Lala Gallardo is listening

We love music. We love talking about our favorite songs and albums and artists. We also love talking to other people who love music — who are not necessarily musicians themselves — about how it affects and enriches and changes their lives.

This week we interview Lala Gallardo-Samson, a painter and mixed-media artist who draws inspiration from “traditional indigenous crafts, strange botanicals, medical biology, classic science fiction and vintage photographs.” First-place winner in the 1st Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards for a graphic novel collaboration with writer/sister Waya Gallardo, she has had several group and one-woman shows, and Que Horror, her joint show of paintings and paper cuts with artist Tin Garcia, is opening tonight.

Lala has music in her blood, being the youngest child of OPM icon Celeste Legaspi and composer/advertising industry legend Nonoy Gallardo. Her favorite songs of all time are So Far Away by Carole King, Tears by The Chameleons, and The Ghost In You by Siouxsie and The Banshees; lately she’s been listening to The Care, Lily Allen, and The Ramones.

What is your earliest music-related memory?

Probably my yaya’s favorite AM radio station playing Do You Want To Know a Secret? by the Beatles.

What was it like growing up with a composer-dad and performer-mom?

It was great to be exposed to excellent musicians and performers growing up. When my mother would have a concert, we’d watch the rehearsals, and Ryan Cayabyab was there with a full orchestra, and we’d see them banter and joke. A favorite memory was watching Tito Ryan rehearse the Star Wars theme with a full orchestra. Mitch Valdes was always at our house for dinner parties. She’s hilarious. Sometimes she’d make age-inappropriate jokes and us kids would just laugh along with the adults kahit hindi namin gets ‘yung joke.

The smell of a recording studio is a very familiar childhood memory. When the musicians would step out for a yosi break my siblings and I would always mess around with the drum set and the microphones.

My father is the bigger music listener, compared to my mom. He collects albums, CDs, and ethnic instruments from all over the world. He exposed us to Vladimir Horowitz and Gustav Holtz at an early age. I pretty much grew up listening to all sorts of music.

How do you discover new things to listen to these days?

I’m so bad at new music. I prefer old stuff, like albums I’ve never heard, or an artist I’ve never really explored. I like going to Allmusic.com. I start with an artist I like and I look at which bands/musicians influenced them, and I also check out which newer artists they’ve inspired in turn. Sometimes I’ll hear a snippet of music in a movie soundtrack or on a TV show and I’ll use the Internet to track it down.

What is the best and/or most affecting live musical experience you’ve ever had?

I like to pretend that I’m tough but I’m really a sap. Just listening to the theme of E.T. makes me tear up. So yeah, I ugly-cried while watching Cirque du Soliel’s Love in Vegas. And I always cry when I watch my mother perform. It’s so cheesy but it’s true.

What is your go-to karaoke song?

Against All Odds. The Mariah Carey version.

One of your recent artworks (“no end in sight”) is described as being created while listening to an Outerhope song. Can you describe the experience? What role in general does music play in your work?

I was listening to Outerhope for the first time that day (you shared a link on Facebook, I think), and I was feeling extra creative. I just thought “Oh cool, nice to draw to.” Some music’s like that for me. And I just started with a new illustration. I guess the mood of the music inspired the colors to be very cool, and the subject matter to be a bit poignant.

I like listening to music when I work. When I’m feeling burned out I choose a big, heavy song (Paradise City is a fave) to listen to and turn it up. It helps me get back into the creative zone.

Please describe the show opening tonight. Why Que Horror? Why these mediums? Why a joint show?

We’re having our show at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery in the UP Film Institute. We’ll be showing my paper cuts and Tin Garcia’s oil paintings. The idea for a horror-themed show came about a few years ago when I was at Tin’s house and she showed me her new book of classic horror movie poster art. Tin’s my friend from UP Fine Arts, and we share a love for the macabre (and cats). We thought a joint exhibit with that theme would be cool.

I just sort of stumbled on to the medium of paper cuts. I just had paper and an X-Acto knife lying around and I gave it a go.

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Que Horror, an exhibit of paintings and paper cuts by Tin Garcia and Lala Gallardo, is opening tonight, Dec. 21, 7 p.m., at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery in UP Campus, Diliman.