Break of Reality proves that cellos do rock

Break of Reality performing at Glorietta

American alt-classical chamber ensemble Break of Reality showed the Philippines that cellos do rock during their recent visit to the country.

Cellists Patrick Laird, Laura Metcalf, and Andrew Janss, along with percussionist Ivan Trevino headlined performances and conducted workshops in Zambales and Manila. Catching them on tour gave me an insight on how to be a musician in this age of social media but most importantly, it gave me a chance to finally see and hear up close and personal a carbon fiber cello.

The group’s hour long performance at the Glorietta Activity Center was met by a highly receptive audience that included a great number of school kids. The crowd roared upon hearing the starting notes of the Game of Thrones main titles. Even the not so familiar music like that from Villa-Lobos, Radiohead, a Break of Reality original, and including an improvised piece were warmly received.

A broken left foot by Patrick didn’t stop him from rocking it out especially with Ivan finally having a go with the drum set. And for some reason, the crowd goes wild whenever the cellists go for the high notes. The opening act in this concert was the urban folk band Humanfolk. The performance was also a part of the ongoing Philippine International Jazz Festival.

As much as I enjoyed the Glorietta performance, it was the workshop at the University of Sto. Tomas held days earlier that I appreciated more. The workshop was a combination of a masterclass, performance, and an open forum. And it was during the open forum where I learned a lot.

The group gave practical tips on how to make one’s presence felt online. Ivan said that one doesn't need top of the line equipment for one can start recording and uploading videos. A mobile phone that can take videos and a decent, relatively inexpensive microphone are enough to start the ball rolling. But Patrick stressed that content is still the key.

Laura, who has performed with the likes of Adele and John Legend, and also a member of other ensembles aside from Break of Reality, was cited as an example of a versatile musician. And Patrick said that being versatile increases a musician’s usefulness.

Ivan also recalled the quartet’s earliest days playing for almost nothing at cafés, using these gigs as a learning experience, until they got featured at the papers that eventually started to snowball to where they are right now.

Performing during the workshop/masterclass at UST

Another interesting topic discussed was how to do improvisation as an individual and as a group. Andrew said that one has to get comfortable with a simple idea (as simple as a single note, a drone) and then going one step further from there. As a group, one has to know which role he/she needs to play and do something different like play high while the other play low or do a contrasting counter melody. Ivan said that voicing rhythms out and then doing variations afterwards is a good exercise for percussionists.

Ultimately, it was the carbon fiber cellos that all three cellists brought with them that really caught my interest. The dark gray cellos have a very muscular sound that was highlighted by the pieces that they performed. Patrick told me that it’s ideal for touring since they could just have these instruments beneath the plane. An extra seat is typically bought for the fragile wooden cellos and that brings up the touring cost. The carbon fiber ones aren’t affected by extreme temperature changes so the cellists aren’t too worried about having to make emergency trips to a luthier while on tour.

The Philippine stop of Break of Reality is part of their Asian tour in line with the American Music Abroad program by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in partnership with American Voices. The performances and workshops were presented by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, Casa San Miguel, Glorietta, Philippine International Jazz Festival, University of the Philippines, and University of Sto. Tomas.