Sonny Sandoval on P.O.D songs: 'Our message is always about hope and believing in yourself'

Cristina Malonzo-Balane

<div><img src='' alt='092613-Sonny_Main.jpg' width='305' height='290' align='left' border='0'>Sonny Sandoval, vocalist of ‘90s heavy metal band P.O.D., took the hot seat for the <i>Ikaw Na</i> on <i>Bandila </i>last September 25. P.O.D. is the band behind hits like “<i>Alive,”</i> “Youth of the Nation,” and “<i>Sleeping Awake</i>.”</div><div><br/></div><div>He explained why their band name stands for Payable On Death. “When we were kids, it sounded heavy. It’s actually a banking term, when someone passes on, when they die, (it’s) what they leave behind and we were a band of faith, of Christian faith and we kind of related that to Jesus on the cross.”</div><div><br/></div><div>Despite their faith though, he clarified about their music being labeled Christian. “We play all kinds of music, I think we’ve been labeled Christian just because we’ve been open about our faith but we’re hardcore, we’re punk rock, we mix reggae music, hip-hop music.”</div><div><br/></div><div>In fact, Sonny is vocal about not liking the label. “I don’t like the label but I’m definitely not afraid of my faith, I’m an open book about it.”</div><div><br/></div><div>Having said that, he stressed on the importance of a song’s message. “It’s everything. I don’t want to be in a band just to be in a band, but I think if there’s something bigger to what we do, that is my faith and my hope in God.”</div><div><br/></div><div>To describe their music, Sonny said, “We’re talking about San Diego. It’s mixed cultures, it’s a melting pot, so we’re friends of all kinds of styles of music. So, this really is more like a lifestyle kind of music, we’re not just strictly metal or strictly reggae music. We just blend them together and it feels natural to combine these music.” </div><div><br/></div><div>He also told host Boy Abunda the interesting story behind the song “<i>Youth of the Nation,</i>” how it was a commentary to the school shootings that were happening in America when they wrote the song. 'We were actually writing our satellite album when it actually happened in our community and we were right down the street from the school, so it kind of put us in that mood. We didn’t know what to do, so we write music.”</div><div><br/></div><div>Sonny also said that their song “Beautiful” is not about women. “I think when hanging around kids, you know there’s so much evil and ugliness in this world. And a lot of time with these kids, they go through so much, sometimes they forget that they do have purpose, that they are beautiful inside, whether they feel it or not and so it’s…our message is always about hope and believing in yourself.”</div><div><br/></div><div>Sonny is in the country to perform in the upcoming tattoo exposition “Dutdutan Festival13” on September 27 and 28 at the World Trade Center. He said this is his first time to be part of the Festival and he’s excited about experiencing everything. Talking about his tattoos, “Well, these tattoos are 22 years old. I have stuff from Hebrew writings to Japanese art to a lot of religious symbols and art so I guess it’s kind of about the story of my life.”</div><div><br/></div><div>On a lighter note, he said that he is the worst artist but if he were a tattoo artist, his first client would be Justin Bieber, “Justin Bieber is full of tattoos these days, he went from being 12 years old to… now he has a (tattoo) sleeve,” and that he’d ink the P.O.D. band logo right on his forehead. </div><div><br/></div>

Sonny Sandoval, vocalist of '90s heavy metal band P.O.D., took the hot seat for the Ikaw Na on Bandila last September 25. P.O.D. is the band behind hits like “Alive,” “Youth of the Nation,” and “Sleep

Sonny Sandoval on P.O.D songs: 'Our message is always about hope and believing in yourself' | PUSH.COM.PH