FULL INTERVIEW: Mike Dizon on drumming for 3 bands, love for food transcript

Sir, uh, first of all, thank you. It's an honor to have you here. >> Thank you, Len. >> Yeah, such a busy point in your 2026. I bet it's been super crazy for you because um yep >> of course sandwich drop two new singles and then teeth it's having its union tour. So >> kamusta? Like how are you handling and taking everything in? Ah ano naman um ano ba challenge accepted eh. So parang bring it on nakakaganong mode. >> Mm.

That's good. Pero say I wanted to go back to the very beginning to kind of trace your roots as a musician. You mind telling us about how you got into playing drums in the first place? >> How I got into playing drums, of course, dapat may nag-influence, no? Yung family kasi namin very ano ah yung music kumbaga naka-intertwine sa family namin from the lolo, the titas may mga professional na musician sa mga lolo. Yung tita ko professional musician, yung dad ko nagka-classical guitar and nagba-band.

So nung bata ako, sumasama ako sa jamming nila and fascinated talaga ako sa drums. At an early age siguro mga 8 nagpapabili na ako ng drums and they thought na wala lang yan. Naglalaro yan. Not until nung um first year high school na ako. Sumasama na ako sa dad ko and then nagpaturo ako sa kanya ng basics ng drumming and everything else. Yun na yun. Sunod-sunod na yun. Oo. Sino 'yung mga ano artist na pinapakinggan mo at the time na you're really starting to fall in love with playing the drones?

Ah, ang weird. Pero yung formative years ko ah with regards ano sa playing ko ah yung mga surf music nung ano nung 1960s kasi yun music nung dad ko eh parang mga RJ mga shadows and ventures pero yung local heroes ko during that time nung 80s the don talagang talagang sila yung nagsimula yung mga urban bandit yung mga woods betray lahat nung ah twisted red cross artists nung independent label dati. So OPM has a big influence on me.

Of course dela Cruz din. Mm. >> Oo. >> Yeah. Sir, it's insane cuuse we just had the don here on our show on live Jam parang >> a few months back. >> Oo. >> Grabe iyung stamina nila they still sound as good as they did before. >> Of course nandoon yun ang ano natin eh. Um kumbaga gods of course I wanted to like trace back your ano your pagbabanda mo. You were one of the founding members of Rift Shifta and then eventually naging teeth.

So paano ba yung nagsimula? Okay. Yung yung ah pagba-band namin parang naging natural yung ah transition from playing ah na mag-isa nag-aral sa Yamaha Music. Tapos yung kasi we study in a small school sa may BF Homes Parañque. Um so yung nagkakakilala na during the time ko hindi pa yung interested sa music eh. So makikita mo siya sa ibang batch. Nakita ko doun si Jerome, si Peds neighbor ko by the way halos kaming neighbors kami sa teeth.

Yun yung first band ko although rip shifta technically um some members din ng teeth yun. plus um galing din sa high school namin manalesa. So basically ang ang common is we all came from the same um village parang ganon the same school. So nag-gravitate kami towards each other kasi mahilig kami sa music. Mm. Tsaka rock. Rock yung music namin. Yon. How did the transition from Rift to teeth happen? Parang was it natural or delo yung nung nung rip shift yung ibang members parang magfo-focus na sa college kasi magka-college na kami non eh.

And then si Glen naman during that time meron siyang established na band. Eksakto nag-disband sila. And sin parang sabi namin try kaya gay natin si Glenn kasi wala. Exakto. Singer siya. Singer 'yung nawala sa amin. Uh schoolmate naman namin siya. Ka-basketball namin siya. And then may magic nung first gig namin na parang naano niya 'yung crowd. Marunong siyang maglaro ng crowd. Marunong siyang maging frontman. Parangisip namin nung kasi core group na kami sa teeth non eh.

