Stay Calm: It's Paranoid City!

Paranoid City recently signed under MCA Music which was just two days before their 8th year anniversary! Woohoo! That was something need to celebrate. Paranoid City is so amiable that they gave me some of their time to interview them.

Formed in 2009, during hiatus of Dax and Japo's band, Paranoid City was born. With influences of the 80s and 90s music, their sound is startlingly impressive. "Actually nagkasundo kami ni Dax dahil sa Rivermaya, nung college days namin madalas namin tugtugin noon puro Rivermaya", said Japo. Rommel also added, "nagustuhan ko talaga mag-banda nung napakinggan ko yung Eraserheads."

According to the vocalist of the band, there is no deep meaning why he named the band Paranoid City besides the fact that it was from FRIENDS. It was when he's watching Friends and he heard the word Paranoid City.



Being in a music scene for 8 years, I asked them what does it feel to play in public. "Noong early days namin mas kabado pero ngayon walong taon ko na sila kasama, kahit hindi ka sure dun sa tutugtugin ninyo na cover or something, parang hindi na kabado kasi ramdam na namin ang isa't-isa eh", Japo explained. "Depende sayo kung aasa ka kasi dun sa number of the people in crowd to say it was a good gig or not, most of the time you'll be disappointed", said Dax. "For me, personally may tao o wala masarap tumugtog. Period." With regards to handling mistakes during the performance, Eric said that all human are prone to commit mistakes and it's normal but you have to learn from your mistakes. "Sometimes, mayroon talagang pagkakamali pero smile lang, move on. Because if you just dwell on those mistakes, hindi mo ma-e-enjoy yung moment", he added.

Dax discussed about Paranoid City's music-making process. "Walang strict guidelines. Sometimes, it happens out of nowhere. The normal problem is sa sobrang dami ng kanta ang hirap umiwas eh. But that's not a bad thing, pero that's not what we're after right now. May instances din na may mga kanta ako na hindi ako confident about parang bitin with something binibigay ko kay Japo tapos nagagawan ng paraan ni Japo. We tried to balance with business ethics and arts with regards of song writing."




The band already performed in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (Wow! Southeast Asia invasion), but this band is looking forward to more out of the country tours. Lots of crazy things happened to them during those tours. Back when in Thailand (band's first ever tour), when smartphones were not yet existing, Rommel and Eric got bored so they went for a walk. After two and a half hours of waiting, there was no sign of Rommel and Eric so Dax got worried because there's no facebook to message them and they only bought one sim card for that tour. Dax and Japo decided to look for the two missing band members haha. Thankfully, after three hours, Rommel and Eric appeared like happy kids from a candy store. Haha. According to Eric, they went to a bar which was as wide as a warehouse that doesn't have an entrance fee, people are partying like there's no tomorrow, it was like a heaven to them. I couldn't stop laughing while they're telling me this story haha.

To get along with each other is their biggest challenge as a band according to Dax. "Ang layo ng ugali namin noong nagsimula kami hanggang ngayon. Acceptance. Yun yun eh. You can't change it. At the end of the day, intindihan and compromise. Because of the fact na tumatanda kami, the biggest challenge is to stick together."



Japo goes on to explain how he feels they've changed since their first album released. "Lalo sa music scene ngayon, sobrang lawak ng music vocabulary ng mga banda. Masasabi ko lumawak din ang range ng musicality namin." Metropolitan is very different from their first album Viewfinders Dream which they describe as what they wanted to portray and the second album is how they represent themselves. The latest album Metropolitan is a homie and most sincere one.



For the past 8 years, like other bands, members of Paranoid City also got tired and thought of quitting. "May mga times na titingala ka na lang sa gabi bakit mo ginagawa ito sa halaga ng softdrinks pero okay lang", Japo said. "It's a matter of  enjoying what we have right now."

To end with, Dax also has an advice for anyone who wants to form a band or anyone who wants to do something, "my life has been driven by passion. Passion ko sa laruan, passion ko sa music at passion ko sa family ko, that's the common factor - passion." He also added that he believes in the saying "kapag gusto may paraan". "Example is if your passion walang pera dun, magtatrabaho ka para masustentuhan mo yung passion mo. Yun ang philosophy ko kasi sobrang totoo siya eh, kaya mo gawan ng paraan yan. Don't let your insecurities stop yourself. Yourself is your worst enemy. Most times I fail, sa sampung beses ako nag-try 9.5 palpak but that 0.5 success ang sarap! It makes life worth living."

You can listen to their songs through spotify, deezer, amazons, and iTunes. Or buy their physical album on their gigs. They also have a facebook page, twitter, and instagram!