THE DAVAOIST: Davao Bands: The Sound Of Go

If you like pop punk, then you will also love The Sound of Go. It's that simple. There is no need to complicate things here. I'll say it again. If you like pop punk, then you will surely love The Sound of Go!

This band has already established itself as one of the best pop punk acts in the city. Back in 2011 they fronted for Chicosci, Typecast, and Taken By Cars for the "Three-lla From Manila" event held at Matina Town Square. To have the chance to play on the same stage with those gigantic bands, you have to be really good at what you do. And The Sound of Go is exactly that. Listen to their song "Chances Are" and you will know what I am talking about. Their music kind of takes you back to that moment in your life when you thought that you are already sure of everything but then you still fall for anything. What I really like about this band is that they just don't make songs, they tell stories. The stories that they tell may or may not hit that nostalgia button in the depths of our soul, but it surely takes us to an experience that may feel familiar to all us.

I had the chance to talk to Paolo Bondoc about their band, The Sound of Go. Since this was my first time to feature of a band where I had to do a Q&A sort of thing, I really felt that I asked some really stupid questions (not all of them though). I should probably change the title of this article to " The Davaoist Asks Stupid Questions to the Sound of GO"(just kidding).

Davaoist: What's the story behind the conception of your band?

Paolo: "Me and IJ were highschool buddies. Shifting from one kind of genre to the other until we found what we enjoy the most. Before The Sound of Go, we played in a one-shot band for a certain collegiate band competition. A year after, we gave it another shot with 2 new members, and a new band name; The Sound of Go."

Davaoist: How did you come up with the name Sound of Go?

Paolo: "We wanted a positive sounding name. At the same time we were partly obsessed with Go Radio back then, so we came up with the Sound of Go. There were plans in the past to have another name change but we chose to stick with it."

Davaoist: Who are your influences?

Paolo: "This question is a question that has millions of answers. Personally for me, it all started with the Eraserheads. Now we have a lot of bands that we look up to as inspiration writing and music wise. We are all fans of bands such as Go Radio, The Story so Far, Four Year Strong, The Wonder Years, A day to remember and a lot more."

Davaoist: Describe your music.

Paolo: "Pop punk, or at least that's what we aim for. Lyrics wise we (me and IJ) write about personal struggles and real life situations. Topics may include love, camaraderie and moving on with life."

Where is the official spot/tambayan of sound of go?

Paolo: "Saless bar is where it's at! At the moment, Saless is the only place in DC that caters to underground/independent events and we hope other venues get to do that as well. Even on non-gig nights, we hang out at tekanplor."

Davaoist: What is the official food of sound of go?

Paolo:"Official food? None that I can recall. Official drink maybe. Beer. I mean, who doesnt drink beer?"

Davaoist: Who are your favorite local acts?

Paolo: "Favorites would be Rise from oblivion, Simple Lang, Anne Mendoza, Jad Montenegro, and a lot lot more. DC has so much to offer."

Davaoist: What is the weirdest/craziest/shittiest thing thing that you guys did?

Paolo: "We do a lot of weird things. We are weird in nature. One weird thing would be finding a drummer online, and stealing 2 members of Anne Mendoza. (sorry anne, you're bandmates are "bandwhores")."

Davaoist: Any advice for people who want to start their own band?

Paolo: "Advice? We're not professionals but if you wanna form a band then just do it. Being in a band is a learning process and every moment spent with the band you learn something new. Also be humble and be respectful to everyone in the scene. Show up in time for shows and don't give anybody the "rockstar" attitude."

Here are their members

Aijei Arcena- Vocals