Meet The Jeffrey Zulueta Experience, a Yahoo Emerging Band nominee
There is nobody named Jeffrey Zulueta in the Jeffrey Zulueta Experience, one of 5 nominees as Emerging Band of the year in the 2014 Yahoo Celebrity Awards.
Instead, the musical collective is composed of Maya Apeles on drums, Jae Bustilla on percussion (and drums sometimes), Lea Celestial on bass, Migi Soriano, Ken Lumbao, Dino Santos and Francis Reyes on horns, Rea Martinez on keyboards and vocals, and Bea Fabros on guitars and vocals.
When people ask the band who Jeffrey Zulueta is, they say Mr. Zulueta was one of the first persons who showed them what unadulterated passion and pushing boundaries meant. He‘s said to be an extremely humble guy and wasn’t a forceful character but he always got message across.
It’s his qualities that the members of the band aspire for and seek to transmit through their music. A shared experience between performer and audience, so to speak.
Beginnings: Band vocalist Bea wanted to start a reggae ska group in high school and she initially planned being the only girl in her first band. She started looking for band mates in neighboring schools but she eventually pitched the idea to her girlfriends and music club mates who signed on to the idea. They eventually recruited a couple of guys to be the horn-y boys.
Type of music: Sometimes they play reggae, sometimes they play ska, sometimes they play soul, sometimes lively, sometimes sad, sometimes everything at the same time just like how girls multi-task or have a lot of different feelings all at once. Bea calls it hormonal music, given the mostly female makeup of the band. One thing’s constant though: they like to dance and make other people dance too. Listen to The Jeffrey Zulueta Experience on SoundCloud.
Influences: To name a few: Jimi Hendrix, No Doubt, Lauryn Hill, Led Zeppelin, John Frusciante, Katchafire, Tropical Depression, Ella Fitzgerald, Save Ferris and Bob Marley.
Motto: Just have fun and don’t forget to dance. We’d play for anyone who wants to listen.
How would you describe your music?
Our music is frisky, enthusiastic, loud but not noisy and each time we play we hope to create and exchange this kind of energy with the people we perform for.
How are your gigs?
Every gig is thrilling. We’re more confident in experimenting now so it’s like little breakthroughs with every gig for us. We do things a step at a time. Slow but steady. We love playing live and we’d love to play for a wider audience.
Anything recorded yet?
We have so far only released “Malate.” We put it up for free download on SoundCloud and we were surprised with the reception. After only a few hours, we’ve already reached the download limit.
People have also approached us telling us that they want to pay for the track. People are kind. A bunch of musicians are helping us record right now so we can release a handful of more songs late this year.
Your place in the indie sun?
There’s a music revolution going on that’s about to explode big time and we’re glad to be a part of it. Inevitable yan. This country is just brimming with talent.
Financially rewarding or labor of love?
It is our baby. Hard to nurture but we love it. Maybe eventually it we’ll be financially independent, haha!
Why should people vote for you as Emerging Band of the Year?
Vote for Filipino music, period. Because we feel like we’ve already won, just by the fact that we’ve been recognized in a Yahoo celebrity category dedicated to independent/emerging bands.
Vote for The Jeffrey Zulueta Experience as Emerging Band of the Year in the 2014 Yahoo Celebrity Awards.
READ MORE EMERGING BANDS
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The happy vibe of Cheats
The infectious hooks of Brisom
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