I thought I'd write a little about Kaka, because he is the "new kid" in the band, both literally and figuratively. One of the problems with his coming into such an established band is that he was expected not to stray too far from the legacy left by Mitch, but at the same time had to establish his own musical identity. Raimund Marasigan, Mike Dizon and I had a chance to listen to both Mitch and Kaka casually in the backstage during the anniversary gig, and for the most part, we couldn't distinguish between the two. But on closer listening, I sensed a number of differences.
On a personal level, Mitch strikes me as "pilyo" and "malikot". This is evident even from the pictures on the 2 previous album liners. This is also noticeable musically. Mitch has a tendency to play "on top" of the beat most of the time, regardless of tempo or feel. And his repertoire of pinpoint-accurate fills are the envy of not just a few drummers. Kaka, on the other hand looks more "boyish" compared to Mitch. His playing style is looser, with more wrist action. Because of this, he has a wider range of feel, from laid-back to anticipated (which I partly discussed in an earlier entry on tempo).
When I started attending their rehearsals, I found Ebe and Jal were having difficulty adjusting to the fact that that Kaka's playing carries more sustain than Mitch's. This was most evident in the way he uses the ride cymbal. Kaka has a tendency to lean into his ride cymbal A LOT, and the band was initially put off by what seemed to be an excess of what they called cymbal "wash". While at first I told Kaka to use the ride more sparingly, I had a hunch that the problem had more to do with equipment than style. So my impulse was to inspect Kaka's ride cymbal. It is a 20" K. Zildjian Custom. K's usually have a "dark" sound that is fine for jazz drummers who play at soft to moderate levels, and are looking for a more mid-range swishy sound. But this is too much for a pop/rock drummer who plays at loud levels. So for the studio sessions, I lent him my own ride, a 30 year old, 22" A. Zildjian medium ride, which Raimund and I have dubbed "the infinite ride", and which can be heard on a number of Eraserheads songs through the years, as well as a couple of cuts off Dong Abay's "Flipino". It still packs a lot of sustain that Kaka seems to like, but has just a little more "ping" than the K. The slight added definition was just enough to please not only Ebe and Jal, but surprise Mitch as well (he attended a couple of drum sessions). For crash cymbals, Kaka has a fantastic K. Custom projection crash which sounded great in the studio. So just to give him an alternate color in the crash department, I also lent him my 16" A. Zildjian thin crash, which has a higher relative pitch but a much faster decay.
In the course of the guitar sessions, I found Kaka's drum tracks sound slightly "barumbado", like a little boy who likes to crash and bump into things. This fits right in with the rest of the arrangements because this album contains more heavy guitars than previous albums. The "ringy", sustained sounds allow it to cut though, and brighten up the dense guitar parts.
The sound of Sugarfree as a band is still unmistakable, but Kaka has managed to add a new, interesting, and youthful voice. I am confident that even the most die-hard Sugafree purist will enjoy the new musical identity that Kaka brings to the band.
