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Please post your comments in the The Eraserheads talk page. You can freely modify this draft. Perryv 06:40, 3 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]


This article is about the Filipino rock band, The Eraserheads. For the movie by director David Lynch, see Eraserhead.
Eraserheads
Origin Manila, Philippines
GenresPinoy Rock
Alternative rock
Pop music
Reggae
Synth Rock
Years active1989–2002
LabelsSony BMG (Philippines)
Past membersEly Buendia (vocals/guitars)
Buddy Zabala(vocals/bass)
Marcus Adoro (guitars)
Raimund Marasigan (vocals/drums)
Kris Gorra-Dancel (vocals/guitars)

The Eraserheads, also known as Eraserheads or E-Heads, was a Pinoy rock band widely regarded as one of the most popular and important bands in the history of Original Pilipino Music.[1] Composed of Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro, they were dubbed "The Beatles of the Philippines".[2] The band gained prominence during 1993 to 2001 as they released nine hit albums within that period. Since the ushering of Pinoy rock pioneered by Juan Dela Cruz and their contemporaries in the 1970s,[3] the Eraserheads were also widely regarded to open the second wave of band invasion, paving the way for other alternative rock bands such as Rivermaya, Parokya ni Edgar and Yano.[4]

They produced various kinds of music including pop, metal, alternative, reggae, and synth rock, as well as a combination of those. They worked both in the underground and in the mainstream.

Members

Original members (1989-2002)

Last lineup (2002-2003)

Early Years

Formation

File:Eheads.gif
The Eraserheads, clockwise from top: Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Raimund Marasigan and Marcus Adoro

The Eraserheads was a product of two bands joining together. All students of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Ely Buendia was a member of a college band called Sunday School, while Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro were members of another college band called Curfew. On December 1989, the Eraserheads was officially born.[5] They named their band after the movie Eraserhead, directed by David Lynch, which they discovered while reading a magazine.[6][5]

The band started out doing gigs around the campus. They played mostly covers of songs by bands such as The Cure, Sex Pistols and The Beatles[5] but also performed their own compositions, knowing that they were not that good at doing covers. "After all, if we committed a mistake. No one would recognize it since they don't know the song, right?", explained Buendia.[6] They were able to build up a small but loyal fan base.

Pop U!

On January 6, 1991, the band recorded a cheap, nine-song demo tape in Marasigan's garage in Candelaria, Quezon.[5] Using the demo, they auditioned at several record labels, clubs and radio stations to gain more exposure in the underground scene.[7] But they were rejected at every turn, with a recording studio deeming that their demo was "not pop enough".[5]

On March 26, 1991,[8] a friend professor from their school, Humanities professor Robin Rivera, helped them record and mix a better version of the demo on a four-track recorder.[5] The demo was titled Pop-U!, a play on the invective phrase "fuck you" by Adoro,[7] in response to those who turned them down.[6][5]. They recorded and mixed it at the Faculty Studio of the U.P. Diliman Faculty Center.[8] Rivera himself did the backup vocals and had some drum parts.[7] The whole process took two days.[8]

Using the Pop-U! demo, they were able to pass an audition at Club Dredd in Timog Avenue, Quezon City. Soon they became regular performers and played there twice a month. Initially, they did covers by bands such as The Cult and REM. But realizing their lack of skills in playing covers, they switched to playing their own songs. Their repertoire consisted of original songs, which was peculiar at that time because other bands did mostly covers, and bands were also rated on how well they copy the songs and their original performers. Eventually, the band attracted even more fans, mostly classmates and dormmates of the members.[7] One of their songs, "Pare Ko", whose lyrics contained cuss words, became an underground hit.[9]

Meanwhile, Buendia was employed as a student copywriter by BMG Records Pilipinas (now part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment). He worked with BMG during the day and wrote songs with the band during the night. Eventually, the songs of Buendia and the band caught the attention of BMG A&R Director Vic Valenciano. Valenciano listened to the songs and then commented that they were very raw technically, but there was something promising in them. Subsequently, BMG gave the Eraserheads' songs a try.[10] In 1992, BMG signed up the Eraserheads for a three-year record deal.[6]

Breakthrough and fame

(The band's evolution from discovery to Eheadsmania; massive n-tuple platinum album sales; awards; collaborations with other artists (e.g. "1896 Ang Pagsilang" album); controversies.)

Ultraelectromagneticpop!

