It’s Time For 17:28!

17:28? What’s that?!

Those were my first words when I heard the name. A friend had told me about them and was raving about how they sounded. As she and I had opposite musical taste, I braced myself for the worst. And it came like a punch to the stomach.

"Oh, they’re a boy band."

Those five words were like nails sealing the lid on my coffin. I had to get to know these guys, and just my luck! The music they made (according to my source) was of the genre that I avoided like the plague. I dreaded the coming day, as I knew that in a few hours I would have to meet them. Four guys. There was Chino, Jonard, Gian, and Joaquin. Believe me when I tell you I had some trouble sleeping that night. Good thing my sister could not sleep either.

She and I got into one of our late night bonding sessions, wherein we talk about anything and everything under the sun. After she told me how her day went, I proceeded to tell her about my misery of having to meet a teenybopper band. She promptly whacked me then exclaimed: "17:28? Don’t call them a boy band. One of them is my classmate’s brother. They hate it when you call them that. They are a group of friends."

That left me a bit speechless (partly from the bonk on the head).

Come the morning, I went to the office to meet up with 17:28. As I could not do much background research on them, I had to get all the information straight from the horse’s mouth. The appointed time came, and low and behold…in walked the first member.

Gian Magdangal looked like a friendly guy. I started talking to him. Apparently, he was the brother of my sister’s friend. My interest sparked, I asked him why they refused to be called a boy band. His answer was to the point. "We look at ourselves as more of a vocal group. We make a kind of R&B/ pop music that is not at all like the commercial sound that boy bands sing." He pulled out a copy of their CD, and sure enough, they did not sound much like a boy band (with the exception of one or two songs). At this point, Chino Alfonso and Jonard Yanzon came in, and Gian went to get his makeup done for the shoot later that afternoon.

I asked them a question that had me stumped since I first heard of them. Why were they called 17:28? Jonard (the one they dubbed as leader) then answered. He explained that they chose it because of Acts chapter 17 verse 28 of the Bible. So does that mean they were all religious? They all hailed from Trumpets, a Christian theater group whose main thrust was to evangelize God’s word. "We try to do that, except we target the youth exclusively. Also, we don’t force it down their throats. We show them what we are here thanks to God and his gifts. Then it is up to them to decide from there. And it is a bit hard because we are not perfect, but we try."

Wow. I kept finding surprises at every turn in that little conversation. Only Wacky was devoutly practicing, as he is a preacher for his church, but that did not mean that the rest of them were atheists. They all do their best to practice what they preach. Speaking of Wacky, where was he? I had to pick up my sister from school and she was going to have around five fits if I was late. Gian came in and traded places with Chino in the makeup chair. He also brought news of the missing singer who was stuck in traffic somewhere in Libis.

I was not hopeful. I just knew my sis was going to eat me alive for this. But these guys were really intriguing. I had to know more. Gian discovered that I just heard why they were called 17:28. He laughed as he recalled some of the other names they had used. "Among the list were ‘Blue Note’, ‘Cool Street’, and ‘Street Frogs’. We tried combining our names, but that did not end up well. For a while we even considered calling ourselves ‘The Jonards’!"

Aha! Another revealing fact. So, Jonard started this? I asked Gian and Jonard if my guess was right. That was the case. In 1997, Jonard and Wacky played parts in the Trumpets production of Narnia. Jonard was Peter and Wacky was Edmund. Eventually though they outgrew the parts of children without becoming old enough to play adults. Their voices were changing, they were getting bigger. When they realized that they were getting stagnant merely singing chorus parts, Audie Gemora pushed them to just form a singing group.

They were all for it, but for the longest time nothing happened. It was talk, talk, talk…no follow through. Eventually though, Gian joined a production of The Little Mermaid. Jonard and Wacky heard him, and asked him to audition with their "Tito Audie". Gian was the push they needed to get moving again. He was the realization that something was actually happening. They were moving towards what they wanted to become, not just talking about it.

The boys did hit another dry spell, not really getting anywhere. Maybe they realized there was still something missing. They then started auditioning people. And as soon as Chino started singing, the three friends looked at each other and silently told themselves that this was the guy. It boiled down to Chino and another guy, but it was hands down Chino.

They finally went to Star Records a few years ago, auditioned, and were accepted on the spot. They hooked up with Mon Faustino who started them out with old Gary V. arrangements, creating the background for most of their songs. Finally, they came up with an album. They sing mostly in the tradition of R&B, having to mix and match different sounds.

And then they were 17:28.

At this point of the interview, Wacky Valdes came in, and I gave a sigh of relief. I would not be facing the wrath of my impatient sibling.

But wait, I was still not done unraveling the layers of this promising group of vocalists. So I knew now of their past. What about their future?

I asked them what they had in store in the coming year. 17:28 promised me (and their fans, of course) a series of light gigs, a few bar tours, and more music. Also, they were getting together to start experimenting and discovering a sound that could be patented as their own. Wacky reiterated how they were different from boy bands, and how they were more artists than anything else.

And how about twenty years from now? Would they simply disappear like The New Kids On The Block? Or would they live on like Boyz II Men? Jonard then took an uncharacteristically serious face and said, "I think I would definitely still be singing, but as time passes we won’t be doing it as 17:28. I think that eventually we will go our own separate ways."

So a shooting star life span is what is in store for 17:28. But make no mistake! Just because we know that they will not last forever, it does not mean that they are meaningless. On the contrary, I believe that with what time they do have, they will make tidal waves, and will be guiding people to the source of all light.

I don’t know about you, but I think that I will be watching out for this growing supernova.

CHINO ALFONSO
Food: Anything and everything but veggies
Drink: San Mig Light
Actress: Heart Evangelista
Movie: The Others and Sister Act Two
Song: Come Breathe Me, I Don’t Wanna Wait
Instrument: Piano
Pick up Line: I don’t use pick up lines. I stalk! No, I ask around then introduce myself.
Zodiac: Capricorn
Ice Cream: Vanilla Crunch
Favorite M&M: Blue
Halloween Costume: Spider-Man

JONARD YANZON
Food: Kare-Kare
Place to go: Mustang
Drink: San Mig Light
Actor: Al Pacino
Movie: Saving Private Ryan
Book: A Dangerous Fortune By Ken Follet
Song: Sana Naman, Lately by Stevie Wonder
Instrument: Guitar
Romantic Line: You make me want to be a better man…
Pick up line: I seem to have lost my phone number, can I borrow yours?
Zodiac sign: Leo
Ice cream: Anything with nuts…Rocky Road!
Favorite M&M : Blue
Costume: Darth Vader

WACKY VALDES
Food: Sushi
Drink: Ice Tea
Actor: Russell Crowe
Movie: a Beautiful Mind
Book: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag
Song: This Woman’s Worth by Maxwell
Instrument: Saxophone
Romantic Line: It’s because of you that I became sane from A beautiful mind
Pick-up Line: What’s a beautiful girl like you…?
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Ice Cream: Pistachio
M&M: Green
Costume: Aragorn

GIAN MAGDANGAL
Food: Italian
Place to go: Vivere!
Drink: Red Wine
Actress: Penelope Cruz
Movie: Woman on Top
Song: Come Breathe Me, One Last Cry
Instrument: Piano
Romantic Line: Everytime you smile…I have to recover!
Pick-up Line: Ang sakit ng ngipin ko! You are so sweet kasi…
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Ice Cream: Strawberry
M&M: Orange
Costume: John Mayer. Kamukha ko raw siya.