Happy Birthday JP

I barely attend birthday parties.

I can’t stand them.

Heck, I can’t even stand my own birthday. On my birthday, I just sleep the entire day and time travel through REM to the next day.

But there are exceptions to that rule.

If it’s a family member, I go and attend. And my small circle of friends have become my second family outside of my immediate family.

That’s why when JP’s birthday came about, I just had to help make plans and be there.

How JP and I Became Friends

JP or Jean Paul has been my friend ever since I was 14. I met him in school and we became friends because we were part of the marching band.

Yep, you read that right.

I was in the marching band.

I started out on the bass drum because I was one of the few who was big enough to carry it with ease and do a decent job of banging it in time. Other roles I played in the marching band were on the toms and snare.

I also had a short stint as the flag bearer but I didn’t enjoy that as much as being part of the drum line. I just didn’t like to dance.

And I also manged to get myself demoted at one time to cymbals because I was young and foolish enough to go up against the band teacher. He outweighed me by at least twice my weight but that didn’t stop me from thinking I could have taken him.

Thank god he didn’t take me up on my challenge to a fistfight. I bet he would have mopped the floor with my scrawny body then.

Anyway… so Jean Paul and I became friends through the marching band but we were never close at first.

It took more than a decade before we got to a point where we had a bit of respect for each other.

Can’t blame him.

We lived different lives up until the point when fate thrust us together to become friends.

From Bandmates to Bandmates

So yeah, we were bandmates in the marching band.

But then the school held this musical contest and everyone wanted to be a part of a band to compete.

Jean Paul created his band with Kym (Acidradius’ old drummer, RIP), Peter, Vernon, and some other guys.

I also had a band and just because I was in the marching band I became the default drummer. Big mistake.

I have no problem playing the bass, cymbals, snare or the toms as individual instruments. Putting them all together as a set requires a different kind of mindset and skillset.

I did not have the skillset.

I had the mindset.

But sometimes believing you can do something is not enough to do it.

After the contest, our bands disintegrated and we somehow found ourselves in a band. That was Black Sun and it was initially composed of Jean Paul, Domz, Kym, Alfred, and me.

We had a revolving door of singers before I ended up doing it solo for a long time up until Premier replaced me permanently.

My relationship with JP then was rocky because I was hurt that I got replaced.

I loved performing with Black Sun. we did Van Halen, White Zombie, Pearl Jam, and other covers that older kids could only hope to cover at that time.

We were just 15 years old at that time.

So yeah, we were marching bandmates and then bandmates.

What’s funny is he ended up joining me from time to time in my own band which later became Acidradius

Happy Birthday JP

This birthday marks 31 years of friendship.

We have come a long way from being snot-faced teenagers, on-again-off-again bandmates, and now on our way to becoming middle aged men.

We have been in each other’s lives at least 66% of our lifetime.

I look back with fondness at all the shared experiences we’ve had from all the pushups we’ve had to do in the marching band, getting kicked out of the marching band and waiting pitifully at the side hoping to be recalled.

I also remember that time when the entire gang went fishing in someone’s fishpond. Or that time when it seemed like everyone managed to get girlfriends all at the same time.

We’ve had our shouting matches in the recording studio and full on belly laughs during parties. We’ve pissed off a few ex-pats when we decided to sing Bon Jovi songs while on the way to watch Guns and Roses.

You’ve gone on to becoming a very successful recording producer with such notable names in the music industry today.

Your Awit Awards speak for themselves when it comes to the quality you put out.

I guess you’ve always been the meticulous person ever since we were teens and that has served you well in your role today.

It’s been a very fun ride.

And it’s cool that I have what very few people have: a lifelong friend. One that I can call or message at any time to listen to my crazy ideas or make plans with a decade from now to go riding long distances with on motorcycles.

Here’s hoping there’s 30 plus more birthdays I’ll get to attend.

Happy birthday JP.