MANILA, Philippines—David Pomeranz was only a toddler when he was turned on to all kinds of music at home in New York.Some of it moved him to tears, he says, and he got so hooked that he became a musician himself. As a pop songwriter, he has worked with dozens of artists, foremost of which is Barry Manilow. One of Pomeranz’s albums, "Born For You," is the biggest-selling international pop album of all time in the Philippines. This may sound inconsequential to critics, who find his songs a bit sappy. But the typical sentimental Pinoy loves Pomeranz so much, that the singer seems to be always here for a gig or two. This time he’s performing to raise funds for Operation Smile — a volunteer organization that has treated thousands of Filipinos with facial deformities. Excerpts from his phone interview with Inquirer Entertainment: How did you become involved with Operation Smile? My managers brought it to my attention and I learned about what the group is doing … It’s a very powerful and much needed group … it’s a miraculous thing, for the last 20 years there have been 20,000 Filipinos who’ve undergone surgery for free. One of them, Chadleen Lacdo-o, happens to be my guest in the concerts. She’s 13 and has a gorgeous voice and a hefty future in the music business. She’s one of the recipients of the surgery … When you see her, there’s no sign of anything, no scar, nothing. It’s just utterly dramatic. You were very young when you got interested in music. How did it happen? I was 1 or 2 years old when I became aware of my parents always playing records in the house, everything from Harry Belafonte to Tchaikovsky, symphonies, Broadway music, West Side Story … and I would sit and just cry. Rock ‘n’ roll was also around and I started to play drums, guitar and piano and joined bands. The girl that never looked at me in class, all of a sudden, started noticing me. So I thought there’s a future in it. Music is really the most deeply feeling part of my life. Your first two albums had a blues and jazz sound. It was also during this period when you started performing alongside Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Badfinger, among others. What do you remember most from these gigs? Playing with Rod Stewart in front of some 10,000 people was one of the huge events I had ever done in my life. That was in 1970 or ’71. Playing with those people was a lesson ... they’re all great artists and I got to watch them, see what they did and learn from them. What did you learn from them? All of them have got something that you take with you. The ones I’m most impressed with are those who connect with the audience. There’s an unsung artist, his name is John Sebastian. He was the lead singer for a group called the Lovin’ Spoonful. If you saw “Woodstock” the movie, he walks out on the stage in front of 500,000 people with his acoustic guitar, only. But I’ve seen him in New York in a club called the Bitter End and watched him embrace the audience in a way that I’d never imagine. He was so warm … you’ll just love him. And he was doing it intentionally. I thought, “There you go. That’s what I want to create onstage.” So I would say he was a big influence in my life. But you became famous as a pop songwriter for so many artists. Can you name five of your songs that have meant a lot to you? Obviously the Manilow ones (“Maybe the Old Songs,” “Trying to Get the Feeling Again”) were very big hits in the ‘70s … There’s “It’s in Every One of Us,” which has been a huge part of my life, it’s been sung all over the world and translated in different languages … “Born For You” is one of my favorites. There’s a newer one, “The Trail of Broken Dreams,” which is on an album called “On This Day.” I wrote it with a Russian rock star. Did you make a lot of money from the Manilow hits alone? Well, yeah … it can be very lucrative. You’ve also written songs for TV, film and the theater. How fulfilling are these projects, like do you just deal with them as a job that pays well? There are oftentimes when you get an assignment and it’s a job. But while you’re writing it you have to take it to heart, make it intimate and personal. Otherwise it comes out as a terrible song. So you have to find out something about it that means something to you. My favorite assignments are theatrical ones, the musical theater where you get to write for characters and dramatic situations. The Philippines is one of your favorite destinations as a performer. What’s so special about us? I’m sure you do know. The people here are extremely dear, uniquely so, actually. I’ve been all over the world but in the Philippines it’s quite a beautiful group … I feel blessed for the opportunity to be with you guys … It’s my 22nd trip here and I look forward to more. Is it true that you have the biggest number of records sold in the Philippines? It’s the best-selling international pop album. The other one that sold as well is Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas album. My album is “Born For You” and I think it sold over 500,000 copies just here. It’s [a] pretty wild [achievement]. How do you get the energy and inspiration to keep on writing music after all these years? I don’t know. I mean, as long as I’m alive in this body, I seem to be moved to create music and songs. I love writing songs and I’m gonna do it till the day the body goes, “That’s enough, go get another body.” But that’s all I ever wanted to do and I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do. It’s always new for me and always a challenge.
(David Pomeranz performs at Waterfront Hotel Lahug, Cebu on Feb. 27; CAP Auditorium, Davao on Feb. 28; and Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Pasay on Mar. 1)
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