Founder of Tinig:
Rex Sampaga

This interview was originally published on March 7, 2016.

So what exactly does a music publisher do?

Apparently, that would take a full night of drinks (and hand cramps) to explain. In layman's terms, Rex declares "we've all heard of managers... Think of a publisher as the manager of songs and song catalogs." However, he's currently working towards being a music supervisor, which basically means handling music for various television, film, and media projects. Some artists under his company include Nessa Rica, Larissa Lam, and AJ Rafael.

But back to the basic introduction for Tinig rehearsals. Rex is his actual name ("People think it's short for something, but it's just three letters"), and he graduated as a Music major, specifically clarinet, in 1993. The much longer nicknames include Rex-N-Effect, referencing the rap group, Sexy Rexy ("Only special people get to call me that"), and Rampage, after an accidental switch-up of the previous moniker.[3] For the check-in question, a concept implemented after his time, Rex was asked to choose one other Tinig member to survive the zombie apocalypse. He chose two, both being of his favorite past directors: Leila Espinosa and Jennifer Dailo.[4]

"If people want to know where I was born, I'm from Chicago... as you can tell by my native Filipino accent." But Rex predates previous featured members even further by telling the tale of his conception, calling himself a "love child." His mother migrated to the U.S. as part of the Fourth Wave of Filipino professionals,[5] working as a nurse in Chicago; a few years later, she managed to save enough money to send for his father and older siblings. Rex was the product of their reunion.

Although Rex can't speak Filipino ("They wanted to raise us American, knowing English"), he can understand words. His older siblings, having been born in the Philippines, speak some Tagalog, but more Ilocano, the dialect of their parents.

Whenever he's not doing music, Rex enjoys going to sporting events, such as basketball and football. The Lakers are a particular favorite. He also watches movies. By going to screenings and talking to people in the industry, he's seen all of the Best Picture nominees for the past couple of years. As for dislikes, "That's easy," he said. "Two things: Traffic. Long lines."

If he had to choose a musical genre, it would be jazz. Yet his all-time favorite song would be "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire. He credits the recently deceased Maurice White ("the guys and Philip Bailey and all the other cats") for that first line. “Vinyl records. Yes, vinyl records, everybody. As a kid, I was looking through the lyrics—because in those days they reprinted the lyrics in the vinyl notes... and, lo and behold, in the first line is my birthday.”[6]

Music has always been a major part of his life, a legacy of sorts. “[It's] from my mom's side. Dad has an affinity and love for music, but really my mom and grandma had the talent. While growing up, they encouraged everyone: Yes, study hard, but find something, either art or music, to express yourself creatively. We all chose instruments.[7]

"At a very young age, I wanted to play saxophone, but my parents couldn't afford it, so I chose the clarinet... I started taking lessons in third [or] fourth grade, gave up Saturday morning cartoons, and fell in love with the instrument."

Beyond clarinet, Rex can play several other instruments, including piano, both bass and acoustic guitar, electric and upright bass, and a bit of saxophone. Learning the flute remains on his to-do list. Some, he learned from his older siblings. His sister was the token child of the Filipino family for music, having taken piano lessons.

“I would look at her—look at her fingers play, look at the music. That's how I learned how to read, just by osmosis, just by looking at her. I was kind of like her page-turner during orchestra performances... [I didn't learn more] until college. Being a music major, you have to learn keyboard. That accelerated my learning, to really plunk down and... to know what all this stuff means, what chords mean, and theory. All that formal training I needed.”

Rex learned a few guitar chords from his eldest brother, then taught himself the rest, accompanying the church choir for which he and his siblings sang. He also sang for his school choir during the fourth and fifth grades. Nevertheless, his singing abilities were not what lead to Tinig, or Choral as it originated. Even as the de facto director, Rex remained more of an instrumentalist than a vocalist, coming full circle by mostly accompanying his singers with guitar.

