Ice Seguerra is happy there are more people who watch concerts now

MANILA, Philippines — Ice Seguerra cannot be thankful enough that his schedule to do concerts and live performances onstage has returned to normal this year.

After more than two years of virtual shows and appearances, Ice is now back onstage doing concerts.

“My 2023 schedule has normalized,” maintained Ice. “Kamado na ang musicians and artists and that’s important. What’s hard these days is getting suppliers for a concert like lights or sound system. There are local and even international artists who come to Manila.”

Ice recently returned from his successful Fire and Ice PH, which participated in film festivals in different countries.

He was tapped anew to perform in a benefit concert, YuleStars, come Nov. 30 (with Joey Generoso and Angeline Quinto) and Dec. 2 (with Ogie Alcasid and Nina) at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City. Calvin Murphy Neria directs.

The shows are for the benefit of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association (PMAAA), represented by Cavalier Raul Gonzales.

“When they get me, especially if you see the organization is legitimate, that’s important to me,” Ice said. “Your name gets attached to the organization for the concert. Let’s say something unfortunate happens to the concert, your name will be dragged along.”

This year, Ice opened for Alanis Morissette, something really memorable for him. He performed in Davao and Cebu, something that never came in the last two years.

“It’s a reminder to me that this is something that I really love to do, something that I always do. And I get to do it again this 2023.”

He never turned down a performance offer because of any particular artist even if the concert is pro bono.

“That never happens to me,” Ice explained. “No. 1, we are all professionals. This is my job. Whatever is my personal opinion with any particular artist, that should no longer matter when it comes to our job.”

“So far, I have no issues with other artists. Maayos naman ako sa lahat. Ours is such a small industry. There shouldn’t be any misunderstanding with anyone. The willingness to perform for a charity event should be there,” added he.

Ice is aware that a lot of people go out to watch live concerts lately. The energy in the concert scene is palpable.

“What’s nice about this YuleStars concert, because of the different sets of artists and their combination, this will cater to a wider audience,” he said. “Because it’s Christmas, we keep going back to tradition to see familiar faces who will sing familiar Christmas songs.”

Cavalier Gonzales informed proceeds of the YuleStars concert will help families of fallen soldiers during operations while serving in the military and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“The purpose of this concert is to assist our comrades in arms who left us and also left several children,” said Cavalier Gonzales. “We want to help the children continue their education even after their fathers passed on.”

“We also support the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in improving their instructional materials and helping their professors get scholarships to help them advanced education and teaching processes.”

Cavalier Gonzales also thought of the occasion to give entertainment and lighten the Christmas season. “So, we selected top artists for the PMAAA also to give entertainment during the holiday season and support the program.”

Meanwhile, Ice insisted that Christmas is always time for the family. “That’s what I always look forward to every time it’s Christmas,” he said. “You spend time with the family and feel the excitement of Christmas.”

Although his 2023 is still a “rollercoaster ride,” the year is a constant reassurance of the path. “We opened our production company, Fire and Ice Ph. That was exciting and a challenge for us, but to make us stronger.”

Director Calvin opted to have an Original Pilipino Music (OPM) repertoire, except for a few Christmas tunes. “Young people today forget most OPM songs,” he said. “These are all our original songs. Our music is dominated by Western and K-pop tunes.”

“So, I told our producers, the artists should render the soundtrack of our lives. I want to impart that to the younger generation. That’s my role as a director. The combination of artists. I want that to be different,” he continued.

“Ogie and Nina, that’s interesting because it has never happened before. Joey G. will always perform with bands, but never with Angeline, who is a belter. Undeniably, Ice has big contribution to OPM. All of them have their own string of hits,” Calvin shared.

“Let me brag that the show is really great because the artists are here to champion our Filipino hits. They are doing numbers that are never heard before.”

The show will also feature videos of some soldiers and alumni whose stories are really heartbreaking. The videos will be connected to the songs of the artists.