Their Long and Winding Road
SESSION ROAD finally launches their long-awaited debut album
by Lionel Zivan S. Valdellon

published in PHILMUSIC.com : Mar 27, 2000

From the streets of Baguio city comes a fresh mixture of excellent vocals, jangly guitars and driving beats in the pop rock group called Session Road. Their self-titled debut album under Star Records is a scintillating experience, full of the verve of their youth and the smoky sound of classic folk rock.
___ Composed of siblings Hannah Romawac on vocals/acoustic guitar and Chavi Romawac on drums, J.V. Romawac on percussion and back-up vocals, lead guitarist Coy Placido, bassist Jal Taguibao, and Jesse Hoover on keyboards, Session Road blends together artful folk-tinged pop music with well-penned lyrics.

THE LAUNCH

Their album launch held at Freedom Bar, Quezon City last February, 2000 was a sight to behold. It started outside the venue with the sound of tribal drums, as members of the young band plus invited guest percussionists banged away on tribal bongos. A babaylan (medicine man/high priest) in a bahag (woven loincloth) presided over a ritual that included lighting a fire and offering prayers to the ancestors. Then the crowd entered Freedom and the tribal priest blessed each member of the band and let them drink from a common cup filled with tapuy (a rice wine). The cup was then passed around to everyone present-- the blessing cup of communion.
___ The opening ceremony slid seamlessly from tribal drums into the band's blistering first set. With additional speakers brought in to supplement Freedom's often inadequate sound system, and volume levels cranked to maximum, every vocal was suddenly crystal clear. A true blessing, since the poignant lyrics of much of the band's material would have been lost otherwise.
___ But the ethnic ceremony side-by-side with the band's primarily American music was ironic. Ancient incantations then the blues. Tribal drums then rock and roll.

Didn't matter as much though. In the end, Session Road rocked the place with their energy and optimism-- a far cry from their shy performances back at the start of their career. A sure sign that the club circuit has honed their musical skills and stage presence.

SESSION HISTORY

Like any other band, there is a history behind Session Road. Of course it starts with the Romawac siblings who grew up in Baguio, having musician parents. But even before the band was formed, Hannah and Chavi team were already performing regularly at Baguio clubs like Songs and Le Fondue. Voice lessons at the Ryan Cayabyab Music Studio refined Hannah’s voice and of course, there was Chavi’s expertise in playing varied instruments which helped immensely.
___ Seeking to try out a career in music, the Romawacs moved to Manila and gained valuable experience by playing with other people. Hannah formed a pop-soul band called Sunflower. Chavi became the percussionist for Jun Lupito and the Bodhisattvas and a sessionist for Grace Nono. Soon enough, they formed their own band and Session Road was born.
___ The group started out playing in Freedom Bar but soon found other mainstream venues in Manila and Makati that were open to their music --even if they didn't play the usual brainless showband fare. In fact, compared to many of the other pop bands doing the circuit, Session Road quickly gained a name doing cover songs that weren't done by other bands, and of course for their bluesy originals.

THE ALBUM + THE MUSIC

Their self-titled debut album under Star Records has been a long time coming. In interviews conducted back in 1998, the band was already halfway done with the album which was being recorded independently and produced, with the help of family friends Grace Nono and Bob Aves, who contributed all of the arrangements and a great majority of the guitar parts to the Session Road album.
___ Asked about the delay in the album release, Hannah shared that the album was ready by middle of last year and already had a record label, but got caught in the turnover of management positions in Star Records. Now that everything's straightened out, the group is ecstatic.
___ About the music Hannah says: "Yung gustong karakter ng music namin ay hindi ang sobrang pagka-pop. As long as we enjoy what we're playing, we'll play it."
___ True enough their music is more than typical bubblegum pop. Drawing heavily from influences like Natalie Merchant, the Police, Sheryl Crow, and the Doors, they rework melodic clichés into lovely new shapes. Their songs burst with lyrics that lift mundane experiences into poetry, and music that’s accessible but never maudlin. They end up sounding like a mix of Color It Red, and Hungry Young Poets. Energetic, optimistic, young.

Which is how pop should be.

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