UltraElectroMagneticPop!, the Eraserheads' debut album

In July 1992, the Eraserheads started recording their debut album called Ultraelectromagneticpop!.[5] The album featured "Pare Ko", "Toyang" and "Tindahan Ni Aling Nena", all of which were also present in Pop-U!.[11] The album also featured a sanitized version of "Pare Ko" called "Walang Hiyang Pare Ko".[12] The recording was finished in April 1993 and the album was finally released in July.[5]

Initially, BMG printed 5,000 copies of the album. But the album became a smash, with the songs "Ligaya", "Pare Ko" and "Toyang" topping the charts. By the end of the year, BMG sold 300,000 copies, and Ultraelectromagneticpop! turned sextuple platinum.[10] The album met some opposition as the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) attempted to censor "Pare Ko" but without success.[9] The public was said to have found its OPM Fab Four in the Eraserheads, opening the second wave of band invasion.[10] The Eraserheadsmania was born.[6]

Circus

In October 1994, the Eraserheads came up with a follow-up album entitled Circus.[5] The band said that the album aptly described their life since their smashing debut. The album was said to be unpredictable and unconventional compared to the OPM ballads at that time, and established the band members as good songwriters and musicians. The songs varied in style and mood, ranging from euphoric and hilarious to tender and somber.[9] Five of the songs became successive hits: "Kailan", "Magasin", "Alapaap", "With A Smile" and "Sembreak".[13] Circus turned gold in just one month with 20,000 copies sold. Eventually, it turned quintuple platinum with 200,000 copies sold.[13] But like Ultraelectromagneticpop!, it too had its share of controversy. In August 1995, Senator Tito Sotto, who was involved in an anti-drug campaign at that time, called for a ban on the airplay and sales of "Alapaap" over an alleged promotion of drug abuse in the lyrics of the song.[5][9] In response, the Eraserheads denied the allegation, saying that the it was just a misinterpretation, and that the song was the band's "ode to freedom", not an "ode to drug abuse".[14]

Cutterpillow

Cutterpillow, the band's third studio album turned gold even before it hit record stores

Their much-awaited third album, Cutterpillow, was launched via an open-air concert attended by fans and followers in colossal proportions. With Christmas barely a month over, the Eraserheads opened 1996 by making history in the Philippine music scene once more as Cutterpillow turned gold even before it hit the record stores as a result of the pre-selling promo campaign. Soon, the band shoot the music video for the song "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (The Last El Bimbo) from the album.[6]

Fruitcake

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.[6]

International acclaim

(The band's tour overseas; reception abroad; MTV award; local awards)

The year 1997 was marked with a series of gigs outside of the Philippines. The Eraserheads' 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 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York to receive the coveted "Moon Man" trophy for winning the 1997 MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award, which made the Eraserheads, the first ever Filipino artists to win the award.[6][15]

Sticker Happy

Their fifth album, Sticker Happy, was released a few days after the MTV Awards. A month later, they were back in Singapore for a series of shows and appearances for MTV Asia.[6]

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.[6] The band toured the U.S. under the Happy Box production outfit, which was formed by brothers Haro De Guzman and Levan "Schizo" De Guzman and some other friends.[16] (To be filled up.)

Aloha Milkyway

Aloha Milkyway was released in the Asian region

August 1998 saw the release of the album, Aloha Milkyway, in the Asian region and finally in the Philippines two months later. The album contains chart-topping songs that have been re-mastered and five new songs.[6] (To be filled up.)

Natin '99 and Carbon Stereoxide

In early 1999, they did sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai. Their next album, Natin99, was released in May.[6]

Between May and June 2000, they did another tour of America dubbed, "The Pop Machine Tour - USA2000", taking them from New York to Chicago and to California. After almost two years, the much-awaited studio album, Carbon Stereoxide, was released in March 2001 featuring the tracks, "Maskara", "Playgound" and "Hula."[6]

(The band's decline? Maybe deserves another section. Sandwich formation in 1998...)

Breakup

Ely Buendia's departure

(The text messages story; PULP magazine interview.)

After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed that the founding member, main songwriter and lead singer, Ely Buendia, has left the band in mid-March 2002 for "reasons unknown". However, in subsequent interviews, Buendia pointed to business matters as the cause of the band's break-up.[17]

In a PULP Magazine interview, Buendia's wife and manager Diane Ventura claimed that the breakup started with a miscommunication between Buendia and the band's roadie. The result was Buendia and Ventura turned up late at a mall gig, which angered the roadie and called them "unprofessional". Everybody else on the gig gave Buendia "a cold shoulder", said Ventura, thinking that he deliberately came late. The next day, Buendia brought up the incident to the attention of the band's then manager Butch Dans. Buendia allegedly blamed back the incident to the management's "unprofessionalism". But Dans allegedly chose to believe the roadie's account over Buendia's without delving further into the matter. Dans even allegedly insinuated that Buendia and Ventura were "probably too high on drugs" the other night to remember the gig's schedule. Ventura vehemently denied the allegation and denied further that she and Buendia were even told of the schedule. She added that the three other band members also believed the roadie's account, which deeply disgusted Buendia because he felt they betrayed their longstanding friendship. Buendia later announced to his bandmates through SMS that he's quitting the band.[18]

