U.O.X. Play Live: Rivermaya speaks

Remember peeps, the next U.O.X. Play Live is this Saturday! U.O.X. Play went electro on 21 February with Ladytron, The Diet Pills, John Fishdot and Arabyrd but this time around, U.O.X Play is rocking it up with bands The Upstairs from Indonesia, KL's Deserters and Seven Collar T-Shirt and Filipino bands Chicosi, Taken By Cars and Rivermaya, who we spoke to recently.

Undoubtedly one of the biggest bands from the Philippines, Rivermaya's line-up has gone through some tumultuous changes over the past 16 years that they've been a band. The current formation includes Jayson Fernandez, Japs Sergio, Mike Elgar and Mark Escueta. Japs, Jayson and Mark took some time to answer some questions in anticipation of this Saturday's show for us.

What are your thoughts when you think about Rivermaya's long career?
Mark: In the words of the great Karen Carpenter: "We've only just begun!"

Jayson: We're very happy and proud because the band keeps getting stronger and is ready to face any challenge.

The band has achieved a lot, what are some things you still feel the band needs to do?
Japs: Continue spreading the music.

Jayson: Right now, I think we need to devote more time and energy to our craft and focus on songwriting so we can release an even better album this year.

Mark: I'd like to be part of a tour with other Asian bands that would bring Asian music to the rest of the world.

What are your thoughts about playing in Malaysia?
Jayson: We're very excited! This is actually going to be our first time in Malaysia and we're looking forward to making lots of new friends.

Mark: It's also great to be sharing this trip with Taken By Cars and Chicosci, you have to check those guys out!

You've performed at different festivals around our region, most notably in Thailand and Singapore, can you share what that experience was like?
Japs: It was a fabulous experience playing in front of people of different nationalities. We made a lot of new friends and witnessed a lot of great artists perform as well.

Jayson: The crowd was great and, more importantly, the food was great! Haha! We feel very lucky to have been given many opportunities to perform and share our music with everybody. We're sure our gig in Malaysia will be very memorable as well.

Mark: The best part is meeting and sharing stories with all the great artists from the region and beyond. We learn so much and it’s always an inspiring time for us. We all share the same dream of being able to share the music with the rest of the world and there's no doubt in my mind that once a collective effort is made, it will happen very soon.

What can we expect from Rivermaya for the rest of the year?
Jayson: More music and more gigs! Hopefully, more visits to Malaysia.

Check out Rivermaya's MySpace here.