
By Joey Salgado
I recently attended a listening party for Goin’ Standard, the vinyl record of former 60s teen idol and now television director Edgar “Bobot” Mortiz. The album was released by independent label Backspacer Records.
Goin’ Standard is Mortiz interpreting songs from the Frank Sinatra songbook with honesty and confidence. The songs selected for the album are dear to Mortiz. These songs, he said during the gathering, served as musical commentaries on the highs and lows of his career and life. Simply singing the songs was not enough. Through these songs he told stories. His own stories.
The title is obviously a play on Goin’ Bulilit, the long-running children’s gag show identified with Mortiz who is the show’s director. After a long absence, the show is back on the air. A second wind, one might say, much like the album where Mortiz breaks a long hiatus from singing.
It was my first time to attend a formal listening party. Music lovers have been doing it for years in more informal settings like the garage or living room, or in the days of portable record players, in outdoor gardens where 7-inch singles carelessly left unattended would melt in the sun.


The home of Vince Pozon has been the venue for informal listening parties of our small circle of old friends. Over bottles of our favorite poison and semi-healthy food, we inflict our musical tastes on each other. The playlist is decided on the spot. It spans genres like 60s pop and rock music or broadway and musicals, or themes such as “song lyrics as literature” and “breakup songs.” These parties, which includes loud, often out-of-key singing, can strain the patience of neighbors, but so far Vince has not received complaints.
Bobot Mortiz’s listening party was held in more sedate surroundings, at the Gallery Bar of Crowne Plaza Hotel. There were only four of us from the audio community, six if you include Rob and Tasha Tuazon of Backspacer, but they were busy at the reception desk and could only manage the occasional peek.
Most of the guests were celebrities, faces you only see on TV dramas or read about in gossip rags. “Iba ang mundo ng showbiz!,” quipped Bobby Coloma, a journalist recently retired from a long stint with a foreign wire service. His last posting was in Singapore where he headed the service’s Singapore and Malaysia bureau. Bob is not a babe in the woods when it comes to listening parties, having attended and hosted quite a few with fellow Pinoy audiophiles belonging to Grupo Hi-Fi, which he co-founded. He was fascinated by the crowd.
But just for that afternoon, these celebrities were fans like us.
The star, of course, was Mortiz, who hopped from table to table, joking with friends, sharing anecdotes and updates, introducing people to each other. Those who hoped that Mortiz would oblige with a song or two were not disappointed. Nearing 70, his voice still brightens the room. He wasn’t Tawag ng Tanghalan champ for 13 weeks for nothing.
Music with plenty of food, beer, and wine. Did I mention celebrities? I’m not complaining.
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