In another interview, Marasigan said he was eating in SM Megamall, a local shopping mall, when he heard of the news (how he heard of it, was not clear). He said he was "semi-surprised" and wondered if Zabala already knew about it.[19] Adoro told of the story now famous among Eraserheads fans about Buendia's cryptic text message. He said Buendia stated in the text message that he had already "graduated." Adoro quipped in the same interview that Buendia being the first to graduate was natural, since he was in batch '87 of their college (UP Diliman), while they were in batch '88.[19]

Zabala confessed in an interview that disbanding had not been that far away from the members' minds. He said that there were so many occasions where they could have disbanded but they did not.[20] Adoro expressed the belief of some people that the band was getting too old and that it was "selfish" for the band to continue, likely referring to comments about how it's time for other bands besides the Eraserheads to shine.[20] The band made it clear, though, that Buendia's departure from the band wasn't in any way violent and there was no shouting (sigawan) or any confrontation.[20]

Resurrection attempt and final dissolution

(Installment of a new vocalist; Marcus Adoro's resignation; formation of Cambio)

Without giving up, the three remaining original Eraserheads decided to continue on. Within just a few weeks, the "new" Eraserheads debuted at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati City on April 19 featuring a female lead singer, Kris Gorra-Dancel from the band, Fatal Posporos. However after a few months, Adoro finally quit the band. The remaining members of the Eraserheads added Diego Mapa and Ebe Dancel to their lineup and renamed their band, "Cambio."

After the Eraserheads

The band

Anthology

(The Eraserheads Anthology album.)

Tribute

(Ultraelectromagneticjam.)

Mini-reunion

(Recent book launch and mini-reunion.)

The members

Marcus Adoro

(Surfing, projects)

Main article: Marcus Adoro

After Buendia left the Eraserheads, Adoro also decided to quit a few months later. He then moved to La Union and was unheard from until the April of 2005. An email from him was sent to PhilMusic.com about a new project he was working on, called "Belma en Luis".[21] The EP turned up at a shop called "Sarabia Optical" in his former collegiate school, UP Diliman. It became available in different album covers and titles: Urfer Magazine (Mag:Net Café), Duckdive (Bigsky), American Gurl (United States version), and Submarine (Marikina version).

Adoro, Zabala, and Marasigan performed for an event at the Millennia Club called "Marooned," a production of UP bands from past and present. Buendia was invited to the gig, but did not attend. The song, "Batch 88" from "Belma en Luis," was one of the songs that was jammed by the trio.

Adoro was interviewed by GMA 7 newscaster Jessica Soho on her show, "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" about La Union, which is now popular for all beach surfers in the Philippines. Adoro now enjoys his new life as a surfborder in La Union.

Ely Buendia

(Mongols and Pupil, CURSOR. Include also his heart attack history and LivELY.)

Main article: Ely Buendia

After leaving the Eraserheads, Ely Buendia, under the stage name, Jesus "Dizzy" Ventura, joined guitarist Jerome Velasco (of then disunited band, The Teeth), bassist Yan Yuzon, and drummer Bogs Jugo (of the indie pop band Daydream Cycle) to form the band, The Mongols. After putting out an underground E.P. A Fraction of a Second, the Mongols decided to have their self-produced album distributed by the major label VIVA Records. The result is a thirteen-track album called Buddha's Pest. The Mongols' singles did not get the kind of airplay that the Eraserheads' songs used to get, partly because of the band's leanings to underground music.

When Jerome Velasco left The Mongols to study abroad, the other members of the band added The Teeth bassist Dok Sergio to their lineup and renamed their band Pupil. In November 2005, Pupil released an album entitled Beautiful Machines under Sony BMG and label Musiko, with the song, "Nasaan Ka?" as its first single. The song got fair airplay and became quite popular. Pupil's music is relatively more mainstream than The Mongols'.

Buendia also had a broadsheet column entitled "CURSOR," which was published weekly in the Entertainment Section of The Manila Bulletin newspaper. Due to Buendia's busy musical career, CURSOR had ended and was last published during the first Saturday of September 2006.

