Archive for July, 2009

We have a feature that runs every Saturday in The Quincy Herald-Whig called “Your Turn” that appears on the “You & Me” page. People get a chance to answer 25 questions about themselves, and we publish their answers.

Well I sent out the questionnaire and a really great guy that always gives me music industry feedback answered it. I found Rey Roldan three years ago when I was looking for the PR firm for a band playing near by. He answered my questions then and has continued to get back to me whenever I need his help with music industry things, even with his insanely busy schedule running his own national PR firm.

Here are his answers:

Who are you? (Name, age) Rey Roldan, 40 years old (eek!)

Tell us about yourself. I’m the president of the entertainment PR firm, Another Reybee Production and originally from Parsippany, N.J. (But spent nine years in Boston, Mass.).

When I was a kid, I wanted to be … an ichthyologist… i.e. a fish scientist. I would study books on fish… Knew their Latin names, their disposition, their habitats, their diets and their place of origin. At one point, I had six aquariums at home, filled with different kinds of fish. My parents would take me to state aquariums and cover the name plates of the fish in the tanks and quiz me on what it was, where it was from, and what it’s species name was. 9 times out of 10, I was correct.

What would you rather be doing right now? I’d rather be traveling and exploring foreign cities. I’m quite a traveler and my ideal vacation isn’t laying idle on a beach or taking a cruise on a ship. Instead, I’d rather be wandering around a city or hiking in the mountains, learning about local customs, local foods, and listening to local music.

Shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone that … I’m thanked in the very first Britney Spears album, “Baby One More Time.” I was her publicist for that album and had a major role in her rise from the girl next door to the international pop superstar.

Other than your wedding day and/or the birth of your children, what was your proudest moment? Starting my own PR firm and realizing that, “Yeah, this is really going to work.” Five years later, my firm is stronger than ever and I now have a staff!

It really stinks when … you’re watching TV late at night, completely comfortable, and then a commercial comes on for Wendy’s “Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty” and you MUST have one. (NOTE: This happened to me last night at 11:30pm).

What word in the dictionary would your face be next to? Adorable. Haha … I was a fan of the band “Adorable” from England in the early 90s, and they had a t-shirt that had the band name written under the collar. I used to wear it often and it stuck.

I always laugh when … I watch Family Guy. I could see the same episode ten times in a row, and still, I laugh like a fool.

Invite any three people, living or dead, to dinner. Who are they? Hunter S. Thompson (writer/journalist), because he pioneered gonzo journalism and I was a major subscriber to that style of writing. Many of my published articles were written gonzo, which sometimes frustrated my editors.

David Gray (musician), because he’s written some of the most amazing lyrics on his first album. I used to know David back in the early to mid-90s, but still, he keeps me in awe with his poetic lyrics.

Samuel Beckett (dramatist/author/poet), because when I was in high school and college, I delved deep into nihilism and thought his works “Waiting for Godot” and “Endgame” were sublime. He’d probably think I was a complete tool, but even if he were to insult me for me for being a fanboy, I think I’d swoon.

At the end of a really long day at work, I like to … sit on the couch with my two puppies and flip channels, looking for “Family Guy.”

People who knew me in high school thought I was … Going to be famous in one way or another. Many of them consider me a celebrity already because they’ve seen me on MTV or Fuse TV, talking about my days as Britney’s publicist, or see me quoted in newspapers, or pick up a magazine and see my byline on an article I’ve written. It’s kinda cool.

My most unforgettable brush with greatness was with … This is a tough one, since I’m in the entertainment business and meet “famous” people all the time. So I think I’ll bring up one of the ONLY times I’ve ever been starstruck… And it’s with an artist not many people know. My favorite band of all time is a now-broken up British band called The Housemartins (Norman “Fatboy Slim” Cook was the original bassplayer). In high school, I idolized lead singer Paul “p.d.” Heaton and listened to their two albums over and over again. When they broke up, I was devastated, but he soon formed another equally great band The Beautiful South. When I was a writer for the Boston College newspaper “The Heights,” I was set to interview Paul. When I met him at the concert venue, I was speechless. I couldn’t talk and my interview tape was filled with me stammering and saying “Sorry, sorry” over and over again. I was humiliated. And when I would see the band at concerts over the next few years, the band knew me as “He who can’t speak to Paul.” So sad.

