eraserheads on the web

01/30/07 at 10:00 am | Posted in Eraserheads, Music, Tikman Ang Langit | 3 Comments

Looking for more online sources of information about the Eraserheads?

If you want to be part of the oldest surviving Eraserheads online discussion group, subscribe to eraserheads: Circus – The Eraserheads Mailing List. This was established way back in 1998 and the list is managed by the leading Philippine music site, PhilMusic.com.

It’s such a shame I wasn’t able to go to the concert, but check out Jim Ayson’s PhilMusic.com article about Marcus Adoro’s surprise visit and performance at the LivELY benefit concert last Sunday in Eastwood City. Great pics as well — find out what Jim means when he describes Marcus as “[l]ike Gandalf. Only with a really good tan.”

Another online discussion group is Eraserheads.org. If you sign up there, you’re supposed to get a free e-mail account: yourname@eraserheads.org.

By the way, interestingly enough, the domain eraserheads.com is for sale.

My fellow “Tikman ang Langit: An Anthology on the Eraserheads” contributors have also blogged about the dinner and EB we had where we got advance copies of the book and some of us met each other for the first time in real life.

Here’s an excerpt from Chong Ardivilla’s blog entry:

Last Friday, I went with Faye to a gathering of contributors to an Eraserheads Anthology “Tikman ang Langit” (Taste the Heaven….ok that sounded awkward, but that’s the literal translation). I’m one of the contributors. I wrote an essay with a homosexual perspective on the E-heads and rock and roll. I wrote of their song “Hey Jay” which did not earn a wide release but was revolutionary in a way that it was about a gay friend who is struggling with his identity.

I was surrounded by Writers with a capital”W.” Palanca winners, editors, journalists, fictionists, essayists….But I bet I’m the only one in the punchbowl who wore a rainbow feather boa in a mall. But it was an interesting gathering. I felt like a fish out of water but not so much to drive me away.

I am so happy to be made a part of this. I’m a published writer. I mean, I had articles printed in the newspaper before. And an article of mine was reprinted in a book. But this is the first time I actually wrote for a book and it’s a great feeling. It’s not a vindication that I can write…please….but that I was made part in a collection of essays celebrating what a lot of people tout as the last great Filipino band. It’s an honor. You have to read the essays to understand the extent of the influence of this band in the local rock and roll scene. the book will be available in national bookstore and powerbooks mid-February….oha plugging!

See the pics of Chong and his “long-lost twin” heh

Here’s an excerpt from Erwin Oliva’s blog post:

Of course, thank you to Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro who took time off to write opinions about this book. Kudos! And for Ely, thanks for all the good memories and the songs.

As the back cover of the book states: “For most Filipino youths in the Nineties, the Eraserheads was the band that defined their generation. From the underground scene, the band led the alternative music’s invasion of the mainstream and ushered in a new era of Pinoy music.”

And a blog entry from Jing Gaddi’s friend who was with us during the dinner. Jing Gaddi wrote the afterword:

ava and jing were nice enough to bring me to a small dinner marking the release of an anthology of essays celebrating the legacy and influence of the eraserheads . (jing wrote the afterword.) it’s a pretty slim volume but what was curious (and therefore great) about the book was that it wasn’t merely about the eraserheads. the pictures included could pass off as practically a history of the 90′s rock scene in manila. there were lots of band pictures, samples of posters of gigs, pictures of the famous joints which are now legendary (and mostly extinct), little bits and pieces of that wonderful time in the 90′s when pinoy alternative rock was this fireball of musical energy and love.

and so it was a trip seeing the four members back when they were skinny guys with the requisite hairdos of the time. at the same time, it was equally a joy to see snapshots of the people who made the scene alive. in a moment of a ‘what if’ hypothetical scenario, i figured had i not listened to my high school teachers and filled out that upcat form to make up diliman my first choice of campus instead, i would’ve seen all of these first-hand. but no, los banos was my undergrad world and my only resource was la 105.9, a station which played both teeth’s laklak (it’s all about the cute lead singer, ha!) and pavement’s cut your hair.

And thanks again to Janette Toral for plugging our book. I really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, other Eraserheads fans have been blogging about the LivELY benefit concert, including this entry from freelance rock photographer Mari Arquiza’s i see red blog:

The Filipino bayanihan spirit came to the fore once again as the OPM community got together in a special concert “LiveELY” for the benefit of rock icon Ely Buendia. I was not able to cover the whole event but while I was there i felt something different in the venue: everyone was smiling, the security guys were nice, walang slamman, walang wild, there were a lot of photographers pero di magulo — parang ang babait lahat ng tao! I guess the Spirit that prompted the organizers and the artists to work together overflowed to all the people there.

Ely himself was surprised by the whole thing, and was probably overwhelmed to know that a lot of people cared for him that he decided to share a portion of the proceeds to charity.

and this one from Blog it OUT!

Anyone in the Philippines, specially the youth of the early ’90s surely know who the ERASERHEADS were. “The pinoy band who revived PINOY ROCK”. Composed of ELY BUENDIA – vocals, MARCUS ADORO – guitars, BUDDY ZABALA – Bass & RAYMUND MARASIGAN – percussions.

This month, ELY had a heart attack at a very young age (around 30′s). He underwent major surgery called andioplasty – a surgery performed to remove the blockage around the heart which prevents it from pumping….and one of the major causes of death. Andioplasty, not only sounds and looks difficult in the true sense of the word but is also one of the most expensive surgeries, that’s why last night, a free concert was held at Eastwood City in Libis for the benefit of ELY BUENDIA.

Erwin Oliva’s essay in the book, by the way, talked about his electronic voyage of discovery as he examined how very much alive the Eraserheads is in cyberspace. So check it out when the book comes out.

The book launch is supposed to be held at SM Mall of Asia, so please stay tuned and we’ll give you the details once they’re finalized.

Mabuhay ang Eheads! Sana mag-reunite na sila…

technorati tags: tikmananglangit eraserheads eraserheads anthology eheads pinoy opm filipino music ely buendia philippines