Je Ang, a Lasallian alumnus, and Centerfold’s drummer and vocalist, aired a complaint against the De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) Council of Student Organizations (CSO) in a Facebook post after being allegedly obligated to sell Echoes X tickets despite initially being performers for the concert, Feb. 13.
The Lasallian alumnus claimed in the post that she and her bandmates were only made aware of the requirement to sell tickets after receiving the acceptance letter two days after the audition and that failure to meet the 10-ticket quota would mean Centerfold will shoulder the unsold tickets.
In an interview with Lavoxa Online, Centerfold explained that this wasn’t their first time performing a concert inside a school and that the treatment they received from the organizers shocked them.
“Guest band kami, nag-effort kami for the auditions, in-invite n’yo kami, tumugtog kami nang maayos tapos gano’n kami [guest bands] itatrato. Hindi naman makatao ‘yon,” said Ang.
In the Facebook post, Ang also expressed her dismay with how the timeslot of their performance was rescheduled. During the interview, the band members explained how they were scheduled for a 4:55 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. performance, but got moved to 4:35 to 4:55 which meant they would have to ask permission from their employers again to leave earlier for work.
“Before they send out the schedule […] para hindi pabago-bago, parang make sure na ito na talaga ‘yun, ‘di ga? Email is considered official eh. Ayun, before you send out the email, sure na yon,” Dency Yja said, Centerfold’s vocalist and guitarist.
After the complaint on Facebook was made, Centerfold then sent an email requesting to have their first time slot but CSO did not allow the request, which eventually led the band to back out from the concert.
KROMP, another Lasallian alumni band who performed during Echoes, said they also had a fair share of negative sentiments from the concert experience—exclaiming how they felt the disparity in treatment with regard to the unfollowed schedule resulting in their performance being cut from four songs to two, not having their share of complementary food and water, and the overall lack of clear communication from the organizers.
According to Kromp, despite not having as big as the names of the main artists, they would also have appreciated it if they were not obliged but instead encouraged to sell concert tickets.
“We are not complaining because we love what we do. This is our choice. But we guess it wouldn’t have been too much to ask to at least be treated as artists, and not just random bands or singers they asked to come over and play,” KROMP said in a joint-member statement.
CSO’s response
In a separate interview, CSO Chairperson Jed Magsino denied the claims in the Facebook post that their intention was to require bands to sell all the tickets, but admitted that they used the word “required” in the letter sent to the performers.
In the letter sent by CSO, the words “required” were written in bold followed by a sentence that “Tickets are considered sold once you did not meet the minimum quota required.”
facebook post. (F. Garcia)
According to Magsino, a ticket quota has always been a requirement for performers even during the past in-person Echoes but explained that the performers would not have been charged even if the quota was not met.
“Ang amin lang, help us to promote the concert because this concert is for a cause. It is for everyone. Parang we are giving them an opportunity to perform in this wonderful and momentous event sa DLSL,” Magsino said.
The CSO chairperson also refuted Ang’s claims in the Facebook post that their time slot was adjusted due to personal requests of the other front acts and explained that CSO only wanted to balance the sequence by alternating between solo performers and bands.
After the Facebook post was published, Magsino said that CSO, the College of Student Activities (CSAO), and the Director for Student Services (DSS) deliberated and decided to pull Centerfold out of the lineup, but Centerfold had already sent their email to decline to perform.
Magsino expressed his thoughts on the manner in which Centerfold voiced their complaint—hoping that it could have been raised directly to them to resolve the concerns.
“Naging open sana ‘yung communication kaysa gumamit sila ng ganong way of publicity kasi we’re open naman if we have missed it,” Magsino said.
On treatment to bands, CSO clarified that the producers, Flare Infinity Productions, provided the complementary food and water to the main act performers, but admitted that it was their mistake that they overlooked the matter.
Magsino apologized for their mistakes saying “If we have mistakes on our part, we are asking an apology for that pero gusto ko lang din masabi na we are sad and I’m personally offended by that [Facebook post].”
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Centerfold said that they took what happened as an opportunity to speak on behalf of other artists and hopes that this type of treatment towards indie bands would change.
“I think it’s about time na, this [treatment] needs to change. It needs to be louder, to be heard na ang daming artists na gano’n itinatrato. This is an opportunity for us to speak for other bands din, hindi lang naman for Centerfold. Sana next year, makakita kami ng change,” Yja said.
Article by: Win Sharm Cinco and Jannaya Barrion
With reports from Ediah Castor and Jazmine Bustamante
