|
THE past
week has sent millions of Eraserheads fans into
stratosphere.
Creative
writer-cum-freelance publicist Claire A. was a
self-confessed groupie who cried for days when the band
broke up in 2002. As a prolific features writer, she
even wrote in several music magazines how devastated she
was and it seemed the world had ended for her. Good
thing she has a son to support and live up for...or
else.
When she
learned about the reunion, she shed tears of joy. “At
first, I can’t believe that it’s happening. I don’t want
to write anything about them. I want to respect what the
band members are going through these days.”
On a
different time zone, fans who have been living abroad
for years wanted to take a leave of absence from their
work—most of them are nurses and caregivers—just to
attend the mysterious one-night-only gig that has been
reported in various media outlets, including the
BusinessMirror.
If
there’s really something to fix regarding all members,
it is the ongoing silent feud between Raimund Marasigan
and Ely Buendia. We have personally witnessed many times
how Buendia and Marasigan would cross paths backstage in
multiband gigs and won’t even look at each other. When
Buendia was hospitalized, it was only Marasigan who
reportedly didn’t send any words of comfort—or any word,
period—to his former bandmate.
As of
press time, there’s still no statement from the
companies mentioned in our last story despite persistent
queries. The questions on which company is producing the
gig, who are the promoters, if they’re practicing
already, and how much each member will get—all remain
unanswered.
That is,
until Sunday morning, when the band’s elusive drummer
Raimund Marasigan posted two messages on Sandwich’s
mailing list, which naturally spread in the blogosphere
like some link to a sex video featuring a famous local
actress.
Since
Buendia was the one who first confirmed the reunion via
a live interview in an FM station early last week, it
was Marasigan’s turn to issue a statement.
And good
news to all die-hards: in his first message posted at
10:45 am, Sunday, titled “Eraserheads” and addressed to
Sandwich, Cambio and Pedicab listers, Marasigan writes:
“Yes, there will be an Eraserheads concert. Yes, I’m
playing drums. It will be on August 30. I haven’t met
the band and we haven’t rehearsed as a group. I think
that will all happen in August. I’m sure you have read
the blogs and newspapers and whatnot. A lot of things
there are not true.
“At the
moment, the final venue has not been confirmed. And the
promoters are still dealing with the tickets and
crowd-control issues. The promoters promise to answer
these questions soon. Maybe this coming week, so
standby.
“There
will be no front acts. It will be a long set. No,
there’s no talk of an album or tour.”
In the
initial reports, the venue was purported to be the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Open Grounds.
Last week the BusinessMirror tried to contact the CCP
Administration Office to clarify if reservations have
been made, and we found out that indeed there is one for
August 30 at the Liwasang Ipil-Ipil, the biggest of all
open-air venues there. It is the one located beside the
Film Center, formerly used by members of the El Shaddai
Fellowship. It can accommodate more than 20,000 people.
Our
source, though, wouldn’t reveal which company made the
reservation.
In
Marasigan’s second message, titled “A Few Thoughts”
posted at 11:17 am the same day, he answered a few
questions addressed to him by listers. The clueless
hard-core pro-Ely fans don’t even know Cambio exists,
for which Marasigan still plays drums. To think, for
seven years Cambio has been the only rock band that has
two Eheads members (with bassist Buddy Zabala) playing
together.
“No I
don’t miss playing drums,” Marasigan writes. “I have a
drumkit setup in the house, and I play all the time. I
have a lot of drum gear, percussion and drum machines. I
love playing drums. I even play percussion in church on
Sundays when I can....”
And here
goes what tore the hearts of some fans: “I get asked
this a lot. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend but I
don’t miss the Eheads or get senti (sentimental) about
it. It was a college band that turned into something we
could not control. The music lives. But that’s just me.
“I’m
also a big music fan and I know how it means to other
people, so please don’t send me hate mail. Ha ha. I’m
really not a bad person. It’s just a gig. Yes, we (have)
all agreed to play one gig but we’re minimizing the
drama. I will give it 110 percent. That’s the Sandwich
way. If I give any less Diego will kick my butt
onstage.”
His
message ended with “drums not drama.”
It’s
pretty obvious that Marasigan has obviously moved on a
long time ago, even before the breakup of his “college
band.” What’s going to happen on August 30 is just a
gig.
But for
fans like Claire, who by the way is pro-Ely, it’s a
rebirth, the return of the heroes of her youth, the
closure of a seemingly perfect relationship gone sour,
the ultimate Sharon-Gabby comeback movie, the longest
multiorgasm. |
