December 18, 2009... This is a date that I will remember. It was a Friday night, and my band K24/7 is scheduled for our usual weekend gig at Off The Grill. It was pretty much routine... Until our manager Alona David gave us the most pleasant surprise. My bandmates and I were each handed a couple of CDs, with Ate Alona greeting us a sweet Merry Christmas...
It was our new album. K24/7: New Era.
Earlier this week, Ate Alona, road manager Jason Reyes, and I met up to check the final CD design and listen to the final audio mix, before the production of the first batch of CDs. It was all good, and it's a go. We were expecting the manufacturing to be finished sometime next week. It went ahead of schedule. And so, management gave us the surprise last night.
For me, it's a dream come true. It's definitely a long time coming. I am now on my 12th year as a professional musician, and I've been with K24/7 since early 2004. One of my career dreams is to become a recording artist and to make albums. Finally, this dream came true. This is my first album/recording credit as a professional artist, and this wasn't handed to us in a silver platter. New Era is approximately 5 years in the making; a product created from blood, sweat, and tears.
When I held my copy of New Era for the first time, I took a moment, holding the album with both hands, and I just stared at it. I had this mini flashback of the last 5 years I had with the band, and that moment when my bandmates began making the first demos. In those 5 years, K24/7 has faced adversities along the way. We went through the tough times, from studio and gig mishaps to bandmember changes, from songwriting hardships to production concerns... We went through various challenges, whether musical, personal, financial, or whatever imaginable obstacle. And just as we thought that things seem to be on track, something would come up. Wow, those 5 tough years... What a journey it has been! Unbelievable.
It was a huge sigh of relief. I felt like all the stress in my mind and body was took off of me. Suddenly, I broke a smile and there was peace of mind, like a big monkey was mightily taken off my back. And it felt really good. While writing this blog, I have our album playing in the background. I may have listened to our songs thousands of times. This time, it sounds and feels way much sweeter.
At times, we were on the verge of losing hope, going through depressive stages, and the like. But we just hung on to our dreams, and we never gave up and called it quits. I like what our dear friend Jean Ramiro told us one time... She described K24/7 as a very resilient group. Now, I see New Era as a testimony to K24/7's strength, persistence, and determination.
I always believe that God has His reasons, and in life, there are reasons why things happen. Looking back at what happened in the last 5 years... Yeah, we know the album is waaaaay overdue. But the wait seems well worth it. I am grateful to the Lord for all the blessings, and as well as for the adversities and the lessons learned.
Now that our album is finally out, this is just the beginning of a new chapter in K24/7's history.
Let me know what you think or feel about New Era. I'll most likely write more blogs about our album in the near future.
*****
K24/7: NEW ERA is currently available at our gigs. Drop by at any of our gigs, and go grab your copy! Php250 only. For info, sked, and updates, just visit K24/7's Facebook Page.
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