Burn

What goes up must come down, or so the song goes, but everything just keeps going higher and higher for one of the country’s busiest bands

by Clarissa Concio
Photography by Erwin Barleta for Edge of Light

It’s been a very, very long year for 6cyclemind. If energy equals distance multiplied by time, then the past year should have drained all the life out of the band–they’ve played seven gigs in one single day, sang to 30,000 people at Tagbilaran, ridden with weird cab drivers in Dubai and even serenaded fans in the middle of a storm in Bohol. Dubai alone is 6,916 air kilometers from Manila, Tagbilaran roughly 500 and Cagayan de Oro is 810. Now you do the math. Maybe anyone else would have thrown the proverbial towel in, cashed in their year of non-stop gigging and endorsement responsibilities and took a well-deserved break from the music scene. But resting is far from the minds of Ney Dimaculangan (vocals), Rye Sarmiento (rhythm guitars), Chuck Isidro (lead guitars), Bob Canamo (bass), Tutti Caringal (drums) and sixth member, main songwriter and the band’s foundation and manager Darwin Hernandez. Granted, it would be more difficult to stop the wheels from turning once they’ve started, so it looks like the momentum 6cyclemind’s picked up since January of 2007 will well be carried over until 2008.

“Actually, may time naman na we were able to rest this year,” Darwin counters in the middle of the band’s recount of how life was through suitcases and planes. “Tanduay gave us a nine-day vacation in Boracay, supposedly to write songs and rest. Nagdala pa kami ng recording equipment and video cam kasi we wanted to document everything. Pero hindi ‘yun nangyari. Wala kaming nasulat sa Boracay.” Everyone laughs at this point and starts pointing at each other, rationalizing how plans went askew.

“Si Ney, naglaro lang ng eroplano na ginawa nyang bangka…”

“Gusto na ni Tutti umuwi n’un kasi ang tagal tagal na namin dun…”

The nine-day retreat wasn’t slacking on their part, though. Even if fans perceived the release of Home, a cover album as a sign that the band was running out of steam, 6cyclemind had already songs ready for their fourth album even before the Boracay trip–songs that were scrapped because the band wanted to approach songwriting in a totally different way after experiencing life on the road.

“Biglang pumasok yung Fiesta na title,” Darwin explains. “Tapos out na yung mga lumang kanta. Dapat ‘yung isusulat namin, kung ano ‘yung ma-experience namin sa tours, between February to the point that we finished about 20 or 25 songs. tuloy-tuloy lang mga ginawa namin. Ang dami kasi naming nakita at na-experience.”

The 2007 6cyclemind tour diary, as expected, leaves little leeway for relaxation. Staying at Manila for more than a weekend has become a luxury, and sleep a demand Darwin has to strictly impose on the band’s busy schedule. Besides enough time for meals and rest when playing outside of Manila, a good massage is part of the boys’ gig riders, and something that all of them look forward to after a first-flight out of Manila. A radio tour takes most of their morning when they arrive at their destination, followed by lunch, then the much-awaited massage.

“Kasi kung wala yung massage na ‘yan…” Tutti leaves the rest of the band to finish his sentence. “Naku!” someone interjects and words like “masungit” “hindi pwede” and “yellow pages” are thrown around.

“Hahanapin talaga namin ‘yung massage sa yellow pages kung kailangan,” Ney laughs. “Kaya hindi rin masyadong nakakapagod yung mga out-of-town gigs kasi may massage kami, tapos tulog din–nakakatulog naman kami. Sa Manila, bihira–puyatan talaga pag gigs dun.”

To stress just how arduous a Manila gig can be, 6cyclemind talk about their seven-gig day (their longest day in 2007), which started at 5am at a guesting for a TV show to a gig for call center employees (”Call boys and call girls!” Ney interjects) to a gig in Bulacan and three more gigs that same night.

