All those stories that inhabit the cities, both real and fantastic, that Ailene fell in love with.

I didn’t mean to corner Ponchie Buenavista for this impromptu interview about his band Encounters With A Yeti (I think we were discussing my haphazard/shy attempts to write my own music at the time), but I was curious.

If I had space and time, I’d quote all of our chats here because Ponchie’s full of awesome sound bites like that (even if most times I feel like my brains are bleeding out of my nose), but because this is a music blog (well, that was the original idea), let’s talk about his music. Actually, I’ll let him talk about his music. He’s usually acerbic and full of razor-sharp insights; Which is why I appreciate the earnest, steady, and rather avuncular tone of this interview. It’s not always that I come out of a conversation with Ponchie Buenavista without any verbal wounds.

And if you’re not doing anything tonight (February 20, 2010), I do believe Encounters With A Yeti is making an appearance at the Terno Inferno in Saguijo. -A.

Last month or so, on a Wave somewhere…

Ailene: Why did you decide to make this kind of music?
The Yeti: Years ago..

Ailene: “In a galaxy far, far away…” Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.
The Yeti: It’s the Star Wars geek in me. We’ve, at least I, was always impressed by soundtracks in movies. Its like what one of those I look up to told me: music in movies are tonal poems. They tell you something without having to sing it; They make you feel the scene.

Ailene: Are the visuals an important part of your set?
The Yeti: Now? Sort of coz we’re pretty boring onstage, no one sings and banters with the audience, we don’t jump around… So it gives the audience something to focus on aside from the music. Like when they see the visuals, the music comes into perspective

Ailene: So how do you make this music?
The Yeti: It starts with an event. Let’s say a girlfriend broke up with me. On my drive home, feeling the exquisite pain of separation, I try to find a soundtrack for it.

Ailene: “The exquisite pain of separation.” Ow.
The Yeti: Separations are always painful but in a liberating kind of way.

Ailene: Go on.
The Yeti: That’s pretty much it. All the songs are based on events, a soundtrack to a certain moment. I lay down the tracks at home and once done, give ‘em to the band and they turn it to magic. You have to have an idea of the song in your head. I carry around a little recorder with me all the time and I hum stuff I think of there. We don’t know theory; we never studied music. Everything is based on what I hum in that recorder and the chords that I transcribe out of it.

Ailene: So how exactly did Encounters With A Yeti start?
The Yeti: This sounds like a real interview now. Hahaha! It all started in 1991. We were in a cover band called Pedro’s Cannabis then we broke up. I then hooked up with the bassist (who’s a very good friend of mine at the same time) and started The Christmas Lights in 1998. We played a bit then some guy in MySpace apparently used the same name (he’s in maryland) so we were in limbo. While we were playing as The Christmas Lights, I started a little project of my own called ‘Encounters With A Yeti’ because like a yeti, I knew these songs would never see the light of day. The guys took an interest in the music I was making and we became a band.

Ailene: Do you think there’s a place for your music in the current scene here? (Oh no. This really is an interview now. You don’t hafta answer.)
The Yeti: But I’d like to answer that! I think people aren’t ready yet for this kind of music, kinda like Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future when he played Chuck Berry. But I like the audience now because they are more appreciative. They listen. They know what they want. It’s no longer a “they’re the in thing so I like them” culture. In the end, I just want to bring this music out because I feel I owe it to the music. Just let people hear it. Let them decide. So long as I’ve presented it, then I’ve contributed my fair share into this collective thought of music.

Ailene: Best gig you’ve ever played and why?
The Yeti: Probably the MYX setlist webcast. It was the week when our third guitarist dropped out of the band. We were so nervous that the music wouldnt be the same with two guitarists. I’d re-worked the songs, made them softer, more quiet: a complete turn around from our usual soft-loud set. It came out pretty well. When I listened to the recording, it was the first time I almost felt like crying while listening to the songs. Not to sound biased, but for once I heard the songs for what they really were and they were beautiful. There’s something about the stripped down set where all the songs will be laid out in its barest, naked sound and if it don’t sound good stripped down, then it’s a terrible song.

Ailene: Everybody thinks they were born in the wrong era. What era/decade do you think you should’ve been born?
The Yeti: I think 1950 so I’d be at my prime in the late 60’s early 70’s,  just in time for the flower power thingy. And I kinda like the people’s state of experimentation at that time. It was an era of creative explosion. Don’t forget the astro turf. You see, music wise, this was a golden era. There was no video yet, so every song was based on its own merit, not by who sang it. People were uninfluenced by looks so you really had to like the song if it was really good. (I think I lost my train of thought there. But you know what I mean.)