Esremborak at the 5th Philippine Ukelele Festival

Got Hong Kong shoegazer band Thud's new single Ado/Still Still

And it is signed too! Both on the cover and on the package.

Thud, a shoegaze band from Hong Kong recently released their new single, “Ado” backed with “Still Still” from Songs for Children Records (pressed in the United Kingdom). And the two songs are a delight to listen.

This single… shimmers and soars. Like it feeds off English shoegaze purveyors Slowdive and their magnificent self-titled fourth album. It pushes the sense of wonder, the pensiveness, that pervaded Thud’s debut, EP, Floret, released in 2015 (on Records for Children) into a rocket ride into the wild blue yonder. 

And just like that it is over. The two songs are definitely not enough.

In the last two years, Thud, has released only four songs, including the two on the cassette single Prime of Pride. Are we doomed to wait again for more of this wondrous band?

One can only hope they record new material and release it post-haste.

Those Voltes V, Mazinger Z records of my youth

Those Voltes V, Mazinger Z records of my youth

by rick olivares

Vinyl records aren’t the only bit of nostalgia enjoying a revival. 

Also, popular once more are those old Japanese anime soundtracks from the 1970s that feature theme songs from Voltes V, Mazinger Z, Daimos, Mekanda Robot, and other mech shows that captured the imagination of Filipino youth during the late 1970s to the early 80s.

These records are desirable among local fans, but in a bit of a twist, the Philippine pressings are just if not more desirable than their Japanese counterparts. The reason so is the local pressings contain English versions of these theme songs. 

During the late 70s and early 80s, OctoArts, Vicor, and WEA Records all released different products from the Japanese versions to the English versions. Many came out as seven-inch records and there were a few that were released as 12-inch full length records.

According to music aficionado Wilson Lim, the Questor-released Super Robots that featured Voltes V, Grendaizer, Daimos, Mekanda Robot, and Mazinger Z, this title – if and when available – sells for as much as PhP 10,000! The others sell anywhere from P1,000-3,000. 

These English versions have also been sought after by Japanese collectors because they were never available in their home country. 

Like Wilson, I was a fan of those cartoons with Mazinger Z my personal favorite. Through the years, I have been able to purchase original DVDs of the title as well as figurines. 

Wilson related that as a kid, he asked his father if he could purchase the Questor record. But his dad declined. Getting the record became a Holy Grail for Wilson; one that he was able to attain during his adult years when he could afford to buy one. Since then, he has amassed around 30 records of those robot-mech cartoons.

As a youngster, I was fortunate to purchase that Questor release that featured English versions of those cartoons. Unfortunately, that record has been lost to time.

Unlike Wilson, I had forgotten the records and soundtracks. That is until a few years ago that I chanced upon a Japanese record that featured Voltes V and Astroboy.

Seeing it brought back so many memories. So, I snapped it up quickly. And I knew that I had to look for any further records that I could find.

Since then, I was able to get a compilation titled, Space Heroes on Parade featuring the theme songs of Captain Harlock, Daimos, Raideen, and Danguard Ace. That was followed by records of Daimos, Ultra Seven, Space Battleship Yamato, and Voltes V.

The Philippine presses have been hard to find. There weren’t many of them pressed and what few there are owners will not easily part with.

When they are placed on the racks such as the quarterly Kagatan vinyl sale and swap meet in Cubao, they don’t stay for long on display regardless of the price. Fans know they are prized collectibles.

Voltes V and the other robot heroes have remained wildly popular in the Philippines decades after they were first televised locally. A new generation of Filipino fans have discovered them as well. Fan pages on Facebook have proliferated with the toys, comics, and records very much collectible and in demand.

My first ever Discogs entry... Gypsy

Got the 1970 Philippine press. Added it to the catalogue.

Playing Touche Amore's magnificent and powerful Stage Four

Anak Bayan

Pinoy Classic Rock. If you like the Allman Brothers, Doobie Brothers (of the 70s), Jethro Tull, and Cream, then you'll love this record.

