‘We wanna up our game’: The Eraserheads on live shows, favorite local acts, and fans

As the group embarks on the Huling El Bimbo World Tour 2024, the local rock legends talk about the art of performing and connecting with their supporters

MANILA, Philippines – Seeing the Eraserheads perform live in 2024 used to sound like a pipe dream. But after their electric 2022 Manila concert and the North American tour that followed a year later, the iconic rock band has proven yet again that they are miles away from their last dance.

Enter Huling El Bimbo World Tour 2024. In June, the four original members of the band Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan signed on for another string of overseas shows, slated to perform at stops in the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Dubai for the rest of the year.

The announcement was also accompanied by updates on an upcoming Eraserheads film as well as the launch of their YouTube and merch site.

The Eraserheads have stood as enduring pillars in the OPM rock scene, with Filipino bands and songwriters alike taking inspiration from the group for their own musicality and lyricism. One may brush off the group’s trajectory as reminiscent of the classic rock-and-roll narrative, one that was defined by a humble origin story and ridden by controversies as resonant as their music.

But with more than three decades in the music industry, casual listeners and fans may be pleasantly surprised to discover that Ely, Buddy, Marcus, and Raimund carry on being keen students of both life and music despite being poised as the mentors themselves.

For the ‘Heads, the stage remains a valuable classroom for exactly that. In fact, it’s a prime training ground for experimentation and reinvention.

“We can see their reactions. So we can try little things, or me as a bass player specifically, I can try something and [think] ‘oh, it works’ or ‘that part doesn’t,” Zabala told Rappler. 

Despite spending quite some time on the airwaves and playlists over the years, performing their songs, which have since taken on lives of their own, continues to garner new fans at these very shows.

“So in the context of Eraserheads songs, that’s a big deal for me. Because when we recorded the songs years ago, I thought that this was how I wanted to perform it. Now, I have a totally different take on how I can do it and I get validation from being in front of an audience.”

Underrated tunes, the next generation of musicians

While fans both new and old can expect hearing their chart-topping hits on the road, the group hopes they would stick around for a few underrated tunes they’ve always been longing to play and challenge themselves with, like strings-forward track “Milk And Money” and the blues-rock influenced “Game Tama Na,” as well as non-single picks from festive album Fruitcake and their 2001 release Carbon Steroxide.

Let it be known that the Eraserheads are hardcore music fans through and through, with Adoro referring to the classics in the realm of underground, rock and roll, punk, and experimental genres as crucial inspiration for him in kicking off on a night for fans to remember.

On the other hand, Marasigan and Buendia cite the likes of younger local artists One Click Straight and Oh Flamingo, as well as the solo ventures of IV of Spades members Zild, Blaster, and Unique as exciting acts to witness and take notes from when upholding the art of live performance. Buendia also mentioned Filipino-Japanese singer-songwriter Ena Mori, who is one of the more recent artists to debut under his independent label, Offshore Records, which he set up in 2016. 

For the frontman himself, this generation of musicians are a “whole different breed.”

“Those new bands na talagang (that really) they take their craft really seriously. That makes us kind of, wanna up our game also in terms of performance. So it’s sort of, it’s a nice that’s going on na (that) we learn from them, like they, I hope, they also learn from us,” he told Rappler.

Apart from admiring the gumption of their contemporaries, The Eraserheads are also looking to navigate a new unfamiliar territory – a digital one that is. 

“We’re a little late in the game with the internet thing,” Marasigan admits. “ When we came up, it was just TV, radio, and print. But now it’s the internet and it’s free, so we’re learning the new technology to reach more of the people who like to listen to our music, young and old.”

Buendia adds that this longstanding relationship with their fans is the only one that matters enough for them to keep going: “There’s no such thing as one-hand clapping. It’s a two-way thing. We could not exist as musicians or performers without us kind of doing it for our audience and for the fans.”

But beyond maintaining rapport with their supporters, building camaraderie within the group has also become somewhat of a priority for the Eraserheads. 

A whole lot has transpired since the Eraserheads’ breakup in 2002, to say the very least. Buendia has gone on record revealing that the four are not as close as fans assume they would be. This has since changed, thanks to a couple of jam sessions, dinners, and birthday celebrations.

During our conversation, Zabala pointed out Adoro’s gift to the band ahead of their reunion concert, which only Marasigan “got the memo” and wore to the press conference.

“Matagal ko nang gustong gawin ‘to eh (I’ve been wanting to do this for a while),” Adoro told Rappler. 

“So this is like nung, after we signed the contract for the 2022 show. Sabi ko ‘Ah, may regalo ako sa kanila. All-around gift ko sa kanila.’ So I made, nagpagawa ako ng apat na ganito. Eh, hindi ko lang suot yung sakin,” he laughed.

(So this is like, after we signed the contract for the 2022 show. I said to myself ‘Ah, I have a gift for them. My all-around gift. So I had four of these made. I’m just not wearing mine right now.)

For the hitmakers, their growth as artists seem to hinge on learning as they go. From tempering with their sound, to carving out space online, to studying younger performers, to finally solidifying both their working and personal relationships. It’s only safe to expect even more from the Eraserheads rather than be saddened by their  sporadic farewells, just as their music live on to rightfully pierce the minds and hearts of many. – Rappler.com