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AFTER
years of speculating when and how the members of the
defunct Eraserheads would regroup again, even for just a
one-night gig, fans finally saw some light over the past
few days. Ely Buendia, the lead vocalist-composer-leader
of Eraserheads, made it official that they will reunite
on August 30 at the grounds of the Cultural Center of
the Philippines for a one-hour gig.
The
confirmation was made during an interview Sunday night
on Jam 88.3 FM, which was sponsoring a live gig dubbed
“Jam Session” held at Blue Wave on Macapagal Avenue,
Pasay City. Buendia readily said yes when he was asked
by the FM station’s DJ Tracy if the rumors were true.
That night, Buendia performed with his present band,
Pupil.
Also
Sunday, the date and venue was reported in a newspaper.
Ostensibly, a multinational company was behind the
reunion.
On
Monday, from the 10-year-old Eraserheads mailing list,
it was revealed by various sources that each band member
was offered P2.5 million each for a 45-minute
one-night-only gig. A report from the Philippine
Entertainment Portal, which was also posted on
gmanews.tv, revealed the offer could even range from
P2.5 to P10 million each.
Summarizing the sentiments of millions of fans
worldwide, Jim Ayson of philmusic.com wrote, “There has
never been a better time to be an Eraserheads fan than
right now—for the first time since 2001.”
He also
floated the idea that this could be part of a “devious
form of viral marketing....If it was really a viral
campaign, it has proved to be quite effective, and my
hat goes off to the digital-marketing strategist who
conceived it.”
In all
sources from the blogosphere, especially philmusic.com,
the big company that is allegedly sponsoring the concert
of the decade is Marlboro. The cigarette brand, under
its Red Nation events, sponsors an annual multiband rock
concert that usually gathers the best of the best rock
bands.
As of
press time, there’s no statement from the multinational
cigarette brand, which is under Philip Morris
Philippines. Efforts to reach them for any statement as
of press time yielded the usual “no comment.”
Even
Eraserheads’ label company, Sony-BMG, offered the same
answer.
Eraserheads was the most popular band in the 1990s up to
the early 2000s, composed of Buendia, drummer Raimund
Marasigan, bassist Buddy Zabala and lead guitarist
Marcus Adoro. The band was also one of the
most-sought-after product endorsers and featured artists
in various TV commercials. Its influence on local music
continues despite its nonexistence as a group.
If
Marlboro is really behind the reunion, some people
couldn’t help but underscore the irony. Ayson wrote in
philmusic.com: “There is some irony noted that it took a
tobacco company to pull it off. As far as we know, three
of the Eraserheads don’t smoke. Raimund is asthmatic
[hence the use of his e-mail user ID asmatik88], Ely is
a heart-attack survivor, and we have never seen Buddy
with a cigarette in hand.”
On the
legal aspect, the Philippines’ Republic Act (RA) 9211,
or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, which regulates
the packaging, use, sale, distribution and
advertisements of tobacco products, may pose a problem.
In an
article, “Government enforces advertisement ban on
tobacco product” posted last week in the
BusinessMirror’s “The Business of Consumers,” it was
reported that as early as January 2007 “the law mandated
a total ban on tobacco advertising on television, cable
TV and radio, and, in July of the same year, prohibited
all cinema and outdoor advertising of cigarettes,
including billboards, distribution or posting of
leaflets and posters, among others.” Specifically,
Section 22 of RA 9211 bans all forms of tobacco
advertising in mass media starting July 1, 2008, except
in the premises of point-of-sale retail establishments.
It was also stated that “taking effect simultaneous with
the prohibition on [the] tobacco ads is the ban on
sponsorships of cigarette and tobacco companies.”
Section
26 of RA 9211 states, “Cigarette and tobacco companies
are prohibited from sponsoring any sport, concert
[italics ours], cultural event or art event, as well as
individual and team athletes, artists or performers
where such sponsorship shall require or involve
advertisement or promotion of any cigarette or tobacco
company, tobacco product or tobacco use, name, logo or
trademarks and other words, symbols, designs, colors or
other depictions commonly associated with or likely to
identify tobacco products.”
Pupil’s
comanager, Dr. Day Cabuhat, told the BusinessMirror on
Monday night that she herself can’t give any statement
because it’s Buendia’s call. “They’re the ones talking
but Ely did confirm it on Jam 88.3, so the reunion
concert will push through.”
However,
she posited that it has been planned a long time ago. As
for Ely’s commitment with Pupil, she said nothing
changes with the band’s schedule. They still have gigs
in August, which are announced in the band’s official
mailing list, pupilcity@yahoogroups.com.
“Kumbaga,
nadagdagan lang ang gigs ni Ely. Pupil is
still his band,” she said.
Cabuhat
was the comanager of Eraserheads in the late 1990s. Now,
she added there is no manager handling Eraserheads
because, by sheer logic, “the band doesn’t exist
anymore. They disbanded in 2002. So in reality, there’s
no Eraserheads, per se, as a group today.” She clarified
she was not involved with the band anymore when they
called it quits. Cabuhat is a certified medical doctor.
Since
their breakup, each member has gone on to either forming
his own band or collaborating with other famous bands.
Among the four, it was Marasigan and Buendia who were
said to be more at odds with each other. Marasigan was
reportedly the one heavily affected by the breakup that
Buendia initiated when he “quit” from the band via SMS,
saying “it’s graduation time.”
Marasigan, among other groups he belonged to, is part of
the 10-year-old Sandwich and the three-year-old Pedicab,
which recently released its second album. Both bands
have created a considerable following far removed from
Marasigan’s affiliation with the Eraserheads.
In the
same Eraserheads mailing list, there were discussions
that Marasigan won’t attend such reunion unless it’s
their alma mater, the University of the Philippines,
that will organize the concert.
As for
Zabala and Adoro, they mentioned in several interviews
that they have no problems with the other members and
they’re looking forward to such reunion. Zabala is part
of the 21-year-old new wave band The Dawn. Adoro formed
his own band, Marcus Highway.
Buendia
pointed out that he agreed to do a reunion not because
of the money but due to the clamor from their fans. In
fact, recently he went to Sydney, Australia, for a solo
gig. Backed by a group of Filipino musicians based in
Australia, he sang 18 songs by the Eraserheads, as
requested by the producers. The said gig can be viewed
via YouTube.
As of
press time, many music insiders are not only looking
forward to the concert of the year but the date and
venue of their first rehearsal together. They want to
see how, after six years of playing separately, the
members would greet each other, patch things up and
hopefully rekindle their friendship, not as mere
bandmates. |