7-inch single of Voltes V featuring Mitsuko Horie and Ichiro Mizuki

Featuring the theme song as sung by Mitsuko Horie and the closing song sung by Ichiro Mizuki.

This is my small collection of anime soundtracks.

Brace Yourself for Anthem for Maria

Brace Yourself for Anthem for Maria

by rick olivares

Pop Punk band Anthem for Maria is launching their second album, Brace Yourself, this coming April 13, at Tomato Kick in the Timog area of Quezon City.

Brace Yourself, follows their 2017 debut, Sweet Tears on Reckless Years, and features 10 songs of polished and catchy hooks. While you will find traces of their influences such as Fall Out Boy, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low, Kamikazee, and Chicosci. But the Dasmariñas, Cavite-based band (vocalist Charles Vincent Vera, guitarists JV Lucero and Jake Palmaso, bassist Paul Michael Barcelona, and drummer Mark Denzel Lucero) has put their own stamp on the genre by a mix of their love for all things pop culture.

According to JV Lucero, Anthem for Maria derives their name from two things – first and foremost, them being fans of Maria Ozawa, and second, their desire to write songs about women and the affairs of the heart. 

Lucero clarified the latter, “We are all for respect for women.”

In fact, the cover for Brace Yourself shows five dogs (that represent each member of Anthem for Maria) surrounding a curvy woman. It means either protection and that the band are coming for the affections of their respective crushes. “Music is a way into one’s heart,” pointed out Lucero.

Their songs are aimed at the teen and young adult set with accompanying anime/manga style art. 

We aren’t just referring to the album cover art, because this also translates to their merchandise, videos (see their latest video for “Lucia”) and songs on Spotify. Each and every song comes with corresponding art that is based on the song. 

Their band merch (from Carnivore Clothing) are just as fetching.

While the female of the species isn’t too far from their mind, Anthem for Maria are all professed geeks. All are into anime and manga, American comics, music, and video games. 

“Through art, we want to add something more to the song and we also want others who aren’t fans of our band or even pop punk to check us out because they might be fans of anime/manga and American comics,” added Lucero. 

In their words, the band just wants to make their music more enjoyable to all the senses. 

Catch them at Tomato Kick for their album launch.

Playing Massa Nera's Los Pensamientos de Una Cara Palida

Absolutely love this album.

Esremborak's debut at 70's Bistro

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 was Esremborak's debut at 70s Bistro. So cool seeing the band's name outside. It was a fabulous debut where the band won over the crowd. 

Having our picture taken next to the iconic sign outside 70s Bistro.

We got on first since the next bands were all ska and reggae.

My record collection of Spanish hardcore/grindcore band Teething

Am a fan of Spanish hardcore/grindcore band Teething! And here's my collection of Teething records as well as a compact disc, a shirt, and a booklet of Luis Ifer's art! It isn't complete in terms of records, but it's pretty good.

U2's War

March 12, 1983 U2's War hit the top of the album charts in the UK.

This is the original LP of that record that I bought as high school junior during a trip to HK.

It still plays well and kicks ass.

Love this record.

The Last of the Romantics: Shirebound & Busking releases an album of love, heartache, and yearning

The Last of the Romantics: Shirebound & Busking releases an album of love, heartache, and yearning

by rick olivares

Iego Tan aka “Shirebound & Busking” has an old soul. 

Even if he is in his early 20s, anyone who quotes American author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, listens to Irish folk singer Glen Hansard, and loves and uses Miles Davis cover art as inspiration has got to be an old soul. Oh… let’s not forget late British fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien who he swears by and in fact owes for his moniker.

“I am not sure if I woke up and got drunk or vice versa,” Tan explained of his nom de guerre. “But when I woke up, I thought that I don’t belong in the human world and that maybe I was a displaced Hobbit. Now, I have to find my way home; hence, Shirebound. And I am a big Glen Hansard fan and he started out as a busker. Since I didn’t have money to get home, I had to busk. So, Shirebound & Busking was born.