Medical Condition

On Sunday, January 7, 2007, Buendia suffered a heart attack or acute myocardial infarction secondary to arterial blockage. Buendia was reportedly in the middle of a song during Pupil's gig in Laguna when he felt a sudden pain in his chest and left arm. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors performed an emergency angioplasty on him. Buendia's condition was confirmed stable the same night.[22] A second angioplasty operation was conducted on Buendia on January 10, 2007. The operation was successful, and he is reportedly secured from having heart attack recurrence.[23]

Buendia's former bandmates expressed concern over his health. Buddy Zabala and his wife, Earnest, visited Buendia in the hospital, but Buendia missed the opportunity to talk with them because he was asleep during that time. The couple, however, were able to talk to Buendia's mother.[24] Dr. Day Cabuhat, former manager for the Eraserheads and one of the managers for Pupil, replied in CIRCUS -- The Eraserheads Mailing List, "buddy and earnest visited around 8am the morning after the surgery, ely was asleep, he was given a sedative post-op... marcus, as we heard, is on his way from la union."[25] On January 28, Marcus Adoro performed live on stage for LivELY, a fundraising concert for Ely Buendia.[26] Raimund Marasigan reportedly sent a text message to Buendia.[24]

Diane Ventura, Buendia's wife and Pupil's other manager, gave thanks to everyone who expressed their concern for Ely's condition, especially to local musicians such as Yael Yuzon, Francis Magalona, Chito Miranda, Rico Blanco and Buddy Zabala. [27] She also thanked the two former Eraserheads members, Zabala and Adoro, in her message.

This event also prompted rapper Francis Magalona, who is a longtime friend of Buendia and the other Eraserheads, to state the following on his personal blog: "Fast forward to right now, 9:58 am, Jan. 9, a lot of what ifs scenarios pop in my head. What if the E-heads members are back, like long-lost blood brothers? What if "the most significant OPM band of Pinoy Rock" would be in one room, what would happen?" And in postscript he adds, "Para sa akin panahon na para mag-reunite ang E-heads. Sugod na mga kapatid...rock & roll na hanggang umaga." which roughly translates, "For me, it's time for E-Heads to reunite. Let's go brothers...rock & roll until morning."[28]

Raimund Marasigan

(Production of albums and other bands; Raimund's other bands.)

Main article: Raimund Marasigan

After Buendia and Adoro left the Eraserheads, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Kris Gorra-Dancel's group was renamed "Cambio," adding Diego Mapa to their lineup. They came out with an album called Derby Light.

Marasigan's band, Sandwich, was formed in 1996 with his girlfriend Myrene Academia (from the band Imago) on bass, Marc Abaya on lead guitars and vocals (later replaced by Mong Alcaraz of the band, Chicosci), Diego Castillo on rhythm guitars, and Mike Dizon (from The Teeth) on drums. Although existing simultaneously with the Eraserheads, Sandwich built up their own fan base. Abaya left the band in 2005 to concentrate on his own band, Kjwan, and Marasigan has since taken over as the sole vocalist and lead guitarist. They have released three albums: Grip Stand Throw, Four-track Mind and Thanks to the Moon's Gravitational Pull. Their latest album is Five On The Floor which produced the popular single "Sugod".

Marasigan also has a hip-hop influenced project band called Squid 9. In early 2005, Marasigan once again formed another project band called "Pedicab." The band is composed of artists in their stage names, Marasigan as "Sugarraims" on synths and backup vocals, Mike Dizon as "Masterbeat" on drums, Jason Caballa (of Twisted Halo and Blas Ople) as "J. Sonic" on guitar and backup vocals, and Diego Mapa as "Daddy Maps" on lead vocals. They call their music "dance-punk." Pedicab’s first album. Tugish Takish, was released later that year.

Buddy Zabala

(Production of albums and other bands. Buddy joins The Dawn.)

Main article: Buddy Zabala

Zabala currently plays bass for another legendary Pinoy rock band, The Dawn, as well as for Cambio, Twisted Halo and Sun Valley Crew.

For his bass work for Cambio ("Derby Light") and Twisted Halo ("In Loving Memory of the Fearless Exploits of the Bolo Brigade"), Zabala was awarded the 2004 NU Rock Awards "Bassist of the Year".

He also helps produce albums for other local bands such as Boldstar, Twisted Halo, Itchyworms, Fatal Posporos and Sugarfree.

Kris Gorra-Dancel

(To be filled up.)

Music and songwriting

(Inspiration from the band's "average juan", no-lipsynching stage demeanor; colloquialisms and cussing in lyrics; second wave of band invasion; tributes; Eraserheads' influence on other bands.)

