Durian Jam: The J.D. experience

A visitor from Manila recounted to me her Beyonce Experience, a lucky front-rower she got the fortune of being near the phenomenal Creole beauty who is known for her hits with the girl group Destiny’s Child and her equally meteoric solo career which has expanded also to the silver screen with her box-office hit movie “DreamGirls”.

The concert held last November 7, at the Taguig Open Field drew in one of the biggest crowds in the country’s concert history with about 50,000 people in attendance at the event that has ticket prices ranging from P20,000 to P600.

Anyways this unfortunate writer could only listen in envy to her story; the nearest thing to having a Beyonce Knowles here in DC is a concert from visiting sexy celebrities who could do Beyonce covers with an added version of Beyonce’s “booty-shaking” gyrations.

But fortunately last Saturday night, I was treated to a rare musical experience, though not in the magnitude ala Beyonce, it was an experience of watching a proud Dabawenyo returning to his home and playing music for his fellow kababayans, he is no other than Jay Durias, more known for being the genius behind the success of one of the country’s premiere R&B bands South Border.

The Venue became a showroom of the J.D. factory where he performed for a gig aimed to promote his solo project entitled “Songs I Grew Up With.” And if the solo project would connote anything, Mr. Jay Durias hastens to explain that he is still with South Border, the band is still intact.

The new project contains the songs that according to Jay were the ones that he grew up listening as a teenager and as a young musician here in Davao City. “My father would tag me along sa mga gigs niya dito. He was a folk singer here in Davao.”  Jay recalls his early influence from his dad Bong Durias.

At a young age he became a musician, and performed at Insular Hotel and then was a regular at the Apo View Hotel, he also did front-acts for visiting artists like Jun Polistico, Miriam Pantig and Raymond Lauchengco. He was just 16 years old when he formed South Border. And it is where he was introduced to a musical genre that would redefine his career.

“When South Border came, it was a sudden turn of events, coz I grew up with jazz, I grew up with folk and listened to the Police and to Sting. With South Border it was R&B it was different, actually it became R&B because of Brix…Brix Ferraris.”

“It became very interesting for me tung gi-start namo ang South Border kase that time wala pa’y naga R&B na band mga 1990-1993 so yun after that nagbuo kami South Border.” Jay cited how he embraced R&B.

Together with Brix Ferraris on vocals South Border catapulted to national fame with their ballad Kahit Kailan. It was 1996 and was the height of rock bands like the Eraserheads, Siakol, the Teeth, Rivermaya among many, many others. South Border captured the hearts of many with their refreshing and unique pop, R&B sound encased in heart-tugging ballads.

More than a decade after, and four vocalists later (Brix Ferraris, Luke Mejares, Vince Alaras and Duncan Ramos) South Border behind Jay’s creative genius still possesses that unique sound and the band is steadily moving up to gain a foothold in the global music scene.

We are pursuing a dream of bringing our music into the international scene. Says Jay of their overseas foray, and according to their Myspace account the band is currently based in Los Angeles. “The band is not solely based in the U.S., we’re based here and we’re based there.” Jay clarifies South Border’s set-up, saying that the band has not totally migrated to the U.S. nor has it closed the doors on its motherland.

We’re musicians, fortunately I can bring music everywhere,” Jay said. He added that some of the band members are currently in the United States. Slowly gaining recognition in the U.S. the former Apo View habitués are performing in capacity crowd concerts of which 90% of the audience are non-Filipinos.

Jay’s Venue concert was well-attended by many ranging from Jay’s family and relatives, his classmates at Davao City High and the South Border fans who came in full force as well.

Unlike my Manila friend who got a booty shaking Beyonce experience, there was no serious thubthumping at the Venue in fact he opened the show with a song about the joy of falling asleep, their South Border original “Tulog.”

Jay was accompanied by well-known sessionists led by Dabawenyo guitarist Pido Lalimarmo who was one of the original guitarists of Side A and the band Pido with Takeone. The group took on playing with Jay’s distinct style the tracks in the album which included Light and Shade from Fra Lippo Lippi, You can do magic by America Captain and Tenille’s “Do that to me one more time,” “Goodnight girl,” a Wet Wet Wet original and “My Cherie Amour” from Stevie Wonder.

“It is something that every musician’s dream of coming out with something they love.” Jay explains his Songs I Grew Up With album, which is a collection of his favorite songs during his days as a young musician in Davao. “With South Border I put my heart in it, with my arrangements with other artists I also put my heart in it, pero its been a long while that I haven’t done something for myself.

He says the album is a way of saying thanks to the musicians which have helped him hone into what he is right now. But apart from an album of purely covers, Jay adds a 10th track the only self-penned song in his album, “Sa Hangin,” tells the deep personal effect from listening to the songs, even though with his very successful career as a pop and R&B musician, the songs of his youth still stayed with him.

Puso’t isipan ko kayhirap baguhin
Burahin nang mabuti ay andun pa rin
Ika’y mantsa sa aking daigdig
Parang nakabaon sa hangin

During the show he comes up with a Rey Valera medley, a tribute to his OPM influence, then nearing the end he launches into a medley of South Border songs (Love of my life, Rainbow, Habang Atin Ang Gabi, Ikaw nga).  The crowd launches into a very generous applause, cheering for every familiar hit done in a unique Jay Durias style.

“I’m proud to be an individual from Mindanao, especially from Davao, kasi I noticed musicians from the south they come in strong.” Mr. JD recalls his Davao days and how it shaped him. “Back in the days we were so serious in what we were doing, even before South Border “dili man dula ang ginahimo” (we do not just play around) we are serious with our craft, we are blessed na rin that we crossed over to the pop scene. Our only purpose here is to do music and at the same time inspire a lot of musicians, inspire a lot of people.”

Tidbits

Mr. Jay Durias, solo album “Songs I Grew Up With” is now out in the market, it features 10 tracks including the original “Sa Hangin.”

Special thanks to Muzika del Sur’s Kim Castillo for helping me in the interview and to Mark Limbaga for the pics and also to the Venue management for access to Mr. Jay Durias.