5 fun facts about APO Hiking Society's songs

Did you know that APO Hiking Society only recorded two songs they didn’t write? And that their school-themed song was actually written years after their graduation? 

APO members Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo shared the stories behind some of their top songs in an interview on “Surprise Guest with Pia Arcangel,” which goes to show that their love for music and storytelling knows no bounds.

Here are some fun facts we’ve learned from Jim and Boboy of APO Hiking Society:

1. These are the two APO songs that the members didn’t write

One thing about APO, they write their own songs. In fact, only two tracks that weren't written by them made it to their discography, Jim revealed.

These two songs are “Ewan” and “Anna,” which were both written by the legendary OPM composer, Louie Ocampo.

2. This school-themed song was written years after graduation

“Saan Na Nga Ba’ng Barkada,” which tells the story of friendships that started in school, was written by Jim many years after graduation.

In the song, APO looked back on their classmates and their experiences during Martial Law.

Now considered a homecoming song, Jim said that was not the intention behind it.

“I wrote that because I just wanted to write it, but it became a homecoming song,” he said.

3. They have several favorite APO songs

Boboy and Jim have their own favorite APO Hiking Society songs, but they can’t name just one.

For Boboy, it’s “Awit ng Barkada,” “Nakapagtataka,” “Kaibigan,” and a song by Danny called “Care.”

Jim likes “Pumapatak ang Ulan,” “When I Met You,” and “Panalangin.”

4. The APO musical happened following interviews with the members

“Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!” — the jukebox musical featuring the trio’s songs and a coming-of-age story — came about following long conversations with the director, Robbie Guevara.

“Well, what happened there was, we knew our story, pero binalasa nila diba,” Jim said.

“Those are, those are long enough to remember,” Boboy added. “[We had] long interviews and discussions with Robbie Guevara, the director.”

5. Why their songs are universal

APO Hiking Society says that the reason why their songs reach people from all walks of life is because of the stories behind them.

“I think for a lot of our followers, it has become the soundtrack of their lives,” Jim said. “Like we have songs for OFW, we have songs for heartbreak. We have songs for newlyweds, we have songs for getting married.”

He added, “I think we've covered a lot of spaces in the person's life.”

Boboy emphasized that the lyrics were written to tell a story.

“Walang time 'yun e, walang old or new doon e, kasi the story is the same—that are heartfelt, you will feel it at any [age,]” he said. “So ngayon, even the young kids when they listen to old music like ours, they realize ‘oo nga no, there's a look at the story.”

Boboy added, “It’s not nanggagaya ng iba, it's not repetitive. There's a real story going on.” —JCB, GMA Integrated News