And just to get it out of the way…. Yes, Tan did try his hand at busking. Twice as a student in his alma mater of the University of the Philippines. “It was embarrassing,” he can only say with a wry smile. Perhaps a bit embarrassed, but also feeling emboldened. 

On that previous Tokien-esque reference, mayhap, Shirebound & Busking is a modern-day minstrel. – a man with his guitar and the occasional help from friends. “I write love songs and romance. But a lot of times when I look at sunsets and hillsides, I also connect those feelings to a woman. They are related but distinct. When writing songs, I try to tap into the distinction of love for your partner and love for nature.”

And as fate would have it, that Bard-upon-Diliman, is releasing his first full-length album titled, For Princesses, By Thieves O Mga Awit ng Hiraya para sa Guni-guning Sinta, this coming March 29 at Route 196.

It sounds like a mouthful – “long-ass titles,” Tan said of his debut album’s title with a chuckle. 

The album art is austere. Rustic. “Like a thesis paper,” Iego was quick to point out. “Or Miles Davis album covers.”

Truth be told, it has that feel right down to the song titles preceded by Roman numerals. As a whole, the album is sparse in its design, but overall, it is deep. And to borrow a song title of his, For Princesses, By Thieves O Mga Awit ng Hiraya para sa Guni-guning Sintasays “A Million Little Things” that can be two-edged.

“Everyone says I write sad songs,” he wondered. “But I think they are actually happy.”

Catharsis.

“Maybe,” he simply responded.

“The other day, I saw an interview of Neil deGrasse Tyson where he said, ‘Thunder shapes you.’ And that is exactly the album that I hope I made where the music and the art engages your senses.” 

Case in point, the second track, “Pahintulot” that is about a long-distance relationship. 

“I was trying to tell this woman how I feel about her before leaving to teach these Lumad children in Mindanao. I said goodbye and constantly thought about her while looking at the mountainscapes of Mindanao. So, I continued writing this song.”

The two are together today. So, the song heals all wounds.

“Tunnels” and “Relapse” seemed so similar. Like they flowed into one another. But the final product is they have become dissimilar. Essentially, writing For Princesses, By Thieves O Mga Awit ng Hiraya para sa Guni-guning Sinta was going deeper than the cliché of trying to find ‘the one’ as cliché-ish as it sounds. And yet, a lot of it is about heartbreak and a summation of the last decade of my life.”

Shirebound & Busking’sFor Princesses, By Thieves O Mga Awit ng Hiraya para sa Guni-guning Sinta is exhilarating, poignant, and insightful look at love and all its complexities. Written and performed by the last of these dying breed of romantics.

“I wouldn’t disagree,” Iego Tan concluded with that wry smile of his. “It’s just the way that I feel.”

How is OPM faring on vinyl?

How is OPM faring on vinyl?

by rick olivares

There is no question that vinyl is back as a preferred medium for music fans all over the world. Now how does Original Pilipino Music (from the albums recorded back in the Golden Age of the 1960s-1980s all the way up to today) fare in the market?

Let’s clarify OPM to include not only the music (pop music in general) but to also include the independent and underground releases that one can find in the market today. So not everything is on a major label. There are no new releases on vinyl from major record labels except for their reissues. All the new releases on vinyl come from independent and underground labels.

We spoke to some of the Kagatan music fair sellers about their observations about how OPM performs in the vinyl market.

The consensus is that OPM on vinyl does well. However, one thing that we inferred from our interviews and observations as a music enthusiast is that price has a lot to do with how quick it moves. 

We spoke to Arbie Bulaong (Treskul Records), Omeng Rodolfa (Spins Records), Roland Savellano (Lahn’s Records), Paolo Dagdag (Old School Music Project), Remy Cabaltera (Remnants Thrift Store), and Elwyn Zalamea (New Vintage Culture) on their thoughts about OPM on vinyl.

