Wincy Gerard Aquino Ong (born February 4, 1982) is a Filipino musician, director, actor, writer, illustrator, and podcaster.[1][2] He is best known as the songwriter for the bands Narda and Us-2 Evil-0,[3] the director behind the films San Lazaro and Overtime,[4] and the actor who played Sven de Leon in the TV series Rakista.[5] He is also the host of The Telebabad Tapes, with his wife CJ de Silva.[6][7]

Wincy Aquino Ong
Born
Wincy Gerard Aquino Ong

(1982-02-04) February 4, 1982 (age 42)
Manila, Philippines
Occupation(s)Musician, director, writer
Spouse(s)CJ de Silva
(m. 2013; d. 2024)

Early life

edit

Ong was born in Quezon City, the second of four children. He attended the Ateneo de Manila for grade school, high school and university. In 2004, he earned a bachelor's degree in AB Communication.[citation needed]

Work

edit

Music

edit

As a musician, Ong played in college bands before starting his career as the bassist and songwriter for the band Narda from 2002 to 2005.[8] He was nominated for NU 107 Rock Awards' Bassist of The Year category in 2003.[9] After quitting Narda in 2005, he then composed musical scores for radio, TV and film—most notable of which are station ID music for ABS-CBN's cable channels, Lifestyle Network, Cinema One, and MYX, and for rival cable company, Solar Entertainment Corporation.[10]

In 2007, he wrote songs for the Gawad Kalinga musical Tao Po which was staged in the Philippines and Indonesia.[11] As a film composer, he has written music for the films Still Life, Cul de sac, Huling Pasada and Overtime.

In 2008, he formed the band Us-2 Evil-0 with director Quark Henares and fashion designer Mich Dulce.[citation needed] In 2010, he released his solo musical project Patience Dear Juggernaut.[12]

Film

edit

Ong directed music videos from 2003 until 2014.[13] He made the video for True Faith's "Araw't Gabi". The video caught the attention of record companies and led Ong to direct and do cinematography for acts such as Pupil, Sandwich, Itchyworms, The Bloomfields, Sponge Cola, Hale, Silent Sanctuary, Cueshe, Chicosci, Sugarfree, The Camerawalls, Nikki Gil and Kyla.[citation needed]

His music video for Pupil's "Dulo Ng Dila" (co-directed with King Palisoc)--with its '60s-inspired production design—earned a nomination for the Music Video of the Year at the Awit Awards in 2006, which was also listed as one of the 50 Best OPM Music Videos of all time by FHM Magazine.[14] "Chicosci Vampire Social Club"] won Favorite Rock Video at the 2006 MYX Music Awards.[citation needed]

Ong wrote and produced an Eraserheads documentary for the show MYXposed in 2008. In 2011, Ong produced and directed his first feature film San Lazaro for the Cinemalaya festival. It was nominated for the NETPAC Award. In 2014, Ong wrote and co-directed (with Earl Ignacio) his first mainstream film, Overtime, under GMA Films.[15]

In 2015, Ong focused on more commercial projects, writing and producing web films for Magic Crackers and Jollibee, projects that won several awards from The Philippine Quill Awards and The Anvil Awards.[16][17]

Acting

edit

Ong started his stint in acting after being cast for a pilot for Petiks, an office-set comedy show under ABS-CBN, with Ping Medina and Toni Gonzaga. The show was not picked up, but his performance in the pilot led to other bit parts in music videos and short films.

In August 2008, he starred as the eccentric drummer Sven de Leon in the TV5 series Rakista with Carlo Aquino and Denise Laurel.[18][19] He co-starred with Ramon Bautista in the horror film San Lazaro.

Ong also acted in TV commercials for ANC, Belo and Minute Maid and as a mad scientist in Sponge Cola's "Tambay" music video.

In a 2013 Spot.ph article entitled "From Music Men to Leading Men: Top 10 Rockstars-Turned-Actors", Ong was described as "a low-profile charmer...and a reliable actor".[20]

Writing

edit

Ong has written for publications such as The Philippine Star, Esquire, and 8list.ph.[21]

His horror story "Marty" was published as part of Neil Gaiman's Expeditions Prose Vol. 1 / The Philippine Graphic / Fiction Awards anthology.[22]

In 2020, he released his first collection of fiction, Tales For A Rainy Season.[23] The horror anthology is known for its short story "The Ophthalmologist's Case", a pastiche of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in which Sherlock Holmes meets Jose Rizal during the height of the Jack the Ripper murders.[24]

