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ORIGIN.
December 1989. Four
college guys armed with second-hand instruments decided to form
a band, thinking of it as a nice way to catch the attention
of girls on campus. They did mostly covers, playing at every
university gig they managed to get into. Eventually, they did
the rounds of Manila's rock club circuit but found that the
road to success was not.
Add to the fact that
Ely Buendia (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Raymund
Marasigan (drums), Buddy Zabala (bass) and Marcus
Adoro (lead guitar), collectively known as Eraserheads realized
that they weren't all that good at belting out other people's
hits. So, they concentrated on writing their own materials instead.
"After all, if we committed a mistake. No one would recognize
it since they don't know the song, right?," Ely explained.
Performing their
original songs live soon earned them a cult following in their
school which gradually spread outside the campus. One of the
songs, a spicy pop song entitled, "Pare Ko", became for its
lyrics coupled with a few cuss words at their places.
Summoning up all
their courage, they recorded a cheap, lo-tech demo tape in 1991
and shopped in around record labels and radio stations, hoping
to have their songs reach public awareness. They were, unfortunately,
rejected at every turn.
A professor-friend
from their school helped record a better version of the demo
which was named, "Pop-U!" in defense to all those who've turned
them down. As this demo went around, it found its way to BMG
Records (Pilipinas) a year after it was made and the rest, as
they say it, is history. The stuff true success are made of.
CONQUERING
THE LOCAL SCENE.
Having been signed
to a three-year deal, Eraserheads settled down to work on their
debut album. The result was the E-Heads' initial presentation
titled as extraordinary as the music they're projecting: "Ultraelectromagneticpop!".
This featured no less than the ecletic "Pare Ko" and a host
of other novelty pieces that had people listening and discovering
more about this quartet. Successive hit singles, sold-out concerts,
thousands of adoring fans... 1993 saw the emergence of Eraserheadsmania!
With their newfound fans and admirers were still
reeling from its astounding development, the E-Heads came up
with a whopping follow-up: "Circus". They said that this aptly
describes how their life has been since their smashing debut.
Like the title, the album proved to be a rollercoaster-ride
of unpredictability and unconventionality. Its collection of
songs range from being euphoric to downright hilarious, interspersed
with occasional tenderness and somber tones.
With this album,
not only have the guys established themselves as good songwriters
and musicians, they have also opened a whole new world for music
lovers and enthusiasts to wallow in.
Their much-awaited
third album, "Cutterpillow" was launched via an open-air concert
attended by fans and followers in colossal proportions. All
witnessed what was to be the Eraserheads' fitting finale to
an otherwise explosive 1995.
With Christmas barely
a month over, the E-Heads opened 1996 by making history once
more as "Cutterpillow" turned Gold even before it hit the record
stores as a result from the pre-selling promo campaign. While
"Cutterpillow" soared to possible heights any album can reach,
the guys made things zeister by shooting a music video based
on of the songs in the album, the semi-tragic, "Ang Huling El
Bimbo".
Later that year,
the Eraserheads came up with a conceptual Christmas album called
"Fruitcake". This was followed shortly by a release of a companion
storybook of the same title.
GOING
INTERNATIONAL.
1997 is marked with a series of gigs outside
of the Philippines. Their first ever overseas gig was at BMG
Records' "Sentosa Pop Festival" in Singapore in March 1997.
It was then followed by a mini-U.S. tour in May. Then four months
later in September, they were in New York to receive the coveted
"moonman" for winning the 1997 MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award;
making the Eraserheads, the first ever Philippine artists to
win such award.
Their fifth album,
"Sticker Happy" was released a few days after the MTV Awards.
Of course, by this time, news abouth the Eraserheads being a
phenomenon no longer surprises anybody. A month later, they
were back in Singapore for a series of shows and appearances
for MTV Asia.
In February 1998,
they represented the Philippines at the annual "Asia Live Dream
'98" for NHK Broadcasting in Tokyo, Japan. Then in May, they
embarked on another U.S. tour, taking them from Oakland to Los
Angeles and to New York.
August 1998 saw the
release of "Aloha Milkyway" in the entire Asian region and finally
in the Philippines two months later. The album contains
chart-topping songs that have been re-mastered and 5 new songs.
In early 1999, they
did sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai. Their latest
album, "Natin99" was released in May.
In May/June 2000,
they did another tour of America aptly dubbed, "The Pop Machine
Tour - USA2000", taking them from New York to Chicago &
to California.
After almost 2 years,
the much-awaited studio album, "Carbon Stereoxide" is released
in March 2001 featuring the tracks, "Maskara", "Playgound" and
"Hula."
THE
SHOCKER.
After weeks
of speculation, it has been confirmed...founding member, main
songwriter & lead singer, Ely Buendia has left the band
in mid-March 2002 for "reasons unknown".
Without giving
up, the three remaining original Eheads decided to continue
on. Within just a few weeks, the "new" Eraserheads debut at
Hard Rock Cafe, Makati on April 19th featuring a female lead
singer, Kris Gorra-Dancel (also of the band, Fatal Posporos).
It was a very unique yet exciting move indeed!
THE FUTURE.
Eraserheads could
have been just one of those artists whose success blazes across
the music scene ahead of their contemporaries for one brief
shining moment. On the contrary, they have set a trend with
their innate talent and boundless creativity. In their years
of existence, the Eraserheads have distinctly become a phenomenon,
an institution in Philippine music history. Talent and good
fortune indeed seldom come hand in hand. For the E-Heads, their
good fortune was written in the stars. And it spelled S-U-C-C-E-S-S
in big, bold letters.
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