Inspired by ‘Bisrock’; Palawan band wins Muziklaban

MANILA, Philippines — Palawan band Woopis emerged as the grand champion of this year’s Pambansang Muziklaban, giving credit to the Bisaya rock community as an inspiration behind their win.

Soy Lanzanas (vocals, guitars), Jacob Carlos (guitars, vocals), Jiboy Betita (bass) and Toting Peñaflor (drums) have been together for eight years now, playing alternative rock/reggae music in their hometown in Puerto Princesa.

As the victor in the 19th edition of the annual band face-off organized by Red Horse last weekend, Woopis received a cash prize of P500,000; a band start-up support worth P300,000; a music video album production; Red Horse Beer endorsement deal with guaranteed gigs worth P200,000; P25,000 worth of apparel and accessories from Dickies; and the chance to share the stage with rock stalwarts at the Rakrakan Festival next month.

What do they plan to do with their prize money?

“Save, and if we decide to reside in Manila, if we need to relocate here, we will use the money for it. Kung merong project, willing kami dito sa Manila mag-stay,” Soy told reporters after being awarded during the music event held at the Metrowalk’s Open Parking Grounds.

Woopis is now working on an album with about 12 tracks. They hope their win will help spread the word about their Palaweño-style OPM.

“We are very proud to be Palaweños. We wanted to show that in our performance in Muziklaban,” said Soy. 

The band didn’t also forget to acknowledge their idols and influences. 

“Naging motivation ng mga Palaweño artists yung ginagawa ng mga Cebuano artists, yung mga Bisaya, like yung ginawa ng Urbandub nung sumikat sila. Yung mga front act ng Urbandub mga Bisaya din,” Jacob said.

He was referring to the Bisrock (“Bisaya rock”) community of Cebu that enlivened the music scene in the south early 2000s and produced such artists as Urbandub who eventually got signed up by Manila-based record labels.

For the competition, Woopis was mentored by Mayonnaise, the Muziklaban champ 14 years ago.   

The four other finalists in Muziklaban and their respective mentors were Visayas’ Sinaphatra (Razorback); Mindanao’s Redeemed by the Blood (Kjwan); Central and North Luzon’s Talim (Greyhoundz); and Metro Manila’s Luminus (Slapshock). The mentors are also Red Horse “evangelists” or brand endorsers.

Mayonnaise vocalist Monty Macalino looked back on his band’s own Muziklaban experience more than a decade ago: “It was a catalyst for our career… We were playing out-of-town gigs. It was our first time to experience big gigs because before Muziklaban, we played in small, underground bars. Fifteen years ago, we were in our 20s. Now, I’m in my mid-30s, that’s why I don’t jump anymore. Well, I wasn’t able to jump then, but I have an excuse now (laughs).”

Monty also shared his observations on the sounds he has heard on the Muziklaban stage through the years. “Personally, I think the evolution of digital music is really evident now. Back then, it was so hard to record your own demo. During our time, we had to go to a studio for us to record a demo.

“Now, through smartphones, iPads, laptops, recording is now available. It’s easier for the artist. With that, malalim na yung research, di tulad dati, kakapa ka sa mga cassette tapes, CDs. Today, you go on YouTube, online. You have more access to your favorite band, you can watch their gigs and shows.

“That’s why the quality of the musicians nowadays -— ang dami ng genre nag-e-evolve. There are so many versions of bands today. So, it’s always healthy, I always say, if there’s an emergence of new bands and ang palaging makikinabang niyan ay ang mga older bands because, of course, pinapauso pa rin ng mga batang banda ang music. It’s all about creating a culture, a community, a scene, and our responsibility is to help them out.”

Razorback’s Kevin Roy has been part of Muziklaban for a long time now, whether as its host, judge or mentor. “I’ve seen it in and out, back and front, up and down, any ways around, perspective-wise... It changes through the years, but not much. Some years are better than other years in terms of talent, but what doesn’t change is the support of Red Horse for the industry. You’ve had brands that have their own events, they’re there for two years, but when it gets hard, they disappear.”

The appreciation for the brand stems from the fact that bands don’t get enough venues these days. “Mahirap talaga,” Kevin noted.

His band, he admitted, is “struggling to stay relevant. It’s getting harder and harder every year to come out with songs because the guys are busier now. There’s a lot of stuff going on. Just trying to keep your head above water as a musician. I don’t know what to do anything else. I used to manage a restaurant and stuff but (I said) I don’t want to do this, you know. I quit.” 

But Kevin is far from quitting the music biz despite its present challenges. He said, “I’d like to encourage the kids: As long as you have the talent, meron kayong kanta, ilabas niyo. Madali na ngayon mag-record. Get together, form a band. Eventually, when you’re good enough, approach a record station, approach a bar and play in that bar. Put your stuff out on the Internet, on YouTube, kung magagaling kayo, may makakasilip sa inyo. By doing that, you’ll encourage more bars to open, stay open and have live bands play. That will keep this music industry breathing.”

Slapshock’s Jamir Garcia enjoyed mentoring new bands as well. “We see ourselves in them. We were them. We started from humble beginnings also. It was pretty tough for us because back then we were on a different genre, we just came in, it wasn’t there,” he said.

In their 20 years as a metal band, Jamir said Slapshock has participated in Muziklaban for 18 years. He finds it a “big responsibility” to be “admired” by the newer generation of rockers. “For us, it’s a big thing, for a new band to like an old band like us.”

Nevertheless, even after being together for two decades without line-up changes, working nonstop and releasing a record every two years, and touring here and abroad (including Australia soon), Jamir claimed that they still feel like a “new band.”

“The normal thing for ‘old bands’ is that they tend to (go) slow, but I think we just released the heaviest album (Atake, 2017) we ever did. For me, it’s the consistency and the passion. You know how it feels when the fire is still there? We still feel like a new band, we feel like the underdog, we never felt that we’re there. But then we headline this show, we’re the last band to play, people stay (to listen to us)… So, it’s always good to kind of prove that, you know, we still headline shows,” he said.