Photo Aries Yu
Two regular Coke cans are visible backstage. One is on the tile floor. The other is held by Stephen Speaks, sipping the soda through its tiny opening lid every now and then.
Isn’t that bad for the voice?—we sound concerned, yet, pretentious of the little knowledge we have about the anatomy of the larynx among professional vocalists.
We sing in the shower, anyway, and that gives us the right to care. But if it would ever damage his voice—knock on wood, no—his music would already be anointed as the least forgettable last song syndrome of our lives.
“A good song will always be a good song,” the singer, nay Rockwell Ryan Ripperger and a native of Oklahoma, says 20 minutes before he appears on stage for a mini concert at the Activity Center of Ayala Center Cebu on a late Sunday afternoon in February.
“I am a lover boy. My friends always joke that I had fallen in love with every girl I dated, which is kind of true. I am a romantic kind of a dreamer… I am romantic and optimistic, and I hope that would never change.”
For over a decade, an era way too early for Ed Sheeran, we got gifted with hit songs “Passenger Seat” and “Out of My League” that still strike up a thrill, enthralling listeners on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
With a new album “Alive to Fight” (also the title of his recent benefit show for Marawi heroes) that succeeded the rock-and-roll spirited “Age of the Underdog” in 2011 tucked in, Ripperger’s swan dive into the blue caught us unguarded with some of our own.
“I lost my wife. She went back to her parents, and she called me to inform that she had a miscarriage. I lost our baby. Somebody broke into my car.
Why do people like to steal what I have?” he ponders. “I got up and do what I
already know. I borrowed someone else’s guitar and made music.”
No one could expect the force of the tempest.
We’ve done everything. We’ve tried everything, and we’ve read everything. We’ve asked, tweeted, blogged, and prayed.
Would we ever find love among the ruins, too?
The answer, perhaps, is seriously out of whack with reality, which is the threshold of a millennial’s soliloquy.
In a scale of one to Stephen Speaks, how high can you fare in a videoke truce?
Tell us more about your latest album.
I’ve released one single so far called “Walk On,” and I made a music video that stars my three-year old son. I am working on a new
album called “Alive to Fight.”
It’s the name of this tour and my new album that would come out this summer. I’ll come back here this September to promote that album.
What makes this different from all you have made?
Actually, my last album was really different. The last album I did was pretty rock and roll.
This album is less different; it’s more going back to my roots. It would sound the most like the classic Stephen Speaks that you guys know—“Passenger Seat,” “Out of My League.” It will be more like that than the other albums I had.
I am just like a lot of musicians who get bored of the same sound. They change their sound over the years, which I have done also. It will have a little bit more modern touch, some pads and keys.
Why did you shift genres?
It’s just like the nature of things to go back eventually to your roots, kind of branch out and try a few different things. I want to go back to where I started. Not to mention, that was the most popular music that I ever had. I think it just made sense to go back.
Was it difficult?
No. I have a recording studio at home, so I produce a lot of music. I was actually a producer before becoming a musician myself. I produced heavy metal bands. I produced rap, hip-hop, country, Christmas music.
I have produced all kinds of genres. I really like all kinds of genres. So I find pretty easy to change my sound. It’s harder to keep the same sound but make it unique. That really comes down to a good song or a good message.
How was your videoke bar experience?
It was my first time in a videoke bar. What happened to a videoke bar—I didn’t know how much fun it was.
It was a ton of fun. We went last night with some staff at the hotel.
They put on a “Passenger Seat.” That’s not the end of the story. I sang it, and the videoke gave me a 51 percent (laughs). I sang a Jay-Z and I got a hundred.
Why is that song everlasting?
“Passenger Seat” has a pretty universal message. Everybody knows what it feels like to be driving a car with somebody you’re in love with. But it’s difficult to find, you know, a lyric or title that has not even done, catchy but still meaningful.
That’s the hardest thing for me—to find a good idea for a song. If I have a good idea in my head, the rest becomes so easy.
You are so well-loved by the Filipinos.
I feel like the Filipinos as a culture are lovers—very kind, sweet, loving people.
Romantic songs, dreamy songs, which are good for me because I am naturally that way.
I am a lover boy. My friends always joke that I had fallen in love with every girl I dated, which is kind of true.
I am a romantic kind of a dreamer. I think that is why my music has done so well here. I think that is why I love the Philippines so much. We have that in common.
What is the secret to your longevity despite the many music revolution?
Number one is a good song–a good song will always be a good song. Number two is timeless production. Eighties music was all about drum machine.
In 2000s, they all had bubble gum pop. The trends change over the years. But the music that lasts goes back to acoustic guitar, drums, piano.
Those instruments will never be out of style. “Out of My League” is a piano ballad that will never go out of style. Piano ballads will exist as long as humans exist.
To me, that is another reason that I am going back to roots.
If the production is simple, it makes music timeless. If you follow all the trends, you immediately date your music. As soon as the trend dies so do your songs.
What’s your advice to future musicians?
Be passionate. Mean what you say. Don’t be afraid to expose your feelings. That’s really where people connect to. Keep your production simple and good. Don’t over produce your music.
Have you noticed some changes in your music as you age?
I am not sure if I have matured at all (laughs). I have gotten better with what I do. But I would say not much has been changed. I haven’t changed much.
My music hasn’t changed much. It’s just the same love songs—meaty and cheesy. I am romantic and optimistic, and I hope that would never change.
The childlike heart—I hope never to lose that.
Is your son a potential musician, too?
He’s three. His mom is a ballerina; his dad is a musician. He’s probably artistic in some way.
He already loves music … singing and dancing. If he wants to do that, more power to him.
