by Roxanne Diolazo
YEAR-END PARTY
ENDING THE YEAR WITH A BANG!
2015
Last December 12, 2015 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, RealPage Philippines said adieu to 2015 with Wreck the Halls, an awesome party filled with electrifying music, surprising giveaways, and delectable food. Spearheaded by the retention team, the theme of the night was glam rock and to my pleasant surprise, a huge number of individuals came in all dressed up to the nines. From grunge statement shirts to glamorous designer dresses, everyone stepped up their game for selfies and of course, groufies at the two photobooths. I even saw a couple of partygoers who went all out with bold wigs and elaborate costumes!
With the gorgeous Emmanuelle Vera as the host, we were treated with a fun-filled night that started with tempting, gourmet offerings at the buffet tables. We were also entertained by our dear managers with a classic Christmas dance number, complete with Santa hats! One of the highlights of the event was the string of amazing giveaways, which were taken home by the fortunate attendees whose names were pulled from a seemingly magical bowl. Bluetooth speakers, tablets, hoverboards, Crowne Plaza overnight stays, and HP laptops, among many others, were all freely given. If those aren’t impressive enough, a grand prize of a 42” LED Smart TV was brought home by a lucky intern! Right, we’re not drooling with envy or anything. Congrats to all the winners!
The awesomeness didn’t end there, though. The main event of the night was the rocking performances of the bands who completely slayed it onstage. A whole slew of alternative, heavy metal, and pop rock covers of iconic songs were played by the bands from different teams, some of which were formed merely a day before the event! This is true for the grand winner, Yieldstar from Level One Marketing, which is composed of Dymalyn Brusola, Joseph Jerome Fortuno, Aylwin Rayray, and Kenneth Solivio, and Emmanuel Magat. Check out our interview with them below:
Tell us how the band came together and why the name “Yieldstar”?
Jade Sierra helped us meet up and made an introduction possible. Awel, Rayray, and Seph were on training then. We decided not to play anymore 3 days before the event, since we didn’’t have a lead guitarist. A day before the party, Sharlynne Ronquillo from our TAC, introduced us to her then-trainee Kenneth, now our lead guitarist. Our bassist Aylwin Rayray was the one who thought about it. Luckily, we are all in marketing, and Yieldstar is one of our optimized pricing sheet method. And that became our journey as a band.
What songs did you perform at the year-ender party and what inspired you to choose those songs?
Our first choice was My Hero or Playing God by Paramore, but we didn’t have enough time to prepare for the song since the band was formed a day before the Christmas Party. Demz suggested ESEM revival by YENG CONSTANTINO. It was an easy piece and all of us already knew it. Besides I think everyone can relate to the song. Sometimes we get frustrated in our life and ironically, the song is inspiring in a way. It’s one of the greatest rock song of the 90’s!! (We were the only band who played a local song and we were surprised that we won.)
Do you have any musical influences or other bands that you look up to?
We have a lot of musical influences actually. To name a few, these are Urbandub, Paramore, Agaw Agimat , Incubus, Rage Against the Machine, Boyz II Men, Brian Culbertson, Michael Jackson, System of a Down, Typecast, Up Dharma Down, Taken by Cars, Fall Out Boy, Underoath, Saosin, Silverstein, and Taking Back Sunday. There’s actually a lot more from new wave, grunge, indie, and metal genres but there’s not enough space to mention all of them.
After winning the grand prize of Php 20,000 (congrats!), how did you guys celebrate?
We never got a chance to celebrate after winning because we have different shifts. We spent the money wisely with our family and bought the good stuff that we need.
The year-end party was a huge success, if I say so myself. Vice President Jenny Constantino ended the night with a rousing and inspiring speech on the road to being the new Alphas. 2015 was a good year for all us, but we can definitely do better this 2016 with a winning attitude, exemplary work, and inspiring commitment to excellence.
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*Photos c/o Joni Cabrera and Jose Victor Pelayo