Although hindi pa teeth sabi niya pwedeng mag-work to with Glenn. And then yun na nag-start na kaming mag covers muna and then sumubok mag-write ng original compositions. Mm. Yun na. In co-founding teeth, was there a specific kind of energy that you personally wanted to bring to the band and the music that you would eventually make? >> Energy. I think we all have the same energy during that time kasi ano kami teens. Alam mo yun parang mapusok, may may galit, may thirst.

So um yung work mode namin sa rehearsal studio as in almost everyday no girlfriends talagang yung girlfriend namin instruments namin. So beast mode kami during that time. So madali lang gusto namin ilabas din yung energy nung pinili naming music that time. Nagsimula kami sa parang Pinoy Rock and then nag-transition into Grunch nung nauso na iyung Grunch nung early 90s. So yun na yung nag doon kami talaga nag-ano ah nakilala.

Mhm. It's insane to think sir na 33 years counting na iyung teeth. Was it something that you did you expect na you guys would last this? No. Ah. If only I knew inisip ko ibang course na lang sana yung kinuha ko. Siguro malapit na lang sana sa music. Kasi never in our wildest uh imagination o sa dreams namin na we will still be doing this uh 33 years ba na ba ongoing pa parang encounting um very grateful talaga sobra >> I was watching your interview with Rico Blanco on the making of Laklak and um parang naalala ko na Glenn assigned each of you to write something pero nung pagdat Titingnan ng deadline, you had nothing. >> Yeah.

Oo. >> Paano mo eventually na-overcome iyung like initial cluelessness mo on songwriting to write lak? Yeah. Kasi ano nga eh yung binigyan kami ng demo tapes. Apat kami. Sabi, "Okay, try to write a song." Tapos si Glen nag-ano siya, nagvolunteer siya. Sige. Hindi ko masabi yung title nung ano nung [tawanan] pero medyo bastos yung gusto niyang ano eh tema T's English eh hindi rin niya nagawa. So because of the deadline, um kaya madaling araw ko nagawa iyung kanta eh.

Um ah play rewind play rewind ng isang cassette tapos nag-scrible lang ako ng ano. Sabi ko, "Ah, okay. Mahilig ako uminom ngayon eh." Pero I that that time iniisip ko parang masyado pang batao. So nilagay ko lang 'yung thoughts ko and then naalala ko 'yung lola ko na nakakatawa. Sabi niya, "Ah, Michael, sabi ng daddy mo, umiinom ka na daw ng serbesa." Sabi niya, "Gann masama 'yan." Ganun. And then yung may line kasi doun na lola pahingi ng pangtoma.

Ano lang figurative naman yun eh. Kasi nakikita ko siya during Christmas ganyan. pagmano, bibigyan ka niya ng pera. So yung pera [tawanan] pinabibili namin ng beer. So yun yung parang word play or parang pan na lola pahingi ng pantoma parang ganon. So yun nabuo yung kanta, nabuo yung laklak kasi nga walang nakapagsulat sa amin. So by accident nangyari siya. Yeah. And by now parang it's become a staple talaga sa mga inuman ng mga Pinoy.

How does that feel? Parang naexpect mo ba yun? Ah nakakatuwa. Nakakatuwa. Um na up to now parang pag may videoke or kahit hindi ko banda ginagawang most of the bands now yun iyung last song nila eh. Parang locklak. So, wow, [tawanan] thank you. Gan >> where did writing Laklak kind of help you build your momentum to write, you know, teach other songs in the future? Ah, alam mo hindi naman ah nag-motivate sa akin to write songs yung Laklak.

Pero um kasi nga yung situation namin during that time wala pa si Doc Serio non eh. Si Doc serios are pinaka-recent member sa tita sa very prolific songwriter. So during that time parang ako lang yung masipag or ano ba pur si magsulat kasi ah gusto ko na matapos yung album, gusto ko na makatugtog. So yun na parang kaya parang lumalabas ang dami kong nasulat or hindi naman intension. Walang intensyon talaga. Parang because of the need.

