LAST WEEK, THE INQUIRER REPORTED about the recently concluded Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Filscap) Songwriting Contest, featuring an interview with Grand Prize winner Toto Sorioso.

This is the second part of the feature: an e-mail interview with Butch Monserrat (who?s based in Queensland, Australia), first-prize winner in the Pop category, for his song ?Choices.?

You?re a veteran of songwriting competitions. What can you say about the entries to this first Filscap contest?
I have been away from the music scene since I left Manila in 1985, so it was nice to be back in competition after all these years. Although I?ve been gone all this time, it doesn?t mean I stopped writing. I still continue to write and have several new songs written and others I continue to work on. I haven?t heard any of the other entries in the Filscap competition, but I did hear the winning entry and, as far as I am concerned, the composer truly deserved it. I thought it was a very good song.

Your entry, ?Choices,? was a collaborative work. How did you do it?

I was living in San Francisco when a good friend of mine approached me [and discussed the possibility of] writing a song for a Filipina artist. That friend was Gabriel Sevilla and the artist was Lily Alunan, who both became contributors to ?Choices.? I had the song finished but it required some tweaking and a line or two to complete, which Gabby and Lily helped me with. The song was originally written as a rock ballad and, hopefully, someday I will get to record it in the style it was written.

Which among your past compositions mean a lot to you, and why?
?Beautiful Morning? (?Umagang Kay Ganda?), ?I Don?t Love You Anymore,? ?If I Were Man Enough,? [I had] emotional connections to these songs. ?Beautiful Morning? was the first among my compositions that I felt [would be] a hit. It is timeless and has been recorded by several local artists including Bamboo. I also hope to someday record and release the original English version, which has never been done.

Which Filipino composer has influenced you the most?
I have not been influenced by any Filipino composer. I started writing music in the mid-?60s, when I had my band, but it wasn?t the norm then to write original songs. My band mates thought I was nuts to want to do original music when there were so many great bands, like the Shadows and the Beatles, that we could copy. I was influenced by many great international artists at different phases in my life, but I always wanted to keep true to myself. Writing to me is a solitary endeavor and the one thing I have always wanted to avoid was writing a song that sounded like something someone else had composed.

You?re currently based in Australia. Do you get to see anything interesting there concerning Pinoy musicians and songwriters?

Unfortunately not. Everything in Australia is about Australia, which is the way it should be. They are a very passionate people and I truly love it here. Don?t get me wrong, Australia is very into what goes on in and around the world, but unfortunately we just never hear of anything regarding Pinoy music and songwriters. The only reason I found out and joined the Filscap competition was through my good friend Mike Jamir who represents me in Manila. He and another good friend, Jun Latonio, informed me about it and said I should join. Pocholo Concepcion