MANILA -- “Apo Minus One” or “Dalawa Na Lang Po Sila.”

Those were the amusing titles that Apo Hiking Society members Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo candidly thought about for their shows together, after Danny Javier passed on last year.

It still pains them to perform together without Javier, but they have admirably moved on.

Paredes and Garrovillo have decided to be known by their names and officially dropped the collective Apo Hiking Society after Javier was gone. After all, they officially retired from performing as a trio since 2010.

“To us, it was difficult to start with,” Garrovillo told ABS-CBN News. “Jim and I were even asking, ‘Who’s going to do the lead voice of Danny?’

“Danny’s voice is one of a kind, walang kaparis. He always sang the lead in most of Apo’s tunes. But Jim and I were thankful that we’re still healthy enough and project our voices. So nakuha naman. Tunog Apo pa rin.”

• Danny Javier, one-third of APO Hiking Society, passes away at 75

Last December, Paredes and Garrovillo performed together in a live concert at 19 East, their first show together as a duo.

“We’ve performed together in concerts, big and small venues, even in the wake in Japan at 4 a.m. and in provinces,” Paredes shared.

The success of their 19 East, SRO (standing room only) show, with more than 250 in attendance, came unexpected for Paredes and Garrovillo.

“The 19 East show, I knew we have fans,” Paredes said. “But both of us had not been on the radar for a long time. We were not being played on radio. We were not seen on TV.

“When I went there, it was a small place. If we didn’t do well, that was probably alright. But the reception was so amazing. Every song was a sing-along. To think we only had a three-piece band.

“Nag-iba ang sound. We played around the songs. The bass player had to play certain notes that he was not supposed to play. And the lead guitar had to play different notes, too. It worked.”

• 'Excited and nervous': Remaining APO members Jim Paredes, Boboy Garrovillo to stage show

There was even a 17-year-old girl who came with her parents, but knew every Apo song that was being rendered. “She was singing our songs, standing and even dancing,” Garrovillo recalled.

“Sa car, Apo songs were being played. At home, Apo songs were heard all the time. The 19 East concert was a bonding moment for the family.”

After that December performance, Paredes and Garrovillo were invited to headline the Valentine’s concert, “All Heart,” on February 14 and 15 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). They will have back-up singers with them.

“We have to have back up now because the sound of Apo is our harmony,” Garrovillo explained. “We’ve worked on that.

“The two voices will always be there, but we will have two other singers with us to back us up. We have back up to project the sound of Apo.

“Unfair naman if the audience will not hear ang tunog Apo. We’re trying to guarantee that we’re trying to get the old Apo sound.”

Paredes and Garrovillo have recorded songs with only the two of them even when Javier was still around on his sick bed.

“Danny was too sick to even record,” Paredes granted. “You can catch the recording of Boboy and I on YouTube.

“We recorded the song ‘Quarantine Baby.’ I was in Sydney and Boboy was in Manila. Through the wonders of technology, we managed to record together. We were able to do it. The surprise was, when the song was released, people were saying, ‘Tunog Apo’.”

Musical director for “All Heart” is Elmer Blancaflor, while concert director is Calvin Neria. Solo artists in the line-up are Raymond Lauchengco, Wency Cornejo, Ito Rapadas and Roselle Nava.

• Roselle Nava hopes to do a duet of 'Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita' with Gigi de Lana

Since a number of Apo tunes are popular love songs, Paredes and Garrovillo simply chose the best ones for their repertoire.

“We just chose the gooey, the sweetest, ’yung pinaka-malagkit,” Garrovillo stressed.

“One is a long medley of our hits, without even touching the big ones,” Paredes shared. “The opening is a different medley, too.

“A Valentine’s show has to be on point. We’ve written so many songs. We chose the best love songs. The way that they’ve been arranged, they are really different from how we know them. What we aim for is to surprise and delight the audience.

“We are very thankful for this, the thankful element now. Even if it is just the two of us onstage, the moment a song starts, the audience would sing along right away.

“It’s the song that carries us now. When you’re recording, you carry the song. But when the song gets popular, even if there’s only one Apo who sings it, the show has a life of its own.

“We are thankful, we have many songs that are like that. That’s why we are still around.”

Some of their songs were written and completed within a long span of time. For instance, Paredes wrote “When I Met You” and did not add the bridge until seven months later.

“You can’t dictate inspiration,” Paredes explained. “You just have to catch it.”

Meanwhile, Garrovillo penned the ballad, “Paano” long after he was married. “I met this girl na nakipag-hiwalay sa love niya at nasaktan talaga. Sobrang galit na galit siya with men that she didn’t want to fall in love again.”

“If I court someone like that girl, I was thinking how she could learn to fall in love again. Subukan mong magmahal ulit. Ang hirap mag-convince ng babae to fall in love again after she was hurt.”

Paredes is also proud about the heartbreak songs that he wrote like, “Tuyo ng Damdamin.”

“There was a friend who told me his wife had left him,” Paredes shared. “He said, ‘I can’t fake it anymore. There’s nothing left.’ I simply wrote that in Tagalog.”

“Kahit na anon’g gawin, ‘di mo na mapigil at madaya. Aminin sa sarili mo na wala ka ng mabubuga.”

“I thought every group should have a great heartbreak song. That’s why I wrote ‘Tuyo ng Damdamin.’ That was around 1987.

“In this world, you either set the trend or you chase it. In our case, we just wrote what we felt without following a trend. The feeling is organic. When it’s organic, it’s real. Mas kakapit sa tao.

“You are not trying to get stylized. You are not being pretentious. That’s one element with Apo.

“We didn’t try to be whatever artist of the Philippines. We wanted to write songs of the love life of ordinary Filipinos. That’s real. I don’t think we’re great singers, we are just so-so singers. But when we got together, something happened, that’s magic.

“If you’re a traveler and others ask you what direction you are treading, you will point to the mountain. Sundan mo lang ‘yung bundok. In our case, without us planning it, kami ‘yung naging bundok.”

In their future concerts, Paredes and Garrovillo plan to render their songs which never became hits.

“Marami din ‘yun,” Garrovillo said. “Hindi niyo narinig or na-mintis niyo lang. Then you would say, ‘On nga. Bakit hindi nag-hit ‘yan?’ That’s what we want to hear from among our listeners, our audience.

“Jim calls those song our ‘misses.’ Not our misis [wives], but our misses. Actually, we are thinking of something like that.

“There’s one song that Danny wrote and re-recorded but we never sang it as a group. I don’t know. It’s a very jazzy number and it tells everything about the person, that’s Danny. That song is ‘Care.’

“In time, I’m sure Jim and I will find time to sing again those songs and we will give them back to you.”

The two artists are looking forward to collaborate with the younger ones. Paredes, for instance, worked with Gloc 9 in “Iisang Tao.”

“It was such a pleasure to work with Gloc 9,” Paredes maintained. “We have this mutual admiration. A lot of people send me songs personally that they write because I give workshops in songwriting.”

“But we will approach the younger artists for collab because we have something different in mind,” Paredes insisted.

This July 2023, Paredes and Garrovillo are preparing for an even bigger concert, the 50th year of the Apo Hiking Society. That is certainly something to look forward to.

Related video:

Watch more News on iWantTFC