Dexter’s ‘Lab’

Mention Australia and, to the average Filipino, up comes images of the Sydney Opera house, kangaroos, the Gold Coast and Bondi Beach. To pop music aficionados, it’s the Bee Gees, Crowded House, INXS, Air Supply and, of late, Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia. Well, if transplanted Philippine singing icon Pilita Corrales would have her way, the local pop music scene will also think Dexter when thinking Australia.

Dexter Villahermosa, whose ‘lab’ is music, was discovered by Pilita a couple of years back, when a mutual friend sent a rough homemade recording of his interpretation of popular songs to her house. Surprised to discover that the singer was a Filipino through and through, Pilita took it upon herself to make Manila aware of this "diamond in the rough".

As Dexter relates, "I was just three months old when my parents decided to emigrate to Australia. It was the classic story of seeking opportunity overseas. Along with my three elder brothers, we were whisked to Australia. My father worked with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and both my Mom and Dad are retired now. Throughout high school, I’d be involved with one rock band after another. I play some guitar and piano, but it’s all oido; I’ve never taken any formal lessons. Thinking of music as a career began right after high school. I wasn’t really set for university, as I wasn’t certain about which course to take.

"I saw this ad in the papers asking people to audition for the Aus-tralian production of Miss Sai-gon. It was a cattle call. I’d be called back six to seven times in a year, as they began winnowing all the applicants. Made the final cut, and I was in the ensemble, playing different roles. One night, a soldier; the next, a pimp. I was with the Sydney and Melbourne productions and did a stint in London. That was two years of my life. Now, I have a Diploma in Contemporary Music, but the decision to move here to the Philippines stems from my wanting to rediscover my ‘roots’ and see what can be accomplished here."

As for the kind of performances Dexter comes up with, he has this to report, "I try to maintain a gentle balance between what’s familiar and something new. It’s not strictly rhythm and blues, (although) I know that seems to be the trend with all the new male artists on the scene. I like to think of the repertoire as eclectic, a smattering of love songs and ballads, some r&b and some classic rock–the Beatles, Eagles, Lenny Kravitz and of course, Crowded House."

This raises eyebrows somewhat as the idea of classic rock covers coming from a kid just into his 20s seems a bit odd. "But you know, that’s the music I grew up with," he explains. "I had three elder brothers, so it’s really not surprising that I know all this music. As I grew older, if you ask me what I was into in the 90’s, it was Jeff Buckley, early Jon Bon Jovi, John Farnham. But by and large, I’ll go back to the Beatles and Eagles–the melodies were simple but beautiful, it was just that much easier and immediate to get into the music."

Mention is then made of the frustrations within the local recording industry–how the system perpetuates established male singers to the detriment of the younger ones. Safety is the byword when it comes to budget allocation for promoting, advertising and music video production. This seems not to be the case with the women, where the industry is always in search of the "next big thing"; hence the rise of Nina and Kyla.

"I know that exists, but as I’m still relatively new here, I have not felt that bias as such. What’s more frustrating for me is how slow the pace of work here is; it seems to go hand in hand with the traffic. There’s so much more that could be done, given the hours that are there; but for some reason, I’m waiting around. That, I wish, could change."

One has to admit Australia is a much bigger fishpond than the Philippines, and one wonders if he has what it takes to make a dent in that more global market. Dexter takes a very realistic view on the subject, "I’m Asian, Filipino; there are only some 200,000 Filipinos in all of Sydney. It would have been such an uphill battle to get the door open, to be given that break. Tita Pilita saw that and worked for me to be given the chance here that may have taken years to get in Australia. My first album was released earlier this year, on Viva Records, a mix of love ballads and opm."

"While I know that direction was a calculated one, I hope we can eventually branch out, to bring back some of the ‘rock’ that’s in me. I look at someone like Robbie Williams and I’m amazed. He’s got that Beatles pop sensibility, and knows how to ‘play’ with the music and the media. He even had the muscle to record a ‘swing’ album. That’s my dream, to have that kind of control over the direction my career will take. I’ve still got a very long way to go, but if the faith Tita Pilita had in my talent is any indication, I hope the people here will give me a listen."