life2short:

“A Week In Metro Manila” Film Celebrates Music And New Experiences
 By Ryne Dionisio

(Chicago filmmaker Tony Rago travels overseas to meet his favorite Pilipino band and get into the culture)

Tony Rago is a music fan like no other. Personally, I stick to domestic pop music and am unfamiliar with overseas offerings. Not only did Tony discover and enjoy aPilipino band, he flew overseas to meet them in person. The kicker – Tony isn’t even Pilipino. Tony also documented his trip there and is premiering his film “A Week In Metro Manila” this weekend at the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival. We asked Tony about his film and what it was like diving head first into a foreign (to him, at least) land.

BakitWhy.com: Tony, you’re an Italian-American who grew up in the Chicago suburbs – not exactly the target demographic for OPM (Original Pilipino Music; Pilipino pop music). How did you discover the group “Up Dharma Down” (UdD)?

Tony Rago: I was passed the music by a friend who is Pilipino, as she and I had similar music tastes and she thought I might be open to something like UdD. I immediately fell in love with their sound, as it was just so unique. It was international, it was electronic, it was jazz, it was indie, and the singer’s soulful voice (Armi) was almost hypnotic in terms of how locked into the songs I got (be it in English or Tagalog). Their sound pretty made me investigate OPM further, and I soon found that there were tons of great bands. To me, OPM music in the indie scene there has a lot of passion and energy. You can tell the artists truly love music, and they leave nothing on the table. They play truly for the love of music.

BW: Did you know much about Pilipino culture before finding out about UdD? What did you know about the Philippines before you went there?

TR: Honestly, I think Up Dharma Down was like the portal to another dimension.

Before I went there, I had made lot of friends here with local Pilipinos.  I  knew a decent amount about the music scene, had exposure to the food (adobo, longanisa, tapa, garlic rice) at places like Isla Pilipina, I def knew how to eat with a fork and spoon, and I had seen some Pinoy movies (Dekada 70, Sukob, Feng Shui…which all somehow had Kris Aquino in them).  The band knew I was coming, so that was also a comfort.  I was going by myself, but I knew I would be taken care of.

BW: What compelled you to fly all the way to the Philippines to meet with the band? What is it about their music or the group specifically? Furthermore, what made you turn this trip into a full documentary?

TR: The music spoke to me in a way beyond language. It was so different, so indie to me, that I felt compelled to help the band share it with the world, beyond just the typical Pilipino crowd.  As time passed, I began to unofficially promote the band, and the band took notice, we became friends, so it was even more enticing to want to go there. Flying 7,000 miles to meet with your favorite band…SOLD!

Also, I felt that it would help me better connect with them for future promotional efforts.  At the time, I had no idea what was to become of the footage.  A lot of the audio and interviews I did with Dharma and the other bands on their label (Terno Recordings) were also used for a local radio program Chicago Is The World, in which I did two shows featuring the music from Terno.

As I compiled the footage, and eventually more footage, I just thought it would be a unique story in itself, and also would be a great promotional tool for me.  Like, when I’m telling people about them, it’s not BS, I made a movie!  Depending on how things go, the film may be used to help fund the band coming over here, or at least it will garner them some additional attention.

BW: What was the most challenging thing you ran into while creating your movie?

TR: So many. Coordinating with my team over in Manila to coordinate additional footage. Also getting approval to use footage, like MTV Asia Advanced Warning 2006.  In addition, just making the movie itself has been a challenge.  I’ve had so many technical difficulties be it the program crashes, the varying audio levels from all the sources, the different video quality levels.  This being my first large project, I have just been sort of winging it.

A Week In Metro Manila: Up Dharma Down (Trailer #2) from TRageCapone onVimeo.

BW: If you could give one piece of advice to someone visiting the Philippines for the first time, what would it be?

TR: Well, if you don’t know anyone and you are not Pilipino, I would go with a plan.  In my case I felt pretty comfortable, but still you have to be careful.  Overall I did not experience a ton, other than Manila area, and Batangas, so I would also say that “A Week In Metro Manila” is not enough, you need more than that.  I would definitely recommend the Philippines for anyone really looking to experience a new music scene, a new culture, and some great food.  The people really make you feel welcome too, especially if you are genuinely interested in the culture.

BW: What was UdD’s reaction to your film?

TR: Well, they knew I was making the film, but they have not seen it yet.  I know they were touched that someone would put a year of ridiculous effort (unpaid) just to celebrate their music and to help them be heard.

I think they are hopeful like me that the film will help get their music heard more here, and that it will garner them some US publicity.  

BW: What do you hope people will take away from your movie? What’s the message you want to get across?

TR: I hope that people not only take away that Up Dharma Down is a great band that deserves to be heard globally, but also that music in general to me is truly the international language.  If you go in with an open mind, anything is possible.  You may be some day filming your favorite band in a foreign country :)

BW: What’s next for you? Another overseas trip? A documentary about a different band?

TR: A mental vacation.  After over a year of trying to figure out how to make a film, largely on my own, has left me a bit exhausted.  After that, not sure. I guess will see what people think of this, but making a movie is really a lot of work.  Next time, I think I’d almost rather produce/direct something similiar, without being concerned with all the technical details of editing and creating large movie files.

I would love to go back to the Philippines, and maybe do something more like webisodes featuring different bands from the Indie scene to sort of broaden the scope.  Different countries, possibly.  I like a band in Malaysia called Polyester Embassy and also a band from Japan called Toe…both of those would be really unique bands to film if I was given the opportunity.  I also have more knowledge of the software, better equipment and training on its use, so I think I can only improve.

If you’d like to find out more about Tony and his movie, check out the links below:

• facebook.com/life2shortproductions
• life2short.tumblr.com
• twitter.com/tragecapone