FILIPINO musician Bamboo Mañalac has appeared on television on several occasions but he would never ever try acting.
“No!” answered Bamboo when asked if he would ever try acting during the Fast Talk portion of the late-night talk show “Tonight With Boy Abunda” on ABS CBN recently.
Bamboo, 42, whose real name is Francisco Gaudencio Lope Mañalac, also admitted that he became a bus boy and sold shoes when he stayed in the US for many years.
“All of the above. I did that. I have to pay for school. It’s OK. Those experiences made me who I am today. It keeps me grounded. I would not change that. And I would still want to do that. That’s on my bucket list,” said Bamboo.
Bamboo encouraged other people to do the same if they will go to a big city.
“One of these days, if you want to go to a big city, just work like anything. Just get in the grind. Just do that,” he added.
Now one of the coaches for reality singing show “The Voice: Teens” on ABS CBN, Bamboo said that he always wants his life private.
“I make an effort to keep my life private. I made an effort to do that since the beginning. I’ve understood that. I’m happy for that. Sometimes people ask me permission to post something. Or sometimes they’ll take a picture and they will say ‘Oh I’m not gonna post this,’” Bamboo added.
Bamboo is married and has two kids.
The singer-composer also said that it was his mother who have him the nickname Bamboo when he was still a kid.
“It’s given by my parents. They just love the name. The meaning of Bamboo – its resiliency, humility and what it meant in the Asian culture. My mom is Pinoy-American. And she just loves the story of the mango tree and the bamboo tree.”
Bamboo rose to fame when he became the front man for the popular OPM band Rivermaya from 1993-1998. Some of the group’s massive hits include “Ulan,” “Gravity,” “Bring Me Down,” etc.
In January 2011, Bamboo announced that the group Rivermaya has disbanded.
Later, Bamboo went solo and released his debut CD “No Water, No Moon.” He started to become one of the coaches for “The Voice of the Philippines” in 2014.