How is the demand for OPM today?

Bulaong: It is still high. The usual big name artists are sure sellers – APO Hiking Society, the Dawn, Identity Crisis, Juan Dela Cruz Band, Sharon Cuneta… the big names. For the artists today, Up Dharma Down’s vinyl release for Capacities is in sought after by fans. I am not sure kung marami na press but marami naghahanap. The Pinoy Punk releases are always popular. Anything punk kahit foreign mabilis bilhin. Yung mga really hard to find releases tulad ng RJ and the Riots, Electromaniacs, Speed Glue & Shinki, Third World Chaos kahit bootleg pinapatulan.

Dagdag: In demand pa rin up to now. Marami naghahanap ng OPM at masaya ako kasi nagkaroon ng value ang lumabas nung araw. Kung bakit maraming naghahanap—siguro kasi yung kabataan nila madalas nila marinig sa radio at telebisyon yung musika kaya naghahanap sila ngayon. Wala silang budget noon at ngayon meron na. 

The popular titles on my list are Ric Segreto, VST & Company, Hotdog, the Bagets soundtrack, Boyfriends, Juan Dela Cruz Band, Soul Jugglers, Wadab, Identity Crisis, Bong Gabriel, Maria Cafra, Sampaguita, Mike Hanopol, at marami pang iba.

Rodolfa: Up to now marami naghahanap ng OPM. VST & Company, Boyfriends, Apo Hiking Society, Juan Dela Cruz Band. One foreigner was even looking for the Soul Jugglers! 

Savellano: Marami naghahanap ng OPM. Ang challenge lang ay yung makakita na makinis na kopya. Pahirapan maghanap ng ganyan. Malakas din sa online yung mga naghahanap ng OPM.

Cabaltera: When we opened Remnants in 1994, pawala na yung mga long playing records. That time, pag meron nag-offer ng OPM, tinatangihan ko. Bagito pa ako noon. But even before the vinyl revival, we started getting OPM. Bakit siya mahal? Kasi konti lang in circulation unlike yung foreign artists na meron pressings from different countries. Because of the lower print runs, the demand is higher.

Zalamea: In my case, not as much unlike two years ago. Baka rin kasi mahal siya. It has to stop at some point. It can only go as high as what people are willing to pay.

We also asked who are buying? Is it Generation X? The Millennial and post-millennial generation?

All agree that it is both. Abroad, it has been acknowledged that it is the millennials who form the bulk of buyers today, but here in the Philippines, Gen X has the buying power, but so do millennials who are catching up.

We also asked each seller what was the most expensive OPM record they sold and the answers are shocking.

Bulaong: Most recently, I was able to sell a sealed copy of Mike Hanopol’s Buhay Musikero for 12K!

Dagdag: Ang pinakamataas ko nabenta is yung Up in Arms album ng Juan Dela Cruz Band; yung first album nila. Siyempre, Gen Xer yung bumili and I sold it for 38K kahit hindi ganun ka-perfect yung condition niya. Imagine if perfect or sealed. It will go higher. The next highest sold record was original na (Pinoy Punk) album ng Third World Chaos. Ang bumili ay German collector for P35,000!

Zalamea: I sold a near mint copy of the Juan Dela Cruz Band’s Greatest Hits (in its original shrink wrap) for 10K and this was in 2013. Also an original press of 10 of Another Kind for the same price before the reissue came out.

Savellano: Nabenta ko yung The Very Best of Sharon Cuneta, High School and Sharon & Love albums for 6K each. Nabenta ko yung Maskara ng Juan Dela Cruz Band’s for 6K and the Dawn’s self-titled debut for 8K.

Rodolfa: The most expensive na nabenta ko is Juan Dela Cruz Band’s Kahit Anong Mangyari for 15K.

