| Merlin was born in the Philippines in the early '60s where he, at the early age of 2, was already singing for the neighborhood on a P.A. system. His greatest influences are his mother and father from whom he developed his love for music. "The first son I can remember singing in front of a crowd is 'Black is Black' by the Rolling Stones." In 3rd grade, he joined the school orchestra where he learned to play the violin. He also attended music workshops during the summer and eventually experienced performing with the San Francisco Symphony. Merlin then began to diversify his musical talents by taking up an array of instruments including trombone, guitar, piano, bass and percussion. Although having previously been exposed to Hawaiian music, Merlin never really appreciated it until he began playing with Nativ Sun and learned that there's meaning to Hawaiian music. "Now it would be rare to not hear da kine music coming from my car stereo." |
