Band on the run
MANILA, Philippines - She’s Only Sixteen certainly make us believe that OPM is anything but dead.
There have been quite a lot of discussions about the current state of OPM. Is it dead? Is it alive? What does the future hold for producers and artists? I guess nobody knows how to take its vital statistics but bands like She’s Only Sixteen certainly make us believe that OPM is anything but dead.
The four-man band is composed of Roberto Seña on lead vocals and guitar, Anjo Silvoza on bass, King Puentespina on drums and Andrew Panopio on guitar. All in their 20s, the band has been around for six years, give or take. She’s Only Sixteen’s journey started back in high school when they first met, but the current lineup is only three years old.
They categorize their sound as indie and garage rock, and their influences include Weezer, The Strokes, and the most obvious of the three, Arctic Monkeys. Some of their fans even say that they are the Arctic Monkeys of the Philippines. But they disagree. “The general direction of how we want to make music or how we try to sound is we just want to make good music, regardless of trying to sound like this or like that. It’s more like we just want to sound good,” Anjo says. And they do sound good. From breaking up and getting back together again to being true to yourself, their songs are the perfect backdrop to the joys and pains of the young and carefree.
Coming up with songs is not easy. The group admits that the time spent writing their material can range from days to years. “Usually it’s Seña who comes up with the song. He brings us the song and we arrange it together,” Anjo says. Growing up with parents who are in theater definitely contributes to Seña’s knowledge in music. Like Seña, Andrew also grew up with a family of musicians.
Having experience performing as a band since high school, they are definitely no strangers to the stage. They’ve already played at Music Festival 7107, and our very own #YSProm. They opened for the international indie band Bombay Bicycle Club during their concert in Manila. “If we don’t feel the way we play live, we try to do something new that can motivate us. We don’t want to have that hit song and play that forever. We want to be seen as the band that’s constantly changing and evolving,” Andrew says.
Perhaps this is best exemplified in one of the band’s favorite shows, playing for Anjo’s organization in which they tailored their set to children with special needs. “They told us not to play fast music but we played one of our more upbeat songs. Everyone was dancing. That really touched my heart,” Seña recalls. Their EP launch at Route 196 was also one of their favorite shows. Over 300 people showed up, half of them friends but the rest strangers, and to the band’s surprise, the crowd knew their music. “Sometimes they were singing the verses and we’re like, ‘Okay, let’s just play for them. Let’s all sing,’” Andrew says.
Breaking through in the music scene is no easy feat, especially with so much commercial competition. “There’s too much focus on a formula on how to be in a band. That formula is outdated and it’s not really going to work,” Anjo says. But the band breaks the mold and just does what they do best. Blame it on the Internet or the Millennial mentality, but She’s Only Sixteen is brave enough to create music and connect with the community around them. “As long as we like what we’re doing, that’s enough motivation for us to do what we do,” Andrew says.
How did She’s Only Sixteen get where they are? It’s a mixture of good marketing, networking, experimentation, and lots of hard work. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” Andrew says. “In high school, (bands) want to play gigs but they’re afraid that they’re going to make mistakes.” But mistakes and failures are part of everyone’s success. Believe it or not, She’s Only Sixteen never passed any high school auditions but that didn’t stop them from creating their own music. And now, they’re one of the rising young indie bands today. They may be newcomers, but they’re hardly debutants.
