The Eraserheads, touted as the most influential, if not the greatest, band from the 1990s, begins their nine-show tour in the US and Canada, starting with their first concert on May 19 at Central Church, Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Hopefully, we bring a little bit of home to them,” legendary frontman Ely Buendia said in an interview on Wednesday with GMA News TV at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before their flight.
He said that the shows would be different from their massively successful third reunion concert, titled Huling El Bimbo, on Dec. 22, 2022, at SMDC Concert Grounds, because this time they will have no guests. It’s all Eraserheads.
In the middle of the December concert, Gary Valenciano surprised the fans with a song-and-dance and turned the mood into what many felt like a Sunday noon-time show.
Lead guitarist Marcus Adoro said the series of concerts in North America is another reunion because they haven’t been on tour for a long time.
But what have been the Pinoy Fab Four busy with since their December concert, which reportedly drew an estimated 70,000 on-site attendees?
Buendia has been touring the US, the Middle East, and doing the usual corporate and provincial fiesta gigs in the Philippines with his eponymously named EB band.
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Same case with drummer-keyboard player Raimund Marasigan and bassist Buddy Zabala—both busy performing and recording albums with their respective bands, Sandwich and Moonstar 88.
Together as a band, they also do special shows as Ultracombo. They will never be able to shake off their Eraserheads persona so they formed the band early 2019. Ultracombo is what they call their Eraserheads tribute band because they perform an all-Eheads set.
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So what about Adoro, who, since the lockdowns has re-discovered an old love—painting and embraced it like a wonder drug?
“If I am not playing the guitar prepping for Eheads’ tour, I am mourning the loss of my cat Pussy Dadhwood by painting her, which I plan to do 100 times over for a future show,” Adoro told TheDiarist.ph in an online conversation a few days ago. There is yet no official announcement of the date and venue.
He continues to paint his pets, the Eraserheads and most recently his idol, the late rock icon, Joey “Pepe” Smith.
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He has also regrouped his own band, Markus Highway, this time with Dong Abay, for a one-night-only benefit gig at the ’70s Bistro to help Gab Chee Kee, rhythm guitarist of Parokya Ni Edgar. Chee Kee was discharged March 11 this year from the hospital after a nearly two-month confinement for lymphoma. With doctor’s permission, he was recently seen up onstage performing three songs with Parokya Ni Edgar.
Close observers say if there’s one member of the Eraserheads who benefited the most from the Huling El Bimbo concert last December, it’s Adoro.
It’s no secret that he has been battling with his own demons the past couple of years. The domestic abuse issue hounded him even a few days before Huling El Bimbo. He has issued a public apology.
Still, Adoro chose to concentrate on painting even as his music career got the much-needed shot in the arm during the reunion concert.
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A couple of weeks ago, we asked him if he’s willing to participate in a group art and photo exhibit with Buendia, Marasigan and Zabala. He readily said “yes!”
Buendia has been known to dabble in drawing and illustration. He did the comics strips and cartoon drawings for Trip To Quiapo, the best-selling landmark manual for scriptwriting written by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee.
Marasigan, during the lockdowns, tried his hand in paper collage, and had joined a group exhibit at Talyer 15 art gallery in Pasay City.
In his Podcast and You Tube channel show called Offstage Hang with Daren Lim, while interviewing guest, poet-writer-broadcast journalist Lourd de Veyra, he said he was inspired by De Veyra to paint.
Though initially done as diversion and therapy it soon became a passion, and De Veyra has produced paintings enough to join group exhibits and most recently, had his solo show at Gravity Art Space in Quezon City.
Then again, Marasigan knows his limitations. He posted on his social media: “I’ve been invited to a group art exhibit. I don’t think of myself as a visual artist but just like punk rock taught us, it’s ok to try it yourself.”
“It’s a collection of cut-and-paste pieces I started during the lockdowns in 2020,” he added.
We asked Adoro if he could have a two-man show with Marasigan.