Yun. Naalala ko you also mentioned na sa first album niyo most if not all of the songs were very literal based on literal experiences. [tawanan] Can you tell me more about that? Um ano nga ba to? So sobrang literal ano kasi hindi naman ah first of all hindi ko alam paano magsulat ng kanta. Kaya looking back pag pinapakinggan ko parang medyo cringe. Parang ano baung iniisip ko? Sobrang literal nito eh. Pero baka ano rin eh yung yung times na yun yun din yung hini parang hinihingi nung ano e nung yung mga kasabay kasi naming bands ganun din magsulat eh.

So baka 'yun pa lang yung meron nung time na yon. Um pero nag-evolve naman siya ah through the year. So ang isang nagturo sa akin ng sabi niya ganito ako magsulat. Uh si Raymond Malasigan malaki yung tinuro niya sa amin na pwedeng hindi literal pwedeng pwedeng figurative parang ganon. So inapply namin and at saka hindi lang sa writing pati sa arrangement marami natulong si si Rico, si Raymond, lahat ng FRM, si Perf River Maya.

So tulong-tulong din. Mhm. What did it take for you to you know eventually improve your craft at songwriting and to parang overcome yung pagsusulat na parang literal talaga yung ano ah what did I do? Um ano ba? Be inspired I think. So tapos napapansin ko yung active yung ah mind at least for me pag mga madaling araw nandun yung sweet spot parang uy creative ah. So nung nung nalaman ko na yung mga style ng mga ibang tao like sinabi ni Rams pag meron ka daw naisip na line sulat mo na ' ba dati wala pang phone eh so literal na isinusulat and then aassemblein mo na lang yun pag may naisip ka ang ganda ng line na to ah huwag mo ng palampasin baka makalimutan maisulat mo na agad so yun lang wala naman talaga akong ni-research na on how to be better pero more Ah be pag inspired ka at may naisip ka isulat mo na.

Ah material yun ganon. Naalala niyo pa ba like what the most outlandish or out of the ordinary place was na bigla mong naisip na magsulat ng isang lyric? Ah alam mo weird always on ano eh while taking a shower. [tawanan] So parang ang ganda ng naisip ko na line na yun. Nabibilisan ko na nga tapos ah nowadays ilalagay ko na sa phone ko parang ganon. Always sa shower. Weird. Paano 'yun? Parang sinusulat niya sa whiteboard sa shower.

Hindi hindi hindi. Ganyan na eh. Parang ito na eh. Present time na 'yun. Parang nilalagay ko na sa phone ko doun sa notes ganun. Mmm. And you know along the way sir ba you also join sandwich and then eventually pedy cab and these three bands with teeth very distinct iyung mga sound nila. M >> so in all of these genres, do you see yourself like taking on a different persona depending on the band that you're playing with or is it just like you talaga?

Ah with regards sa persona wala siguro pero conscious yun na kumbaga calculated move iyun na teeth ganito iyung sound so hindi siya magka-clash with sandwich. Nung pumasok yung nung late 90s medyo experimental yung sandwich. Dalawang singer, tatlong guitarista. Sabi ko, "Hindi to clash." And then midway ng sandwich, parang ah meron akong type of music na gustong pasukin, genra. Sabi ko, "I think perfect fit dito." Si si Jason Cabal yung una ko naisip eh.

So sabi ko Jason, dagdag tayo ganito yung ano hindi siya katunog ng sandwich. So ano siya ko kailangan mag-change ng ibang mic deon dito kasi iyung ah collective ah image nung band na finorm ko, yun na yung magdadala nung ano eh hindi ko na kailangan magpalit ng persona eh given na na okay pwede ka ganito yung sound sandwich ganito ganito iyung teeth so did it ever feel difficult or challenging to you know parang switch from genra to genra kapag >> no no challenge at all ah In fact, sobrang saya kasi you get to play iyung ibang yyung ibang tao na isa lang iyung banda stock sila doon 'di ba?

