The Urban Bandits’ Pinoy punk classic “It’s Independence Day” turns 35.

 

The Urban Bandits’ Pinoy punk classic “It’s Independence Day” turns 35.

By Rick Olivares

 

Mga kapitbahay!

 

The punk rock classic album Independence Day from the Urban Bandits that dropped like a dirty nuke in 1985 is now 35 years old.

 

Urban Bandits’ vocalist Arnold Morales’ cry of “mga kapitbahay” to open “No Future sa Pader”, the first track on side two, was like a modern day cry of Balintawak. An announcement that punk rock had made a huge splash in the Philippines with its pointed commentary and it was going to stay.

 

The UB’s – guitarist Ferdie dela Cruz, bassist Dondi Fernandez, drummer Roel dela Cruz, and Morales -- one and only album so far (unless they find common time to record their long-awaited second record in this pandemic after all these years) was an instant classic.

 

For one, the entire album and all 12 of its songs, was recorded live in one day on June 12, 1985 at Studio Z in Valle Verde under the watch of Jim Sarthou. A few overdubs were rendered but for the most part, the recording was done. 

 

“Gawa na lahat ng mga kanta at natutugtog na namin,” recalled Roel dela Cruz. “Kaya pagdating sa studio, mabilis na. Yung ibang kanta na-record sa isang pasada.”

 

The album was – to borrow the parlance of the day, like a Molotov cocktail hurled at a building or a tank. It could even be subversive (given this was pre-EDSA Revolution when rallies, demonstrations, and public outcry had coalesced into a maelstrom of dissent). 

 

In short, it was brilliant. 

 

Twelve tracks of urban mosh and mayhem with a mind for melody. Morales’ voice quaked and quivered with spastic glee. Roel’s drums were like the sound of a dozen or so heads banging their heads on the kick drum while Fur and Dondi laid down a thundering wall of sound. 

 

Independence Day channeled the aggro of British punk imbued with homegrown socio-politico commentary and a sardonic view on everyday life. 

 

“Meron akong na-vanadalize na pader sa may amin sa Sta. Mesa,” bared Morales of the back story behind “No Future sa Pader.”

 

“Sinulat ko gamit ng spray paint, ‘No Future’ at paglabas ko ng bahay namin iyon ang una ko nakikita. Nag-sink in sa isip ko yung kataga kaya isinulat ko bilang kanta.”

 

Of “Nagpapapansin Pansin,” Morales wryly said, “Madami nagpapakuwela noon na obvious naman nagpapapansin lang sila at hindi sila kamukha ng mga batang rebelled ng panahon.”

 

“I Don’t Like Your School” refers to the various schools of thought about the turmoil of the 1980s by different organizations and cause-oriented groups. “Wala naman nagbago,” spat Morales. 

 

And there’s “Manila Girl” that Morales initially performed with his previous band, College, became a semi-hit for the Bandits before hitting the stratosphere for his next crew, Put3ska exactly 10 years later. 

 

Several hundred copies of Independence Day were produced. Within weeks, it sold out. A working and pristine copy of that tape would fetch huge amounts of money today. 

 

“Wala ka na mahanap nung tape,” said Rogel. “Kahit saan ka magtanong. Kung meron man, kanila na yun.”

 

You know what they say about a damn good and hard-to-find album – you can’t keep it out of circulation. Independence Day has been bootlegged on cassette, compact disc, and vinyl ensuring that a new generation of fans will know what the UBs meant back in the 1980s and to Philippine punk rock history.

 

When the UBs reunited for that one night at the B-Side collective in Makati last March 31, 2017, the venue was jammed with fans old and new. 

 

“Just like the old days,” chuckled Morales at the memory. 

 

“Nakakatuwa kasi isa ako sa mga nag-react sa panahon na yun gamit ang musika,” he noted of the band and the music’s enduring legacy. “Para lang akong bata (noon) sa elementary school sa sobrang excited pumasok sa klase.”

 

With the turbulent times we live in today, an Urban Bandits reunion to record that much-awaited second album has been put on hold due to the pandemic. 

 

But Morales, flush after the successful reunions of the UBs and Put3ska in successive years remains hopeful despite the challenges of bringing the original crew together.

 

He doesn’t think lightning will strike twice. 

 

All he knows that the UBs are a product of the times. Then as it is now.

 

And you can almost hear Morales snarling, “Lumilindol na naman. Lumilindol na naman. Ano ba ito sa aking paningin?”