IT'S unnerving how Gary Valenciano can make his tone both casual and excited when he talks about his "Interactive" CD-Rom. Last week, he received the news that his CD-Rom was nominated in the Music and Entertainment category at the Invision Awards in the US. He is competing with two other finalists: Closer Look's "Freak Wear" and One Productions Inc.'s "Mother Earth."

"A nomination is already something, to be a finalist is--," Gary trails and grins, "I'd better call Martin (Nievera)." He punches several numbers on his cellphone and animatedly tells Martin the good news.

After his composition, "Everybody Get Down," won as the Most Favorite Music Video of a Male Artist at the recent MTV Video Awards, Gary is promoting another single, "More and More" from his "Interactive" album, under Universal Records.

"It's funny how people thought that my 'Interactive' album was only a CD-Rom. But people now realize that there is a separate CD and cassette that was released with all the new recordings we made for the CD-Rom. My fans now know that they don't need a computer just to play the music," he shares.

He is embarking on another US tour this month and will shoot 26 episodes of the music video show, "One Cubed." The show is translated into 18 languages and Gary will do the English version. How does it feel to hear your own compositions being played abroad?

"I feel happy and excited. But I think every singer goes through that moment in his career where he feels that he can always do better. Actually, even up to now, I would rather hear other people say, 'Hey, I heard your song and it's so nice.' So when you're listening to that person, it's a different feeling--sometimes even weird!

"When I'm on tour in the States, I'm eating in a restaurant, then they start playing my songs--old songs, way back 1983, and some people recognize me."

Since he seems to be a perfectionist, looking back now, how does he view his first composition, "I Wanna Be With You"?

"I was still with the Kundirana at that time. Having had no musical background, I was only using one finger to play the piano. I told my friend, Tats Faustino, to help me. He told me, 'Gars, all you have to do is to put in this chord and memorize it.' He said that from that, if I had any other melody, I should just go from that chord and experiment because I had an ear for music. 'I Wanna Be With You' was never recorded.

"Next was 'You Got Me Working.' It came at a time in my life when I was beginning to realize that I could do much more. Although it was never my dream to be a performer, I knew I could carry a tune. Just writing, 'You Got Me Working' struck me as an opening because I was a balladeer. I never used to do fast songs. I was always doing ballads--to impress girls.

"My very first songs were 'After All,' 'Fool Till the End' and 'You Got Me Working,' but I didn't arrange them because at that time I didn't even know that I could do that. When I would go to the studio, I was awed and amazed at all the equipment--the mixing board, etc. I would sit back, observe--and learn. I would hear my voice singing but I would be more interested in what knobs they were turning and what effects they were using. It was a great learning process.

"In school, I was always a regular guy who liked music, but I didn't go out of my way to save money to buy a Walkman. I didn't even know how to play any musical instrument at that time, although I liked experimenting. Up to now, when I just go on the keyboard, whatever sounds good is OK.

"When I'm writing now, occasionally, I bump into a new chord, then I work up a melody around that chord. Then there are other songs--instrumental pieces. I always wanted to have one instrumental piece in all my albums, but I was never able to pursue this. But I have a lot of instrumental pieces that can go into my future albums," Gary enthuses.

Reviving old songs seems to be a growing trend these days. Would he consider a revival album as his next recording project?

Gary grins then looks at his wife-manager, Angeli, "I'd love to revive a good Latin song. What I've noticed with these revivals, though, is that, in concerts, people don't react to them that much. Sisigaw sila sa umpisa pero makikinig lang sila pagkatapos. Listening pleasure lang sa kanila yon."

Angeli adds, "As early as five years ago, we were already talking about a revival album, but Gary loved writing songs so much that we decided to wait."

Instead of having a Christmas concert this year, Gary has opted to be part of the millennium concert on Dec. 31 at the Fort. "I'll be performing from 6:30 to 8 p.m. but I want to be at home when the year changes. I've talked with some artists, many of them don't want to perform at 12 midnight."

What does he hope to achieve during the new millennium?

"Well, I have a vision to reach out to the youth. To learn more about their ways, which are so different from when I was young. To learn more about the problems that they face, and to help them. I'll still perform--if not, I'll be producing for younger performers.

"My music is part of my ministry. I have a song called 'As You Are.' It simply states, 'He will take you as you are, no need to be a hero or superstar. No matter where you've gone or what you've done, it doesn't matter.' I want the youth to know that there is so much more out there that they can have instead of being hooked on drugs and other stuff.