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| Eraserheads, or E-Heads was a Filipino rock band of the 90s, formed by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. |
They took their name from the title of a movie by David Lynch that they read while flipping through the pages of a magazine. When they saw the movie years later, they concluded that it had a dark and confusing theme, thank God the name didn't bring bad luck to their careers. Their music is unclassifiable, they recklessly walk the crooked line between the underground and the mainstream with a mix of alternative, pop, rock and everything in-between, instantly familiar yet totally unheard of. The Eraserheads have gone from being the biggest "flukes" to being the biggest thing ever to happen to the Philippine music industry.
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.
Biography courtesy of LIPS, Inc.
Revision & updates by Schizo for CIRCUS
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