“Yes Vibes” to “No Vibes, Just Plans”: Pinay Voltron’s Guide to Balancing Music, Identity, + Community Building
by Jaeya Bayani
Pinay Voltron is a vibrant, multi-generational collective of Pinay + Queer musicians from the Bay Area, CA. With over a decade of experience each, they span genres from Filipino cultural sounds to R&B, Soul, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Jazz. United by a passion for collaboration and support, they aim to create a safe space for queer and Pinay musicians, celebrating the power of Pinay musicianship and B.C.E (Big Coochie Energy).
Photo .courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Pinay Voltron will be creating their debut EP "Everyone’s Busy" featuring three original songs created through their lens as Pinays navigating a fast-paced society.
It will premiere in SOMA Pilipinas with a live performance and community jam session produced by an all-Pinay production crew.
Pinay Voltron @ Undiscovered SF Season 8 10/19/2024 - Video by @UndiscoveredSF team.
Please introduce yourselves, your craft, and the project you are working on.
Charito: We are Pinay Voltron, and we’re musicians, performing artists, and recording artists; we’re in anything to do with music. The project that we’re working on is our first original EP together called, Everyone's Busy. We're excited to make original music because we've been together for 3 years, and this is the first time that we get to put [an EP] that's ours out there.
What are the different roles that each of you play or overlap on within collective?
Charito Soriano, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Charito: My name is Charito. I am a vocalist, but I'm also the band mom. I'm trying to shift that a little bit because all these kids here are grown ass kids, and I'm going to be in my tita years. I need to start gardening and stuff, so I want to pass the roles.
Pinay Voltron: You're the best band mom ever!
Rowenalyn “Chen” Badiango Conlu, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Chen: Hi, my name is Chen. I play the guitar, and sometimes bass and congas. They call me Cha Cha Chen. I'm the hyper aware one, but I feel like we all take turns. We speak up when we need to. Lately, the girls have been taking the lead on everything. I'm currently in school for a doctorate program right now, so it's tough. The girls are handling all the “no vibes,” business stuff. Just plans. I insert myself when I can.
Camille Ramirez, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Camille: My name is Camille. I play bass, sometimes flute, percussion, and eventually I'll be playing saxophone again. Besides that, I help with the flow of our meetings before rehearsal, and the flow of arrangements for our sets because they're constantly shifting around depending on how many members we have for that show.
Jojo: Hello! I am Jojo. I play the drums and percussion. Other than that, I bring the sauce to the group. I don't know how you’d interpret that, but that's all you need to know. [I bring] the fun and the vibes, when we can have vibes. Not now. This is no vibes right now.
Pinay Voltron: [laughs]
Jojo Ramirez, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Mahalina Celi, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Mahalina: Hi! I’m Mahalina. I sing lead and background [vocals]. More recently, I’ve been helping with arranging vocal and…I drive a car to the place.
Pinay Voltron: [laughs] You do that very well.
Anna: Hi, my name is Anna, like the banana 🍌. I play guitar. In this group, I also bring the vibes when vibes are allowed. Recently, I've been helping with finances, rehearsal flow, and arrangement of songs.
Anna Candari, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Tiffany Madjus, Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Tiffany: Hi, my name is Tiffany. I play the guitar, but occasionally I'll play a beat pad. I'll also help out with arrangements and make sure that, now and then, we document our fun little moments offstage, on stage, before stage, after stage, during the gigs, and throughout the whole weekend. I'm also the youngest. I’m the bunsa, so I have that heavy little sister energy going on. I keep everyone on their toes. Everyone has that high-energy/low-energy compatibility [that] feeds into each other beautifully and symbiotically.
“We all think highly of each other, and respect our artistry and musicality as people in general. It’s cool to have that—a super collective of killer musicians, singers, and [overall] artists.”
Photo .courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
What is the origin story behind Pinay Voltron? – By the way, that is the coolest name.
