As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means I earn commissions from my sponsored links or I make money when readers (you) purchase items through my links. Your purchase allows me to continue working as a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as a farmer and a musician. Needless to say, this post contains affiliate links.
Here’s Juan Paasa, learn something from them.
Well, here we go… finally another band that has managed to make people sit up and listen on a National scale.
Oh yeah, yeah, I know, I know… they’re not from Davao, they’re not even from Mindanao and considering how fast the turn-over on social media is, some people have already gotten over them.
Not me. Nor my fiancee.
We have “Summoning Eru” on a continuous loop when we go out for a drive. And we have a blast listening to this band.
If you’re one of those who hasn’t heard of the song yet, here’s their Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/73wwrwwtcximR9Gjf0MsQ5
So the bigger question is, why am I writing about them now?
Ok… I intentionally held off on writing about them for a long time because they’re not from Davao nor Mindanao and I didn’t want to sound like I was just riding on their newfound fame.
I thought long and hard about writing this and decided to just say, “Phack It”
They’re a good band and it would be a damn waste if I just kept this article to myself.
I’ll write about this band because there are lessons every indie band can learn out of Juan Paasa.
Their success reminded me so much of another Davao band who somehow managed to gain national attention due to a controversial topic. Remember the band 10-17? Yeah, they’re still around and gigging around in Manila. No? Remember the song Charing? Yep. That’s a Davao band. We’ll cover them in a future post.
Thanks to the power of Social Media, the song Summoning Eru didn’t go to waste. No doubt the band Juan Paasa already had a following in 2018 but it was this song that really broke the floodgates open for them. The song spread like wildfire because it
Whoever among them thought about emulating jap rock while still using the vernacular is a genius.
The results of that had an unexpected effect though. The band immediately scrambled to adapt to the rapid changes. And they’ve managed to keep their head on straight so far, staying together as a unit and having one hell of a time playing bigger and bigger venues.
What can young bands learn from Juan Paasa and 10-17 ?
Practice, Practice, Practice
It’s that good fortune strikes without any warning. Both these bands although considered bordering on the novelty genre have highly accomplished musicians. Just listen to the tasteful licks on their solos. That’s not blind picking there, those are carefully chosen notes meant to complement the song. It is their to add flair and not to overpower the song. This is a good lesson for younger musicians out there that you should put in a lot of practice to really become good at playing. 10,000 hours… 10,000 hours will make you good at something. Another 10,000 hours and you’ll be better and more than that and you’ll truly deserve being called a musician. Practice, practice, practice.
Perform and Promote.
And when it finally hits. When you strike gold. Scramble. Perform and Promote. Repeat.
You are your own marketing tool. Who else is going to tell people about you and your band except you. If you don’t believe in yourself that much, then why bother? False modesty has no space in a band’s career.
You’re No Longer You When You’re Onstage
Differentiate who you are as a person and as a performer. As a musician/performer there are two sides of you. Three according to Nuno Bettencourt and company. You can be whoever you want to be offstage. You can be the really shy guy in the corner just plucking a guitar or you can be the loud guy shaking everyone’s hand in the middle of the room. It doesn’t matter. That’s offstage. But, when you’re onstage… your primary responsibility is to entertain the crowd. You don’t have to necessarily play what they want but you better make sure when you start playing they have no choice but to watch you. That’s entertainment baby. Be a rockstar onstage. Never offstage.
(The definition of rockstar varies from genre to genre, act accordingly. Don’t know how to do it? Call me.)
Handle The Fame.
No one wants to be labelled as “bigheaded” or hear the words “fame has changed you”.
Attention from people will change you.
There’s nothing you can do about it.
How you handle it is entirely up to you.
Be nice. Don’t be an ass.
Genre
BisJapRock, BisAnimeRock, Bisrock, OPM
The band is composed of:
MLex Villahermosa on vocals, Van Mande on drums, Bangkai Alas and Ivan Cerna on guitars and Joe Marc on bass.
For inquiries/bookings or gigs contact Mr. Alvin – Globe 09177723345
Although Juan Paasa is one of the hottest commodities in the local music industry today, the band still seriously needs your help to get their video higher up on the Myx charts. So let’s do our part and put our votes in. After all, Davao is known to be the nicest and most helpful city in times of need.
Aside from their Facebook link, this is what matters the most:
Make it a point to follow, share and spread the word about the band.
Support your local artists.
And last but not the least: Everyone has a lot to offer, they’re just waiting to be discovered like Juan Paasa.
Comments, violent reactions, direct them towards me. …I do prefer positive feedback though 😀
