred on him by Bob Castillo, the late People’s Journal columnist who, along with your Funfarer, was the very first to interview Martin when he came home from the US in the early ’80s to start a career here. It was Martin’s father Bert Nievera who arranged the interview.)

During the free-wheeling lunch, Martin gave the media guys copies of his two albums released by PolyEast Records (check out the record bar nearest you), titled Under The Covers and Off The Record, both collectors’ items pressed on a 150-gram virgin vinyl plate made in the Czech Republic and carrying Martin’s singles and album tracks from 1982 to the present. The vinyl form heightens the nostalgia for yesteryear when CDs were not even a figment of the imagination of record producers, making it even more meaningful listening to Martin’s enduring hits, particularly Kahit Isang Saglit, a favorite of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Boy Abunda and myself. Even if you listen to that song over and over again, it always feels like the first time and never fails, in my case, to make me cry.

Besides the announcement of the vinyl records’ release, the lunch was to remind (again and again!) everybody that Martin is staging his 3D Tatlong Dekada Anniversary concert tomorrow, Sept. 13, 8 pm. At the Smart Araneta Coliseum with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. (For tickets, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or Viva Concerts at v687-7236. Prices: VIP P4,000; Patron A P3,500; Patron B P3,000; Lower Box P2,500; Upper Box A P1,500; Upper Box B P750; and General Admission P400.)

While signing the souvenir copies, Martin volunteered the information that, in his three decades in the business, he has autographed pictures, notebooks, napkins…name it and he has signed it.

“Did you know that I have even signed my autograph on the boobs of a female fan?” said Martin. “I was hesitant but the woman was eager to have it so I did. I have an ‘i’ in my first name and another ’i’ in my surname, so with the Pentel pen, I firmly planted the first ‘i’ on one side and the other ‘i’ on the other side. Tuwang-tuwa siya! Another female fan had me sign on her buttocks. I had to please her.”

So far, those are the two most intimate autographs he has ever done.

Recently, Martin underwent the acupuncture treatment at The Belo Medical Clinic.

“It worked,” swore Martin who flew in four days ago from a two-week stay in the US where he visited a loved one and guested in the concerts of Anne Curtis. “I think Dr. Vicki Belo mentioned that the procedure could help you lose weight but I don’t know how.”

Yes, Anne Curtis.

“I love Anne Curtis,” said Martin, “I love that girl! Okey kasama si Anne Curtis because she makes you sound good.” Anne knows that she’s not a singer (well, not in the caliber of Martin and company) and yet she can fill up venues both here and abroad, proving to all and sundry that it’s not so much the (delivery of) songs but the singer. “She’s a great entertainer and that’s what matters. People go to concerts to enjoy and that’s what Anne gives them.”

Will Anne appear as one of his Big Dome show guests?

Mr. Big Mouth was mum, politely refusing to name who his super-guests will be. Clue: One of them is Mrs. RVA whom Martin describes as “the most generous artist I ever met, willing to do anything for you.” Ask Ogie.

Basta, added Martin, “Be at the Big Dome and find out for yourself.”

Oh well, even with Martin alone, I’m sure the concert will be another memorable experience.

That is, if he includes Kahit Isang Saglit in his repertoire.  

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)