Toma Cayabyab, Mike Shimamoto celebrate friendship with ‘Heart to Heart’ concert

MANILA, Philippines — Few people have maintained their friendship from high school. Many have inevitably parted ways, pursued their respective endeavors and lost touch.

Songwriters and musicians Toma Cayabyab and Mike Shimamoto have been good friends since high school at the Ateneo de Manila University, although they’ve known each other from grade school.

Toma and Mike, whom the former fondly calls “Shim,” became classmates in 2006. They were both part of a Filipino honors program in Ateneo.

They quickly learned their class actually had a lot of talented musicians. “We immediately bonded over our shared love of music and especially when we formed our band in 2007,” Shim recalled.

“Toma and I spent countless hours recording music, rehearsing and performing. After high school, we went to the same university and would see each other around campus, get together during class reunions. So, it’s a friendship nearing 20 years at this point.”

While they haven’t been talking much recently because of their respective activities, they remain updated about each other’s work.

Interestingly, Mike got married in 2023. “It has been great,” Shim said.

Meanwhile, Toma was asked how his love life is. “Right now, I’m in between relationships,” he smilingly said. “Masaya lang talaga right now because I’m focusing on work. As they say, ‘Let life happen.’ ‘Yun ang naging motto ko. Because of that, lahat tayo laging naghahanap ng makakasama, ng mai-ibig. Remember back then, having a crush seemed very simple. It started with that.”

Toma initially sauntered onstage and joined the eight-man band to start the concert with Apo Hiking Society’s Awit ng Barkada, where Shim joined him — an apt song for long-time friends like them.

“Totoo ba talagang nangyayari ito?” Shim had to pinch himself to be convinced the concert was happening for their post-Valentine’s offering, “Heart to Heart: Stories of Love.”

National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab was proudly seated in the audience with better half Emy Punsalan-Cayabyab. “I wasn’t worried for them to go onstage because they have been performing together for a long time now,” said Mr. C. “They’ve been singing since high school.”

“Heart To Heart: Stories of Love” started with an encouraging nudge from veteran talent manager, Noel Ferrer, who handles Toma and Shim’s careers.

“It was Tito Noel who came about with this idea,” granted Toma. “It’s funny because one day, I found out that Shim also became a part of the Team Noel family and I was absolutely excited about it.”

“Our lines have intersected again after practicing our own line of work in our respective fields. With the guidance of Tito Noel, we were able to spool up some ideas and came to realize that a post-Valentine’s concert would be a wonderful idea,” added he.

“After the busy-ness of Valentine’s weekend, why not a post-Valentine’s concert? Also, this would be featuring both our originals and some covers, stitched together by our own stories and experiences about love.”

Shim got a call from Noel and Toma one night — they were together for an event — and the idea of mounting a concert with Toma and him was brought up.

“I think they had mentioned how Toma and I were classmates and bandmates in high school and somehow the idea was presented to go ahead and make a collaborative concert between the two of us. Putting our unique styles together,” Shim recalled.

Both were admittedly surprised when the concert with the two of them came about. “Shocked even,” said Toma. “We didn’t see ourselves as big concert names because we knew our music was very niche in a good way. But it was through Tito Noel’s belief in us that really put this all together.”

“It didn’t really take much convincing on my end,” said Shim, who was immediately excited about the idea. “I’ve wanted to make music with Toma for the longest time — ever since our stint as bandmates in high school.”

“Every now and then we would talk about wanting to collaborate with each other, so when this opportunity came, it just felt like the right time,” shared he. “As per the Valentine’s theme, we originally were looking at a December show, but with figuring out logistics and as well as our lineup, it just became all that much clearer to us that coming together singing our own versions of love songs made so much more sense.”

“There was a little uncertainty there since I knew Toma and I occupied such different spaces in music; him being in jazz and classical, while I’m more in indie/folk and alternative rock, but I was intrigued by the idea of merging our two sounds together and wanted to see what we could come up with.”

Toma and Shim rendered songs that they wrote and rarely carried out onstage, given new arrangement that the two of them collaborated on, although Toma was the musical director of the concert.

“We really sat down for our setlist to make sure that there would be a story from beginning to end,” Toma said.

“Toma and I have very different styles of music, so our song choices couldn’t be more different,” Shim said. “But I think what ties us together is our shared love for classic standards like songs from The Beatles and OPM songs from the Apo and others.”

Shim added, “Toma and I actually have a wide selection of original compositions already. As much as we wanted to feature both of our catalogues, we had to pick favorites that fit our theme. Toma and I both sat down and constructed the lineup. It was really fun figuring out with him how our songs could jell with each other seamlessly. I’m excited to sing one of my compositions, Sumandali, a song that Toma and I used to sing back when we were in a band together.”

Their uncommercial songs were grouped through the years that they were together. Infatuation, Falling in Love, Healing and Hoping, the audience heard the artists’ originals — Toma’s Galak, Show Don’t Tell and Just Because and Muntikan Na, both carried out with Faye Yupano.

Shim delivered Chunky Monkey, Panahon and a mash up of Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko, with Titus John (TJ) Monterde’s Palagi.

With guest Nica del Rosario of Rosas fame, Shim and Nica did a duet of Sumandali, penned by Shim. The song was earlier recorded by Gab Pangilinan (who was in the audience that night with hubby Myke Salomon).

Toma crooned Cole Porter’s Night and Day, There Will Never Be Another You and with Shim, The Beatles’ I Will. They ended the show with Apo’s hit, Ewan.

“We really handpicked each song to ensure that the story would tie in seamlessly from beginning to end to fit the themes: Infatuation, Love, Heartache, Healing and Hoping,” Toma said.

“Since we ourselves are also old souls, there should be some familiar favorites that would hopefully bring our audiences to the edge of their seats.”

After the encore of Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko, a throwback video of the VST and Company hit was shown onscreen, with Shim leading the dancing line-up back in their high school days.

Interestingly, even award-winning playwright Guelan Luarca, who was their classmate, was in the video. Toma was the videographer.

Noel was executive producer of “Heart to Heart: Stories of Love,” with the “huge help” from Bian Orenciana, the line producer of the concert. Director was D Cortezano, lighting director was Christopher Peñafiel and production designer was Rjho Dee.