Rock Stars from Alabang—an Electromagnetic Hotspot for Musicians

I found myself randomly listening to the song "If" by Rivermaya. Sadly it's not on YouTube because Sony Music blocked it due to copyright issues. It reminded me of a time when Bamboo was my neighbor.

That was when he just got here from the US, I heard, and the self-titled band "Bamboo" wasn't even formed yet (or just starting to be formed). So in my head, he was still the previous vocalist of the band Rivermaya whose songs like Hinahanap-hanap Kita, Kisapmata, or Himala remain to be very prominent in our country's rock music history.

I live in a small gated community from Alabang (of course I won't mention the name; that would be weird). He enjoyed jogging or walking his dog a lot so I'd really get to see him a lot during the afternoons.

I don't think he grew up in Alabang. Although his bandmate, Nathan Azarcon (also former bassist of Rivermaya and Kapatid), studied in De La Salle Zobel, the same school where many other rock musicians come from (you will be learning more about this as you read this article).

Little did I know that Bamboo would be one of the most popular and dynamic bands ever. After releasing their nationalistic single Noypi, the band's career soared.

Unlike many other bands, they really had this image of being "rock stars"; snobbish and having VIP-like personas. I remember watching this documentary on MYX calledMuch Has Been Said (the Story of Bamboo). They really tackled the band's "rockstar-ness" and the way they presented themselves. One funny scene was when they were taping a promotional video for Nescafe and Nathan had this paradoxical comment that goes along the lines of "how much are they paying you guys to do this?" when ironically they were the ones being paid to endorse the product! It was funny and entertaining. They were arrogant but it didn't feel pretentious. It all felt natural and real, in my opinion. They just mostly didn't care, I assumed.

With almost exactly the same story, Basti Artadi comes back from the US and stays once again in the same gated community where I live in. This time though, it's not to form a band (although at the time he was experimenting with the band Lokomotiv), but to get married. No one will probably believe this but I was there in his wedding in a castle in Laguna. Razorback vocalist Kevin Roy was also there (who is also brother of Kapatid vocalist Karl Roy).

His wife is the sister of a good friend of mine and luckily I was invited. I feel like the main character in the movie Almost Famous where he writes about his amazing experiences with Stillwater and yet has no proof and no one believes him. But believe me I was there. There was even a Ska band playing and eat-all-you-can tempura!

I don't think people in the wedding or his relatives and in-laws get to recognize how legendary he is. I personally couldn't believe it that I was introduced to him, got to eat and drink with him, or that I was casually talking to him. Of course I was starstruck: aside from being his brother-in-law's friend, I am also a fan.

Basti Artadi grew up in Alabang and studied in De La Salle Zobel as well. During their wedding, I remember him and his wife talking about growing up and hanging out in the grandstand of the polo field in Alabang Country Club, a significant venue where kids get to hang out even up to now.

Many purists and fans of Wolfgang would probably get annoyed that I prioritized talking about Bamboo before Basti Artadi. But of course, I understand that it's incomparable. Wolfgang is just in a totally different level. Bamboo just catered to a wider range demographic whereas metal or heavier genres are sort of an acquired taste, yeah?

They are just as diverse as they are talented. Remember the Acoustica album? It was filmed and recorded live in Music Museum. Some of my all-time favorites would be A Matter of Time, Center of the Sun, and She is my Cain, from this album (you can check them out here on YouTube).

It's natural, I guess, to be really proud when someone from where you grew up excels in something. I mean, just look at how proud we are about Manny Pacquiao, right?

I remember watching Monty Macalino performing in the old Gate 2 of La Salle Zobel. At the time, he was already breaking out the tunes of Bakit or Bakit part 2. Later on they gained popularity after winning the Red Horse Muziklaban and releasing their single Jopay.

You can really tell that these guys are very into the music. What I mean from this is that when composing songs, they can really become very technical, even when some of their songs are seemingly easy to play. The band will most of the time record and master their own demos before releasing the actual versions and the album. I've actually heard some of the songs in their newest album Pula long before the album was released because Monty Macalino uploads demo versions in his multiply account. The same thing for their first and self-titled album where their songs were mostly uploaded on their old soundclick account. If Raimund Marasigan can say "Wala pa noong Myx, wala pang MTV" I can say "Wala pa noong YouTube, wala pang Facebook".

I remember reading in a forum online about the topic whether blue or green produces better musicians. I'm not really so big on school rivalry. I've always assumed that it was just a basketball thing but turns out even music fans and enthusiasts debate about the same issue. But as I've said, you tend to be proud of those who come from the same place as you did (like in the same manner that Cebuanos are proud of Urbandub).

Ateneo produced a lot of bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Dicta License, Chicosci, Sponge Cola, etc. (I can't really think of any other right now). I don't really want to generalize that coming from a certain school makes you a better musician. I would admit though that many bands who come from Ateneo tend to become popular like the aforementioned.

I didn't really come here to compare schools but it's an interesting side topic. As my title says, I just wanted to talk about some musicians who came from Alabang.

I mean what are the odds that two amazing vocalists like Basti Artadi or Bamboo would become my neighbors, right? That's like lightning hitting the same spot twice and conventional wisdom tells us that it's highly improbable.

There's probably some sort of electromagnetic anomaly here, you know, rewiring the brains of those compatible and predisposed to become musicians (haha, well, I'd like to think so).

Since I got all these ideas just from listening to If by Rivermaya and it's not available on YouTube I coerced Adrienne Nicole Bernal into making a random and impromptu cover just with the webcam of this laptop (I think the audio is not in sync with the video):