RICO Blanco is on the phone, wanting to speak to Champ Lui Pio, who?s discussing changes in his band. Champ waves to an assistant to ask Rico to call back in a while.

Three years after Hale broke into the scene with the saddest love tunes this side of pop-rock, the 27-year-old front man and his band mates looked like they?ve gone past the thrill of being celebrities.

They sit on the floor of their own recording studio, built last year with their own money. It?s right beside lead guitarist Roll Martinez?s bedroom in his parents? house in Las Piñas. Champ lives in Alabang, bassist Sheldon Gellada in Sucat ? and often hang out at Roll?s. (New drummer Paolo Santiago lives way out in Pasig.)

The studio means a lot to their independence as musicians. ?It allows Hale to work at its own pace and comfort level,? says Champ. ?It?s priceless. We don?t worry about time and costs. We can record when we want, kahit naka-pambahay lang kami o di pa kami naliligo [even if we are in our house clothes or we haven?t taken a bath].?

The band?s third and latest album, ?Above, Over and Beyond? was recorded here, with the quartet producing the sessions themselves. The new album, they agree, is different from the first two (2005?s self-titled debut and 2006?s ?Twilight?).

?Itong third ang parang nag-balance dun sa dalawa [This is the third and served as a balance for the two],? Roll, 24, says. ?The first sounded tragic, melancholy, with grand themes. Yung second naman [The second one], dark ??

?Suicidal,? Champ butts in, laughing.

Roll adds: ?Itong third, okey ang situation naming lahat, siguro mas nag-mature kami, positive yung vibe ng mga kanta, hindi na komplikado, hindi na nag-wa-whine [The third is okay with our situation. Perhaps we have matured, the vibe of the song is positive, uncomplicated, no longer whining].?

Champ turns serious: ?I think it shows our progress through the years and reflects our current state, which is positive and optimistic.?

Rejuvenation

Paolo, 25, is another new development; he replaced former drummer Omnie Saroca. Champ explains that Omnie has ?changed priorities,? but that they understand his decision to put up his own business.

Paolo is no stranger, though, having been a former band mate of Roll?s in Join the Club. ?Pao brings new energy,? Champ says. ?Bago siya e, so nahahawa niya kaming lahat, feeling namin bagong banda kami [He?s new so we feel he is influencing all of us, we feel we?re a new band].?

There?s another reason for Hale to feel rejuvenated. Recently it celebrated the first anniversary of Treehouse Productions, sprung from charity fund-raising gigs they?ve done in the past few years.

Prior to Treehouse, Champ points out, Hale always welcomed the chance to perform in benefit shows, ?but we never got to experience really helping out.? Adds Sheldon: ?We would just play, and have no idea what happens next.?

So the band thought it would be meaningful to have regular gigs where the money earned goes to charities of their choice. Currently Treehouse is helping Asosasyon de Damas Filipinas, an orphanage; Brave Kids, a center for children with cancer; and One Dream One Child, which supports those afflicted with autism.

Treehouse fund-raisers are held monthly, usually in bars around Metro Manila. Hale donates toiletries, clothes and books to the beneficiaries. The band taps volunteers, mostly fans, to help out in the gigs and turnover of donations.

Champ has also convinced other bands to play for free in Treehouse gigs. ?Now we?d like to have corporate sponsorship because we can?t rely on just the cover charge earnings,? he says. ?We?re talking to some companies and individuals.?

He wishes the band?s social responsibility would be taken seriously. ?I?d like to change the way people look at bands. We want to show that we?re part of a new breed. ?Yung sex, drugs and rock ?n? roll na [The sex, drugs, rock ?n? roll, that?s a different] lifestyle, those were the old days. Parang new school kami [We?re like new school].?

Does that mean they don?t even drink? ?Yes, we do drink, but only when the situation calls for it, like if we?re in a party,? Sheldon says.

How about smoking? ?We?re actually part of an anti-smoking campaign,? replies Champ, who?s asthmatic. ?One of our events was smoke-free. We worked with Kythe, an Ateneo group. We?re working kasi with FCAP (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines), an NGO that?s pushing for a bill declaring the whole country as a smoke-free zone.?

This advocacy supposedly didn?t happen overnight. It came hand in hand with the band?s desire to get involved with worthwhile projects, after having gone through a difficult period.

?Two years ago the record label wanted us to do a new album,? Champ recalls. ?Eh walang lumalabas talaga [There was really nothing coming out], so we felt we needed a break.?

He says the pressures of a hectic schedule from concerts almost took its toll on the band. It came to a point where they weren?t talking with each other anymore.

?But after a month or two, na-miss namin ang isa?t isa [we missed each other],? says Sheldon. ?Nagtatawagan na kami, slowly yung bond bumalik [We started calling each other, slowly the bond returned]. Nagkikita kami rito sa studio to jam. In the process, lumabas na yung mga kanta [We see each other in the studio to jam. In the process, our songs came out].?

Champ sums it up: ?Sabi ko [I told them], let?s do something different, hindi lang para makapaglabas ng album [not only to be able to come out with an album]. So we launched Treehouse first, followed by the album. We thought, why not use music to inspire people and at the same time help them? It?s our way of giving back.?