  

Cabaltera: Nabenta namin yung Up In Arms ng Juan Dela Cruz Band for 13K. And the condition wasn’t so good. If it is in excellent condition, it will go for much higher. Maybe 30K.

RetRox, a concert for the damned & the death of a piano

RetRox, a concert for the damned & the death of a piano

by rick olivares

You know that it is said how your life flashes in front of you when you’re about to die?

Last February 27, at the Cine Adarna of the UP Film Institute, it was close. But not quite.

Famed artist, cartoonist, and experimental film maker Rox Lee was celebrated for his 40-plus years for his body of work in an exhibit cleverly titled, RetRox. During the 7pm performance dubbed, Rox External, some of his art and film shot on 8mm cameras, flashed on screen with members of sludge metal band Kapitan Kulam, blues rockers the Borrachos, and avant-garde crew, the Brockas playing in what was equal parts a theater of the absurd, a symphony of the damned, and a madcap dance that assaulted the senses. 

The scene reminded me of two things. The first, a scene in Ralph Bakshi’s animated post-apocalyptic classic, Wizards, where Blackwolf shows his mutant army World War II propaganda film that feeds their bloodlust to the haunting strains of an organ played by the grim reaper. And the second, of that part in the Doors’ classic “The End” where the song enters a spoken word section by vocalist Jim Morrison, a re-enactment of Freudian drama with the music building to a climax before the band goes ballistic. 

And true enough, as the clips sped up, the music got faster, and the scene, even more surreal and bizarre. Poet and artist Khavn dela Cruz who also pays with the Brockas, began literally hammering away at the keys of an old piano with… a hammer. And when the keyboard was finally destroyed, he brought out an axe and began hacking away. Copper coil, wood, leather, including parts of plastic Monobloc chairs there were smashed on the instrument by host and actor Jun Sabayton began flying in all directions. At one point, Dela Cruz doused the remains with some liquid as if to set it on fire. But it was like a final blessing on the life of a musical instrument that served its purpose well. 

In the midst of this orgy of sound and sight, Rox Lee, at 68 years of age, was rocking with his makeshift guitar made out of aluminum, shingles, and wire. It was as if, he was having a seizure. His eyes looked up to the ceiling, entranced. His body shaking with spastic delight. 

The whole set took about 45-minutes and it ended with the destruction of the piano and the bloodlust satiated. 

“That wasn’t art,” dispelled Sabayton. “That was experimental.”

I asked if this was rehearsed. “No,” clarified dela Cruz who also said that they have done this before during a performance at Cubao X, “It was totally improvisational. If we did this outdoors, I would have burned the piano’s remains. Its work on this world… is done.”

By performance’s end, the hundred plus people who attended the exhibit and performance all clambered up to the stage to take photos and pick up remains from the piano as souvenirs.

Kapitan Kulam drummer Jay Gapasin noted, “Improv performances are exciting. You not only go with the flow, but you play on the emotions and mood of the moment.”

And Rox Lee summed it up best with a joke and a laugh, “That was 40 years of pent-up frustration… in one moment. I hope people enjoyed it.”

Singaporean new pop rock sensation, Islandeer, has Filipino roots

Singaporean new pop rock sensation, Islandeer, has Filipino roots

by rick olivares

Currently making waves in the island state of Singapore is pop rock duo, Islandeer, with their shimmering single, “Momento.” 

Islandeer is Christian Jansen (drums, guitars, and keyboards) and Michael Garcia (vocals, guitars, and keyboards). And if the names are any indication, the two have a Filipino lineage.

“My parents are pure Filipino and they came to Singapore from the Philippines before I was born,” revealed Garcia. “So, along with my younger sister, I grew up a Singaporean without much Filipino cultural upbringing. But, most of my relatives live in the Philippines, and my family would visit them at our grandparents’ house in Cubao every year or so.