Due to the greater age disparity between Rex and the Samahang Pilipino Board members, the former having entered college at sixteen-years-old ("I'm not a genius or anything... I just skipped a few grades in elementary school"), Rex felt especially nervous proposing his idea to them. He'd seen a choir group performing for the Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) at UC Berkeley during the previous year, his first at UCLA, and had been inspired to start his own: a group about learning music, about Filipino music, open to all.

"I wanted to make sure everybody was okay [with the idea], not necessarily start it immediately. Just wanted to know if it was even feasible to do it—if it was feasible for me to do it. But they gave me unconditional support. A sign-up was proposed [to occur] during GM in Fall quarter... There were 30 to 35 names... This was the age before [texting]. I had to call each and every one of them."

The first rehearsal was held within WAC, the World Arts & Culture building (Kaufman Hall), though the rest would be at various locations on campus—Schoenberg Music Building, the roof on the now-nonexistent Parking Lot 6 (today occupied by Luskin Conference Center) for nice days, or four floors below for better acoustics. Rex welcomed everyone, told them what he envisioned, and asked what they wanted to learn as a group. Their main goal would be to perform at the PCN, but potentially other venues as well.

And so they sang. Every Tuesday and Thursday, at weekly Run-Thrus, they would meet. Instead of warm-ups, they would have mini jam sessions. Rex would listen, then separate them into altos, sopranos, and baritones; mostly, though, they were split by gender.[8]

“Music does define me, but it's not the complete me because everyone has different sides... facets, idiosyncrasies to themselves... But because of music—and it's one of the biggest reasons I founded this group—because of me coming from America and trying to find who I was, who I am... it became like a class in a sense. I wanted to seek out what it means: What makes it Filipino? Who plays this stuff? What is considered Filipino music? ... I didn't see that in Samahang at UCLA. I didn't see a choral group. I got to Samahang and I saw a lot of talented people. [Unsung singers.] But I wanted to try to find my own identity through music.” And he found that others wanted to find themselves too.

August Espiritu,[9] credited as co-founder of Choral, was Rex's mentor for Samahang; the latter relied upon him as a source for Filipino music, for what was possible to teach and to learn. “I still look up to him to this day,” Rex said. “All of the upperclassman at the time felt like this was needed—they all approved it. [At the time, I felt like,] if I got their approval, then 'I'm doing something right.'”

For their first PCN (1989), Choral presented a pre-show, performing within that half hour while people were waiting for the Wadsworth Theatre to be filled. "Saan Ka Man Naroroon" (Wherever You Are) was the very first song, the arrangement given to Rex by the Cal choir, though originating from the Bayanihan dance troupe. Two other songs were performed ("I don't remember the rest. I'll have to go back and watch the VCR") with Rex as the accompanist. Nevertheless, they started the tradition of opening with the American and Filipino anthems a cappella, heightening anticipation for the entire show.

Choral (1988-'92) would perform at the Homecoming Parade on Westwood Blvd, during the Mardi Gras Weekend,[10] and would accompany the Pilipino Dance Troupe. (“We became this extension, this cultural unit, that would go out and perform at various community events around UCLA and the Filipino community... and behold, it still continues to this day.”) As Tinig Ng Samahang (1993-2001), they performed at the 75th Anniversary Convocation and the fundraiser dinner for the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA), the latter of which became tradition. As Tinig at UCLA (2001-'11), they performed the Anthems at the Filipino American Library's 6th Annual Spirit Awards and Dinner Benefit GALA when apl.de.ap was granted the Role Model Award, and at a Christmas celebration where Lea Salonga was the headliner. Performing at the annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) also became tradition.

Tinig Ng Samahang became Tinig at UCLA due to its separation from SPCN; the breaking point was 9/11. After certain groups approached the SP Board, concerned about potential Islamophobia (to the best of Rex's knowledge), the Anthems were pulled from the show. Tinig at UCLA then registered as a separate group under Ethnomusicology.[11]

Because Rex measures Tinig by directors rather than years, he became disconnected around the time of James Bartolome and Heidi Ambrosio. He lived in San Diego for several years, being vaguely associated by making a CD for PCN songs,[12] then moved back to LA. Being immersed in the music industry, working at various record and music distribution companies, Rex reconnected only when he was part of the Pilipino Alumni Association (PAA) Board. His introduction to Martin Posadas and Hillary Ajel, director and assistant director respectively, occurred by chance—all of them having gone to Barney's after the first Pilipino American Film Festival (PAFF) in 2011 at Fowler Museum. Marie Austria, SP Cultural Coordinator and Tinig member, who was working with Rex for PAFF, casually remarked to them, “Yeah, this is the founder [of Tinig].”

