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Otan Vargas’ melancholic voice is often compared to Staind’s Aaron Lewis. In fact, Aaron Lewis admitted, “He sounds better than I do most of the time.” This statement was made just as Lewis called Vargas on stage to play Staind’s hit single, “It’s Been Awhile.” The song, performed at a Valentine’s Day concert in 2009, was praised with a standing ovation at The Music Box Borgata Hotel and Casinos. It has been Vargas’ career highlight thus far.
Coming from humble beginnings, the Filipino musician was born in 1984 in Tondo, one of the poorest areas of Manila. The son of a folk singer, Otan grew up in a community where nearly everyone around him knew how to sing.
His acoustic career began in 2006, shortly after he moved to New York. Vargas sings about enduring suffering, battling the voices within, and trying to find a constant peace for his soul. Though many of his lyrics speak of being “down and forsaken,” his music rises above bitterness. Vargas’ gratitude comes through in all his writing. Really, when have you ever opened a rock album, acoustic or otherwise, to be greeted with the words, God bless all of you?
Alone is Otan Vargas’ full length debut album, released December 2009. The raw emotions pour out through Vargas’ rhythmic guitar and powerful vocals bring to mind grunge band slow songs such as “Indifference” by Pearl Jam and “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.