The Virtues of a Band on the Road: American metalcore crew Of Virtue in Manila

The Virtues of a Band on the Road: American metalcore crew Of Virtue in Manila

by rick olivares

Lansing, Michigan is almost 13,000 kilometers away from Manila.

Yet on a humid Saturday evening, three of the five members of metalcore band Of Virtue finds themselves performing at the Finite Fest The Gathering at the 123 Block along with two other bands from Hong Kong as well as a smattering of Filipino crews.

“Country number 30,” points out Of Virtue vocalist Tyler Ennis. The Philippines is the band’s 30^thcountry to visit across three continents. 

Of Virtue is logging some serious flyer miles.

Right now, the band is on tour in support of their third album, What Defines You. And the title of the album fits the band perfectly at this point as they reflect on life, being in a band, and being thousands of miles away from home.

Of Virtue – guitarists Damon Tate and Michael Valadez, and Ennis – are on the road without bassist John Fox and drummer Kyle Pruehs who remained home to deal with some family concerns. The brought in a session drummer to sub for Pruehs while Tate manned the bass.

“I think our song ‘I Won’t Break’ from the new album really defines us at this point,” shared Tate.

The band has been around for a while but just when they think they have their second wind, life throws them that proverbial curveball.

When you’re on the road, there are risks,” pointed out Ennis. “That means you cannot have regular nine-to-five jobs and you do odds ones to sustain yourself. People think you are having the time of your life and make no mistake we enjoy this, but you miss out on the comforts of home and events such as family weddings and such. And when there’s an emergency, you aren’t around. That can take a toll on you mentally.” 

“But these are choices you make such as being in Manila for this show. It might not be as financially rewarding but it can be okay,” chimed in Valadez.

The night before the band planed into Manila, they were in Singapore and Tate swears he was surprised when the fans sang back word-for-word the lyrics to “Thanks for Nothing” that is on the new album. “That messed him up,” chuckled Valadez. “He literally stopped playing his instrument.”

Knowing the songs, seeing fans buy the merchandise and the albums helps. 

“The new album, What Defines You, that is a rebirth of our band, elucidated Tate. “What makes it special is outside our first EP, What Defines You is five people on the same page, same wavelength, same goals, same energy, and same intense output into the album. That is a hard thing to admit because we’ve been around for a while. A good friend advised me if we are really going to continue doing this then we have to take a long hard look at what we’ve done wrong and see how we can address them.”

What Defines You dropped this past May and the band is pleasantly surprised when fans buy the album in places they never even thought they’d be.

“I learned to play the guitar in my basement,” said Valadez. “I never thought I’d be in Tokyo, Istanbul, and Manila. We are learning about the outside world. Learning that the world is smaller than it is and what a great place it can be.”

“I was playing in small bands and didn’t take it too seriously until people started liking the music,” added Tate. “Then I realized I could make this a goal. Performing in Europe and Asia is a privilege. We’ve been to some places that isn’t conducive for their own artists to pursue their dream. In that regard, we feel lucky no matter how tough it is to break out.”

The 123 Block is one of the newest gigging places in the metropolis and has featured its fair share of foreign acts coming over to Manila. Movements was the first band to play here followed by legendary hardcore band, Judge, Sans Visage, Deerhoof, and now, Of Virtue.

On a night where there were major performances in other venues (there was Sadfest at Mow’s and the Rizal Underground/Color It Red 1990s reunion at 70s Bistro), over a hundred fans bought tickets to Finite Fest The Gathering. Even as Of Virtue took the stage past midnight, the fans stayed. And the roared and moshed.

“We’re on the other side of the world and there are these people who want to see us play,” summed up Valadez. “They might not know the music but they are interested to see us play. That makes it worth it.”

Check out Of Virtue’s Facebook page to get to know the band as well as to pick up their albums.