Jojo: Thank you! A few of us have probably met another few of us in different points of each other's lives. Back in September 2021, Jenn Clemena – one of our members who's not here right now and is getting ready to go on tour – needed a group of nine musicians for a gig that she was doing over at Brick & Mortar. She asked Charito, Chen, and Tiff, [which turned into] a ripple effect of, “Hey, I know these musicians [who are] Pinay women.” We were all invited to play at her show, and it was a hit. Everybody loved it. One of the audience members was like, “damn, yo! you guys are like the Pinay Voltron.” It happened like that. That's how we got the name. Somebody named it for us, and we're like, cool.”
Up until this point, what has been the most meaningful experience at Balay Kreative? How has Balay Kreative helped you manifest your vision and intention for your project?
Pinay Voltron x Ruby Ibarra, Photo courtesy of @pinayvoltron
Anna: One of the most meaningful experiences we've had are attending the weekly master classes. I feel that they gave us a lot of insight and additional advice on how to run ourselves as a group. It’s been inspirational [to hear] all the speakers, taking ideas from each of them, and applying it to our project and how we move forward as a group.
Can you let us in on what it’s like to perform alongside and be supported by established, local Fil-Am artists and music industry professionals, considering the crab mentality stereotype within our community?
Charito: All of us have had different journeys, in terms of our experience. I feel like we've all gained a lot of wisdom in these alleyways that we've been in, and with the fact that we've had the opportunity to work with many amazing musicians like Ruby Ibarra. I mean, I think very highly of them [the rest of Pinay Voltron] in general. They are all their own individual artists. Tiffany's a great producer. These two are amazing jazz musicians and vocalists who are super creative.
Pinay Voltron @ The Ford LA 10.05.2024: Backing Up Ruby Ibarra - Video by Pinay Voltron
We've all experienced working with these amazing people throughout the music industry. [We alo have] the challenges of being women, being brown, feeling a little isolated in that process, and that crab mentality and competition that comes with being a musician or being a woman musician. Us meeting together and vibing was really supposed to be a one time gig with Jenn, but when we got together, we felt that synergy and it was so effortless. There was no drama when we [were at places] we need to figure out, “how do we get over this hump? We worked together really well.
[This experience] working with [certain] people in the music industry [aligned us] to get to this point where we don't have that ill intention or competition that may be present within the music industry, with each other. It's been beautiful to shift what that looks like and showing that crab mentality doesn't exist here. We're changing that, especially amongst very powerful Filipinx women. That's how I see the flow of how we're interacting with that.
“We keep it light-hearted and fun in our vibes group chat...it’s a go-to place for us to share something. That keeps the momentum going for sure. ”
Pinay Voltron BTS @ Balay Kreative, video courtesy of @miltonsosamcdonald
How do you keep that synergy alive and remind each other to uplift other creatives in the community?
Pinay Voltron: Do you want to see our group chat? [laughs]
Tiffany: [laughs] We’re actually good about checking in throughout the week. We have a group chat [specifically for] funny life updates, memes, checking in with each other—the fun stuff. Then we have a separate chat that's literally “No Vibes, Just Plans.” It's called “PV #NoVibesJustPants.” That's strictly business. [If] we need to get something done, you tell us there.
If we're feeling down ourselves, we'll share that amongst the group to [open the space and support each other] if anyone else is feeling down or on the same page. We love memes, mood boards, song recommendations.
Is there any advice you have for your younger artistic self, and/or the next generation of Filipinx creatives, in writing?
Anna: I think the advice that I would give to both my younger artistic self and the next generation is to not be afraid to put yourself out there. Early on when I started performing, I was very hesitant about taking gigs or collaborating with people because I'm very shy and I have a lot of social awkwardness. I was like very fearful about performing, but seeing other Pinay women and women in general putting their art out, [it was] super inspiring to me. [It made me] feel like, “I should be going out there and putting my art out.” It's important for people to see representation in that aspect.