“Kaching! Kaching! ” Everyone answers when asked why they put themselves through such a day. They laugh lest anyone believe that they’re actually doing all this just for the money. Of course, the idea of earning more than enough with their music and to be able to support life’s little luxuries such as relatively expensive hobbies does give them something to sing about at the end of the day. This year saw the boys go through a total of four hobbies–home recording, airsoft, dogs and RCs. While Tutti eventually opened Blue Light, a recording and rehearsal studio featuring top-of-the-line equipment, the other 6cyclemind member’s interest in these hobbies eventually tapered off–with none of them firing their airsoft guns in a war game. They all also got to bid commuting goodbye and buy their own cars, which they ended up using rarely because they’re either in service vehicles or planes on the way to their gigs and tours.

The Dubai trip was one of the highlights of 2007, not only because it was 6cyclemind’s first gig abroad, but also because of their unusual experiences in a country so culturally different from the Philippines.

“Na-fine yung producer ng concert,” says Ney. “Kasi nagtayuan yung mga tao tapos lumapit sila sa stage. Bawal pala ‘yun. Lumapit sa akin ‘yung mga bouncer habang kumakanta ako, sabi nila [fakes Indian accent], ‘You tell them go back, sit down.’ Tapos sabi ko sa audience ‘O sabi daw umupo kayo. Payag kayo n’un?’ Tapos ‘yung audience sumigaw ‘Woooooooooh!!!!’ Nakakatawa din na yung mga bouncers and security sobrang protective. Gusto namin maki-mingle sa mga tao after the concert pero talagang pinoprotektahan kami ng security, gusto naming sabihin sa kanila ‘hindi, okay lang ‘yan.’”

It was quite a surprise for them to realize that people knew of them and their songs outside the Philippines, with people singing the lines of their hit “Sige” to them while they strolled around Dubai.

They’re also glad that the decision to become Tanduay Rhum’s endorsers proved to be a very good one. 6cyclemind spokesperson, Darwin is very vocal about his admiration for the marketing efforts and help the company has been extending the band ever since they signed the contract. Despite the preconceived notion that most companies are out to milk their endorsers for all their six-digit contract’s worth, Tanduay’s approaching things very differently. Check out any one 6cyclemind billboard and you won’t notice that Tanduay was behind the promotion–not until you look at the fine print or the small logos.

“Yung okay sa Tanduay kasi parang alam nila yung value ng artist at yung value ng music nila. Kaya sobrang happy kami kasi parang nakakatuwa eh,” Darwin says. “Hindi kami nag-submit ng profile sa kanila. Hinanap talaga nila kami–parang sobrang paniniwala naman yun.”Tapos bawat gawin namin, tatapatan nila talaga. Hindi yung–hindi naman nila sinasabi na ‘O, baka pwedeng libre nalang.’ Sinasabi nila, ‘O ito, tugtog kayo dito, tapos ito yung budget nyo ha.’ Ang sarap. Well, dapat naman talaga ganun eh pero ang sarap ng feeling kasi alam nila kung ano ‘yung worth ng music mo. Kasi kung ganun lahat ng trato ng companies sa artists, ang sarap maging artist kung alam mo yung future mo pwede pala sa paggawa ng kanta, eh pwede nang mabuhay ka.Tinatanong pa nila kung ano yung mga plano namin so sumasabay sila sa campaign namin. ang galing ng support nila sa amin. Basta importante, music namin maipromote. Parang naiintindihan nila na ang buhay ng banda.”

These guys also know how to give back. Just recently, they were commissioned to sing the theme and be part of Schools for Schools, an ABS-CBN Foundation project that taps exlcusive schools in Metro Manila to adopt and help public schools all over the Philippines by helping them with projects and donating educational materials. 6cyclemind even went further by donating educational DVDs, TVs and CD players to the cause.

“Siningit talaga namin ‘yun sa schedule namin,” Ney explains.

“Game naman kami sa mga ganyan eh,” adds Darwin. “Minsan ka ang magkapangalan or sumikat dun ka pwede tumulog—habang may boses habang may nakikinig sa yo, maganda na gawin ‘yun.”

Despite all their successes, 6cyclemind know that more often than not, popularity, fame and all the trimmings of being stars in their field can be shortlived. But while the ride isn’t over, all of them are definitely making it one hell of a trip.