EarShatter

Music has been pretty much part of my whole life. Ever since I could remember, I would always sing or hum a tune or just sing with foreign lyrics. I love music and somehow, I know it has little affection to me.

My older brother was my biggest influence on music. Between my two brothers, (I was the youngest), my middle brother became closer to me because of it. It was our way of bonding together, well, that and the constant hitting and smacking on the head which I found very healthy. Julius Adriano was seven years older than I, and he always took care of me growing up.

He also had a great voice, very baritone and fit for a balladeer. One time, he and our cousin Gege recorded a song by Nonoy Zuñiga entitled Never Ever Say Goodbye. Little did he know that our Tita was behind him while he rendered a heartwarming version. So at the end of the song, an outburst of laughter could be heard at the recording.

That was a long time ago. Circa 90. We tried searching for the cassette tape with the recorded song but it was gone…like him. He died in a surprising circumstance. It was literally because of a nightmare or bangungot or in medical terms, Acute Pancreatic Hemorrhage. Before, I found it ironic that he sang a song entitled Never Ever Say Goodbye where in only after a few months he would be gone. But back then I didn’t recognize the impact he had on my life and my passion. He was the original Adriano who joins contests and wins. He was the original achiever (if you may consider me as one) and the biggest dreamer of all. Now I think should he be still alive, he’ll join those contests on TV.

Now I realize he was/is my music, my brother. A foolish child before thought that his brother left him to carry his burden on his own but in fact, that brother kept his promise by living in his younger brother’s every breath of tune and lyrics– pitchy or perfect.