Commerce

(Commercial jingles and ads.)

Burger Machine (1994)

San Miguel Beer (1996)

Pepsi Megadrive Raffle Promo (1997)

Chippy

Talk N' Text - Anniversarya

  • "Toyang Anniversarya"

Sun Cellular

  • "Tindahan Ni Aling Nena" (2005)

Internet

(Fansites; official mailing list; the recent increase in page hits of Eheads-related sites. Eraserheads in Wikipedia?)

Discography

(We need an albums table like Kelly Clarkson's page for album cover, name, and sales. Redirect to a separate article?)

Filmography

(Redirect to a separate article?)

Publications

(Redirect to a separate article?)

Audio samples

(To be filled up.)

Trivia

(To be filled up.)

References

  1. ^ Torre, N. "Worthy tribute to Eraserheads", The Philippine Daily Inquirer page A4-3, December 16, 2005. Reposted in INQ7.NET (Web Archive version), accessed last February 24, 2007.
  2. ^ Sutton, M. "The Eraserheads -- Biography", AllMusic.com, n.d. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  3. ^ Johnson, K. & Doria, G. "Pinoy Rock: Music that’s truly Pinoy", The Manila Bulletin Online, May 30, 2004. Accessed last March 3, 2007.
  4. ^ Losorata, Y. "Ex-Eraserheads member joins The Dawn", Manila Bulletin, December 1, 2005. Accessed last February 24, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Guzman, L. "Timeline", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m LIPS, Inc. & De Guzman, L. "Basic Eheads Information", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d Ramos, R (1996). "The Story of The Inverted E", Pillbox 1(1): pp. 2-4
  8. ^ a b c Rivera, R. "For The Record 2: Pop-U Date and Location", Circus -- The Eraserheads Mailing List Yahoo! group (subscription), March 15, 2007. Accessed last March 18, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d "Eraserheads", Club Dredd Online, n.d. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c Panaligan, J. "A trail of blazing hits at Sony-BMG", The Manila Bulletin Online, August 6, 2006. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  11. ^ De Guzman, L. "Pop-U", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  12. ^ De Guzman, L. "Ultraelectromagneticpop!", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  13. ^ a b De Guzman, L. "Circus", The Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  14. ^ The Eraserheads' letter to Tito Sotto, dated August 24, 1995, quoted at Eraserheads Database on January 29, 2005. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  15. ^ De Guzman, L. "Gigography", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last March 1, 2007.
  16. ^ Reyes, T. "Meet Schizo!", Pop Times Magazine, October 12, 2006. Accessed last February 25, 2007.
  17. ^ Losorata, Y. "No delusions of grandeur for Ely Buendia", The Manila Bulletin Online, December 14, 2005. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  18. ^ "Ely's side of things", PULP issue #53, Jan-Feb 2005 release. The article is also posted at some forums, such as HighFiber6 and Titik Pilipino. Both were accessed last February 11, 2007.
  19. ^ a b Reyes, M. "Eraserheads adjusts to life after Ely", YOU - INQ7.net, August 7, 2002. Link is inactive as of February 11, 2007. Google cache version found on February 11, 2007.
  20. ^ a b c Quoted from BusinessWorld, June 2002, "The Heads Rock (and Roll On)", Eraserheads Database, n.d. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  21. ^ Ayson, J. "Tales from the Bronze Surfer: Marcus Speaks", PhilMusic.com, January 23, 2007. Accessed last February 15, 2007.
  22. ^ Legaspi, A. "Ely Buendia recovering after heart operation", GMANews. TV, January 9, 2007. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  23. ^ Legaspi, A. "Ely Buendia now out of danger - band manager", GMANews. TV, January 10, 2007. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  24. ^ a b Avante, W. "Ely Buendia slowly getting back on his feet after heart attack", Philippine Entertainment Portal, January 31, 2007. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  25. ^ Cabuhat, D. "Re: to dr. day", CIRCUS -- The Eraserheads Mailing List Yahoo! group (subscription), January 11, 2007. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  26. ^ Ayson, J. "Heart Attacks Nearly Kill, but Marcus Hiway Thrills", PhilMusic.com, January 30, 2007. Accessed last February 24, 2007.
  27. ^ "Ely Buendia undergoes 2nd surgery" from GMA Network's Chikka Minute entertainment news video footage (Tagalog), GMANews. TV, January 10, 2007. Accessed last February 11, 2007.
  28. ^ Magalona, F. "Super Proximity", A Free Mind, January 8, 2007. Link is inactive as of February 11, 2007, Google cache version found on February 11, 2007

Category:Filipino musical groups

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