The Dawn, one of the country’s premier rock bands, has thrived on change for decades now.

Proof of this is in their latest CD “Sound The Alarm” which has tracks that were recorded with new member, Kenneth Ilagan.

In an interview with Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online, founding members Jett Pangan and Junboy ‘JB’ Leonor gamely answered questions about songwriting, their new guitarist, and the contributions of (bassist) Buddy Zabala.

When you changed guitarist, did you feel the need to look for someone in the mold of Teddy Diaz (the band’s founding member and first guitarist)?

Jett Pangan, vocals: “Never. We already learned from that when Teddy died. He’s not the first member to be changed, so after Teddy, we already had the mindset that when someone as iconic as Teddy or even Francis [Reyes] goes, you don’t look for someone who will sound like them, because you’ll never find that guy. All guitar players, they have their own thing. It’s as if they have their own badges that go: ‘I will never try to sound like you because I wanna be myself.’

“Especially for Kenneth (Ilagan who replaced Reyes) who is not joining the band as an amateur. He already has his own sound even while he innovates on his own. What we found in Kenneth is someone who has his own mettle.”

Why did you choose Kenneth?

Jett: “The way we chose Kenneth, it’s not like we pulled a name out of a hat. Our first concern (was), if we’re going to get a new member, let’s not look for someone who’s a member of an existing band because that’s rude. You never break up another band for your own sake. Technically, Kenneth, whose last band was True Faith, wasn’t doing anything for two months when we got him.”

True Faith, Kenneth’s last band, is more pop-oriented compared to the Dawn’s rock sound. Did you have second thoughts getting him because of this?

Jett: “Many know him as the guy from True Faith because he was with that group for four years. But he also played for (80’s underground rock band) Violent Playground and was an original member of Rivermaya. He has that (rock) background.”

Let’s go to songwriting: Does the band still strive to come up with anthemic songs akin to “Enveloped Ideas” and “Salamat”?

Jett: “The thing with ‘Sound The Alarm’ is we actually came from that mindset of producing the next ‘Salamat’ or the next ‘Enveloped Ideas.’ The problem there is that when you’re too conscious of coming up with something like that, the more that doesn’t happen. Besides, when we wrote our so called anthemic songs, we didn’t think, ‘This is going to be an anthem.’

“So instead of sticking to the pressure of coming up with the next anthemic song, we were like, ‘(Basta) gawa lang tayo, pare!’ We just followed where the music would take us and this CD here is the result.”

How did Buddy and Kenneth adapt to the songwriting process of The Dawn?

Jett: “We actually were the ones who adapted to Buddy because he is such a prolific songwriter. He, in fact, wrote six out of the ten (tracks) in this album. So that alone made life easier for us because may backbone na.

“It was Kenneth who had to do some major adjustments because he came in while we were in the thick of conceptualizing the album. He was clueless and naked then when he came in as if saying, ‘This is me, this is how I play’. It wasn’t a walk in the park pero bilib kami sa kanya kasi he was able to pull it off.”

Describe how you worked on the album.

JB Leonor, bass player: “Half (the album) was done the old way; that is, anybody can contribute and then all build around it in the studio until we get it. I feel I have to defend The Dawn’s traditional method of songwriting to retain our integrity, and to maintain our personality and the soul of the band kasi andami ng nagbago.

“And then there’s the new way (of writing songs) which is done with the help of Protools. Everybody has a busy schedule and with the help of Protools, kahit wala ang isa sa amin ay nakakapagtrabaho pa rin kami sa mga songs. I consider this way of doing an album, fast and efficient."

(“Sound The Alarm” was launched at the Eastwood City Central Plaza on Sept. 11. It contains 10 tracks including the promotional single, “Hatak”)