‘Music is a comforting friend’: Ebe Dancel on the power of OPM during quarantine

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit a big fat pause button on the live music scene this year, breaking the hearts of Pinoy musicians and music lovers alike.

But if anybody has ever experienced taking a break from live music prior to this, it’s Ebe Dancel.

In an interview on "Quarantined with Howie Severino," the former Sugarfree frontman emphasized how uplifting music can be, especially in dark times.

“It’s basically it's a comforting friend. That's how I've always viewed music,” Ebe said.

“(I) Myself, there were times na pakiramdam ko everything was hopeless na tapos may maririnig akong kanta ng Urbandub, kanta ni Rico Blanco na maririnig tapos, 'Ang ganda nito.' O kaya meron akong maririnig na sound song about reassurance tapos sasabihin ko, 'Hindi lang pala ako 'yong nakakaramdam ng ganito.' And it feels good that I have friends."

"So I think, like I said, music becomes source of comfort in that way especially these times. We want to take whatever we can,” he added.

In his playlist are Ben Platt, an artist Ebe had just discovered, Rico Blanco's first single in four years, "This Too Shall Pass,"

Ebe recently did a special online concert on his birthday, and he was able to raise raise funds for roadies who were displaced amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“There are online online shows that you can do on Facebook and maybe now we should take advantage of the situation that we're all in isolation and we have the technology,” he said.

With all the time we’re spending online, Ebe said, anyone can try reaching out to fellow musicians and “just talk.”

“Who knows, you can right a song together? Who knows you have the same experience? Find someone to talk to. Grief is horrible thing (and it’s) very difficult.”

Ebe is also grateful to his his fans for helping him get through the darkest of times.

"One of the greatest blessings of being a musician such as myself is that I received actual letters from people through email or my facebook page or to Instagram, Twitter, saying that, 'You know this specific song of yours spoke to me during a very dark time and it made me live for another day'."

"It made me cope. It made me look forward to better days even if it's not tomorrow that I'm confident that it will happen and that I'm not alone." — LA, GMA News