Marcus Adoro and Raimund Marasigan in the exhibit of artist Romeo Lee who has been a friend to the Eraserheads since their UP days. (Photo courtesy of Romeo Lee)
“I saw Raims’ exhibit. His paper collage attempts symmetry and can be a profitable way of repurposing old magazines,” Adoro told us.
“And yeah, anything is possible. But most probably siguro magkasama sa group show,” Adoro added.
Zabala does photography as a hobby. When his wife Earnest dabbled in feature writing and was contributing to a newspaper and a monthly magazine a few decades ago, we saw Zabala taking photos using an SLR camera. Through Earnest, he answered our question if he’s willing to join a possible group exhibit with the ‘Heads.
“I like taking photos with my phone just like most everyone these days. I could contribute to the hypothetical exhibit that way, I guess,” Zabala replied.
If it’s going to happen, it could be after their US and Canada tour.
In February this year, WEU Event Management Services and DVent Productions announced the team-up with NY Entourage Productions to mount the highly anticipated concert Eraserheads Huling El Bimbo 2023 World Tour.
WEU Event Management Services and DVent Productions were the two local promoters for the band’s reunion concert last December.
After their May 19 concert in Las Vegas, the following day, May 20, the group performs at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, to be followed by two-night concerts, May 25 and May 26, at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California.
In Canada, their first concert is June 3 at PNE Forum in Vancouver, followed by five-day break before the concert on June 9 at RBC Centre in Winnipeg, June 10 at Universiade Pavilion in Edmonton, then another long break before their last show in Canada on June 16 at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
The next day, June 17, they return to the US for the final leg of the tour at Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Francis Lumen, president, and Ronald Esguerra, chief operating officer of WEU Event Management Services, and Maria Diane Ventura, managing director of DVent Productions, a multinational film and music production company, partnered with NY Entourage Productions for the North America and Canada legs of the tour.
NY Entourage Productions, represented by Nancy Yang and Angel Yang, is an international tour promotions and events company known to bring major Filipino artists to perform around the world.
“We’ll make sure the Eraserheads are well taken care of during their stops in North America and Canada,” said Nancy Yang, promoter under NY Entourage Productions.
“It will be the most comfortable tour Eraserheads will have in their lifetime,” said Ronald Esguerra, COO of WEU Event Management Services.
It was announced each show will be a two-hour production featuring a set list of staple Eraserheads favorites.
“Fans can expect the band’s top hits to be performed, but each night will also include different songs unique to each city so no two shows are completely alike,” the promoters’ announcement added.
During the contract signing, the Eraserheads also took time to sign artworks by Adoro and a D&D guitar designed by Parokya Ni Edgar’s Gab Chee Kee. In mid-February, the electric guitar was put up in an auction with the bid won by Bryan Beran, executive producer of Circus Music Festival. The bid was P1.3 million, which was used to help shoulder Chee Kee’s medical bills.
During the contract signing early this year: Darwin Hernandez (Soupstar Music Inc.), Ronald Esguerra (COO, WEU Event Management Services), Angel Yang (tour manager, NY Entourage Productions), Nancy Yang (promoter, NY Entourage Productions), Diane Ventura (managing director, DVent Productions), Buddy Zabala, Ely Buendia, Raymond Marasigan, Marcus Adoro, Savannah Lumen (WEU Event Management Services), Francis Lumen (promoter, WEU Event Management Services), and Monica Montalbo (promoter, WEU Event Management Services). (Photo courtesy of WEU Events)
Marcus Adoro’s signed artworks at an auction for Parokya Ni Edgar guitarist Gab Chee Kee’s financial assistance. (Photo Courtesy of WEU Event Management Services)
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Adoro also had his four portrait sketches of himself, Buendia, Zabala and Marasigan, all signed, framed, and up for auction.
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Adoro’s literally colorful passion has kept him afloat when controversies hounded him. Now the upcoming Eraserheads world tours should provide him security, financially and professionally—unless he does something off-key again with his personal life.
After the North American tour, the cities and dates for the Middle East, Europe and Asia will be finalized.
