Rez Toledo of SomedayDream never listened to Hale. He never listened to Champ‘s music. That is what he confessed last Wednesday night. But the irony is Rez is now being handled by the talented Champ (lead vocalist of Hale). Before girls get jealous of me and start sending me hate mails, for the record – I didn’t have a date with Rez. He’s too young for me and his boyish look make me feel older. WE actually had a date with him last Wednesday for the SomedayDream’s First Blogger Night in Blue Onion (oh yeah, remember Blue Onion?! It used to be the hottest spot in Eastwood, and it has opened its doors once again – with live bands this time – one artist even invited me to sing that night because he says they are giving away cellphones. Check out Blue Onion Fanpage for details.).

If you have never heard of the name Rez Toledo, I am sure you have heard of the song with the lines – You 
and Me, Sitting on a tree.. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.. Yup! Think of Cornetto commercial! That song is actually sang and composed by this talented boy, Rez Toledo. The first time I encounter the young man was during the Yahoo! OMG Awards Pre-event. I never know that guy is already making a name in the music industry but I enjoy listening to the music anyway. During the Yahoo! OMG event (when he won the Breakthrough Artist Award), I mistook him as one of GMA teen artists. You cannot blame me because the guy cannot just sing, but he also has a charming face, a shy smile and a boyish hairstyle.

His music is not the most common music you would hear. I even thought it was sang by a foreign artist (and most of the people I know say the same!). Anyway, during the event last Wednesday, we were only not treated with good music but Rez was pleasant enough to answer our questions.

The event was hosted by (the accidental host and photographer) Champ Lui Pio. Great job, bro!

I found out he was part of band before which played rock music. They mainly listen to Eraserheads and Rivermaya; and this is explains the first two sentences in this blog entry. He said he started to like Hale after listening to Bahay Kubo (I like it too!). From rock music he moved to other music genre, then comes Electronic pop or Synthpop. Don’t ask me about music, but Wikipedia says Synthpop (also known as electropop, or technopop[1]) is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument.

His song Hey DayDreamer (which is used in the Cornetto commercial) was actually made, according to Rez, in one boring day – brownout, with just a guitar and candle. It took him total 60 hours to create the song.
It was first released digitally, and now it is mostly heard on radio. Rez has been making name in the internet, with MySpace (the preferred site of most indie musicians) even before the face is launched in social media.

When asked how he compose songs, whether write lyrics first or melody, he says he does it simultaneously. But he is open to trying writing the lyrics first or melody. I guess if you are really good an artist, it doesn’t matter what you do first, what will come out is just a great piece. Look at Hey Daydreamer and all of his songs.

Rez is still in school. He is an Atenean and I am not surprised that he is that articulate. He answers with careful thoughts and sense. He says that in school, he is just a regular guy – but most of his friends would tease him at times. During concerts though, he would get mobbed – for sure, by girls. I could have been one of those girls if I were in my teens.

What does a talented man do during his spare time (I wonder if he still gets free time considering that he has been doing alot of events lately, promotions and collaborations). He says he geeks around, search the internet for gadgets and read about new instruments. He is now exploring writing songs with piano.

With such a nice voice and good looks for sure that acting offers would soon come but he says the original plan is to produce 3 albums, so what comes after that, we don’t know yet. Probably we might see him on TV or in the big screen. Billboards in major highways, and probably commercials. Btw, he is a brand ambassador for Terranova (read about the re-opening of store here when he also performed).

When I got the chance to hold the mic and ask a question, I just asked him what he would be if he were not an artist, if he were not SomedayDream. He says he might probably a director because he’s into visual arts. But his biggest goal (like any other artist) is to go international. And I believe it is not impossible with a manager like Champ who plays not just a manager to him but like a brother too. Both of them are really cute, but seeing them together – fooling around like real boys, real brothers is just an aawww… moment. If there is one thing that makes the two disagree, according to Rez, it is all about being focused – it was funny that during the time he was sharing this, he somehow lost his train of thoughts. And that I say, focus. 🙂

Ever wondered how he came up with such a name SomedayDream? He actually came up with different random good-sounding names and ask friends’ opinions. He found SomedayDream the most appealing.

Going back to his hit song, Hey Day Dreamer, he finds it good to be compared with foreign artist, but he wants to combat the colonial hangover. I personally like the song. Although I am not the best person to talk about music, I think it is light and gives a feel-good mood. Totally different from the usual songs we hear from different artists. Give your Acoustic, Rock and Pop playlists a break, listen to Rez’s music and feel the electricity. An exaggeration, but honestly, his music makes me want to move.

When asked how he feels about all these success and opportunities, he says he is overwhelmed because everything is happening so fast. Like performing for students the previous night, then going to provinces the day after. But more than anything, he is thankful.

Someone asked a question if he thinks he is cute? I find him charmingly humble and witty when he answered “.. they make me feel cute, sometimes..” . No, actually his answer made him a lot more cute. I have to stress that he is so articulate and has no air of pride whenever he talks. I hope he stays that way despite the number of girls going gaga over him.


One of the best things about the event was when Rez sang for us, and yes he sang Hey DayDreamer, with all of us eating Cornetto Ice Cream! Haha.

With Kumagcow.com and RodMagaru!

For the fans out there, get a copy of Pinoy Song Mag. It features Rez Toledo and everything about him.

The mag reminds me of Rock and Rhythm (does anyone remember?), and old song hits! I am glad there is still this kind of magazine because it brings back good memories – feels like childhood days holding this mag when information is not easily searched online.

I know it equates to my age, but honestly, I am proud and happier to have experienced such.. at least there is much to talk about. What a boring thought to only remember Twitter and Facebook (or Friendster).The fun of buying song hits just to get the lyrics of the songs, read about your favorite artists and collect them all!

It was really a nice event (one is because the venue is just some cartwheels away from my office). Then, of course we got to finally know Rez and ask him alot of questions. Plus, we also got this really cute crown clock from Coke! (Thank you Coke!)

And, they also raffled off Bose Earphones and Keds Shoes. Guess who won the shoes.. Yup, yup. Yours truly. Ms. Carla just actually messaged me for my shoe size. Yey! I’ll sure bring it to my Indonesia assignment. Thank you Keds! Perfect and timely gift!

It really is an awesome event!

Thanks to Champ for taking this group pic!

Thanks to www.kumagcow.com for this quick pic 😉

Thank you MCA Music Philippines (the new home of the Material Girl – Madonna – the news was just announced that night!), Mecca Music and Orange Magazine TV! 

Btw, Rez also blogs. Check out Rez Toledo’s blog at http://ledowrites.com. I do hope he writes more often though. 🙂