Hi, my name is Alejandro. I am the baritone of this group (The Apex project). Over the years (I believe we are about to turn 4 in June this year), this group has been through many MANY ups and downs and multiple transitions. Some of which I am proud of, some of which not so and some of which I am still mad about to this day. Starting this blog isn’t as easy as you think, this is because as much as I am walking you through our journey, I have to also force myself to relive certain bad memories and trust me, it is NOT going to be easy.
Where should I begin… Oh yes, just in case you don’t know how I look like.
This is me during the first “photo shoot” for the group at the most cliché place to take pics ever, go figure.
I have been with the group since day 1, and was a big part of its formation; hence, I feel like I can give you the most accurate accounts of the group journey. Plus, my partners, close friends and team members - Yvonne and Jean - are rocking with their weekly VLOGs and their web series “Rachet Duo”, so I need to pull my weight somehow. With this blog, I hope to be able to document every important event related to The Apex project so you get to know more about the group and even if no one cares, I get to come back to this many years down the road and be proud of myself and everything I have been through.
Let’s get down to it. Rewind to 1 faithful day, 12th March 2016.
I think it couldn’t have started at a better time really. I had just graduated from university and I was looking to explore my passion for music for a bit, just like many people at this stage before accepting Singapore’s reality of putting a suit on.
It was my birthday month and somewhere in the USA, it was a fruitful graduation for the Founder of this group, Cheeyang. The genius; a future musical star has returned from his education at Berklee College of Music. At this point, we have been friends for over 10 years. We competed together, we performed together, we respected each other.
Look at the time stamp. This is during the first season of Campus Superstar, I am out of the running but he is on his way to win the whole thing. Photo credit: Clara Tan (Also a contestant)
Throughout his studies in the USA, Cheeyang would always come back to Singapore during his holidays and like the workaholic that he was (and still is), he would always try to put on a show here aside from the usual catch up sessions with his friends. He would always call me to collaborate or help him out, and I would always say yes.
It was at Star Vista where this supposed catch up session took place and we were having some Wagyu steak at Morganfield’s (1 for 1 entertainer promotion – we were not that rich).
“Hey, I was thinking about starting a vocal group. Would you like to be part of it?”
If anyone else in the world said that to me, I will naturally think it was going to be an interest group and nothing more. However, coming from him, I knew he meant business. Rightfully so, he went on to talk about producing albums/EPs and touring around the world. To have someone as clever as him ask me to join him in his crusade to brighten the local Acappella scene, here is a quote from a famous wrestler, “Hell Yeah”.
This is my first post on Instagram, good times… good times…
At this point, we needed to fill up the empty spots for obvious reasons, CY and I alone will never make an Acappella group. Now here is the reason why I mentioned the Star Vista, this venue reminded us of an old friend, also close to 10 years, also talented and everything we needed to fill that strong female mezzo-soprano role. Jean’s church was a few floors up from the place we were eating at. Honestly, at that time, as much as I admired Jean for her voice and acting talents, I was a little sceptical about her being in an Acappella group. It was nothing personal and my mindset was completely shaped by experiences I had doing Acappella. Usually, a strong lead/singer would face the problem of sticking out too much and thus being unable to blend. In hindsight, the joke’s on me as Jean threw my somewhat biased mindset straight out of the window and stuck it right up my.. ok never mind. She went from someone I thought would not get Acappella to someone I now see as my teacher and inspiration in music, visual arts and fashion.
Jean and I in 2009. Part of a fund-raising concert organised by CY.
CY took the liberty to contact every other role for the Acappella group but he left me with one to contact: the bass. Real smart of him. If you don’t know by now, a bass singer is the hardest person to find in Singapore. I am sure every Acappella group can confirm this statement.
Luckily for me, I knew just the perfect one. Another person, pretty much like CY, very professional (way ahead of the curve in terms of professionalism) and a very good singer - a very good bass singer. Weixin was someone I looked up to and a huge part of why I am even in love with Acappella. I remember when I was a lot younger, seeing him perform with his all-male Acappella group was the coolest thing ever. When I was in secondary school and JC, my choir instructor would bring me along to his choir classes in Ngee Ann Poly and Singapore poly to be a guest singer. I think he saw that I was really into it and wanted to help me develop this passion of mine. I met WX in SP where he was a president of the choir CCA. He never saw me as an outsider, and accepted my presence since day 1, included me in all club activities and introduced me to Acappella. WX and his girlfriend - vice president of the club, now wife, took such good care of me. I can only say thank you and I won’t be here without you guys.
Here is me with the SP choir in 2009. WX is not in this photo as he has graduated. The president at this time was Kenneth, the guy in black, extreme right. He treated me like family, thank you. All the best at fatherhood.
The lunch with CY ended with a lot of excitement, hopes and dreams and all that good stuff. Suddenly, I had something to look forward to. Finally, I had a shot at Acappella. For five years, I had been drifting around different schools, clubs, and even formed my own group called “Noexit”. All with little to no success as nobody, except for me, took it seriously. However, this is not a shot at them, it is what it is in Singapore, I understand.
When I got home that night and I kid you not, WX so coincidentally messaged me on Facebook, asking me if I was interested to form a group with him and join the Singapore Acappella Championships. If you didn’t know, Singapore Acappella Championships (Acachamps) is the only Acappella competition in Singapore that holds weight. It happens every year without fail - but I am not so sure about this year due to the Virus thingy. Every single Acappella group who wants to be somewhat serious better have a win under their belt, if not… try harder.
Obviously, I told WX about the lunch I had with CY and that I had him in mind to be the bass of the group. WX first questioned me about the leadership but I don’t blame him because the casual musicians in Singapore really did give everyone a bad name. In the end, he said ok to going over to CY’s place for the first tryout.
So here’s WX and I, preparing our songs, full of hope (maybe not so much for him), getting ready for the tryout. Over on CY’s side, he had Jean and Zadon (A friend of ours, great beatboxer) and we were all set for the first meeting.
Here is where my memory fails me. I don’t remember if Yvonne was part of the first try out. I know 100% that she was part of the second, but the first one I am not sure. Maybe she can clear it up with me in the future.
Here is part 1 of this post. I know things are a little slow now but trust me, things are going to pick up real quick.
Oh yes, the blog posts are somewhat edited and filtered accordingly as I try my best to be as neutral and unopinionated as possible. Not saying that I don’t mean anything I say here. Let’s just put it this way. If I have something bad/personal to say, I won’t say it here. If you like to hear an even more personal account of the events, the no filter version, you can listen to my podcast “A little bit of the Ale”, up on all platforms. I will put up a series called The Apex Recall under this podcast, which will be released right after I upload part 2 of this chapter. Lastly, everything you hear on my podcast is my PERSONAL opinions, I do not speak for anyone.
Love,
Alejandro