PARALUMAN vocalist Marie Madeline Ramboyong seems to have it all, a singer and an artist rolled into one. But the Advertising Arts alumna admitted that she had always been very shy growing up.
Known to her friends as Madz, she first joined Paraluman during her freshman year in college when a friend told her that the band was looking for a female vocalist. Timid and unsure of herself back then, Madz mustered her courage to sing in front of the three band members. She sang “Soon” by Moonpools and Caterpillars, the only song they all knew that had brought them all together. Instantly, she was recruited to the band.
“I never thought I could make it because I was really shy,” she said. “Some of my friends would even tell me in disbelief, ‘How did that happen?’”
Aside from being the singer of Paraluman, she also works in a production company called Sindikato Productions that promotes local music videos and movies before their public air.
Music is everything for the 24-year-old vocalist who graduated from the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) in 2010.
“Music is something that hits us. Even if it’s only the instrumental part, even it seems like reciting a poem, as long as it hits a person, or it hits me, that’s art. That’s music,” she said.
School before band
Before committing herself full-time to Paraluman, Madz made sure she would graduate first from college. But her dedication to the band took a toll on her schooling that she sometimes cut her classes so that she could attend a performance.
“Most of the time, I would arrive at the venue in my uniform and I would change clothes in the restroom,” she said. “There were even times when the guards would not allow me in since I was in my uniform. They thought I was one of the fans.”
Despite her late night gigs, Madz made it a priority to finish her plates. Oftentimes, she would even bring her school work to band practices just to meet her deadlines.
During her second semester as a freshman in college, she had a problem telling her parents about Paraluman. She only told her parents about the band when they were about to launch their first album.
“[My parents] were like: ‘What will happen to your studies now?,’” she recalled. “I oftentimes do not go to sleep just so I could finish my plates. My parents often pitied me for this, knowing that I have a gig at night then the plates to be done. But I made sure I showed them I could do it.”
Madz even bumped into a very hard situation when she had to choose between flying to Qatar for a band performance or to stay for her thesis defense. But in the end, she chose to have her thesis defense.
“I am happy with my choice. I know the Qatar gig was not for us. Besides, if an opportunity knocks again, we’re glad to accept it,” she said. “My band mates did not get mad, although it was hard for them as well. They were very much understanding.”
Grandstand
Madz biggest dream was to perform on the grandstand of UST. For her, it was not enough that they were able to perform for one of the events of CFAD.
She recalled one of her classmates asking where their band would perform next and she pointed to the grandstand.
It was during last year’s Paskuhan festivity that they were able to perform on the grandstand, together with big bands such as Kamikazee and Urbandub. She admitted that as a student, she has only watched the Paskuhan festivities twice since it always coincided with their gigs.
Upon joining the band, she slowly embraced the field of music. She began to take voice lessons when Paraluman was recording its first single, training herself to become a full-fledged singer.
“Back then, I never expected myself to be in the band,” she said. “I had a really soft voice. I only sing in the church. I was a member of the choir back then. Sometimes friends would invite me to sing in weddings.”
She said that she was only able to discover her talent for singing when she was in Grade 5 and before that, she never thought she could sing.
During concerts and gigs, Madz said that Paraluman does not have any king “ritual” before their performance. However, they made sure they were in tiptop shape before hitting the stage.
“I don’t drink anything cold before and after our gig and I also don’t eat that much,” Madz said. “And before every performance, my band mates and I see to it that we give it our best and offer it to God.”
Even after playing on stage for countless times now, Madz admitted she still has “butterflies inside her stomach” before going up on stage.
“During my first gigs, I [would] always get nervous. But my fans really helped me a lot in overcoming this feeling. Every time I hear them scream our band’s name, that’s when I start putting a smile on,” she said.
Right now, the Thomasian songstress said that she and her band are perfectly fine in the middle of the music scene.
“My bandmates and I are fine with what we have now,” she said. “But we are still trying to catch up because we also want to be on the top.”
From visual to aural
Madz always had an interest in arts. Ever since she was a young girl, she engaged herself into drawing different things on tabletops and the walls of their house.
She admitted that she even once dreamt of becoming a cashier, then a police officer until she realized that she does not know what she really wanted in life.
“I discovered that I liked drawing and started sketching skeletons,” she said. “From there, I developed my drawing skills until I decided to take up Advertising in college.”
During dull moments, she would find time to pester her fellow band mates through her doodles whenever she got hold of their books during practices.
“When we are not doing anything, I would grab the books of my band mates and I [would] scribble stick figures on every page and flip it like a cartoon,” she said.
She admitted that there are times when she seemed to be on the fork road, not knowing if being a musician was the right choice for her. But she always stuck with it because she knew it was God’s plan for her.
“The key is, do not make decisions if you are not sure with it. You should always be sure on what you do because in the end, it is your life and your future that you create,” she said.
