O Canada…O Truefaith!
The Post-Canadian Tour 2010 Interview with Medwin Marfil By Gerbs R. De Castro (06-29-2010)
The recent 2010 Truefaith Canadian Tour generated a plethora of smiles (and booze???) from OPM enthusiasts in the band’s grueling five-city tour from May 21 to June 5. Shifting from city to city on land would really somewhat take the starch out of you, but, hey, it is all about entertaining Pinoys abroad, and the group, as always, would never belt their usual stuff below 100%.
Weeks after their plane touched down at NAIA, I chatted with lead vocalist Medwin Marfil and found out that the tour was more than just performing for a huge throng of screaming fans from various areas, but it also turned out to be an educational one for the guys since it was their first trip to the land of the Maple Leaf.
GERBS: After toiling in another country for almost a month away from your loved ones, what was the aura as you finally arrived in your homeland?
MED: Toiling? We didn’t go around carrying crates or clean caribou poop hehe. It wasn’t entirely 100% fun- or all smooth running- but we surely enjoyed! We might have been away from our family and friends but we surely felt a lot of love from all of the Filipinos we met and who watched the gigs. What did u mean aura, Gerbs? Aura namin when we arrived? Well, we had the feeling that we gained some great reward by experiencing the beauty of this wonderful country and its kind people (especially the Pinoys there); we also felt really good that we were back home- I personally welcomed the warm weather. So what was our aura? Very pleasant and tingly hehe.
GERBS: Of all the countries that you could have played at the start of this year, why did you choose Canada? How did it all come into fruition?
MED: Canada was in the works for some time now. It’s not a matter of which countries we want to play in on a priority chart. I guess no artist locally can ever do that. It’s always which producer gets to work on the papers much quicker and what comes to our table first. Australia was supposed to happen last year but until now it’s still in limbo. Canada came easy because the producer was our manager, Andy Barce’s cousin-in-law. We will have a Dubai show this July 23 and hopefully Guam and Saipan by Aug. Ayos!
GERBS: Since this was your first time to travel in this country, what were the places you visited?
MED: Well, of course we went around the cities we played in: Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. We didn’t see much of Toronto ’cause we were just there for a day so we missed Niagara Falls- bummer! Next time! Winnipeg is a big flat plain but the Pinoys there were anything but flat and plain hehe. On our last day there we went to the Asian Heritage Festival- that was a thrill! In Calgary we were ecstatic like children when we experienced our first snow! ‘Twas odd really that it should snow there when it was nearly summer. That was just pure joy! (It continued to snow ’till Edmonton!) Before our gig in Calgary I got to go around the city’s Zoo. Then the day after the show we went to the magnificent Canadian Rockies- we went to the Banff and the very beautiful, Lake Louise- it was still frozen! Very very pretty! Going back to Calgary we saw a brown bear by the side of the highway! At Edmonton we stayed at the hotel of the world-famous West Edmonton Mall. Eugene and I spent an afternoon at the indoor water park- something we both saw in Discovery Travel and Living before. So having a dip in the immense wave pool was so much fun! We love Vancouver; reminds us so much of San Francisco- very cosmopolitan and modern and yet very quaint and charming! We visited our relatives in very picturesque South Surrey- the band came along for dinner. Then we went to magnificent White Rock Beach- you could see Washington state from there. Both areas I hear have been favorite locations for films/tv shows like The X-Files and Twilight. Canada is such a majestic country!
GERBS: Experiencing the Canadian culture, what were your learning experiences as you discovered that aspect? Any type of fashion, food, or beverage you guys enjoyed that cannot be found in the Philippines?
MED: Canada is very multi-cultural. Being there, I never felt like an outsider at all! Everyone is very very nice! We were hoping to eat more exotic food during our meals out in the cities but since the sponsors usually were Filipino restaurants we got to eat more of our own kind of cuisine. But we of course got the chance to try other cultures’ food: Indian, Vietnamese, Korean and the unstoppable and ubiquitous Chinese buffet (king crab!) with Tsing Tao beer! We also tried Canadian beer (Molson) and the killer of the tour: Canadian whiskey- Crown Royale! haha. Our friend, Reece flew in from Dallas just to watch the show with some really crazy tequila in tow. In Edmonton, friends also made us try some Cuban rum and this Mexican liquor that was as claimed by the label made by the Aztecs for rituals- really!! OK enough of the alcohol! Allan tried this pink innocuous beverage that had this look on the bottle that reminded you of album covers by The Smiths. He has a picture of it in one of his photo albums.
