Francis blogs: General Luna is a rock band. Seriously.

“Uh… is it okay if I do one more?”

The speaking voice is normal but colored with an apology. The question is welcome and comes from a humble place: the apologist actually just hit a beautiful powerful high note but ran out of breath. She is nervous.

Ace sound engineer Angee Rozul and I happily comply, confident that she will nail it as long as she remembers to breathe at the right note and syllable. She does the next take… and I fall off my chair (literally) and laugh in amazement. What emanated, no, surged from the slight frame of this Marian Rivera lookalike was a long sustained note higher than the previous botched take.

Over the next few recording sessions, she will harmonize with herself and I find myself wishing that Freddie Mercury was still alive, or that Enya lived in the neighborhood, and ask them, “This is how you did those huge lush choral effects, yes?”  I snap back to the task at hand and just appreciate that at least Nicole Asensio can’t grow a moustache.

Not their fault they’re eye candy

General Luna, her band, recorded their debut two years ago in Tracks Studios. Their new album, “Different Corners,” whether they realize it or not, is critical.; this will be the project that will define them as more than just, cynically speaking, a successful marketing decision (i.e. all-female rock band).

As a band they also bypassed the indie route which has ruffled some feathers. After all, they are not the only estrogen-powered rock band out there. It’s not their fault that they are all eye-candy, and often.

In actual fact, drummer Bea Lao is acknowledged as a monster on her instrument, as is Nicole.

Guitarists Audry Dionisio and Caren Mangaran differ in temperament, style, and strengths but they echo how Keith Richards described his partnership with Ron Wood: “Put us together and we make one hell of a guitarist.” Alex Montemayor, quiet and delicate as most bass players are perceived to be, is a master timekeeper generally happy to be the solid “meat-and-potatoes” bassist.

Nicole Asensio (vocals), Caren Mangaran (lead), Audry Dionisio (rhythm), Alex Montemayor (bass), and Bea Lao (drums) of General Luna. (NPPA Images)A surplus of ideas, but not resources

Most of the producers on their debut album returned for the new one (Monty Macalino, Ebe Dancel, and myself) and as far as we can tell, the band is now more focused as a collective.

We all want to make a better second album, and it can be tricky. Do we take whatever worked on the debut, and just expound on them, or do we make it more “interesting” (meaning self-indulgent/artsy)?

The answer is, always, striking a proper balance. Thank God too for limited recording budgets; economic boundaries do force you to identify immediately what works and what doesn’t.

The band—any band really—will want to record forever, and I point to production assistant Liz Lorenzo who, in the record company’s behalf, remind them of the budgetary implications. As it is, they’re behind schedule. There will always be a surplus of ideas and tweaks, but not resources. Sadly.

Spot-on in spite of a broken heart

“Can I add some more bass parts?” Alex asks sheepishly on the day we reviewed the final mixes. “My parts are boring, I can do more.”

I wanted to remind her that on a few days during the recording sessions, she was suffering from a broken heart, and perhaps her concentration was compromised.

Instead I tell another equally valid truth: “Yeah, I know you can add some runs, but I think it’s too late… but you know what? The parts you did are fine and spot-on. And I know you know this…The new album will put your debut in the dust.”

“You really think so?”  She brightens up. “Thanks!” 

It will.

Francis Reyes wears many hats: guitarist, producer, arranger, music journalist, photographer and TV host. He once played guitar for the Dawn and was a DJ for NU107. In short, he is legendary. Like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and check out his Tumblr.

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