My Story - Pt. 2 (Patreon)

Part 2!

I’ll try to pick up where I left off. I’ll talk about when The Ridleys came to be.

One October in 2015, Jan and I went to The Ransom Collective 2nd Anniversary Gig in saGuijo. A bit tipsy on Pale Pilsen, we watched local bands for the first time. I remember the lineup very clearly: Tandems ’91, Oh, Flamingo, Reese Lansangan, Ourselves the Elves, and finally, The Ransom Collective.

“Jan, panoorin mo sila. Kaya natin yan e,” I said, intoxicated by liquid confidence.

A month later, November 2015, we jumped at the chance to perform at a UP Pugad Sayk open mic event in UPTC. That’s where Bry and Jan first met, and they both dubbed our trio Benny & Friends, a name I vehemently rejected. Having zero experience singing on stage, my naturally shaky voice was even more shaky. But the rush I felt was something I never felt before! I was amazed that people, even random passersby, stopped to listen to the story I shared, though I struggled to share it.

This was our set list in order:

1. Prodigal’s Anthem

2. Aphrodite

3. Maybe

But as I sang Prodigal’s Anthom, a song about the hurt I received from the church, God showed his love through people: the two guys who shared the stage with me, and the people who watched me perform. Funnily enough, some friends from church — the good batch — were there watching. In that moment, singing a song about losing faith, God made his presence known to me.

After that very first live gig, I told Bryant and Jan that we should perform again. I never thought of forming a “real” band or amassing a following. All I wanted was to feel the rush and fulfillment that comes from singing personal stories to a few people who would listen.

Bryant, Jan, and I were invited to perform at two gigs after that: a January 2016 gig organized by Josh Buizon from Over October, and a February 2016 post-Valentine’s gig at the UP CMC open area, where we first performed with Munimuni. In between those gigs, on January 30-31, 2016, something amazing happened. Let me tell you the story.

During this time, I still went to church on Sundays. I still held on to the hurts I experienced, but I went because I wanted to honor my family, and because I still believed in God. I don’t remember what the preacher talked about that night, but I distinctly remember praying to God. “God, I want to record an album.” The two gigs I had performed in gave me a desire to keep making music, and to immortalize the songs I write. Almost like a chant, I kept praying for a whole hour: “God, I want to record an album. Sorry, I can’t listen in on church right now. I know we’re not okay. But if you’re there, I want to record an album.

The night after that on January 31, 2016, 8:12pm, I received this message from Kian Ransom of The Ransom Collective:

“Hi Benny!

Josh Buizon turned me on to your music and I got say you've got a great sound going for you! Definitely one of the most promising indie folk vibes Ive heard locally!

Was wondering if you have had, or are open to having a producer help with your recordings? Im currently trying to start some new projects recording and producing songwriters I find; and I would love to try out a song with you if you're interested.

Im offering a 1st song free type of deal. My goal is to gain experience and grow as a recording engineer and producer, so if you allow me to produce a song, its totally free for you. You get to hear how the track would sound with me without risking any money, and I get a new challenge and can add to my experience. If you're hoping to do more songs, or maybe a 3-4 song EP, and you like the first song, we can then maybe talk about a small budget of a full EP type of thing. Either way, no pressure, and we can always start with just one song and take things from there.”

I stared at that message for a few seconds, then looked up. I had my doubts about God back in the day, but those were one of the major moments that convinced me that He was real. There were too many “coincidences” in my life similar to this, and I am 100% convinced that those moments were God’s way of telling me, “Hey, I’m here. I hear you. Never doubt that.” I’m tearing up as I write this story, because I know this is something I don’t deserve. On January 31, 2016, God gave me the gift of music.

At this point, you guys know the rest of the story. We recorded the Aphrodite EP and released it on March 23, 2016. Prior to that, we joined the UST Arki Battle of the Bands, where Joric Canlas joined us as our permanent bassist. We got shows after shows after shows after shows, being invited to places we never thought we would perform at: Route 196, saGuijo, 19 East, out of town venues, etc.

Before we did the band thing for a full year, on the last year of my college life, I figured out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: to make music that will last. On January 2017, I talked to Bryant outside Route 196 after one of our gigs in the venue. “Bryant,” I said. “I want to make music that will point people to God. I don’t mean that in a religious way. I don’t mean that we should start writing church worship songs. I don’t know how to do it exactly. But I want to tell people about the love I received from God. Maybe we can show that in the way we interact with each other on stage and off stage. We can show that in the way we interact with our listeners.”

It’s funny that this commitment to God was made not in the four walls of a church building, but outside a bar full of loud music and drunk people, talking to another person who also believed in God. He is everywhere. He is with me.

We released Reflections on Moonlight & Poetry in December of 2019. It was a two-year process. Some of the songs you will hear next month were songs that were originally supposed to be included in LP1, but I intentionally set them aside. Instead, I chose to give people a sort of timeline of my college life, from 2013-2017. For LP1, I decided to talk about love, using moonlight as a metaphor. The same way moonlight is a reflection of the sun, the love I experienced — romantic, platonic, brotherly, familial — pointed to a greater Love: God’s.

I’ll have to stop here. The food is almost heated and I have to feed the fam. Part 3 will talk about the next album, and the albums to come. Whoever, is reading, thank you. I pray that God would reveal Himself to you, and that you would be open to the experience.