In 2023, Ong was commissioned by the Eraserheads to write the lyrics inserts and liner notes to their Circus Limited Edition Vinyl release.[25][26]

Podcasting

edit

Ong hosts the comedy podcast Telebabad Tapes with his wife CJ de Silva, under Podcast Network Asia.[27]

He has also hosted Worms Upon A Time: An Itchyworms Podcast, a six-part limited series that looked back on the history of the band The Itchyworms.[28]

Personal life

edit

In 2013, after a year of studying at the Vancouver Film School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ong married painter and art director CJ de Silva.[29][30]

References

edit
  1. ^ Veyra, Ramon De (2011-10-01). "Exploring 'San Lazaro' with writer/director/star Wincy Ong". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  2. ^ "9 Things We Love About Quark Henares & Bianca Yuzon's Classic-Rustic, Mini Concert-Like Wedding In Bali". MetroStyle. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  3. ^ "The Dirty debut of Us-2 Evil-0". The Philippine Star. 2009-12-06. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  4. ^ "The Triumphant Strangeness of San Lazaro". EsquireMagazine.ph. 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  5. ^ "TV5's 'Rakista' offers more than just rock n' roll clichés | Guide". PEP.ph. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  6. ^ "25 Pinoy-made Podcasts You Should Listen To". When In Manila. 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  7. ^ Hern, Alinea; ez (2020-04-09). "9 Local Podcasts That Will Lighten Up Your Mood During Quarantine". MEGA. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  8. ^ "Music Review: Sugarfree, Cheats, Narda". breedinglikelarva. 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  9. ^ "NU 107 ROCK AWARDS X". The Philippine Star. 2003-11-28. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  10. ^ "The bad people of Liquid Post". February 2010.
  11. ^ Esteves, Patricia (2008-09-15). "Play depicts lives of GK youths | Social Responsibility | Charity | Public Service, Best of the Philippines, Home". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  12. ^ "Wincy Aquino Ong a.k.a. Patience Dear Juggernaut – Restless Cities". Restlesscities.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  13. ^ "RoldanKing : My Star Studded : VIDEO DIRECTORS - UNCUT! (WINCY ONG)". Mystarstudded.blogspot.com. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  14. ^ "Lakwatsera Lovers: MMFF New Wave Entry "TANDEM" Gets a Deserving Wide Release on February 17". Lakwatseralovers.blogspot.com. 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  15. ^ "A black comedy about the Pinoy psyche: Director Wincy Ong talks 'Overtime' │ GMA News Online".
  16. ^ "Stratworks is Agency of the Year at Philippine Quill Awards 2014 | Business Life, Lifestyle Features, The Philippine Star". Philstar.com. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  17. ^ "Stratworks bags Agency of the Year award | mb.com.ph | Philippine News". Mb.com.ph. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  18. ^ Ortiz, Philbert (2016-07-15). "Behind The Scenes Of 'Rakista' @ ClickTheCity.com TV". Clickthecity.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  19. ^ Romulo, Erwin T. "Why we should be grateful (even if we're not part of Obama's America)". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  20. ^ "From Music Men to Leading Men: Top 10 Rockstars-Turned-Actors". SPOT.PH. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  21. ^ Aquino, Wincy. "Wincy Aquino Ong Archive". WindowSeat.ph. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  22. ^ Aquino Ong, Wincy (January 2007). "Marty". In Gaiman, Neil (ed.). Expeditions Prose. Vol. 1, The Philippine Graphic / Fiction Awards. Sketch Books. ASIN B0054LCUFS.
  23. ^ Malig, Kaela (9 October 2020). "Jose Rizal meets Sherlock Holmes amid Jack the Ripper murders in this horror story from Pinoy author". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  24. ^ Caña, Paul John (10 October 2020). "Sherlock Holmes Meets Jose Rizal and Investigates if He's Actually Jack the Ripper in this Short Story". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  25. ^ "Eraserheads set to release classic 'Circus' album on vinyl". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  26. ^ "Eraserheads to release 'Circus' on vinyl". Bandwagon. 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  27. ^ "Pinoy Podcasts: From ASMR-friendly to creep-tastic, a list of local shows for your ears". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  28. ^ "My life in seven Itchyworms love songs". cnn. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  29. ^ "The grown-up palette of CJ de Silva". Lifestyle. GMA News Online. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  30. ^ "Cool Coupling: 11 of Manila's Most Beloved Couples". SPOT.PH. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 2022-11-24.