Friday, April 1, 2011

Jaco Benin Launches Debut Album "Ako Naman"


Being a son of a highly-respected musician, acoustic singer Jaco Benin feels the pressure of attaining or eclipsing the achievements of his father, Side A bassist Joey Benin, but he instead takes it as a challenge to make his own name and released his debut album, "Ako Naman," under Polyeast Records.

Jaco's father Joey composed Side A's many hit songs, such as "I Believe in Dreams," "By Your Side" and "Forevermore."

In his album launch on Thursday, March 31 at Agave Restaurant along Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Jaco sampled his acoustic music, shared his feelings on each song, as well as his thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of having a popular musician father.

The album is composed of six tracks, a combination of acoustic, upbeat tunes and laid back songs, three of which are remakes - "Torete," "Sa Puso Ko," and "Prinsesa." His remake of "Prinsesa" was re-arranged by Joey Benin and originally sung by the band Teeth. "Torete," a Moonstar88 original song, is the carrier track of the album now playing in major radio stations. His remake of "Torete" gives a fresh take on the hit ballad. "This is one of my favorites. I arranged the song and changed the melody a little," Jaco proudly said. "Sa Aking Alaala" arranged by Francis Salazar shows the singer's emotional side.

As the son of Joey Benin, Jaco wants to overcome being in his father's shadow and establish himself in the music industry. "For the advantages, people would be interested about me because of my father, and of course connections. But at the same time, I don't want to be overshadowed by my dad. I want to have my own name and music to share to people," Jaco told the press.

Thus, Jaco released the album, titled "Ako Naman," to show his desire to shine in the music industry on his own. "I wanted to show that from my dad's generation, it's now our turn to showcase our music," Jaco shared.

Having born to musician parents, Jaco inherited the same passion for music. "Kahit noong bata pa ako, mahilig na ko sa music. We practically grew up in a family of musicians, all of us play instruments too," he said. Jaco also shared that it is his personal decision to enter showbiz and is thankful that he gets full support from his father. "It's my personal decision. My dad lets me do on my own. Sometimes lang pag may sablay or may recommendations siya, he would help me," Jaco further said.

Among the local singers, Jaco looks up to Gary Valenciano ever since he was young. "Since before pa, every time Side A will have a show with him, I would always ask my dad if I could meet Tito Gary. It's funny now lang kase kasama ko si Tito Gary sa ASAP," Jaco shared. Jaco performs for ABS-CBNs "ASAP Rocks" in the musical segments "Full Circle" and "Acoustic Republic." Jaco is also part of an all-male, young group called "ASAP A-Pop."

In the future, Jaco would like to collaborate with singers Yeng Constantino and Julia. As Jaco also ventured into acting, being in the cast of ABS-CBN's "Gimik" and now in TV5's "Inday Wanda," it's Jaco's dream to have a movie with pop princess Sarah Geronimo. "Dati ko pa pong gusto si Ms. Sarah Geronimo kase I like her movies, yung simplicity nya and yung aura nya," Jaco shyly shared.


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