Girlie Vasallo is a Filipino-Canadian advertising agency creative writer turned singer-songwriter with over fifteen years of experience composing full songs and commercial jingles for international clients in the advertising industry in Manila, Philippines before going out with her own brand of adult contemporary music which was launched in Vancouver, Canada.
What inspires her to write music? An overwhelming rush of emotions – of being hurt or pleading for help, or just wanting to celebrate friendship and life, and never giving up on one’s dreams. She continues to write for other artists while coming out with new singles of her own every now and then. She defines her sound as folk, other times leaning towards rock and pop which will be reflected in her upcoming releases, as she prefers to be diversified in her work. She enjoys collaborating with other artists.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Girlie about her latest music, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am currently from Vancouver, Canada by way of Manila, Philippines. I prefer to create a variety of styles of music as I do not want to be identified with just one genre. I like folk music, pop, adult contemporary, and sometimes rock – female pop/rock like the iconic rock/pop singer Pink.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
When I was six years old, my parents gifted me with a piano. My older sisters were taught formal piano lessons but I wasn’t lucky enough to get my own piano teacher. So my eldest sister, Lilybeth, taught me some serious piano pieces back then just by ear – and I was able to play those pieces perfectly! By the time I did have a chance to study formal piano lessons at age 14, I was too stubborn to read notes. I mean, I could read notes, but I can be stubborn once I hear the piece that I even modify it to sound better – which was what I did during my piano recital in high school. All my family members were in the hospital at that time for my mom, so I had no one in the auditorium to support me. So I decided that the best way to get the attention of the audience was to modify the sound I was making on stage. In the end, there was a thunderous applause from everyone in the building – and my piano teacher was not happy that I changed the piano piece, oops. I still got a silver medal in the end.
My father played the piano but my mother was a big influence when it came to career decision-making. She said there was no money to be made in music – and enrolled me instead in university to get a degree in Broadcast Communication major in Television and Radio. It was still fun, as I enrolled in a subject called Music in Broadcasting under a great drummer named Robin Rivera who introduced me to the basics of musical scoring. I remember him saying he never gave a student a “1.0” grade in his lifetime (the highest grade in university) – except during my time when he called out my name. I was honored and was so embarrassed at the same time. But I will never forget the day when he believed in me, so much so that I wrote our college graduation song with my very good friend, Joy Concepcion Roberts.
After university, I joined the world of advertising, the perfect blend of writing scripts for commercials and incorporating music into most of my materials. I dealt with a lot of production houses, but my favorite was Hit Productions where I collaborated with some of the best in the music and recording industry, including Mike Villegas, Angelo Villegas, Vic Icasas, Arnold Buena, Dennis Cham and Brian Cua who were the pioneers at that time. These guys went on to win numerous prestigious awards in their fields and today serve as mentors to younger generations at Hit Productions.
And so I wrote a lot of commercial jingles and full songs during my fifteen-year stint as a creative writer in Manila, Philippines. But due to socio-economic conditions in the country at that time, and you might say in search of greener pastures on the other side, I migrated to Canada and I just dropped everything about music – started from the bottom to try something new in order to survive. It was hard living a new life in a foreign land but I was willing to try it. There was conflict in the Mediterranean when I migrated in 2002 so advertising budgets were down, including the film industry – which was why I could not get into the jobs I wanted in film or in an advertising agency. Finally, after some time, I was able to get a good job – although it was not advertising-related – but I enjoyed it for a change, and the money was really good! I didn’t write music for some time…
I totally stopped writing music and lost interest when there was a death in the family sometime ago…Then again, after taking some time off, I began to miss my brand of music. So in 2008, I bought a Yamaha keyboard and started playing again. I also took up some drum lessons to get back into the groove. My friends and I formed a band at that time just to jam and everything felt good. Faith in God kept me on track.