Why is it important for the next generation to advocate for the continued integration of our history and elders’ legacy through arts, culture, and ethnic studies into our local community?
Camille: I was thinking about this question yesterday, in case I had to answer it. [PV laughs]
Camille: Imagine looking online and being in a world where we didn't have Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Faith Santilla, Fanny, [and all these artists]. With social media growing almost uncontrollable, it’s like, “what can we do to contribute and make sure that our stories are not buried?”
Mahalina: It's important to have presence, [and] to see other Filipino women in mainstream media or in any media. When growing up – as one of the eldest here – I didn't have that. To have somebody believe in you in that way, and you believe in that person—that [reciprocal] belief is powerful.
“We need to continue to be resilient and fight with the struggles that we have. Every day is a struggle, [and so is] putting ourselves out there...we need to continue to inspire the future generation because, goddammit, we need this for ourselves...for our future, our families, and for the culture.”
Photo courtesy of @alyssamcorpuz.
Chen: I'm also one of the eldest here. [Like Mahalina said], it's important for the future generation to know. I was born in ‘79, and I didn't have anyone who was brown or any Asian that was my color when I was growing up listening to music, except for Michael Jackson—who I listened to a lot when I was younger. It's important because, like Camille said, you don't want to see it get buried. What is my niece [or nephew] going to see the TV?
If you could sum up your signature sound, or amalgamation of sounds, into a Spotify Playlist title, what would it be?
Tiffany: It would be “Cowboy Islander in Their Feels on a Thursday.” “In their feels” is because of all the R&B stuff, but we do a lot of reggae, we have the occasional “Texas Hold'em,” you know?
Pinay Voltron: That’s very true. [laughs)
Anna: Sippin on some gin or soju! [laughs] I'll preface this by saying our upcoming project is likely not going to be a country album. But who knows? Too many secrets.
How would you describe the creative pathways or crafts you practice outside Pinay Voltron?
Tiffany: It's hard to turn that off, but like Chen said, we all wear so many different hats. We do so many different, low-key random, fun things outside [Pinay Voltron], but that's what contributes to our chemistry and synergy in this group. We all bring something super different to the table. We have a whole subunit that goes fishing, a subunit that’s super into martial arts, and a subunit of a solid Fortnite team going on.
Pinay Voltron: Tiffany does a lot of things.
Tiffany: It’s legit. Everybody does something, but we all end up doing it together in some way or form. It's beautiful. I'm super grateful for this group of girls.
Pinay Voltron: Tiffany loves to dance and is our private bartender.
Tiffany: A little side quest is that I've been dancing [for almost exactly a year]. Anna, Mahalina, and Tanya came with me to my first K-pop dance class. Now, I've been going on my own and doing a lot of Hip-Hop + R&B styles. That's my security blanket. I take classes at City Dance. I'll invite friends and they'll come with me, [so] it’s become a big part of my life. Everyone has a fun side quest outside Pinay Voltron that's super cathartic. It's a good, healthy way for us to fill our own cups because, like Chen said, every day is a struggle.
It can be draining trying to keep up with all the hats we wear. I'm also a bartender and I do a lot in terms of keeping up with my own content, as well as making sure [account pages] have content going and memories are recorded. I'm grateful that these girls are so fun inside and outside the band. We all have so much fun and I think that's important.
“We’re all fangirls of each other. [It’s] crazy to be amongst so many women who are not trying to tear each other down, [and who] build each other up in a very genuine way. That’s work and creativity to navigate that.”
Charito: There’s also something to be said about the massive work we all do on ourselves in our relationships—whether it's romantic relationships or our family relationships. Many of us are pretty aware of decolonization work, ancestral trauma, and all that we do individually to tend to that part of us. In a certain way, we can come to together, be more whole, and release with each other in a beautiful way through music and vibes.
That’s a big part for me. I do so much family work that, when I come here, I feel like I'm just in awe of all of them. I feel lucky that they want to play with me.