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Yael Yuzon shares how his band Sponge Cola faced the pandemic: ‘Nakapagpahinga kami ng boses’

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Rhea Manila Santos

<p>As one of the performers of the Salubong: The Christmas Concert to be held on December 10 and 11 this year, Sponge Cola singer Yael Yuzon said he and his band look forward to interacting with their audience even if it is just through the virtual holiday event on KTX.ph.</p><p>“Actually by default naman kasi sa sobrang kulit ko as a performer, it’s really a two-way street eh. Kung paano naman kasi on stage, parang ka lang nakikipag kuwentuhan sa amin, parang kuwentuhan with music. I think that’s pretty much it eh. May batuhan pabalik. Nararamdaman ko rin yun. What we do as a band, it’s not just a job, it’s really a calling. Parang by design ito kami from the moment na nagsimula kami mag-music we wanted to do this,” Yael shared at the Salubong mediacon. </p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/12/8/fresh-scoops/clr-sponge-cola-and-aegis-headline-salubong-th-197311"><u><strong>READ: CLR, Sponge Cola, and Aegis headline ‘Salubong: The Christmas concert’</strong></u></a></div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWYIxWqByaM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div 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</div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWYIxWqByaM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Salubong (@salubongconcert)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWYIxWqByaM/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Salubong (@salubongconcert)</a></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>As part of one of the hardest hit industries in the country during the pandemic, Yael said that he saw a silver lining in everything that happened.</p><p>“Actually kasi ever since naman lagi kaming prepared sa mga performances. But I guess advantage ng konti na pandemic so mas nakapagpahinga kami ng boses. Kumbaga kung before we would play four to five times a week, ngayon hindi kasing dami. So mas fresh. May falsetto na ako ulit. Bumalik yung falsetto. Nakakatuwa kasi yung falsetto nag-di-disappear eh. Parang biglang it’s back and I can do it again. So malaking bagay yung rest at hindi dikit dikit (yung gigs) and parang kang nasa airport nakatira, ganun,” he admitted. </p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/10/18/fresh-scoops/hometown-cha-cha-cha-inspires-sponge-colas-yael-196399"><u><strong>‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’ inspires Sponge Cola’s Yael Yuzon to write a song</strong></u></a></div><p>As Sponge Cola looks forward to resuming live performances next year, Yael said he is excited for their fans to hear all the new songs they recorded since last year.</p><p>“Next year lalabas tapos hindi namin napansin na parang 20 songs pala yung rinecord namin. Kasi record lang kami ng record. Ang nangyari sa akin, tuwing nuod ng K-drama, after episode eight mapapagawa ako ng kanta eh. Eh ang dami kong napanuod na K-drama so ang dami kong bagong kanta. Kung may disc pa, double disc yun. Kaya lang may mga ibang tao wala ng CD player eh. So medyo marami. 20 songs. And feeling ko hindi pa tapos ang taon baka may humabol pa dun. you never know. With free time and a lot of things to write about and a lot of things happening,” he shared. </p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2020/8/21/fresh-scoops/how-karylle-yael-yuzon-deal-with-pandemic-positiv-130696"><u><strong>READ: How Karylle, Yael Yuzon deal with pandemic positively, productively</strong></u></a></div><p>Apart from working on their new material, Yael said they plan to resume touring abroad in 2022 as well as work with other singers.</p><p>“May mga collab din kami with different artists. Kasi madami rin sa kanila biglang may time to write eh. Kasi dati puro tugtog eh. Ngayon naman madaming time to collaborate and create. We look forward to touring outside the country muna kasi mukhang mauunang magbukas yung ibang bansa. So physical live performances sa labas ng Pilipinas. Mukhang maraming mangyayaring ganun,” he added. </p><p>Watch Salubong: The Christmas Concert on December 10 and 11 with tickets available on KTX.ph. Performers include Aegis, Sponge Cola, hip-hop artist CLR, and spoken word artist Martin Naling. This event is brought to you by MG Philippines, in cooperation with Praxis and The Filipino Channel (TFC.) Salubong is staged with top-notch technical production at ABS-CBN’s ASAP Studio 10, and the program is conceptualized by the best Filipino musical production minds under director Paul Alexei Basinillo.</p>

‘Salubong: The Christmas Concert’ performer Yael Yuzon shares what’s in store for his band Sponge Cola in 2022.