Still, life throws some challenges every now and then, and no one is spared. It was at this time I think in 2017 when, during a sudden outpouring of emotions, that I was able to write my first release called “Here I Am” in under 15 minutes. I could not read what I was typing in my computer, but I just typed anyway how I felt. Then the melody just formed in my head and so I plugged in my Yamaha keyboard and just played away. I was able to record the original on my mobile phone – thank God for technology – so I was able to preserve the original intention of my song. When I went home to Manila to record it, I wanted a guitar interpretation of the song. So I thought of my long-time dear friend, Mike Villegas, who is an award-winning composer/producer/arranger. I asked Mike to create a pure, personal yet powerful guitar rendition of my song. And then something happened…I lost my voice two weeks before recording, so I grabbed my niece, Lalaine Enriquez, to the recording studio to sing some parts of the song with me as I was still not at 100%. It turned out to be a blessing. Lalaine’s voice is heavenly! And my voice was husky hahahah! Mike said it sounded like I just cried, which was perfect for the song! The sound engineer was Daryl Reyes, and his mix was just ethereal with some hints of digital delays, I really loved it! “Here I Am” sounded really good, and I was very pleased with how things turned out in the end.
I’ve written other songs after that, including “Celebrate” which I co-wrote with my high school “bff” Jammy Gurican – which is an upbeat, catchy tune with some female harmonies, and is all about a celebration of friendship that has passed the test of time. I also recorded that in Manila as well. Teddy Katigbak was my producer/arranger for this one, with Mike and me overseeing everything. Mark Villar laid some fantastic guitar grooves on the track. Lalaine Enriquez also sang with me on this release. I love “Celebrate” as well!
I consider several themes for writing songs – from as deep as dealing with a loss to a simple budding love song and all others in between. I have learned that the more life throws challenges at me, the more materials I have in writing songs. Experience enriches me, inspires me and teaches me a thing or two on how to manage those challenges and keep everything in check through my faith in God, and for as long as I inspire others through my music, I will keep on writing songs.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
While my first release (“Here I Am”) was leaning more on the pure, simple acoustic guitar strains, “Celebrate” was more full on pop and all-out sound production. Like I said, I like a variety so I do not sound the same every time. My next release though will be a slow one, but right after that, my other song would be high-energy. I plan on making an EDM down the road as well. I would like to give my listeners a variety of songs to choose from – because just like our emotions, there are some days when we feel like blah…. and there are some days like we can take on anything in the world. Such is life, don’t you think! Hahahaha…
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Oh – before, it would have been very hard to release a material because an artist is almost always relying on label producers to promote their music. But the landscape has changed now and oh my gosh, everyone can do their own brand of music now and come out online and I mean everywhere. There’s a good and bad side to any situation, I must say. Oversaturation of “artists” out there could mean there is no check and balance for quality – and that is where producers and record labels come in and are appreciated because they know great talent from good talent. Then again, there are some great artists out there who are really talented enough but not given the right breaks. So there can also be something good coming out of today’s age of digital music. With the right connections, meaning digital and personal, everyone now has a better chance of being heard!
What was the last song you listened to?
“Tequila” by Dan + Shay country duo. I am loving that song these days – I wish I wrote that song! I love the lyrics, love the melody, love the harmonies, love the progressions and build, and especially love their live Grammy performance of it. Wow! I would love to meet Dan and Shay one of these days! Can you make it happen? Hahahha
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer MP3s for convenience. Although I also like CDs so you have something concrete to remind you of that song.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I like Spotify because it is easy to use. Spotify has the biggest following right now, and whether people like it or not, it has the highest listenership, so we need Spotify, or at least I need it hahaha. Although one is not to discount Apple Music and Bandcamp. There is one for everyone. YouTube is also powerful because people are visual. But not all musicians have the budget to make videos. So it’s a good thing that “official lyric videos” are trending nowadays. Yes to lyric videos!!! Hahaha
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Check out my Facebook page – just type in my name Girlie Vasallo – and you are there.
Anything else before we sign off?
Watch out for more of my music coming up next month. A slow one, then followed later on by a fast one – you got it all! Thank you for supporting indie music and for artists like us to be heard. Thank you Joshua and more power to Middle Tennessee Music!
