Hastang of Yesteryears

These days, Mark couldn’t be any happier. He finally has his “A Team” of musicians, all sharing the same hunger, the same drive, the same passion.

Hastang has increased their practice sessions to three nights a week, mostly Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. They’ve more than tripled their efforts to complete the album. Since the birth of Hastang last month, the band has nearly completed the arrangement of 5 songs. This is a dramatic improvement from the sluggish days of Squirrel Talk, where a song would take months to take form.

The difference between then and now can be summed up in two words: commitment and vision. These, in essence, have fueled Hastang’s apparent lift-off.

Hastang is, for Mark at least, a dream come true. His disposition has noticeably improved since the inception of Hastang. Gone are the nights when he would toss and turn in bed, worrying about the band’s future. Gone are his doubts and his erratic tantrums. For the first time in months, he can finally see his dream becoming a reality.

Guile and Jayson, for their part, share Mark’s enthusiasm. Now that Tessa and Roy are on board, the survivors of Squirrel Talk have become even more motivated, more driven, more determined to succeed.

Tessa and Roy are a delightful surprise.

A self-confessed workaholic, Tessa exudes boundless energy that is often contagious. She is a relentless cheerleader who is constantly pushing the band to test their limits. When Mark suggested that they take the weekend off to unwind at the beach, Tessa adamantly insisted, “We still have a lot of work to do. We can celebrate as soon as the album is done.”

Also noteworthy is her immeasurable creativity. Her ability to transform poetry into a whole new dimension of art – i.e., music – is nothing short of extraordinary. It takes her a millisecond to craft the most fitting melody for any particular song. In fact, with the help of Mark, Guile, Jayson, and Roy, she has re-invented the band’s older songs – accentuating certain parts, creating vocal hooks, and basically injecting her own enchanting style.

Roy is just as conscientious and as imaginative. He would often blank off in the middle of a conversation with a pensive, brooding stare. When chided about this, he admitted that he is constantly contemplating the best arrangement for their songs. Evidently, he’s developed an artist’s trance – where the mundane details of life fade into the background, and nothing but the music exists.

Yesterday, for example, he stayed at our pad until 5 in the morning to record the guitar tracks for “A Virgin’s Orgasm”. More impressive is the fact that in the wee hours of the morning, after chugging more than his fair share of beer, he was able to come up with 2 versions of the song – one a deliciously haunting piece, the other a powerfully emotional number.

Tessa and Roy’s vigor is nothing less than inspiring. Because of their diligence, Mark, Jayson, and Guile have been hit by the rocker’s bug – breathing and living music every single day. (Pre-Hastang, they had been committed to creating original music. Now, they are practically obsessed.)

As a result, Hastang has noticeably become more prolific. Doubtlessly, the synergy of these five talented artists is simply amazing.

I’m willing to bet that greater things are yet to come.

Mark, Guile, Roy, Jayson, and Tessa: I believe in your talent; I believe in your dream. I believe in Hastang.

“Someday, [your] back will grow wings. [Your] flicker will blaze.
And [you] will be free.”
(from Mid-flight, original Hastang music)

~ Yanyan

Yan claims to be Hastang's biggest fan. She's the founding president of Hastang's own groupie club and the conflicted voice behind FubarGenre.
©2008 Hastang.com | Read articles written by Yan