Duncan and Vince leave South Border to pursue solo careers
-by Joseph De Veyra
BALITA NEWS SERVICE
(E-mail the author at joedev18@yahoo.com)
source: balita.com
MULTI-TALENTED: Jay Durias is the keyboardist, musical director and now, sole vocalist of South Border.
LOS ANGELES—For South Border, history repeats itself yet again. In an exclusive interview with BALITA, band leader Jay Durias revealed that vocalists Duncan Ramos and Vince Alaras have left South Border to pursue solo careers. This is the third time that this happened to the band. The first two vocalists, Brix Ferraris and Luke Mejares, also did the same thing. Despite the situation, Jay said that this is not like the previous “breakups” because they have no ill feelings toward Duncan and Vince. From seven, the band is now just composed of five members: bassist Tata Balane, guitarist Butch Victoriano, saxophonist Ric Junasa, drummer Paul Benitez, and Jay.
“We want to give Duncan and Vince the artistic freedom, they deserve it,” he added, “It just came to a point where our creative minds didn’t jell anymore.” Jay said that it was a business decision. As a result, Duncan and Vince will not be included in the upcoming mainstream album of the band, since they were signed as South Border, not as individuals.
Interestingly, despite their bid for solo careers, Duncan and Vince can still perform with the band. “The good thing about this situation is that they can still perform with us but it will be ‘South Border featuring Duncan and Vince,’” he said. “In fact, we are preparing for a concert next year in Araneta Coliseum that will feature all the vocalists of South Border, that includes Brix and Luke,” he said.
So does this mean the band is open to accepting new vocalists?
“We initially considered that but we realized that with our mainstream album coming out soon, we have no time to adjust to a new vocalist,” he added, “I will take over the vocals.”
However, Jay stressed he will not dance onstage like Duncan and Vince. “Hip hop is not my style,” he chuckled.
With the vocal duo’s departure, South Border will adapt to a new stage setup. “It will be similar to the way John Legend performs where there’s more emphasis on the piano,” he said.
On the other hand, Jay is also set to release a solo album. “It’s called ‘Songs I Grew Up With,’ composed of mostly songs from the 70s. It is produced by my uncle Joseph Durias under Open Mic Records.”
He said that this was supposed to be a South Border project, but was discarded because of the mainstream album. The album contains songs performed and arranged by Jay.
Despite Jay’s own solo project, he is definitely staying with South Border. The other members didn’t react negatively because they know their band leader is coming back.
Despite the opportunity leave, Jay has stayed with the band. “Maybe I’ll do that in the future but I don’t really think about it coz right now, South Border needs me.”
BALITA NEWS SERVICE
(E-mail the author at joedev18@yahoo.com)
source: balita.com
MULTI-TALENTED: Jay Durias is the keyboardist, musical director and now, sole vocalist of South Border.
LOS ANGELES—For South Border, history repeats itself yet again. In an exclusive interview with BALITA, band leader Jay Durias revealed that vocalists Duncan Ramos and Vince Alaras have left South Border to pursue solo careers. This is the third time that this happened to the band. The first two vocalists, Brix Ferraris and Luke Mejares, also did the same thing. Despite the situation, Jay said that this is not like the previous “breakups” because they have no ill feelings toward Duncan and Vince. From seven, the band is now just composed of five members: bassist Tata Balane, guitarist Butch Victoriano, saxophonist Ric Junasa, drummer Paul Benitez, and Jay.
“We want to give Duncan and Vince the artistic freedom, they deserve it,” he added, “It just came to a point where our creative minds didn’t jell anymore.” Jay said that it was a business decision. As a result, Duncan and Vince will not be included in the upcoming mainstream album of the band, since they were signed as South Border, not as individuals.
Interestingly, despite their bid for solo careers, Duncan and Vince can still perform with the band. “The good thing about this situation is that they can still perform with us but it will be ‘South Border featuring Duncan and Vince,’” he said. “In fact, we are preparing for a concert next year in Araneta Coliseum that will feature all the vocalists of South Border, that includes Brix and Luke,” he said.
So does this mean the band is open to accepting new vocalists?
“We initially considered that but we realized that with our mainstream album coming out soon, we have no time to adjust to a new vocalist,” he added, “I will take over the vocals.”
However, Jay stressed he will not dance onstage like Duncan and Vince. “Hip hop is not my style,” he chuckled.
With the vocal duo’s departure, South Border will adapt to a new stage setup. “It will be similar to the way John Legend performs where there’s more emphasis on the piano,” he said.
On the other hand, Jay is also set to release a solo album. “It’s called ‘Songs I Grew Up With,’ composed of mostly songs from the 70s. It is produced by my uncle Joseph Durias under Open Mic Records.”
He said that this was supposed to be a South Border project, but was discarded because of the mainstream album. The album contains songs performed and arranged by Jay.
Despite Jay’s own solo project, he is definitely staying with South Border. The other members didn’t react negatively because they know their band leader is coming back.
Despite the opportunity leave, Jay has stayed with the band. “Maybe I’ll do that in the future but I don’t really think about it coz right now, South Border needs me.”
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