Jansen’s family on the other hand settled in Singapore in 1940 right before the start of World War II.  “My grandmother was born in the Philippines. Her father, Carlos Bosito, was a band master who travelled around South East Asia while taking his family. He ended up settling in Singapore in 1940.”

The two also have music in their blood. Added Jansen, “My dad who is of Chinese-Eurasian mix, is a distant cousin to the members a famous local band called Heritage. My dad played drums for some small bands in Singapore in the 80s. My mom who is Irish-Filipino, is a self-taught pianist.”

Chimed in Garcia, “My dad kick started my interest in music when I was young. He also introduced Original Pilipino Music to me at a young age and it is definitely one of my influences.”

And it is those myriad and diverse influences that drive Islandeer’s music. The duo, which has been around for two years, have performed in many huge music events in Singapore including Urban Ventures, Sound Feeling at the Lithe House and the Pilot Project at *Scape which is an organization that allows local youth to bring their aspirations to life through music and the arts.

“Momento” is a breezy and at once atmospheric song with Islandeer drawing inspiration from their collective influences Radiohead, the Bombay Bicycle Club, the Beatles, Fleet Foxes, Tame Impala, the Strokes, and other indie rock music. 

“We wrote most of the songs on the album during our National Service which we completed last year,” revealed Garcia. “The oldest song we have is five years old and the latest song was written early last year.For “Momento,” Christian came up with the main chords and rhythm and showed it to me after our friend’s birthday party. Then half-drunk, we completed a basic demo of Momento in that night.”

Added Jansen, “That song is also about when you begin to notice everything about this thing or person, and time freezes regardless of the atmosphere or situation. Then comes rejection, which often happens when your attraction goes unnoticed. A strong yearning for reciprocation starts bubbling.”

The song has attracted attention from fans in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Islandeer’s “Momento” is available for streaming and downloading on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, and Bandcamp.

Listening to In Flames' Reroute to Remain

Eat, Play & Love: How an American death metal guitarist found second life in the Philippines.

Eat, Play & Love: How an American death metal guitarist found second life in the Philippines.

by rick olivares

Jason Gobel hurriedly walked over to the coffee shop in a mall in Marikina where we were meeting up. He was an hour and a half late as he mistakenly went to another mall that was farther out. Gobel profusely apologized on the mix up. But it wasn’t any trouble. It isn’t every day that you get to meet someone who played on two classic death metal albums one of which I have. Besides, I had The Insektlife Cycle and Boarhog bassist Joy Legason to keep me company.

Gobel, 48, doesn’t look anything like his younger self when he wore his hair long, and was swathed in black looking like some avatar of death. Gobel recorded music with Cynic and Monstrosity, bands might not be household names, but they did release cutting edge records, Focus for the former, and Imperial Doom for the latter. You can say that both were ahead of their time and helped define extreme music in general. And the two records are considered among the 500 best metal albums of all time.

I remark that Gobel who hails from Miami, Florida, USA, looks like he wouldn’t look out of place of a NASA control room or some college classroom. He laughs and smiles. 

It wasn’t too long ago, Gobel wasn’t smiling. He was going through a divorce and in need to find himself and what lay ahead.

In an Eat, Pray, Love moment, Gobel, like the noted author Elizabeth Gilbert, sold all his belongings and traveled around the world. “I had to get away from what was familiar to me and go out and do some soul searching,” he explained. 

Imperial Doom was released by Nuclear Blast Records in May of 1992, setting a template for death metal bands in terms of technical efficiency and a somewhat progressive approach. The album experienced moderate success having sold over 40,000 copies. 

Yet a year later, Gobel found himself recording with Cynic.

Focus came out on Roadrunner Records in 1993, there were expectations. But the album didn’t fare too well, and the label, then one of the biggest and most famous of the independent record companies, didn’t do too much to promote Focus. 

“I think that after giving it a good chunk of my youth recording, performing, and touring, maybe it was time to get some real work and support my family,” recalled Gobel. “The decision certainly wasn’t easy. I stewed over it for a while, but I did what I had to do. I have no regrets.”

