Hi, I’m Mai Singson from the Philippines. I started drumming when I was 8 years old and was one of Mr. Jun Regalado’s (once called “Asia’s Best Drummer” and most likely the most recorded drummer in the Philippines) first kid students. I joined HLAG last year and am hoping to be part of the contest again this year.

Last November 5, my grandmother passed away. She had been bedridden for over a decade, and for the most part she had an old-sitter taking care of her while my Mom and I monitored her condition. She had been hospitalized twice over the last decade, in which both times I stayed with her 24/7. Our schedule and lives adjusted to her, and we didn’t mind, because she was the Queen of the house.

During the pandemic, our old-sitter left for the province. Since I was working home for the time, we took advantage of taking care of my grandmother (or “Lola” as we call them in the Philippines) ourselves full-time. My mom and I were very hands-on. Mom as in charge of giving medicine, bathing, and changing her feeding tube, while I was in charge of feeding, changing her diaper, and turning her from side to side. Our life revolved around her 24/7, round the clock. As strange as it sounds, I am actually thankful for the pandemic because if not for it, I wouldn’t have been able to take care of my Lola so closely.

When we lost her, we also lost our routine for the last 2 years. It was very difficult and a lot of muscle memory had to be undone.

The song “Ghost” resonates with my grieving of her until now. I still consider the pain fresh. The song lines really sum it all up:

I know you crossed a bridge that I can’t follow..
That if I can’t be close to you
I’ll settle for the ghost of you
I miss you more than life (more than life)

My mom used to tell my Lola not to bother washing my diapers as a baby, but my Lola held onto the Filipino belief that if you wash your grandchild’s diapers, he/she will take care of you later on. I’d like to think it worked pretty well 🙂 and this drum cover is just one of many tributes I plan on giving my Lola. I do not want to forget her, and this is my way of keeping her many memories alive.

Gear used – Yamaha EAD, Zoom R16, Moises for Backing Track