This, of course, prompted an immediate invitation to any future rehearsals. Again, Marie facilitated his (re)introduction to the group, now simply called Tinig, by impulsively asking whether Rex wanted to stop by after a PAA meeting. During the rehearsal, now on the second level of Parking Lot 4, Martin and Hillary invited Rex to the next quarter's Winter Retreat. (“You guys have a retreat now?? That is awesome! That's so great!”)

Upon arrival to the retreat space, which may or may not have been in Chino Hills, Rex was summarily adopted into a Tinig kin. Reportedly, Martin called out something similar to “Okay, guys, Rex wants to be part of a kin, so make your case!” One by one, each kin came up to him and did their cheer: Mufasa (Muffs, from The Lion King), Do-Re-Migos (Migos, from ¡Three Amigos!), Tinig in a Bottle (TIAB, from Christina Aguilera's “Genie in a Bottle”), and Trouble Clefs (TCs, from the musical symbol "treble clef").

“For me, I'm a purist musically... so to this day I am a TC. Got to thank Martin for that. Thanks Martin!”

(Martin is a Muff. Hillary, however, is a TC.)

What are some of your favorite memories in Tinig? Your favorite song?

Rex recalls all the rehearsals and jam sessions—the shared love for singing, for music, forging friendships, forging ties that last a lifetime. He especially appreciates how, as with any close-knit group, the camaraderie sometimes develops into more. Former directors Joseph Pascua and Melissa Remulla, who have remained good friends with him, were one of the first, he believes.

(“They met during Tinig... and now, they're married. They both sing really well. Really well.”)

From "Pagbabalik," a traditional Tagalog folk song by the rock band Asin, to "Mga Munting Tinig" from the movie of the same name, to "The Journey" by Lea Salonga, it seems that Rex can never quite choose only one favorite. The foremost was given to him on a cassette tape with a request to play it at a rehearsal. Slowing it down to 6/8 time made the song soulful, like gospel rather than a waltz. After hearing his version during Run-Thru, the PCN coordinator came up to him, and asked whether it could be taught to the entire cast. Due to the number of cast members being 200+, Rex had everyone in Choral teach it to others—just the melody for the chorus. Tinig did harmony. Only the line “We are the world” was sung in unison. ("It will sound that much more powerful; it will be one big lovely voice.") And unofficially, Rex claimed, it was the very first cast song.

As for the backstory behind "Mga Munting Tinig," Rex invited Tinig to perform at the movie premiere. Joy Marfil, who was going to UP (University of the Philippines) at the time, was the music composer. She was kind enough to give a copy of song, and a few CDs, to Rex, who passed it on to the Tinig director. More than ten years later, the song remains our unofficial theme song. Rex particularly enjoyed its reappearance at Tinig's 25th Anniversary Banquet a few years ago. “It's still with you,” he said. “That's a testament to the song, a testament to the group, that a lot of people still love this song to this day.”

Lastly, "The Journey," which we learned just a few weeks ago, was arranged under Tinig director Roger Mationg. As previously mentioned, this iteration of Lea Salonga's song won us an award at Spring Sing; however, what you may not know is that we simultaneously signed the lyrics in American Sign Language.

While Rex agreed to search for any aforementioned arrangements missing from our repertoire ("Saan Ka Man Naroroon," "Pagbabalik"), such a task remains rather difficult after all this time. Thus, he requests to work together with any arrangers in Tinig, to have a tiny master class in arranging. Shout-out to Claire Garcia, current assistant director!