However, life has a funny way of throwing curve balls at you. With the divorce being worked out, and his kids already adults, Gobel felt it was time to figure out the next phase of his life. 

“If I stayed in the States, I’d be around familiar faces and places so it would be easy to slip into something else. I needed to get as far away as I could and away from my comfort zone.”

“I was supposed to experience new cultures and food. And it is great trying all these. It’s a feast for the senses,” said Gobel. “What wasn’t supposed to be a musical journey was ending up as a musical journey.”

Meet and Greets were arranged and Jason was surprised when fans in Malaysia and Thailand (and later in the Philippines) pulled out rare copies of Focus for him to sign. “And we’re talking about a first pressing here,” he noted. 

“I know the records I worked on were released all over the world and some of them made their way to Asia,” reasoned Gobel. “I have not recorded nor played professionally in a while so it was surprising and gratifying to know that people knew who I was and that I had an impact in their music in some way.”

While the American was stomping around Southeast Asia from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other countries in the region, the Philippines wasn’t really on his stopover list. “I was invited by a friend from the Philippines, Yarden Angeles, to come over,” he recalled. “and I thought, ‘Why not?’ We’d do things such as go see the Hanging Coffins in Sagada. Yet at some point, I was always asked if I wanted to play in some gig or studio.”

Last February 4, Gobel was surprised when some local metal musicians organized (Angeles, Jamez Salvaje, and the East crew) A Night with Jason Gobel, where they performed songs from Monstrosity and Cynic. He was finally persuaded to jam with the musicians on stage. “I was really rusty from not having played in a while,” chuckled the guitarist. “I haven’t played these songs even longer so I wasn’t sure if the muscle memory would kick in. I didn’t want to leave them with a bad impression.”

Nevertheless, Gobel got his licks in. “A short guitar solo,” he clarified. 

However, it sparked something in Gobel that he had not felt in a long time. “I started getting ideas – bits and pieces – for songs. Ideas for projects. Including one where I would work with local musicians. And I have met a lot of talented Filipino musicians.”

Anything is possible, bared Gobel. “It is impossible for me to go back to that death metal phase. I might do a metal song here and there. A project here and there, but at this point, I am open to a lot of things.”

Over time, his musical horizons expanded and the American enjoys a myriad of genres. “I think it is impossible to be still playing the same things over decades. As a musician, as an artist, you want to grow. You’re tastes change. You appreciate different things. And traveling opens your eyes as well.”

And to love as well. While in Manila, Gobel has met someone. The effect on Gobel has been huge. “I thought that it was in Thailand where I’d settle if not find myself. But it looks like Manila will be my base in Asia.”

“From the little that I have seen, the music scene here is exciting. You can say that it has also inspired me and I feel a rebirth of sorts here.”

A comeback?

“Not really because that is picking up where you left off. This one… is like starting something new. Definitely, a new stage.”

Dave Grohl's death metal project... Probot

Got the vinyl, the compact disc, and the seven-inch single of Centuries of Sin b/w The Emerald Law.

Love this album.

Love Comes to Town: Pianos Become the Teeth takes a bite out of Manila.

Love Comes to Town: Pianos Become the Teeth takes a bite out of Manila.

by rick olivares pics by janlor encarnacion

It’s a cool Sunday night. There’s still some arctic cool in the air. So, you will have to forgive anyone ensconced inside Mow’s who could have thought that they were inside a sweat shop because it was bloody hot and steaming. 

Baltimore emo rockers Pianos Become the Teeth were in town thanks to indie promoters Sleeping Boy Collective for an intense one-night show at Mow’s. The opening acts – Warrior is a Child, Typecast, Dobrev, TNG, and Tim Awa – all performed electric sets that hardly anyone budged from the standing-only floor lest they give away prized real estate and a front row view. By the time Pianos Become the Teeth – vocalist Kyle Durfey, bassist Zac Sewell, guitarists Michael York and Chad McDonald, and drummer David Haik – took what passes for the stage, the place was crammed with some 200 people. And it is one of those rare occasions where every band in the line-up rose to the occasion. After Typecast delivered an awesome performance, people wondered who could top that?

