The reign of Rampqueen

There are some songs that you know everything about. You know exactly when a particular guitar riff is going to start coming in. You know what the next succession of notes in an incredible solo will be; you know hit after hit of the current drum line, and, occasionally, you catch yourself humming the bass line along with the music. You know the precise moment when the briefest silence will suddenly lead into a violent, crashing chorus. You know all of this in the same way that you know your name, your reflection.

This is how I know Rampqueen. This is how I have known Rampqueen since the first time I heard them play, three years ago. This is how I have known them since I first fell captive to their music. It just can’t be explained.

They were college freshmen then, and I was in my second year of high school. Something about vocalist Saul Ulanday, guitarists Yosef Garcia and Erwin Armovit, drummer Jerome Gatmaitan, bassist Zoilo Manahan, and percussionist Arete Mequi. There was just something about their playing that was just so different from what I was used to listening to at the time. The guitar lines seemed insane and infectious, and the drums were simply impossible. I thought them amazing. Oh, I doomed myself to eternal fan-ship a long time ago.

I used to tell myself that I would write about them someday, and share them with the rest of the universe. I have waited for years, and now that I finally have my chance, I don’t know what to say. It is difficult to speak of something you know so much about, so perhaps I’ll let them speak for themselves.

YS: So, how did this all begin?

Yosef: (We’re) the proverbial high school classmates, eventually coming together to make music after being inspired by noisy modern rock.

What influences or inspires your music?

Saul: As a band, we were influenced by Tool, APC, and Deftones.

Yosef: We draw inspiration from very moody and meaningful music. We like incorporating the heavy, intense elements of rock and trying to balance them with atmospherics, ambience, soothing sounds and dynamic shifts.

And what is your music about?

Saul: Everyday things. I write about things I see.

Yosef: Some of our songs are fictional stories.

How so?

Yosef: We try to sort of narrate in our songs. Certain parts mean something, for instance, dynamic shifts mirroring a moment or scenario in the story.

Given that bands seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays, what sets you apart in the local industry?

Yosef: For me, our attention to detail and our constant challenging of ourselves, in the sense that we really want to push the creative envelope.

Jerome: In general, our love for music, our love for making music, our love for sharing our music, and our love as brothers.

Yosef: Not settling on a formula, not following a fad, and the near-insane drive to create something unique.

Saul: I don’t think about how we are, or should be, different. As long as we’re happy with what we come up with, ayus. Good times lang.

How long have you been formally together, and why Rampqueen?

Saul: Three years?

Zoilo: Three or four?

Jerome: I’ve only been with them since first year college, so two years.

Yosef: Rampqueen, because we like girls. Haha!

I heard that you guys are releasing an EP very soon. How long has it been in progress?

Zoilo: Three years.

Saul: Yeah, three years, too. Haha!

Why has it taken so long?

Zoilo: We were waiting for "the right time."

Yosef: It took two years to make. We went through tough times, we fought, and we worked hard to make it sound good and to make it as close to what we wanted as possible. In fact, the making of the EP only stopped because we just had to put it out at some point.

It’s self-produced, right? How did that add to or detract from the outcome you wanted?

Saul: Basically, we had total control of the outcome.

Yosef: Absolute creative control.

Jerome: Since it’s self-produced, we have the freedom to share our music.

Yosef: We own it.

Zoilo: There were just some limitations in terms of equipment.

Yosef: We weren’t efficient at all; it was a labor of hard love. Blood, sweat, tears, and absolutely no business. It was a "trial and error as you go along" thing.

So, what is this EP about, and why is it called "Evenings Recalling the Unsaid"?

Saul: Aside from the fact that we couldn’t think of anything else, I personally felt that the whole mood of the songs was about holding back something that could have been easily said or done.

Yosef: It suggests a sort of introspective persona.

Saul: In short, sawi. Hahaha! Loko lang.

Zoilo: Saka it looked nice on the cover. Hahaha!

Saul: It could mean anything: An assignment you regret not doing, an answer you could have given in Philo, but didn’t…

Zoilo: We get the point, Saul.

Given the many different sounds in the scene today, what do you think you sound like in particular?

Jerome: We sound like what we want to sound like.

Yosef: Rampqueen music is noisy, heavy, intense, sweet, and soothing.

Is there still anything to look forward to in the scene today?

Yosef: We look forward to being heard, because that’s the only thing to look forward to.

Saul: Good times lang, bra, good times!

Armo: We look forward to good times.

Jerome: Yes, very good times.

Armo: As idealistic as it sounds, it’s not about money or revenue, it’s more of just having a chance to put yourself out there.

Saul: It’s about good times!

There are so many things about them that I cannot string into sentences. Mere words and stabs at eloquence will forever fail to describe how or why I fell in love with their particular brand of noise. Perhaps it is in their drive to reach beyond their limitations that I have found inspiration. Perhaps it is in their music, their passion, and their intensity, that I have found a little smidgen of hope, of optimism – my own motivation to live my dreams out instead of perpetually convincing myself of their impossibility.

It was seeing Rampqueen for the first time that made me want to be a rockstar. Three years later, I still feel the same way, and watching them is still like being under a spell. I know – as I know my name and my reflection – that they will never fail to leave me standing stupidly until the last note plays.

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Rampqueen will be launching their very first EP, after two looong years, on July 9, at Gweilo’s Eastwood. (I hope to see you all there.) Contact RayFab, their fabulous manager, at 0917-5003227, for gigs and other inquiries.

You can e-mail me at bewaretheashtraygirl@yahoo.com.