the boys in the band

for four months now, i have been helping a friend in doing publicity for a boy band, a surprising turn in my unpredictable life. while i have always loved reading about the scandalous lives of celebrities (confession: the first thing i read in a newspaper is the entertainment page), i never imagined that one day, i would be involved in writing prs and doing publicity for a boy band.

a boy band? i would have screamed in my past life. frankly, i was never a fan of boy bands. especially the boyzone, backstreetboys and westlife variety. i am not being snobbish, but i simply found their music sappy, their lyrics shallow, their dance moves silly. although admittedly most of them were cute in the teendom kind of way: think the boys of teevee's beverly hills ninety-two-ten (so throwback!).

so when a friend called asking if i was interested in helping him spread the good news about a fledging boy band that he fondly called men of manila, i had second thoughts. i mean, i had turned down jobs to join the pr team of several politicians at last year's senatorial elections because i simply don't like politicians (i have no respect for most of them -- especially the thieving and lying variety from political dynasties), why would i bother with an unknown boy band? tarush!!

but my friend was convincing. he said this was a different kind of boy band. while the boys were all good looking, talented and eager for stardom, they were also willing to donate part of the proceeds of their income to a charity or any charitable cause. that caught my interest. wow! i thought, entertainment with a heart?! amazing. so very miss world, or miss earth: "beauty with a purpose."

before i said yes, i asked if i could first meet the boys. you know, to see for myself if they were really worth my time, effort and connections. hahahaha.

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so one agonizingly sweltering afternoon, i met them. all twelve of them. it turned out that aside from being good looking, bursting with promise, i also found out that some, if not most of them also have inspiring stories to tell: one recently lost his father and being the eldest in the family, he wanted to help augment the family's income by becoming an entertainer. another one came from a poor family somewhere outside of metro manila and was likewise determined to earn money so that he could help his siblings finish their studies. and these are young boys, aged between sixteen to twenty-two!!

what was i doing when i was at that age? i wondered as i was talking to them: getting high and often drunk. complaining about my very strict father. whining about stupid and boring teachers. cutting classes. joining rallies. spending my allowance on shirts and showbiz magazines that featured my favourite actors on the covers and posters. watching movies. fantasizing about my crushes that we were stranded in an island with nothing to do but to swim naked and you know...

then i asked them to sing. one by one. just to see if they really have what it takes. in fairness, most of them could carry a tune or two, especially the one who is already appearing in a late-night show on television. he can also dance. plus he is a total looker, a shade like the young dingdong dantes. dingdong who? tarush number two.

that same day, with fingers crossed, i said yes.

when i went home after talking to them, i started writing their individual profiles that were eventually used by some columnists when they featured the boy band months much later. i also wrote press releases about the group that were used by a number of media outlets, including the country's three biggest newspapers, the country's largest business papers, and the top two online news sites.

admittedly, it wasn't my first time to dabble in pr writing. but what the heck. a friend once told me: aren't some if not all business news stories some form of press releases?  or glorified prs? and i agree.

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it wasn't always smooth sailing, of course.

while my friend was very easy to work with, and he was far from being a tyrant/dictator boss (unlike some people i know. hahaha) and most of the boys were fun to be with, being in a new field, that is, entertainment, proved to be a challenge. i hardly know anybody from the entertainment industry. i was a business reporter all my life (except for a brief period when i covered malacanang during the time of president fidel v. ramos) and so most of my friends and acquaintances were in the business section.

but i was persistent. i took it as a challenge. it helped too that i have a thick skin like a winter coat fit for siberia, and i thrive on difficult situations. with a shoestring budget, and with the help of generous souls, i was able to have the new boy band be featured in the country's top three newspapers, top two online news outlets, the oldest newspaper, and the country's number one business newspaper even before the band had their first concert, or even before they released their first original single.

aside from helping craft and strategize the band's pr and publicity, manage their social media platform, at some point i also became the group's part-time stylist, photographer, photo shoot assistant, cook (ok, i chopped onions when someone cooked pasta during a rehearsal), set assistant (i lifted tables and chairs during video and photo shoots), supplier of candies, mints and chocolates, cheer leader, moral supporter, parent, guidance councilor, and even talent coordinator (i convinced a friend to have the boy band as one of their entertainers when she launched a travel magazine).

and you know what? i love it. i love every minute of it. i love it when i see that the boys are really exerting their best just to come up with a good performance, even if they are sleep-deprived, tired, hungry, and aching for some rest. i love it when they take my criticisms in stride and even use them to better themselves. i love it when they confide in me about their problems unrelated to their careers. i love it when they ask for my advice on what shirt to wear, or what shoes to buy.

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four months after i said yes, i am glad that the boy band is starting to get noticed. aside from appearing in newspapers and online website, the boys had been invited to guest on a radio show (fm), serenade the contestants of a prestigious beauty pageant, entertain guests at the launching of a travel magazine, and other events in and out of metro manila.

oh, and they have already recorded their first original song, an opm titled gwapo lang naman ako. based on feedbacks from those who have heard the song and those who have seen men of manila perform it live, the love song has the potentials of being a hit.

i am keeping my fingers crossed.

(ps: since the boy band's launching concert on july twenty-six, the brains behind men of manila decided to cut their number down to a more manageable seven from twelve. for more about men of manila, please check out their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Men-of-Manila/259620944241690?ref=hl and their website: http://www.men-of-manila.com/412093672 )