Kapa kapa lang with Noli Aurillo

Kapa kapa lang with Noli Aurillo

by rick olivares

Noli Aurillo doesn’t mind the Lennonesque comparisons – long flowing hair, walrus-like eyeglasses (yes, that is what it is called), the long and narrow nose that looked like it was sculpted by some Italian Renaissance sculptor, a sense of humor that begets a high-pitched laugh.

“I’m a big fan of John Lennon and the Beatles,” Aurillo bares. “But if you ask me who all my influences are, we’ll be here at the Balay Kalinaw in UP for three days talking about my inspirations. Mula iyan from rock to jazz to the blues and even reggae! I am never too old to learn.”

During a media session to promote the Himig ng Pagibig show with long-time Asin compatriot Lolita Carbon this coming Valentine’s Day at the Manila Hotel, Aurillo put on a display of his own brand of guitar wizardry before a spellbound audience of music journalists. That the media session is held at the Balay Kalinaw inside the University of the Philippine campus isn’t lost on him. “I wanted to enroll at the UP Conservatory of Music,” he blurts out from out of the blue like a sudden change in time signature. “But they wouldn’t have me. I didn’t get in but my son did and he graduated from there.”

He cackles once more. However, there isn’t any trace of bitterness in Aurillo. “You are who you are and what you make of yourself,” he says with conviction. “You just have to work harder than everyone else.”

To this day, the bespectacled guitarist cannot read or write notes. And he makes no bones about it. “I never let my shortcomings get the best of me,” he succinctly put. “At kinakapa ko lang.”

And what Aurillo has made a name for himself not only with Asin and as a legendary folk music performer who was a regular at the old Hobbit House in Malate but also a guitar wizard.

Carbon for her part swears that she loves performing with Aurillo. “Siya ay talagang napaka-talented,” she gushes as the man works on a riff he just thought of. “Meron kami kanta na siya lang talaga makakapag-gitara ng kung paano dapat.”

“Meron ba naka-record nun?” Carbon asks to no one in particular. That was a eureka moment. A germ of a song has been initiated. Aurillo laughs once more. “Kapa kapa lang.”

To borrow a term from Elton John’s song, “Tiny Dancer”, Aurillo is a “music man”. Music is a part of his life “24/7 if possible,” he points out. “The only time when music is not heard from me or my guitars is when there is a brownout or I am asleep.”

Even if he has been in the music industry for a couple of decades now, Aurillo shows no signs of slowing down. He says that he’d like to record an album. He has all these songs and ideas in bits and pieces, recorded or in his head. Timing, he points out, is everything.

Such as the upcoming show.

“Sa totoo lang, yung ‘Himig ng Pagibig’ -- we haven’t done anything like this show,” Aurillo says. “Chance ito magkasama kami ulit ni Lolita and to perform before a different audience. At yung mga kanta na i-perform dito ay hindi lahat yung usual sa repertoire ni Lolita. So special performance ‘to. Since hindi regular itong ganitong performance, we want to make it really special para sa mga manonood at sa banda at lalo na sa organizer na Rockford Productions.”

“Dapat thankful ka lang na meron pa gusto making sa ‘yo. Extra special na kapa kapa lang ito.”

Noli Aurillo laughs once more.

He stands up. There’s a late comer who needs to interview him. He’s grateful that there’s another one to mesmerize. Kapa kapa lang.