Parang ako parang y meron akong ano, may playtime ako with pedicab or may ibang energy ako with sandwich dito with teeth. Meron ako ditong beast mode na parang heavy refs na ganyan. So ang dami kumbaga pumasok ako sa ano sa theme park na maraming rides ganun. Ganun 'yung feeling ko talaga na excited to work everytime kasi iba-iba 'yung ano yung ah ano ba yung gagawin ko ngayon? Saya ang ganda. Oo. Sobrang saya talaga.

I think the very first time I watched you was during all of the noise last year with Pedy Cab. >> Ah okay. >> Yeah >> with Pedy Cab. >> That was the first ever show I watched Sandwich Open for Pixies. >> Yes. >> Yeah. That was so good. >> Pix is the best. Sobra. [tawanan] What was that experience like for you? Grab Pixy. Sobra. Um up to now um ano ba? So parang highlight nung career kasi you get to open for your idols ' ba.

Nag-open na rin kami sa Tears or Fears, Duran-Duran. Ang marami pero yung Pixies mas ang lapit doun sa ginagawa namin eh. In fact, yung sandwich and teeth, malaking malaki kinukuha namin na energy inspiration doun sa Pixies eh. So nung nag-open na kami, parang wow, unbelievable. Mm. Sobra talaga. And sir, naalala ko lang cuuse I had the chance to speak to Joey. Um ah >> and uh I asked him about what it was like, you know, nung nagsa-start out pa lang yung Pixies. nabanggit niya na >> it was really difficult nung nagsisimula pa lang sila because they would really go from bar to bar mga small bars and ah talagang the hard way no kasi t's parang ganyan din naman actually ginawa namin oo wala namang ang ang yung mga banda na nakikisabay na pwede ba kami sumabay sa gigs niyo parang inisip ko kung pwede ko lang ikwento sa inyo galing kami sa from the bottom like yung pixis na you have to go na mag audition ka sa small bar so tutugtog ka sa bars na walang tao pero you have to play 110% everytime ginawa namin na kaya sobrang ah yung yung reward parang times to mo nararamdaman pa ah pinaghirapan namin to I think every musician you know parang they have specific places na talagang masasabi nila help build their artistry and I'm sure for a lot of bands in the 90s it is probably club dread or maybe yeah for the music act now it's route 196 most mga ganon >> pero what's the place for you personally na masasabi mong really helped witness your growth as a musician ako personally because of my age I think merks and club dread talaga for me ha iyung age ko na to ah I can't speak for iyung mga kids ngayon or yung mas matanda sa akin mas mas bata Pero um ang dami ko kasing pinanood na mga uh idols ko sa marrix.

Ah nandiyan yung Trop Dep ah Jerks um Theuth sa Club Dread inabot ko pa yung Timog. Iba-iba e. Ang daming underground banses. Tapos habang nanonood, nagte-take notes na 'yung mind namin. Kasi pag nanonood kami, kasama ko yung bandmates ko sa teeth during the time. Parang okay, ganito pala ang gagawin natin. Ganito pala sila. So may every band meron kaming pini-pick up pero hindi naman namin gagayahin exactly. Pwede yung energy, pwede yung tone, pwede yung pwedeng style ganyan. 'yung pananamit and then ico-colate namin parang okay na-inspired kami.

And then nung tumutugtog na kami doon, binabalik na namin sa audience yung compiled [tawanan] na makinuha namin sa ibang tao and then ibang energy naman from my group ganon. May mga masasabi ba kayong like um pinaka-fondest memories mo doon whether as an audience member or as um a band playing on stage? >> Fondest. Pinakamasaya. Pinakamasaya. Well, up to now, hindi ko makalimutan 'yung uh kasi uh lumabas 'yung teeth 95 eh.

