By Jemuel Cainglet Salterio
The five-piece indie pop/alternative rock band December Avenue has never been out of the limelight and the music scene after they released their first single in 2010.
That was the time when December Avenue inched their way into the mainstream indie circuit and gained the group a steady fan base for 15 years now.
“The group is good right now,” insisted Bohol-based December Avenue’s manager, Koi Busalla, who moved to Manila in 2008. “No pressure.
“The fan base made our songs popular without any hard-selling. It was more of the people around, the following. They were the ones who pushed our songs to become popular.”
December Avenue has been in the local mainstream indie circuit up to now. “The things the band did as an indie group, it worked out so why sign to a major label if we’re doing the right thing, staying indie?”
December Avenue represents the band’s songs and the meaning of their songs. Symbolically, their name represents the last month of the year, December, which is an avenue towards a new year and a new life.
“Our songs mostly talk about life and moving on,” granted vocalist-songwriter Zel Bautista. “December is actually the last month of the year which is an avenue towards the new year.”
Joining Zel in the band are Don Gregorio (bass), Jem Manuel (lead guitar), Jet Danao (drums and back-up vocals) and Gelo Cruz (keyboards and back-up vocals).
Their first single, “Time To Go,” released in 2010, started December Avenue’s slow rise to the indie circuit.
“The band never sacrificed the musicality, just the lyrics,” informed Koi . “We were never out of the indie world until 2018 when the group changed our lyrics into Tagalog.
“Since they started writing Tagalog songs, “Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig” became a hit right away. “Bulong” became the follow up, succeeded by “Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw” and “Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig.”
The two latter songs were used in the film of director Cathy Sampana (“Hello Love, Goodbye”), the huge box office hit starring Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo in 2019.
“Every now and then, the band also writes English songs to fill the gaps,” said Koi. “We have a new song, ‘Wala ng Iba’ and we will launch it on the concert, ‘Sa Ilalim ng mga Bituin,’ this August 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The song was written by Zel and Jet, two of the band members.
Their 15th anniversary concert, produced by Nancy Yang’s Entourage Productions, is titled “Sa Ilalim ng mga Bituin,” with Paolo Valenciano as musical director. They know Paolo from his erstwhile band, Salamin. Musical director is Nikko Rivera.
A 32-piece orchestra will back up December Avenue. ”We gathered specific musicians for this concert,” offered Koi. “Binuo lang siya for the concert itself. It was called City Lights Symphony Orchestra.”
“When we announced the concert last July and came out with the tickets, at 8:30 p.m. on the same day, we were already 65 percent sold,” said Nancy. “We had to add an SRO (standing room only) area to accommodate more fans.”
Koi helped discover the band and relaunched them from Sense of Sounds to December Avenue. Their band name was changed by the previous management, Sonic Boom, that is now known as Justice Artists Management (JAM).
“We never imagined the band will be the first Filipino who will be the most streamed artists on Spotify in 2019,” said Koi. “That became even without a major label support.”
December Avenue first did their US concert tour in 2019, followed by 2022 in the US and Canada and three months ago, they completed their most recent tour. Two years ago, December Avenue also did Australia and New Zealand.
Today, the quintet continues to make waves in the country’s music scene, amassing more than three million monthly listeners on Spotify. December Avenue remains Spotify’s Most Streamed Artist in the Philippines back in 2019.
The band is also the behind the Most Streamed Album of all time, “Langit Mong Bughaw.”
After MOA Arena, December Avenue will also perform in Hong Kong this year, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and even Qatar, according to Nancy. This November, the band will also take the stage in London, United Kingdom.
In February 2025, December Avenue will embark on another US and Canada tour.