GERBS: Any new acquaintances you guys experienced during the entire trip?
MED: We definitely made lots of new friends in every city. Everyone was so warm and loving! They are all in our Facebook accounts and in the Truefaith pages now hehe. I surmise there were still lots of people who didn’t get the chance to see the band because of their personal schedules and perhaps the tour’s promo didn’t reach them. We hope next time we will get to see all of them.
GERBS: How did you all adjusted to the changing conditions such as jetlag and land travel from one city to another, and still belt out incredible performances?
MED: We were all so excited so adjusting to the weather, the jet lag and tight schedule wasn’t as hard as we previously imagined. The warm welcome of our fellow Pinoys always made us ready to go with our daily commitments.
GERBS: How was the crowd turnout and behavior during the gigs? Which city/s had the “wildest” fans?
MED: Not all of our gigs were well-attended. (I guess- and this is also the opinion of the locals- our producer’s marketing of the show wasn’t efficient enough and the tour dates were changed three times.) But even if a place wasn’t packed the exchange of energy between the band and the crowd would always be at high levels! It was all crazy fun, but if I had to choose which show in which city was really wickedly wild I’d have to say, Calgary.
GERBS: How did they respond to the “Love Parade” album songs?
MED: The new songs were very much appreciated by the crowd and we’re more than glad that they love the new material. Everyone enjoyed, Pangako, Lihim, Hurray!, Mountain Wind and of course, ‘Yun Lang.
GERBS: Which of the songs in your entire repertoire did the audience enjoyed the most?
MED: Aside from the new songs, people of course enjoyed the classic hits Kung Ok Lang Sa ‘Yo, Baliw, Muntik, Huwag Na Lang Kaya and Perfect. And even the other songs, Hi, How Much I Feel, Awit Para Sa Kanya etc.
GERBS: How were the album sales during the tour? Would the album be sold in Canadian music outlets and/or online?
MED: There were a lot of things that constantly brought frustration to the band during the whole tour (not enough promo and little time for it, lack of a production team- all of which our tour promoter should have ironed out from the start; although she did claim she had it all worked out for us before we left the Philippines) and the biggest one of which is the failure of keyboardist, Jake Lumacad, manager Andy Barce and technical assistant, Joey Co to come to Canada due to- according to our main promoter- difficulty to acquire cheap tickets for the whole three weeks or so we were there. Andy was supposed to bring the hundreds of copies of Love Parade to Canada, but since he failed to come along for the tour we didn’t get to sell cd’s. Sobrang sayang kasi everyone wanted to buy copies of the record. Oh well, maybe next time.
GERBS: Are there any plans of visiting other countries? If so, where and around when?
MED: We will be in Dubai on the 23rd of July. Guam and Saipan just might happen this August. Singapore perhaps before the year ends. Australia and Europe- still both in limbo. Another U.S. tour will be next year!
GERBS: Any message you want to impart to the Truefaith fans situated in Canada whom you have left behind?
MED: To all of our friends in Canada, old and new: Thank you very much for all the support and all the love you have shown to us during our tour! We had such a great marvelous time there with you guys! Sana makabalik kami agad kasi sobrang nagustuhan namin ang bansang Canada, lalo na ang mga tanawin at of course, ang kabaitan at pagmamahal ng ating mga kababayan diyan! Sana po lagi nating suportahan, ‘di lang ang musika namin kundi lahat ng musikerong Pilipino here sa Pinas, diyan sa Canada at sa buong mundo! Itaguyod natin ang OPM! As I always say, we hope all of your dreams come true! Keep in touch and Keep the Faith! Blessya all! Cheers! 