Pupil (band)
Pupil | |
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Origin | MCA Music |
Members |
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Past members |
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Website | pupil |
Pupil are a Filipino rock band consisting of singer and rhythm guitarist Ely Buendia, lead guitarist Jerome Velasco, bassist Dok Sergio and drummer Wendell Garcia.
History
Early years and formation (2004–2005)
Pupil was formed when former
Velasco’s departure shook things up for the group as they were trapped into the decision of whether to stay as a band or not. As they decided to continue and as they progressed, the band noticed that they were producing a different sound without Velasco on the lead guitar and decided to form a "new" band. “We got a better bass player and dumber guitarist,” jokes guitarist Yan Yuzon, who left bass playing duties to Dok Sergio to take Velasco’s place. Upon the determination of forming a “new” band, the group’s first move was to change their name.[1]
Frontman Ely Buendia chanced upon the name "Pupil" while browsing a medical book. The band wanted a classic name for a rock band. Before using Pupil, they tried several other names, such as Villain, Lords of Nasdaq, The Gets, Trochlean, Traitors, and Tyrel Corp. They chose the name Pupil because Buendia liked the fact that it is the part of the eye where light enters. Guitarist Yan Yuzon likes its double meaning, as well as the “eternal learning” connotations of the name. Pupil's launch gig was on July 13, 2005, at the UP Bahay ng Alumni.[2] Pupil also joined Livestock Productions. It was an event group with members such as Sponge Cola, Kiko Machine, Menaya, Tawo, Sleepyheads, and Elytistas.
Resurgence
Pupil had a hard time searching for a record label. They submitted their demo to several labels, but no one was more enthusiastic about the new material than the newly merged Sony BMG. Incidentally, Ely left BMG Pilipinas in 2002 in the wake of his falling out with the Eraserheads. However, BMG accepted Buendia again like a "prodigal son" as he himself describes it in their debut album's insert.
The band admits that there is a distinct challenge for them, coming out of their past bands (Eraserheads and The Teeth).[3] The challenge is particularly pronounced on frontman, Ely Buendia, since older fans tend to compare him and his new band with the huge popularity of The Eraserheads before. In an interview by Y. Losorata he says, "I just want my fans and hopefully, my fans to be, to appreciate my music. I’m lucky to still have my career in music as a job and as part of Pupil wala akong (I don't have) delusions to become as big as my previous band was." In fact, the band itself describes their music as actually "one foot in the past, one foot in the present and both eyes dead set at the future." According to Buendia, it's not being there but getting there that's exciting for him, no matter how many times he tries to get there.[4] He later added in a different interview, "Let’s just say that the Eraserheads is about escaping reality and Pupil is about accepting reality."
Reception and success
Local radio stations' initial reception of Pupil's music, though, was relatively limited (with the exception of NU 107) due to the band's genre and musical style. While the band's carrier single, "Nasaan Ka?" was played often and achieved quite a popularity among listeners, other singles released from their album encountered more hurdles. The song "Nasaan Ka?" was used as main theme and "story" (based on lyrics) for the first episode of the second season of Your Song. Frontman Ely Buendia says, "Some pop radio stations are still making up their minds on 'Dianetic' which I personally don’t understand since it’s really just one of those straightforward love songs medyo on the noisy side nga lang (just a little bit on the noisy side)." "Then again, minsan talaga hindi mo maintindihan ang ibang radio stations (sometimes you cannot understand some radio stations). It’s not as if they don’t play songs by foreign artists like Nirvana with music heavier on distorted electric guitar than ours. Pero okay lang (But that's okay), that’s the reality of things." He speculates that xenocentrism has something to do about the double standard these radio stations go by. Consequently, they were forced to release an acoustic version of their second single, "Dianetic". The acoustic version of "Nasaan Ka?" was then used as a Bonus Track for Sony BMG's CD Sampler 2006 Volume 3.
