Marcus Adoro's music

Second of two parts As the night wore on, and the recorder switched off, then on, then off again, the conversation with Marcus Adoro and the other merry members of the table went on unplanned paths. After discussing serious stuff about the music of Markus Highway and equally serious stuff about Adoro's return to the classroom, there was nowhere better to go than back to music. The wound that never heals After vowing not to drink anymore that week, Adoro drank from his bottle and shifting the topic seamlessly, brought out a laptop and played a video he made on YouTube. While waiting for the video to play, I ask him about love. He lets out an unexpected "aww..." slightly sarcastic to my ear, but still worthy of a pink-clad thirteen year-old girl. "'Yung sagot diyan, hindi corruption, hindi poverty ang problema ng 'Pinas. Kung 'di, kulang sa pagmamahal sa bansa. Sabi 'yan ng isang Korean. Sinasabi niya na ang Korea nung '60s napakahirap nila. Pero 'yung patriotism nila, 'yung love for their country, 'yun ang wala sa Pinas e," he says. I ask him who he's going to vote for, and he tells me he isn't registered. Meanwhile, the video has started playing, and I find myself absorbed by a montage of pictures accompanied by lyrics to their song "For the Wound that Never Heals." After the video plays, he tells me there's another version. It isn't finished yet but he plays the video anyway. The second video is a lot more video-like than the first, and it features Adoro as two people in alternating frames, until the end where the two Adoros converse. It's surreal, watching two of him, while talking with one of him. Any moment now, I half expect someone to come in with a megaphone asking the real Marcus Adoro to please stand up. "Yan 'yung state ko ngayon e," he says. "Ang idea is, dalawa ako. Isa, estudiyante, isa, nagjujutes." I say it would be cool if his two selves hugged in the end. "Mahirap yata 'yun. Batukan nalang siguro puwede," he says. I ask him what his wound that never heals is and he just smiles and tells me the song has different meanings. "Iba iba ang ibig sabihin niyan. Kaya ganun 'yun e," he says, sharing that he wrote the song after a drinking session with a friend. "'Yung kakauwi ko, November, sa beach. May isa dun, lumang tropa, dumating. So, inuman. Tapos sabi niya, 'Ang sarap talaga ng mga memories natin dati. Cheers, for the wound that never heals.'" I tell him I'm pretty sure there's a second half to the toast, something to do with women, but before anyone can recall what it is, he shifts the topic again. A different story Asked what he thinks the best way to love your country is, he pauses for a while, then says, "Titigan mo nang titigan 'yung mapa." He bursts into laughter after saying this, and for a moment I wonder if he's joking. Then he continues and says "Bakit ang hirap natin mag unite? kasi 7,001 (islands) tayo, divided e. Kaya siguro 'pag na-realize 'yun ng tao at ng gobyerno, siguro, magagawan ng paraan kung pano i-link 'yun. Kaya nagkakanya kanya e, kasi nasa kabilang dagat naman sila e 'di ba? Buti sana kung online lahat." I ask him how the different kinds of people will unite, and he tells me that's a different story. "Ibang interview 'yan. Alam ko 'yung sagot diyan e. The cultural revolution. To be continued." Going back to the start The conversation turns to beer (Pale is best, because you know how many bottles you've really had), his green kombi --- which he got from a priest for less than 200,000 pesos to match his Alice decal which he bought from a shop in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco --- and inevitably, the Eraserheads. He happily recalls their first gig at the UP Vanguard. "Bali-baliktad pa nga noon e. Ako 'yung bokalista, si Ely 'yung bahista, si Raimund ang keyboardista, si Buddy 'ata drummer," he said. "E siyempre first gig, lasing na lasing ako. Tanduay! Hindi ko alam kung nagkalat kami. Nagkalat yata ako, ako 'yung nakakahiya talaga noon e. Isang linggo kaming hindi lumalabas, nagtatago," he shared. "So 'yun, nag-reshuffle. Si Ely naman talaga 'yung panganay e, tsaka kanta ni Ely 'yun," he said. Asked what he really wanted to do, he shrugs. "Hindi ko lang alam, pare. Kasi may gitara ako nun na bago. Nabili ko sa Raon. Si Ely walang gitara, so parang hinihiram niya. Tapos ako, hindi, akin 'yung gitara (na ginagamit ko)!" Asked if he wanted to be the vocalist then, he shrugged again. “Hindi. Ewan ko lang kung pano nangyari 'yung ganung configuration sa'kin," he said, then leaned back contentedly. Around the table, there’s an unspoken deference to Adoro that isn’t so strange. After all, he is, truly, a rockstar. Something about the guy tells you that no matter how many times he shrugs and seems to just let everything flow, behind those shades are eyes that are watching you closely, and underneath that black hat which hides a mass of unruly hair is a wise mind that knows, sometimes, it’s best to keep quiet. - GMANews.tv