{"id":9707,"date":"2025-09-22T09:05:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T07:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/?p=9707"},"modified":"2025-09-22T09:39:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T07:39:55","slug":"im-interview-mit-the-thinkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/im-interview-mit-the-thinkers\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with The Thinkers: From Manila out into the rock scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi and welcome to Lila's interview!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When talking about the Filipino music scene, many people first think of pop, maybe even K-pop influences. But what if I told you that the Philippines should also be known for its rock music? That's where The Thinkers come in: a duo with a lot of heart and their own identity, because they have the courage to swim against the mainstream.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I spoke to Troy and Anthony, who have reinvented their band during the pandemic and are now launching it with a mix of 90s nostalgia, classic rock and a good dash of philosophy. In conversation, it quickly became clear that it's about more than just the music, but about attitude; about moving on when the going gets tough, and about the joy of inspiring the world with their sound.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>(You can find the English original in the translation at the bottom right. We have translated the interview into German).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Special Thanks to: Axis, Troy &amp; Anthony. You guys are amazing!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>For our immortals, who are discovering you for the first; me, please introduce yourself and tell us anything our readers - or \"Thinkers\" - should know?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>Hi, we are <i>The Thinkers<\/i>A rock duo from Manila, Philippines. I\u2019m Troy, the band\u2019s singer,\nsongwriter, and guitarist. Although we officially launched in October 2022, the story really goes\nback to 2017 when my previous band broke up. I went solo for a while, but whenever I played\nlive, it occurred to me that I needed a backing band. That\u2019s how <i>Troy Alcala &amp; The Thinkers<\/i>first came to life. Anthony was already part of that backing band.<br \/>\nThen the pandemic hit in 2020 and everything came to a halt. That pause made me rethink things\u2014I didn\u2019t just want a \u201cbackup\u201d band anymore. I wanted a real band, with its own identity, new repertoire, and a fresh look. Fortunately, Anthony was on board right away. That\u2019s when <i>The Thinkers<\/i> truly took shape.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>Hey, I\u2019m Anthony \u2014 or Tonyo, whichever you prefer. I\u2019m the drummer, and I\u2019ve been behind the kit since I was in 2nd grade, so that\u2019s over 30 years of drumming under my belt. I first met Troy back in 2014, and by 2016 I was already playing with him as a session drummer for his former band. <i>The Thinkers<\/i> is the first official band we\u2019ve built together.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Your newest single \"Hey! Wait!\" brings a refreshing and distinctive take on rock music. The energy, the attitude; all there. What was the creative process like, and what message would you like to bring across?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>It started with a riff, and I just put words that aligned with the theme of the song\u2014heavy\nand upbeat. During the pandemic, I also came across Stoicism and read several books about it,\nwhich became part of my songwriting. \"Hey! Wait!\" is one of the songs that draws from that\nstudy. Our creative process is very straightforward: I usually write the whole song on an acoustic\nguitar, complete with melody and lyrics, then pass it to Anthony so he can work on his drum\nparts. Once we meet in the studio, we arrange everything together and fine-tune until it really\nhits the right note.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>Like our other songs, it is a collaborative effort. Troy comes up with the riff and lyrics, I listen to it and pretty much stitch the song together in the studio. The song shouts positivity and pushing forward despite hardships.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Is there a central theme, you want listeners to focus on in \u201cHey! Wait!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>They can focus on the energy of the song. Lyrically, it\u2019s kind of a motivational track\u2014something they can lean on to feel better on a rough day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>Yeah, exactly. Like I said earlier, the song really highlights the positive side of life. Nothing too deep or complicated\u2014it\u2019s simply a reminder to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"BorlabsCookie _brlbs-cb-youtube\">\n<div class=\"_brlbs-content-blocker\">\n<div class=\"_brlbs-embed _brlbs-video-youtube\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_brlbs-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/wp-content\/plugins\/borlabs-cookie\/assets\/images\/cb-no-thumbnail.png\" alt=\"YouTube\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"_brlbs-caption\">\n<p>By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"_brlbs-btn _brlbs-icon-play-white\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-unblock role=\"button\">Load video<\/a><\/p>\n<p><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"unblockAll\" value=\"1\" checked> <small>Always unlock YouTube<\/small><\/label><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"borlabs-hide\" data-borlabs-cookie-type=\"content-blocker\" data-borlabs-cookie-id=\"youtube\"><script type=\"text\/template\">PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iVGhlIFRoaW5rZXJzIC0gSGV5ISBXYWl0ISIgd2lkdGg9IjExODAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjY0IiBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUtbm9jb29raWUuY29tL2VtYmVkLzg2cW9BdW1kdXo0P2ZlYXR1cmU9b2VtYmVkIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgYWxsb3c9ImFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXI7IGF1dG9wbGF5OyBjbGlwYm9hcmQtd3JpdGU7IGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYTsgZ3lyb3Njb3BlOyBwaWN0dXJlLWluLXBpY3R1cmU7IHdlYi1zaGFyZSIgcmVmZXJyZXJwb2xpY3k9InN0cmljdC1vcmlnaW4td2hlbi1jcm9zcy1vcmlnaW4iIGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbj48L2lmcmFtZT4=<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>You\u2019re currently working on your debut album, which is exciting news! How has the process been so far? Are there particular moments or challenges in the studio that have stood\nout?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>We record our songs on analog tape. It\u2019s a tough nut to crack, but it\u2019s a lot of fun too. It really makes us feel like professional musicians because we do everything live \u2014 and if we slip up, well, it\u2019s back to square one. That\u2019s why every song feels extra special; we put our heart and soul into every single take. And once we finally nail it, it\u2019s like music to our ears \u2014 super fulfilling once we get the best take.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>It\u2019s been great \u2014 we really love cooking up new songs. The last four we worked on turned out solid, and right now we\u2019re just putting the finishing touches on them before hitting record. The biggest hurdle for me as a drummer is not having a bassist. A lot of my grooves really come alive when there\u2019s bass backing them up. But since we\u2019re a rock duo, Troy and I roll\nup our sleeves and work together \u2014 he spends extra time helping me lock in the beats, and that teamwork keeps things tight.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Many artists use their first album to introduce not only their sound, but their identity. To\nwhat extent do you feel this record captures who you are and what can listeners\nlook forward to on it?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #c99f29;\"><strong>Troy:<\/strong>That\u2019s true. Your very first album is critical because, as they say, first impressions last. With this record, we\u2019re staying true to who we are\u2014a straight-up rock band. no unnecessary complications. Just songs written as honestly as possible, recorded as honestly as possible. We want people to hear it the way it\u2019s meant to be heard. No overthinking, just enjoying a good, old-fashioned rock album.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #c99f29;\"><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>We\u2019re hoping our upcoming album will leave a mark and create a distinct sound for our listeners\u2014something that will make it easy for them to identify our band whenever a new song comes out. If they love rock with a touch of 90\u2019s flavor, they\u2019re in for a treat.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Imagine your album is out and people are streaming it, sharing it, buying it, loving it. What are your hopes and goals after the release?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>That would be awesome! We just want our album to reach as many people as possible, and hopefully, it\u2019ll be our ticket to playing around the world. Lately, our music has been picking up some nice buzz from different parts of the globe, so we\u2019re hopeful we\u2019ll get the chance to perform live in those places too.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>One of our biggest hopes is that this first album will be our foot in the door to play outside the Philippines. If things go well, that\u2019ll just light a fire under us to keep cranking out more songs\u2014and hopefully full albums down the line.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Here in Germany, we have a thriving rock, punk and metal scene, including a large and connected underground base. As representatives of your own local scene, how would you describe the rock scene in the Philippines? What makes it unique?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>The rock scene in the Philippines is diverse. I don\u2019t know if that makes us unique, but one thing\u2019s for sure\u2014Filipinos can adapt to just about anything, even in music. Right now, the spotlights on pop, K-pop, ballads, and rap, so rock tends to take a back seat. These days, it\u2019s more about crossovers and collaborations between genres. Still, we\u2019re hopeful that rock will make a comeback like it used to. That\u2019s one reason we decided to go against the grain. I\u2019ve\nwanted to write rock music ever since I was a kid\u2014sure, I can write pop too\u2014but with The Thinkers, I finally get to do it and carve out our own path.