Taking on the Gray Ground

MANILA, Philippines –Band members of The Black Vomits admit that the way they will launch their self-titled vinyl record of all-original songs is pretty wild.

The band ­— composed up of drummer Julius Sanvictores, vocalist Joyen Santos, guitarist Bryan Escueta and bassist Igan D’Bayan ­— is doing a modern rock opera (yes, you heard that right) on May 20, 8 p.m. at the Power Mac Center Spotlight in Circuit Makati.

And for a band that loves “incongruous stories and post-punk rock, or to muddle things up a bit, post-rock punk,” wild is the way to go. That or anything “glorious, loud, epic, risky,” as Igan puts it.

The story, which is also written by Igan and tells about a writer looking for  a way out of a paralyzing writer’s block, will be interwoven with original music performed live by the band. It features actors from the De La Salle College of St. Benilde School of Design and Arts, DJ Mia Ayesa and Ballet Philippines dancers. Direction is by Bianka Bernabe, while stage design is courtesy of Marco Ortiga and The Working Animals.

The Black Vomits also take a lot of inspiration from The Who’s Tommy, Hedwig and Angry Inch, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, etc. “So, we channel our love for that genre ­­­— rock opera — into something that’s ours. (The Gray Ground) may not be rock opera by definition but it’s something that we really worked hard on,”says Igan.

As for why they’re launching their concept album on vinyl, “Our favorite bands like Black Sabbath are on vinyl,” he says, “We want to be immortal. Ewan ko lang kung mangyayari.”

The band had a presscon last week at Brother’s Mustache in Quezon City to sample some songs from their record. How the band came to be was because the boys were friends back in college at the University of Sto. Tomas, while Joyen describes her becoming the missing piece that completed the foursome as more of a happy accident.

Meanwhile, Igan, who is also STAR Lifestyle assistant editor/columnist and visual artist, provides more answers about what led them to The Gray Ground.

On why The Black Vomits came up with The Gray Ground:

“It was a long process. Actually, nag-sisisi na nga kami because it was really difficult to pull off. We’re still unsure how it will turn out but bahala na. We were probably drunk when we were talking about it. But our songs ­— they’re mini-stories in themselves, so when we were reading the lyrics of the songs we wrote, there was a storyline that was forming. We thought, maybe we could present these songs in a way that is coherent, that has to be staged, needs to be staged and that the audience cannot just relate to the songs but also to the spectacle itself. So, we decided to do a rock operetta.”

On what the story is about:

Blake Jones and Pia Murphy star in The Gray Ground, which will be staged on May 20, 8 p.m. at Power Mac Center Spotlight

“It’s about a man who’s dealing with writer’s block. The man is undergoing writer’s block as if it’s the most difficult thing in the world. Parang exaggerated na yung experience niya. He wants to write the great Filipino novel but then he’s stuck with writing press releases or articles about bands you don’t know about. Instead of writing what he loves, he’s stuck writing his assignments, society columns, but then he’s aiming for transcendence, he wants to be beyond whatever he is in the moment. That’s the heart of the story. Then there’s a past love intruding into his current situation...”

On what he gets out of doing music:

Writing and painting ­­— both are lonely professions... but then forming a band you’re with friends. Parang democracy s’ya na di na natin mararamdaman ever. It’s more fun when you’re in a band. Then together you write something that we can all relate to.”

On what the audience can expect from The Gray Ground and The Black Vomits:

“It’s not your usual Friday night at the theater of moneyed musicals and production mid-numbers. No buff men at the barricades here. It’s about a man experiencing writer’s block written by a man experiencing writer’s block — well in the manner of saying. Sounds boring eh? My hero Samuel Beckett wrote about two men waiting for someone who doesn’t arrive, but it’s more mind-blowing than Batman v Superman.

“And originally, we wanted to be wild, ambitious and as huge as how the guys in Spinal Tap imagine a piece of Stonehenge coming down from the rafters. We dreamt of expressionist shadows moving across sinister Faust 2006 stage, everything being slanted, a space videomapped with fire, blood and monsters. We wanted The Wall and The Who and everything in between. Failing that, we will give the audience our own Orpheus and Eurydice — our own attempt at telling stories, telling lies and telling beautiful lies. And oh, the music ain’t too bad.”

Tickets are available at P1,000 each. For details, call or text 0917-8017304 or e-mail [email protected].