A dream come true for The CompanY

It was a dream come true for the country’s premiere vocal group, The CompanY. For the first time in their 17-year career, the sextet embarked on their very first US Concert Tour, The CompanY HITS USA Concert Tour 2003 together with recording superstar, Miss Aiza Seguerra last March.

Undoubtedly, it was worth the group’s long wait as audiences from various major US cities accorded the artists enthusiastic standing ovations at the end of their performances.

The five-week concert tour, starting March 13 up to April 20, brought The CompanY and Aiza to Virginia Beach, Washington DC (Lisner Auditorium of the George Washington University), Jacksonville, Florida (Florida Theater), Staten Island, New York (Manila Alley), San Jose California (Sta. Clara Convention Center Theater), Los Angeles (Orpheum Theater), South San Francisco (Solita Bar & Grill), Vallejo (Vallejo Maritime Academy Theater) and La Canada, California (Degheri Performance Arts Theater of St. Francis).

The CompanY presented a repertoire showcasing their versatility and mastery in vocal harmony, authentically tackling several music genres that included their Original Pilipino hit songs from their 12 albums, a cappella showstoppers, traditional Filipiniana, vocal jazz, timeless standards, traditional/classical choral music and recycled pop classics. The group peppered their performances with witty and self-deprecating spiels and banter; hence establishing immediate rapport with their audiences.

"We entered this tour with no illusions. We were well aware that some people in the US did not know who we were. However, a segment of the audience who really knew us were the loyal fans or those who moved to the States not more than 10 years ago. Considering those were the givens, we really had to prove ourselves in every concert. We were thrilled that by the end of each show, the audience gave their unqualified stamp of approval with the ovations!!!," explains CompanY artistic director, Moy Ortiz.

The CompanY HITS USA Tour 2003 was organized by veteran concert tour promoter, Miss Susan Lim. Musical director was Ms. Beth Martin, who played alongside fellow instrumentalists – Jorge San Jose (Ugoy-Ugoy Band), Joji Magadia (PPO) and Andre Bush (US based session player). Bambi Santos of Stages & Trumpets was the tour’s Road & Production Manager. All costumes were created by Danilo Franco.

To celebrate the success of The CompanY’s first US tour, the group will have three performances as part of a special series of shows at the Hard Rock Café tonight, May 14 and on May 21 and 28, all Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m.

The CompanY will be launching its 12th album titled Live at the CCP! It is released under CCP audio products and distributed under Pop Art Music/Viva Records. This latest release is an audio-video box set documenting The CompanY’s highly successful concert at the main theater of the CCP last year. On the album’s television launch, The CompanY’s last album, Storybook, shall also be given a gold record award. Storybook, the group’s first all-OPM album in six years, has already garnered an Awit Award for Best Duo/Group Recording performance for the a cappella song – Gusto Ko Ng A Cappella. Furthermore, the Storybook album spawned the group’s latest original hits – Baka Ikaw and Pag Nagkataon. Finally, The CompanY is now in pre-production with their upcoming studio album, Portfolio.

The CompanY is Moy Ortiz, Annie Quintos, Andre Castillo, Cecile Bautista, Reuben Laurente and Sweet Plantado. The CompanY is managed by Boy Abunda’s Backroom, Inc. For any of all information about The CompanY, please visit http://www.geocities.com/thecompanyph/index.html or www.popartmusicmanila.com.

The Belo touch

I like going to Belo Medical in Timog, Quezon City, because everyone in that building smiles. I think even the building smiles. You get this feeling that everyone likes you in that place. People smile but they don’t pander to you. They don’t say stuff like I look like Ben (Affleck) or Colin Farrell. They don’t flatter me with feel-good lines like "you’ve lost weight" or "you look good in skinhead." People at Belo Medical simply smile and make you feel good. So everytime Chen-Chen (my favorite facialist) pricks, massages and overhauls my mother’s favorite face, I come out of Belo Medical in Timog feeling like a newly-crowned beauty queen.

Watching Dolly Ann

I’m glad my good friend Dolly Ann Carvajal is doing a talk show in Channel 13. I have always thought that Dolly is a fab talk show material. She is quick, irreverent, funny, and sinfully inquisitive. And she loves the world, and she speaks French. And she lives life with her heart. She’s unapologetic for enjoying this short life in this SARS-afflicted world. And in some of her lowest moments, her laughter becomes deadly. Go girl! We shall be watching you!