I would drop all my plans tonight if I had the chance to … see The Housemartins do a reunion show… But that will never happen. And that’s quite a tall order because I’m seeing one of my new favorite British artists tonight, Mika, at his only U.S. show (which has been sold-out for weeks).

If someone gave me a million dollars, there is STILL no way I would … sky dive. I’m incredibly afraid of heights and of dying, so skydiving? Uh, no thanks.

America should be more concerned about … how they treat people of any creed, race, sexual orientation, etc. There’s too much hate, ignorance and prejudice in the world and still, not everyone is considered “equal.” It pains me to know that not everyone can freely love who they love because of what color/gender/religion they are.

I’m OK if there’s ever a national shortage of … T-shirts. I have five shelves (two piles on each shelf) of them in my bureau.

What place in the world would you most like to visit? Borneo and Sumatra (Madagascar too). When I was a kid, aside from loving fish, I also loved tropical rain forests and the animals within them. I especially loved Tarsiers (tiny, bug-eyed primates), mudskippers (fish that traveled on land) and Lemurs (multi-colored and gregarious tree-dwelling monkeys) that all inhabited that part of Asia.

What is the most useful piece of advice you have ever received? No regrets. My mom’s favorite song of all time is Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”. And even though I know she has a few regrets in her own life, it always made me strive to be forward thinking and not look back. Yeah, I’ve made a few bad choices in life, but I’ve learned not to regret anything. In a lot of ways, it’s helped me be focused on achieving my personal goals, and in my 40 years on this planet, I’ve achieved quite a lot. And in terms of regrets, I may have a few, but they don’t bog me down.

When I’m cruising down the road, I’m likely listening to … my mixed CDs that I made of the songs I like from the 80s, 90s and 00s… And that’s everything from The Clash to Joy Division to The Cure to Chemical Brothers to James to Kelly Clarkson to Lady GaGa. Scary, I know.

I always get sentimental when … I see puppies. I have two puppies of my own, and I love them immensely. So when I see dogs, I totally melt.

The older I get, the more I realize … That age really doesn’t matter. I was scared of turning 40, but when it happened at the beginning of June, it didn’t faze me at all. I’m lucky that I still look REALLY young (no lie). I still get confused for a college kid or a twenty-something and that really helps, and when people find out my real age, they force me to show my license. But age really doesn’t play a factor much in anything anymore.

If I had one “do-over,” I would … Refocus who I am. It took me 30 years to figure out who I was, which included a lot of headaches, heartaches and soul-searching. I should have known that music is my future, so forget those missteps of trying to be an animator, a corporate PR guy, or a family man.

My favorite item of clothing is … my Claddagh (Irish) ring. I grew up in a very Irish Catholic neighborhood and everyone had a claddagh ring from their families. Even though I’m Filipino, I always associated myself with being Irish (if you asked me today what my nationality was, I’d say “Irish” without hesitation and I often forget that I’m not). My sister gave me my claddagh ring for my 17th birthday, and I’ve worn it ever since. The legend of the Claddagh is a very special one to me, and without getting into detail, depending on how you wear it, it displays whether you’re single, taken or married. And every time I’ve had a serious relationship (there have only been four in my life), it’s always been a big deal of how I wear it. These days, it screams, “I’m single, damn it!”

If I’ve learned anything at all … It’s to follow your own muse. It took me decades to figure out who I am, when I knew back when I was 13 who I was. I remember sitting in my bedroom with my stereo, grabbing two LPs that I had bought from Pathmark Supermarket for $2.77 each because I liked the album artwork. It was Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind the Bollocks” and Missing Persons “Spring Session M”. I had no idea what these records sounds like, but I thought the covers were cool. And when I put the needle on the record, it shocked me … It scared me … But it also intrigued me. I feel in love with punk music but I was ashamed of it because all of my other friends listened to James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and The Doobie Brothers. So I hit it from all of my friends. It took a few years to build the confidence to say, “Hey, I’m a punk rocker and this is what kind of music I like”, but if I had just stayed true to myself from the beginning, I would have been much happier much earlier in life. I’m just glad I found my way and didn’t turn into a suburban family man who listens to pap like Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews or such bland music like that. Punk rock saved my life.