Bands doing okay

Given how limited exposure can be for local acts nowadays, most especially for bands, which are rarely if ever seen on television, I am always heartened to find out that many of these groups are busy and generally doing okay. One of these is Banda Ni Kleggy. I watched these guys give a rousing performance last Saturday at the 2016 Philpop Music Festival finals night and they were great. Their song was the rap/rock entry Pabile Po, where they were joined by the songwriter Aikee Aplicador.

The song did not win any prize but given the fun time everybody had grooving to the beat, Kleggy and Aikee might as well be winners themselves. Besides their recording turned out so well that the song has been tapped to be the theme of the upcoming romantic comedy Camp Sawi. Pabile Po is about somebody in search of true love, that he hopes can be easily bought in a regular sari-sari store, you know where you say, pabile po ng whatever, and is just right for the broken-hearted characters of the movie.

Banda Ni Kleggy has also recently released a new EP of originals. Titled the Medyo Serious Album, it is indeed made of serious stuff. It contains some of the band’s most important works where they tackle social and environmental issues. The first single out was Kurakot. We all know what the title means as far as corruption in government is concerned. This was followed a few weeks ago by Pare-pareho. This one is about how nature is being devastated by uncontrolled logging, mining and the resulting flooding that affects everybody. It features the lovely Bayang Barrios, who is in great voice singing in her native Manobo dialect.

The Medyo Serious Album is now available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and other outlets. It also includes Kaydo, Bleep Song and Happy For You. 

Banda Ni Kleggy music combines rock with rap, dance and pop. Among its big hits are Discolamon, Bawal Sa Gamot, Walang-wala and Eksperto. The group got its name from frontman, rapper and vocalist Kleggy Abaya, and is indeed ang banda ni Kleggy.  Its all-star line-up also includes Rye Sarmiento of 6Cyclemind and Big Band Syndicate (BBS) on vocals and lead guitar; Bob Canamo, also of 6Cyclemind and BBS on bass; Berns Cuevas on rhythm guitar; and Raffy Bonifacio on drums.

Also out with a new product is the trio Gracenote with its second album release. Titled Transparent, this one features not only the group’s soothing type of pop rock but also star collaborations. One is the single I Will Wait featuring Chynna Ortaleza. There are also Gusto Ko featuring Alexa Ilacad and most notably, Bilog with Yeng Constantino. The bonus track Flynn Rider is a collaboration with 6Cyclemind. Also included are Give Me A Break, Someone, Pause, and Respeto, plus the two singles Two Four and Taciturn.

Like the term on which its name is based on, gracenote is a decorative note in musical compositions, the band is a lot of things. The PR blurb describes it as a synco-pop-punk-electro rock band and its music does teeter from one style to another. It is composed of frontman Eunice Jorge on vocals, violin and keyboards; Jazz Jorge on bass and backing vocals; and EJ Pichay on drums.

I am not much for labeling bands or the sort of music they do. They should be able to defy categories. What I like about this group is that the members make it a point to find something new to present to the public in their recordings. These sometimes work very well as in Minsan Lang Naman, and sometimes not but the effort is always there. Check out how varied Gracenote’s earlier releases are. Most notable among these are Minsan Lang Naman, Amnesia, Pwede Ako featuring Kean Cipriano of Callalily and a cover of When I Dream About You from the eight-track EP, First Movement produced by Rye Sarmiento of the band 6cyclemind.

The members of Gracenote met while in school at St. Scholastica’s College Manila and got their breaks by joining competitions like Sing for Cancer Battle of the Bands 2008 and were chosen first runner-up, Nescafé Soundskool that same year and came out as finalist and finally snagged the Grand Champion berth at the DZUP College Collision in 2009. They were named Top Newcomer in the Music Category of the Meg Top Choice Awards 2012. It is nice to know that the group remains active to this day.