Keeping it Real
Rising R&B stars ‘Pinay’ stay grounded
By Brian Liou

Originally labeled as “divas,” one might think that the members of Pinay would carry their noses higher than women in the 1950s carried their beehives. But for this Filipina quartet, fame and money aren’t everything.

Formerly known as the Pinay Divas, this soulful Bay Area-based R&B group would, of course, love to make it big. But unlike many young recording artists, these women aren’t relying on their musical talent and pretty faces to pay the bills.

In fact, their lives do not revolve around their music, but careers after music. Each are remarkably accomplished: Angelica Abiog has a degree in psychology from UC Berkeley; Maylene Briones graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Asian American studies and molecular cell biology; Loredie Reyes, a San Francisco State graduate, works as a surgical nurse; and Irma de los Santos, a UC Berkeley graduate in legal studies, awaits her scores from a recent bar exam.

Chaotic as this juggling act appears, these four Filipinas have managed to maintain a healthy relationship between their music and careers.

“Music helps keep us sane,” explained de los Santos. “We have one foot in one and one foot in the other.”

Formed in 1993, Pinay exudes a realistic awareness of the music business’ unpredictability.

“It’s a hard industry to crack into,” explained Abiog. “It’s so volatile. You could have a good two months and you could be done.”

Pinay first signed with Classified Records in 1997. Their debut single, “Is it Real” reached the Billboard Dance Singles Top 50. The group then followed up with a 12-track album, Inevitable, in 1998. The next single, “Next Time,” became the second most requested song for two weeks on Wild 94.9 in 1998. The group has also performed at a variety of venues, from the Davies Symphony Hall to the Oakland Coliseum, where they performed the national anthem for an Oakland A’s game.

Despite the initial success, however, Pinay’s members have remained grounded and down to earth.

“We haven’t really thought about how we should act,” de los Santos said. “We don’t want to go and be something we’re not. We haven’t said we have to cater the way we act to every person out there.”

This year, Pinay crossed local boundaries and went national, performing in Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia and New York. This fall, the group will fulfill a longtime dream with a two-week tour through the Philippines.

“We’re very excited. Even here, when we first started out, the core support came from the Filipino American community,” de los Santos said. “To go out and take our performance to the place that gave us the name Pinay really is cool.”

First and foremost, Pinay wants people to know that they’re singers, not role models or feminists. They would rather let their music rise above topics of race or sex and speak for themselves.

“When we write our songs, it comes from our experiences as women,” said de los Santos. “It comes out naturally ... I don’t think it as a burden that we’re Asian Filipinas and we’re doing this kind of music. It’s a challenge for us.”

For information on CDs or concert dates, visit the Classified Records Web site at www.crworld.com/pinay.