By TRIA MIKAELA CORPUZ
For some Aia de Leon is Imago and vice versa. Seeing the singer leave the band in 2013 was, for them, as tragic as any.
The sentiment is something the rest of the band doesn’t share, however. If anything, they’re actually happy about it.
According to band guitarist Zach Lucero, they’re all better off – de Leon included – because of it.
“A lot of good things happened with the band after she left and even on her end, she’s doing good doing her own thing also so, I think it worked out for everybody,” he said.
Asked why de Leon left in the first place, Lucero said, “Well, she wanted to join ‘The Voice’ and go solo.”
Fellow guitarist, Tim Cacho, affirmed this, saying de Leon’s decision was out of their hands.
“It’s beyond us to tell her ‘no’ and to put the band first,” Cacho said.
“She wanted to try some other things she felt she couldn’t try with the band. It was an amicable decision,” bassist Myrene Academia added.
Ending the band or at least changing its name after de Leon’s departure was out of the question.
Academia said, “Actually, that was up in the air, but…”
While Academia still keeps in touch with de Leon, Lucero isn’t as keen.
“Well, I see a lot of her stuff online, but I haven’t spoken to her for a long time,” Lucero said.
In any case, the band has found a replacement for de Leon in Mayumi Gomez who is only too happy to fill the spot.
“I didn’t know they were looking for a new vocalist that time, but when I met them and jammed with them, I think everything fell into place,” Gomez said.
Note Gomez doesn’t sound like de Leon at all.
Cacho said it was a conscious decision.
Academia added, “You can’t find someone like Aia like you can’t find someone like Yumi.”
According to Academia, what’s important for them is that Gomez is someone whom they would want to hang out with.
Imago is out with new single “Trio,” the video for which Lucero directed and conceptualized himself.
He actually wrote the song, too.
“It’s about a relationship,” Lucero explained. “It may involve a third party that doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad outcome.”
They are preparing to release their next single “Alam Na.”
