Since settling back into your family home, how have your mornings been like?

Apart from enjoying a big silog-style breakfast, my mornings are made special with doses of early morning sunlight from walking my dog up and down the street.

Who were your pivotal influences growing up? And do they differ from now?

The Sound Of Music, Moulin Rouge, Adele, Sarah Vaughan, Jason Mraz, The Beatles and more. I come back to the same artists and musicals but the way I enjoy music has evolved with growing attention for certain details I didn’t always look out for. It was always a song’s vocal energy that would win me over – but these days my mind flies to chord progressions, honest songwriting, and artists that go against what’s familiar.

We’d love to know what makes the lanai a very special place for you! Can you walk us through it?

Besides being the room where Lola’s upright piano was kept, the lanai also was often the space in the Lolo’s house that was least likely to be occupied by others (except during Noche Buena on Christmas Eve). In that privacy and silence, I found my love and confidence for singing and songwriting. 

What piece here makes you feel the closest to your Lola?

Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Flat Major!” I remember finding the piece in the storage tucked under the piano bench. My Tita, who heard me learning it, came in to tell me that Lola would play it all the time.

How is the set-up while filming The Lanai Sessions episode?

It’s nothing grand at all! I don’t own my own tripod so apart from borrowing my Tita’s, I’ve had to stack chairs and boxes to get the second camera at an acceptable height. There’s no air-conditioning in the lanai so in between takes I’m wiping off a sweat mustache. Haha

Can you tell us anything about the next Lanai Sessions episode?

I definitely want to keep the recording setup simple this time. I’ll most likely be doing a cover for this next one!