The revival of Artstart Band

MANILA, Philippines — In the mid-‘90s, the resurgence of pop bands was an undeniable toast to the local entertainment scene. One of the most in-demand groups then was Artstart Band, headlined by Pido Lalimarmo and Ella Mae Saison.

For five years, Artstart did the rounds of music bars. In late 1994, Artstart staged its last performance. Drummer Mar Dizon left the group and subsequently, Artstart disbanded and changed its name to Anthem.

“I miss Artstart,” Mar unabashedly shares. “I don’t really remember why we disbanded, but I miss playing with my friends — Pido, Ronald, Ella May, Gina, Jun Jun and Nato. I was always wondering how we are going to sound today, 24 years later.”

Original members of Artstart were Pido, Ronald Tomas, Nato Canlas, Soc Mina, Ella Mae and Mar Dizon. When Ella Mae left, Gina Respall became the frontliner, Jun Jun Perez replaced Soc and Elhmir took Nato’s part.

“We used to play at Annapolis, Music Hall, Strumm’s, Par Avion at Philippine Village Hotel, Cosmo and Versomina, which is strongly our turf,” Mar recalls. “At that time, walang katapat ang Side A Band, because all bands were simply copying them.

“When Artstart came out, our goal was very clear. We wanted to be really different from Side A. The competition eventually became healthy for Side A and Artstart. We even had a back-to-back concert with Side A at the Music Museum.”

The members of Artstart undoubtedly carry a very rich musical experience, respectively. “Performing-wise, each of us has matured,” Mar allows. “I’m very curious and excited, so I created a group chat to find out about everyone’s availability. Also, I wanted to make sure if Artstart was meant to regroup.”

A few weeks back, Mar got a call from his niece, engineer Chatt Ebalde, who requested him to form a band to back up pop singer Angeline Quinto. “The band was supposed to be a gift to my niece’s boss, but the budget was not enough,” Mar offers. “So I told her, why not Artstart, if I can revive the group. My niece relented.”

That became quite a tall order for Mar. He started making calls and soon enough, Artstart was grouped anew. Cooky Chua joins Artstart as the new vocalist, Henry Katindig plays the keyboards and Bolichie Suzara on bass. Three original members are still with the band — Ronald Tomas still plays the sax, Mar on drums and Pido on guitar.

Artstart recently had its musical resurrection when the band performed at the Food Park in the Government Complex, Diversion Road, Lucena City (fronting the new Lucena City Hall). The show was a gift of engineer Ebalde for the 65th birthday of Department of Public Works and Highways Region 4-B regional director Danny Dequito.

Artstart Band presently does nightly gigs at 19 East in Parañaque City and Johnny B. Good (formerly Hard Rock) in Makati City.

With Artstart’s return to the local music scene, recording a brand-new album is certainly not far behind. The band previously recorded such tunes as Misty Glass Window, Panaginip, Danielle and Lanie’s Dream under PolyCosmic Records.

“To the young people today who don’t know Artstart yet, especially the millennials, they will soon get to embrace our sound,” Mar believes. “Great music knows no time, age or boundaries. It simply flows.”