So ang dread ano na yan edsa. Hindi ko makalimutan yung kung gaano kasaya everytime kahit weekday yung kahit covers na tinutugtog namin ah parang home namin talaga yung Club Dread Edsa yun. Mm ang saya every gig non parang ah kasi may area na ano ah usab dati headbang hindi mosh eh. May mosh din pero yung mga long hair talagang kumbaga naghe-helicopter pa nung buhok. Yun yung uso dati o. Headbang. Kaya nga may show dati na head bangers ball 'di ba?

Yeah. Yun yun. Kanina you mentioned sir na parang yung pinanggalingan ng teeth it's kind of the same as pixies. Yung parang um >> you really have to go door to door to pitch their music to ano really get to where they are. Yes. >> And of course, I think that was a common sentiment for other bands um during your time. But um >> now I think especially with sandwich nga nakikita ko na you guys are pivoting to doing like social media content like TikTok.

Of course. >> You have to ano adapt [tawanan] ba. Was there a transition period for you or was it something na parang open kayo to from the get go? Um may transition and then open din kami pero nag-observe like ah this is how they do it now. So kailangan natin hindi tayo kailangan magpaiwan. So game parang game social media ba parang sige try natin. Kailangan masipag kailangan meron kang iba na yung ways to promote a song.

Dati ang traditional is mag-aano ka lang ah radio tour, mag-guest ka sa TV and then yun na. So ngayon dapat may mga shorts ah marami may visualizers may ah BTS behind the scenes. Marami maraming aspects eh. So sinusubukan naman ah though I can't say na mataas iyung success namin ngayon but we're trying just to tie everything together you know all these years later. What has kept your spark for music alive? Oh, I guess ano yung fire hindi ko ma-explain eh.

It's still there. Hindi siya yung dadating ka sa work mo na ah gusto ko na umuwi. Yung ganun yung feeling. So ang gauge ko pag papunta pa lang excited na ako. Uy gusto ko pa rin to. Research pa lang parang yes. Ah ah hindi pa mo pa nga tinutugtog sa actual bar or actual gig. Nae-excite ka na. Ah so nandun pa rin yung fire. So kaya hindi ako worried na after all these years ano ba? Meron ba akong kailangan i-adjust? Hindi.

Siguro yung love for music. At saka I think ang big factor diyan if you like the company kung surrounded ka ng right people, right bandmates. Ah iyun na yun na talaga yun. Mm. Ba >> I wanted to of course get to know you outside of music also. >> No. >> Yes. Um I know you've gained quite a following from your food vlogs and I'm one of them. [tawanan] >> Thank you. >> This I think it was 2021 when you posted your first ever vlog.

So it's been mga 5 years. Ba't ko naisipan to Ba't ko naisipan? Ah actually band din yung nag-ano eh nag nag-ano sa akin sa food eh. Kasi nung yung when teeth started to tour yung manager namin during that time is the late Richard Tan ng backbeat na nagugulat ako every province alam na niya yung ano yung dapat kainin natin dito ganito ganun yun ah tapos o dito kahit nasa Manila kami dito masarap yung ganito. So foody siya.

Mahilig siya sa music. Mahilig siya sa food. So doon ko nakuha na ah ganun pala. Everytwn alamin mo na kung ano iyung commodity o ano iyung kinakain nila doon. Saan sila kilala. And then hindi lang naman yun yun eh. You have to understand why. Hindi lang yung kakainin mo lang. Parang isipin mo na ah ba't nila to gusto? Ah abundant kasi dito yung onions eh. Kaya maraming onion to eh. Ah ang maganda pala dito sa probinsya na to yung native na garlic iba yung lasa non ah dito kumakain sila ng makambing sila sa area na to so naging wide yung ano ko sa panlasa bukod pa sa mahilig talaga ako kumain so ah um kumbaga hindi ako nagse-settle madalas sa ano sa hotel food eh madalas lalabas ako punta ako diretso sa palengke ng local city na pinuntahan namin just to search ano ba yung kakaibang breakfast dito?

