Sikat si Sanni

junie just emailed me a the directory of batch 86 and on a whim i started googling for the names of our classmates. most turned up nothing (i wonder why) but two results were interesting. gabby lagamayo turns out has been dabbling in linux programming and sanni gargallo was featured in the sunday inquirer magazine.

anyways here's the full text i lifted. its about a year old. hope we make contact with sanni who i learned has migrated to the states.


Making music to win votes with
Posted:9:22 AM (Manila Time) | Jan. 11, 2004
By Emir Emano Gamis
Inquirer News Service

(http://www.inq7.net/mag/2004/jan/11/text/mag_5-1-p.htm)


ELECTIONS for Sanni Gargallo, 34, is what Christmas is for retailers. It's peak season for this musician-composer and owner of G-Cliff Media Productions, which this early has become a must-stop for local politicians and campaign managers in Sorsogon province.

He did about 50 jingles during the last elections in 2001, but it's not so much the number of clients he's after, he says. He'd rather that his songs and ditties become local anthems in the whole province, popular fare hummed by voters and kibitzers alike.

At 15,000 pesos negotiable fee for every political jingle, Sanni made good business, having cornered 70 percent of the clients' needs in Sorsogon. He expects at least 30 clients this coming national elections, and is targeting "a 100 percent saturation," he claims.

His trade secret could be his versatility. A former bass guitarist of the neo-ethnic group Tanglaw Sining, Sanni can produce political jingles to suit the image his clients want to project. "Some politicians don't want popular jingles, especially those who are banking on a formal image. But the younger candidates go for the likes of the Sex Bombs' catchy tunes as come-ons to their rallies," he says.

"Mr. Suave," says Sanni, has become very popular with the masses and may be the choice of most politicians even in the Bicol region. His biggest competitor, he says, are music pirates, those who make karaoke records armed with nothing but a minus-one and some lyrical savvy, and who can thus afford to quote a much lower fee for their services.

But making music is hardly a seasonal service for Sanni. It's something he can't help, he says, as he traces his musical talent to his genes. His late grandfather played the violin, his mother is a pianist and his maternal relatives have a natural bent for music.

Ironically, getting into music as a profession had not been easy for this fifth in a brood of six. As a Communication Arts student in Trinity College, Quezon City, Sanni had to juggle his time between his studies and his job as crew in a chicken restaurant along Quezon Avenue. But getting into the glee club was a dream even if it meant spending extra hours in school. To Sanni's frustration however, he was turned down after an audition.

Still, talent will win out and soon, Sanni found himself with Tanglaw Sining, a "neo-ethnic group that showcased alternative music." From there, he formed Bandala, a pop music group that performed neo-ethnic music in Manila and pop music in the Bicol region.

Sanni himself turned out compositions by bulk in the frenzied hope to have his songs heard by everyone. His enthusiasm and diligence once landed him as a finalist in a nationwide song festival, where he performed with the singer Jaya.

Although Bandala submitted demos to reputable recording studios in Manila in the hope of getting the big break, he never did. Eventually, the band members parted ways and Sanni ended up working as a production manager in a known Bicol radio station.

"It was one of the things that encouraged me to put up G-Cliff, thinking that homegrown artists from the provinces don't really have a place in Manila."

Using up his savings from two years of working as production manager, Sanni then started his own media production with a little help from his sister abroad. "I really did some financial planning," he says.

By October of 2000, G-Cliff Media Productions was launched. The following year, Sanni was cited by Entrepreneur Philippines magazine as among the 35 young businessmen to watch out for. He brushes off the honor. "Actually, we started in haste because of the coming elections in 2001. We planned it so we could easily recoup my investment," he adds.

Friends brought in clients, and word of mouth did the rest. "My timing was good because of the elections. We had a strong start." G-Cliff Media Productions, so named after Sanni observed the cliff-like architecture of a portion of the building where the company is housed, has become some sort of landmark in Casiguran town, Sorsogon, the musician claims. "You can tell the driver to drop you off at G-Cliff and they'd know where it is. Maybe it helps give Casiguran a little recognition."

But choosing his hometown for the production studio's location is also a sound business decision. Not only would it be a pioneering venture in Sorsogon, it would also cater to the needs of the nearby provinces of Masbate and Samar. Soon enough, G-Cliff's clientele included not just politicians but also NGOs, business groups and local artists, and musicians from as far as Tabaco and Legazpi City.

Catering to local artists is the biggest reward he's had, says Sanni, who says he identifies strongly with them. "A lot of these artists in Sorsogon need a break, and they have the same talents as those who come from Manila. The difference is maybe the followers, the mass base," he observes.

Citing the group of musician-priests Fathers Ed Fulay, Totoy Alcantara, Alex Jeros and Felix Elegado, Sanni adds, "These artists really have potential; they just need a break."

And that's exactly what G-Cliff gives them, says Sanni. The production house, he says, gives local artists a package that includes arrangement, recording studio time, mastering, mix-down and editing to help them reduce the costs of producing an album. The musicians then sell the record to their contacts themselves.

"It's like underground selling, the way Joey Ayala and Gary Granada did it before. It's hand to hand," he describes. He offers the same package to non-government organizations and government agencies for their advocacy jingles.

Business is good despite the lean months in July and August, and already, G-Cliff has started to venture into video production.

More than the cash receipts, Sanni considers having helped a lot of local musicians in Sorsogon as fulfillment enough. "I have lost my desire to record," he says. "Now that I have my own studio, I already feel fulfilled. Arranging songs for others is where I find joy now. It's something I can't describe."

With dreams of moving to a bigger studio complete with an orchestra, plans of going into further studies and saving up for his next projects in the United States, Sanni Gargallo seems to be playing a rather familiar tune from his not-too-distant past. "I'll take whatever comes to me, " he says, as if his music and good fortune came by sheer serendipity.