Back in the beginnings of Tinig, Rex could have hardly known where the group would go, if it would even survive his departure. “I was trying to just get it off the ground, make sure the space was viable... just planting the seed, laying down the foundation... Now, knowing what the group has accomplished throughout the years, and knowing where it's going, I have higher expectations.

“My friend always said to me, 'Dream big, just dream big because you never know.' If your goal, if the group's goal, is to make a big splash at Spring Sing next year—to do something spectacular, dream big. At the end of the day, this is about music. This is about performing. This is about expression. Don't hold yourself back.”

Without Tinig, Rex wouldn't have had many of his musical experiences: writing original music for PCN, learning various Pilipino music forms, learning about the various instruments—the bandurria (essentially a 14-string mandolin), the related octavina and laud for Rondalla music, the kulintang ("a gong version of the xylophone"), and kubing (a bamboo-based mouth harp).[13]

“It will always be my foundation, part of my journey... Once you gain perspective, you kind of go full circle. You have to go back to your past to get to where you need to go. In a way, Tinig and I found each other again because I needed to go back. I'm happy that the group, today and from the past few years, have welcomed me into what is now Tinig. I'm happy that the group is still going, and that it's in good hands. That's what keeps my heart going.”

1. The usual interview time is just under 3o minutes. I’m rather relieved that this came out to only 1.5 more pages than usual for the article, not including notes.

2.  a. For those curious about the various organizations, RAS Music Group, and PAE! Live don’t have their own webpages. Here are links for all of the others: NARAS, BMI, ASCAP  

b. PAE Live! is a production company owned by Ted Benito, a long time friend and business associate of Rex. He's also a Bruin! The next PAE Live! concert is on October 8th (Saturday) where they'll be presenting Martin Nievera at The Ford Amphitheatre.

c. FAN LA has since morphed into Fil-Am Creative, which serves Filipino & Filipino-Americans in the entertainment industry. Rex is still a Board member for this group. Check out the Facebook group and Fil-Am Creative blog!

d. Some old event pages for Alohafest & Jazzmopolitan, both of which were produced by PAE Live! at the Ford. 

3. Nicknames: Rex-N-Effect // Wreckx-n-Effect (Here’s a popular song from them!); instead of “Sexy Rexy,” someone thought it was “Sex Rampage.” Rex just kept the second word.

4. Check the about page for a list of the directors.

5. Filipino-American history can be difficult to find online; here’s what seems to be a decent summary. Small warning: it’s written to be rather incendiary.

6. Do you remember the 21st night of September?

7. Rex has four siblings total. He didn’t learn trumpet from the second eldest brother, nor the violin from his younger brother.

8. While Rex knew SATB, it's been historically difficult to find enough guys for both tenor and bass parts. Actual section leaders came after he left, possibly starting with Jennifer Dailo ('93-'94), but definitely with Roger Mationg ('94-'96).

9. Currently, August Espiritu is a professor of Asian-American studies in Illinois. Rex remembers his great performance of “Anak.” Reportedly, he played guitar and sang so convincingly that people thought he had written it.

10. Mardi Gras Weekend was like a carnival, Rex said. It used to be a huge fundraiser for Unicamp. 

11. a. This is an ambiguous point in history, particularly because Rex lost contact around this time period.

b. Rex believes this is around the time when the first official staff was formed.

"Likely the department asked for some semblance of staff, and then staff expanded in later years. Like I said we didn't really have a staff when I was director, but we were all learning from one another. So I guess everyone was my staff."

c. We are now registered under 'Soul.'

12. In 1997-'98, Rex produced the first PCN CD called Best of PCN Musical Moments (Rampage Productions), which was a compilation including original songs (from 1991-1995), cultural dance numbers (such as Tinikling, etc.), and the SP Theme Song sung by one of the original writers (Mel Ilomin). 

13. Lea Salonga

a. In “The Journey” is a kulintang, played by one of Rex’s friends. Lea Salonga insisted on having a representation of her homeland.

b. According to Rex, she'll be in an episode of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on the CW, more towards the season finale.