Ano yung maiuwi ko after the gig? So dinecidan ko na rin na parang nung pandemic na sige vlog ko na kaya to. It's a good excuse to go out of the house eh kasi nakaka ' ba parang ano ng tawag doun? Parang nasa submarine ka lang eh. Parang pag nasa bahay ka lang. So nung lumabas na ako and then started to make the video, nagkaroon ulit ako ng sense of purpose. Kasi kung hindi ka naman makasulat ng kanta ah as being a musician parang ano yun eh para kang kinulong eh.

So nung nakagawa ako ng imbis na kanta vlogs naman and something that I like also which is eating. So yun na. Tinuloy-tuloy ka na kasi there's no stopping. Hangga't ganado ako kumain, game pa rin. What I personally love about your vlogs, parang it feels very raw. >> Of course. Parang feeling ko na ' ba parang nakwento ko nga kanina na I watch it while eating myself. M. So parang was that something that you've always seen how your vlogs would be like as the years went by?

Um he ano ba? Ah it just came natural eh na paano ba nung unang nag-roll kami or ako kasi ako lang yung unang-una e parang paano ba to? Sige as as a regular customer na ang gusto ko lang i-share mainly kung ano yung taste kasi yung napapanood ko dati sabi ko after watching parang ano daw 'yung kinain niya. Ano kayang lasa n may mga ganun akong ano eh na napapanood dati. So sabi ko iniisip ko in my mind pag ako nagkwento nito kailangan parang natikman na rin nung nanood.

So ganun ko ginagawa kasi parang at least hula sa sasabihin ko naman ang hula ko ganito ganun ganito 'yung lasa nito or may comparison para ma-imagine nila. Alam niyo parang pag kumain kayo nito ng ganito halos ganito iyung experience. So yun yun iyung formula ko. And up to now wala naman akong binabago. No no walang bago sa production. Ah cellphone pa rin. Ah ano ba? What does that mean? Ah hindi ko ba siya sineseryoso or parang 'yun 'yun ata 'yun 'yung work ko kung kumbaga mayroong major artists sa music.

Baka ano ako alternative artist ganon. You know, as a musician, you meet a lot of interesting people along the way. But you know, in running your YouTube channel and in exploring like all of these different food places, who are the kinds of people na madalas like you come across? Parang were there any particular people or places na talagang nag-leave ng mark sayo? Ah ano yan sa food vlogging? Yeah. Actually sa food vlogging wala kaming masyadong ah nakikilala.

Pero yung mga owners na nagte-thank you after kasi 99% of the time hindi nila alam na magv-vlog kami. So ang experience ko lang yung magte-thank you and then pag sinabi nila, "We will treat you." Hey, thanks. Ah, punta kami, punta kami ni Mrs. Dizon. So yun yung pinaka-enjoy yung mga grateful owners at saka yung stories nila na hey thank you. Um nag ah naramdaman namin na nagkaroon ng customers. Hindi ko naman sinasadya.

Parang hindi ko naman ano yun pero ah it's a good feeling na nakatulong ka tapos yung genuinely nagustuhan ko naman yung kinain ko and then nag-thank you sila. 'Yun 'yung bonus talaga. Yun ba yung meaning ng ninja style vlogging na parang surprise ka? Oo. Hindi ako nag-a-announce na pupunta ako ganyan ganyan. 99% of the time ha. Kasi meron din naman na nagsabi na uy try mo 'to. Sige. Tapos ah hindi naman agad-agad yun eh.

So hahanapin ko ng reason why bakit ako pupunta dito. So pag hindi masyado solid yung reason parang ang dami ng nag-vlog niyan ah. Tsaka hindi naman yan yung ah cup of tea ko eh. So may mga dine-decline din ako na ano kaya kaya ninja parang like ngayon like today after this magha-hunt pa lang kami. Wala kaming ah agenda. So parang saan kaya tayo ngayon? Ah most of the times yung magandang sign aage parang okay mukhang interesting to ah.

So ninja kami. Papasok kami and then shootsot ganyan. Walang paapaalam. Ah that parang yung kasama yun sa thrill sa saya.