Believe it or not, the invitation to do our very first recording was as punkrock as hell. Tommy Tanchangco ( head of Twisted Red Cross label) posted a note in the window of a very famous punk shop ( I forgot the name of the store..couldve been ‘Shambu, or Khumbmella, etc.) at TANDEM Cartimar in Recto. The said note was very short, ( I THINK IT WENT LIKE THIS: TO PHIL.VIOLATORS, CONTACT TOMMY –(Tel.Number) FOR POSSIBLE RECORDING..) hand written & signed by Tommy himself. A friend of ours (ARTHUR ARIAS) saw the note, and had to bring it to us personally, for he knew we wouldn’t give a fuck if hed just blabber about it., we probably wont believe him anyway.
And so we did., we got in touch with TOMMY and set a specific date for an Audition before we do the said Recording. Here are some actual facts, stories & details that I still remember from the whole fiasco. ENJOY READING!
THE AUDITION…took place at the rooftop of Tommy’s infamous MATIMYA’S HOUSE Condominium in Ermita Malate Manila. I remember being late, for me and my friend (RAMIR CERDENOLA) had to hustle at the local ELOY’S ( your equivalent of today’s ‘UKAY-UKAY ) before we could score our ‘prescription speed’ of the day and proceed to the audition locked & loaded. When we arrived, everyone was already there, TOMMY TANCHANGCO (our producer), BONG ESPIRITU (our vocalist), SEYMOUR ESTAVILLO (our bassist) NOEL BANARES (our drummer)… I also remember RHADY MEDINA (I.O.V.) being there along w/ ARTHUR ARIAS.
It was a dark and cloudy afternoon.. almost gloomy, “PARANG UMIIYAK ANG LANGIT( uttered Tommy), “..NAKIKISAMA SA KALUNGKUTAN” sabi pa nya…It was just right after the EDSA REVOLUTION and Tommy was mourning the death of an era…( the Marcos era! )..oh sige game na!!!.. and we tore relentlessly w/ our original compositions, one after another, playing furiously for him. Tommy listens carefully…every note, ..every word mattered and,..He didn’t gave us any clue on what kind of song he was looking for,”BASTA TUGTUGIN NYO YUNG MGA KANTANG GUSTONG-GUSTO NYO”…YUNG MASARAP SA INYO…I think we did about 5 songs before he signaled for us to stop. He asked for the title of the last two songs we did, and ask us to perform it over again. I was actually hesistant to do it, for I was gunning for another song to record with. ‘BAGO LANG YAN TOMMY, HINDI PA PLAKADO MASYADO’ I argued…But he said ‘EH DI’PRACTICIN NYO NG HUSTO’..MAKUKUHA YAN SA ENSAYO’he replied ..or words to that effect The songs were ‘FREEDOM’ and ‘WHO NEEDS SOCIETY’.
THE RECORDING…this time maaga kaming lahat dumating sa MATIMYAS HOUSE Condo ni Tommy. Pero wala pa siya at hindi kami pwedeng pumasok sa loob.. I remember we had to hangout at the buildings doorsteps sa labas ( for some reason we weren’t allowed at the lobby..siguro dahil sa itsura namin-we were always in full punkrock gear during those days..) Merong isang Guard or Janitor yata ng building na nagpahiram sa amin ng gitara habang nkatambay kami sa labas, after playing some FOLK SONGS to please the guards we proceeded to review the songs were gonna record that afternoon. Until finally Tommy arrives, and the first thing he noticed was : ‘OH NASAAN ANG MGA GITARA NYO???”…It was our first Studio Recording, first studio session ever,..AND WE DIDN’T BOTHER TO BRING OUR INSTRUMENTS!...hehehe (fun times!)
“3rd bombardment” is part 3 of Rescue Ladders & Human Barricades Compilation series by the TWISTED RED CROSS LABEL. / Year Released -1986.
TRACKS : 1. FREEDOM (Composed by Rotten)
2. WHO NEEDS SOCIETY (Composed by Rotten)
Recorded @ STUDIO Z (Valle Verde) by the legendary JIM SARTHOU.
PHILVIO. RECORDING LINE UP :
CHARLIE ‘BONG ESPIRITU……….VOCALS
SENOR ROTTEN……………………..GUITARS
SEYMOUR ESTAVILLO…………….BASS
NOEL BANARES…………………….DRUMS
TRACKS : 1. FREEDOM (Composed by Rotten)
2. WHO NEEDS SOCIETY (Composed by Rotten)
Recorded @ STUDIO Z (Valle Verde) by the legendary JIM SARTHOU.
PHILVIO. RECORDING LINE UP :
CHARLIE ‘BONG ESPIRITU……….VOCALS
SENOR ROTTEN……………………..GUITARS
SEYMOUR ESTAVILLO…………….BASS
NOEL BANARES…………………….DRUMS