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>Rock music here really peaked in the 90s and early 2000s. These days, not so much\u2014the airwaves are packed with pop, ballads, and K-pop. But the indie scene? That\u2019s where you\u2019ll find some of the best rock bands the country has to offer. What makes it unique is how OPM rock has evolved by blending with other genres. And honestly, I think there\u2019s still a\nchance for rock to rise and dominate again.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>If there were one element or spirit from your scene that you\u2019d love to introduce to the German rock scene, what would it be and is there something you would love to experience here in Germany yourself?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>Filipinos have this natural affinity for music\u2014it just runs in our veins. Honestly, it feels like seven out of ten people here can sing or play an instrument. That\u2019s the spirit we\u2019d love to share anywhere in the world. We\u2019re adaptable\u2014we can pick up any style, any dialect, and just make music out of it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>As for us, we carry the spirit of the 90s. We\u2019d love to give Deutschland that nostalgic kick with our music. On a personal note, I\u2019ve always dreamed of experiencing the real Oktoberfest in Germany\u2014hopefully one day we\u2019ll make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Alright, let\u2019s talk about dream collaborations: if you could collaborate with any artist or band, past or present, who would it be and why?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>Of course, as huge Beatles fans, we\u2019d love nothing more than to collaborate with Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr. That would be the ultimate reward for Beatle freaks like us. But beyond that, we\u2019d also love the chance to work with the Gallagher brothers from Oasis, Thom Yorke from Radiohead, or Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>My biggest influences are <i>Travis<\/i> and the <i>Dave Matthews Band<\/i>. I\u2019ve been a fan since high school, and a lot of my beats are inspired by them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Finally, what is something about your band (a fun fact, an inside joke or philosophy) that your fans don't know yet, but should?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>Our followers\u2014present and future\u2014should know that at the end of the day, we\u2019re just good guys. Haha! <i>The Thinkers<\/i> may have over two decades of experience between us, but we still know how to have fun while making music. We love eating together, hanging out, and when we\u2019re not on stage or in the studio, we\u2019re honestly just homebodies. Simple guys doing what we love.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony:<\/strong>And here\u2019s a little fun fact for our listeners\u2014our fans don\u2019t all know this yet, but we call our female fans the <i>Thinkerbelles<\/i>, and as for the guys, it\u2019s the <i>Peter Fans<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lila:<\/strong>Thank you so much for the interview! Is there anything you would like to add?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Troy:<\/strong>You\u2019re very welcome! And thank you for having us again\u2014it really means a lot. Everyone can follow us on all our social media platforms. We love connecting with people, so don\u2019t be shy\u2014slide into our DMs and say hi anytime. And of course, we\u2019re really hoping to see audiences in Germany soon. We\u2019ve heard there are a lot of amazing gigs over there. <i>Maraming salamat!<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Maraming salamat!\u00a0<\/i> The Thinkers stand for new beginnings and for a kind of passion that keeps rock music alive again and again. And perhaps that is precisely their greatest strength: honest, direct and uncompromising, just the way rock is.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Click here for her <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/thethinkersound\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linktree<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photocredit: Arvis Lois Nadura \/ @arvivisuals<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: Cinzel;\">Lila is out, be the beat with you!<\/span><\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When talking about the Filipino music scene, many people first think of pop maybe even K-pop influences. But what if I told you that the Philippines also has...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,721],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-the-thinkers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9707"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9715,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9707\/revisions\/9715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlight.rocks\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}