Musicians venturing into acting are often accused of trying to sell out for fame and extra pay. That must be unfair for those naturally finding fulfillment doing something beyond their main craft.
Ian Sison, frontman of steadily rising group Avalon Beyond, gets the high doing acting without prioritizing such gig. Humbly he shared, “I really can’t say I am a professional actor. I just did acting projects before and as an artist nakita ko yung acting as a way for me to express my feelings.”
Proven to be more than a one-off actor, Ian appeared in some cameo roles for mainstream TV series like Home Sweetie Home, Ang Probinsyano, Super D, Love Me Tomorrow, and On the Wings of Love. Nevertheless, the experience made him understand the job.
He noted, “I would love to do acting as a career but it will require more patience and hardwork. Nagustuhan ko ang acting when I started formal classes at ABS-CBN and Starmagic at dahil na rin sa mentor ko dun na si teacher Air Paz Pablico.”
Then he made it clear quick: “I love acting but I love doing music more. First priority ko ang music.”
Ian’s band released a 54-minute album called Inspire a few years back. Songs include, among others, “You’re Beautiful,” “Di Magbabago,” “Panalangin,” and “Night Sky.”
Ian also collaborated with South Border heart and soul Jay Durias for a track called “Pagbabago” as the band put out “Fears” this year, perhaps their strongest track to date.
He is backed by guitarist Benjo Juni and bass player Yumi Melad.
Talking about the power ballad “Fears,” he pointed out, “That one is dedicated to all people struggling in life. I want to send a message that God is just there never giving up on us.”
Avalon Beyond has won accolades early in their career, including one for Best Rock Album. The connection between the band and their growing number of fans is evident. He put it rightly, “I can’t imagine writing a song na hindi galing sa puso ko kaya siguro maraming nakakarelate sa social media kasi totoo yung mga kanta.”
While the group is packaged as a power trio, Ian shares the credit to the support staff. “Sa branding ng banda, tatlo lang talaga kami, but we now have a crew helping us. Yung family namin sa banda is one reason why we keep things going. We always work as a team and we treat everyone in the crew as part of the band.”
Not closing doors to becoming an established actor, Ian makes the salute to people who can transform into someone else in the name of performance art. He closed out, “I have respect sa mga professional actors kasi hindi talaga biro ang ginagawa nila. If given a chance, I would like to make acting into a career as long as di naman siya nakakaapekto sa music ko. A lot of actors naman like Jared Leto is doing both acting and music.”