The main act, of course. And that was 50 minutes of moshing, pushing, sweaty palms and sweat soaked shirts, and throaty and impressive sing-alongs to Pianos Become the Teeth’s music. One patron had to go out never mind if he was losing his spot in front. “I need some fresh air and to clear my head. Even if just a moment.”

He paused then said excitedly “I saw the set list. The last two songs are a killer. I have to go back in.”

The songs. 

Truthfully, a Pianos Become the Teeth album or show is like a war against silence. The songs drip with emotion and of stories of real people and experiences that rend, tug at the heartstrings, and uplift. Especially with the songs from their fourth album, Wait for Love (on Epitaph Records), that feature a band dealing with adulthood and family. The album has the feel of Death Cab for Cutie’s classic Transatlanticism; except this is more emo done more melodically.

While some fans were shocked (some put off) at the departure from their super-charged songs of a decade ago, the men of Pianos Become the Teeth cannot fathom the criticism. “We cut two records – Old Pride and The Lack Long After – where we strung up a bunch of riffs and screams in making a punk emo record,” wondered York. “I, we, are immensely proud of those records. But we will not write songs like that again. They are like a time capsule. That was us then; this is us now.”

The now is Pianos Becoming the Teeth celebrating the first-year anniversary of Wait for Love’s release on the road. 

They might have shifted from the screamo emo to a more melodic sound but it is no less powerful. The songs don’t follow the typical verse-chorus, verse-chorus structure. In the words of York, the band writes a song with a beginning and the end. “The challenge,” he points out, “is making it interesting to get there.” The approach and somewhat post-rock feel has allowed for more textured sonic landscapes; giving to a more cinematic feel. And it gives more latitude for Durfey’s words and vocals to penetrate further into one’s consciousness.

And they do. 

Six hours before they took the stage at Mow’s, Pianos Become the Teeth’s vocalist, Kyle Durfey and his bandmates sat down to talk and reflect about the album and their initial sojourn to Asia. “It is a pleasant surprise to learn that we have fans in this part of the world,” he said with a pleased look. Then he chuckled: “It seems we have more fans than our own home town.”

Touring has given the songs on Wait for Love more life. 

“Before, we’d tour for a month after an album’s release,” interjected Haik. “But one year into this, we can now see what works and doesn’t. In the process, we make the songs better.”

“There are subtle changes in the various nuances of the songs,” further explained Durfey. “It’s something we wished we thought of or saw when we were recording them, but it is with more clarity that we see them now. And I think the changes have made them stronger.”

If not sung with more passion and gusto.

When Pianos Become the Teeth launched into their first song of the evening, “Charisma,” the fans in one joyous and sweaty mass joined Durfey in singing, “And what a way, and what a way, and what a way, you won me over!” 

Clearly, it was going to be a special show. 

Like that Spidey-sense of déjà vu or the music video for “Houses We Die In” when the band rocked like a hurricane amidst the roiling emotions of a death in the family. 

When they played “Fake Lightning” in the middle of their set, that song which opens Wait for Love, the propulsive drumming of Haik provided the impetus for a crowd still giving it their all despite the stifling heat (Sewell remarked after the show that all the beer he drank prior to the show was sweated out). With one salvo, they joined in, “So come, confess something dire and nothing less, and hold your breath, hang your head, this language like acid in your chest, we wait for love, and it’s getting so late.”

By the time the 50-minute 14-song set was done, it was close to midnight. Durfey and company all drenched in sweat smiled and made their way to the back room to hydrate and rest. The 200 folks sauntered out into the sleepy metropolis, still on holiday, with smiles and amazement written all over them.

The long Wait for Love was worth it.