However, the band had relatively early success as evidenced by advertising projects that they were involved with and local awards that they have won. They were featured as the Rising Star for the month of May 2006 in
On November 26, 2006, Pupil won the
The band also participated in the 2006
The arrival and departure of Wendell Garcia and new albums (2007–present)
On July 25, 2007, Yan Yuzon announced in Pupil's mailing list that Bogs Jugo, the band's drummer, left the band to pursue other things for his career. Wendell Garcia, formerly of Barbie's Cradle, replaced Jugo. Garcia played his first gig as the new drummer on July 26, 2007, at the Hard Rock Cafe, Makati. The gig also featured new songs from Pupil's second album. The Mongols' Jerome Velasco played synths with the band. He is also the band's producer for their second album.
Since the release of the band’s second album (Wild Life), the band has enjoyed greater mainstream success and better album sales. The band has also toured and performed in other countries such as Singapore, Qatar, Dubai, Canada and United States. Their live performance of "Disconnection Notice" for MTV Philippines was featured in Best of MTV Live 2008. The same year, the band won 7 different awards which include a Promax/BDA and NU107 Artist of The Year.[7]
Pupil was personally chosen by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor as front act in the Manila part of the "Nine Inch Nails: Wave Goodbye" tour, which was held at the Araneta Coliseum on August 5, 2009. The band Nine Inch Nails toured the globe for one last time before going on hiatus indefinitely, as 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of their first release.
This was followed by a film soundtrack, when the band composed and recorded "Ang Panday" for Ang Panday (2009 film). The band released their first book, entitled "Against The Light: A Pupil Tour Diary", it details their recent Summer Tour in the Philippines. It was launched on November 4, 2009, at the Bonifacio High Street. Aside from the guest band Turbo Goth, Lally Buendia (Ely's sister) also guested and performed three songs from her band, Domino. Dok Sergio played bass, Lally on vocals, Ely played keyboard/synths and Paolo Manuel on drums. They joined The Earth Day Concert at the SM Mall of Asia on April 16, 2010, and afterwards, opened for Tears for Fears with Sandwich on May 2, 2010, at the Araneta Coliseum. The band also performed with Amanda Ling as guest artist (formerly of Electrico) on keyboards during the Nine Inch Nails and Tears for Fears events. During the Tears for Fears event, Buendia fronted for Sandwich, with Raimund Marasigan on drums, and performed the classic Eraserheads song "Alapaap".
In 2009, the band announced they will release a compilation of various remixes of the song "Disconnection Notice". It is headed by prominent Filipino DJs, Jerome Velasco, Pat Tirano and Wendell Garcia. The band also contributed to Francis Magalona's posthumous album, In Love and War. After the release of "Limiters of the Infinity Pool" in 2011, it was followed by a United States tour, which included performances in Wilshire Ebell Theater, Ebell of Los Angeles and Slim's, San Francisco.
After Sony Music Philippines' sudden disbandment last March 2012, Pupil transferred to MCA Philippines.
Members
Dok Sergio
Born on February 27, 1976, Bassist Andrew Ryan Steve Ricafranca Sergio is the brother of Rivermaya's former bassist Japs Sergio. Dok and Japs are also members of Daydream Cycle, doing bass and rhythm respectively.
Dok Sergio wrote the lyrics of "Dulo ng Dila" on the spot during recording. It is also the band's first song to hit no. 1 in
He also runs a silkscreen printing business whose clients include some of the most prominent bands in the local Filipino rock scene today. Aside from The Teeth, one of Dok Sergio's former bands was Warehouse Club where he played guitars and lead vocals, his bandmates were from the members of the band The Youth (Robert Javier and Joseph Carrasgo) and Jun Dela Rosa. During his early days as a musician, he played for bands such as Purple Playground, God's Era and Prominence of Cathedrals.
Dok played bass for
Ely Buendia
Born on November 2, 1970, Eleandre Basiño Buendía is the band's frontman and guitarist.
Jerome Velasco
Velasco was a pioneer member of
In the 2004 NU Rock Awards, Velasco won Guitarist of the Year award, for the Mongols' Buddha's Pest. Although he left The Mongols in 2005, he later returned as a collaborator, composer, producer and guest artist (during live performances) for the band. His latest works with Pupil include Beautiful Machines and Wild Life. Velasco later rejoined the band as guitarist.[9]
Wendell Garcia
Born on May 27, 1976, Wendell Ray C. Garcia, formerly of
Garcia also composed the song "012" with
Wendell also sings while playing drums, his recent performance was a cover of Lauren Wood's "Fallen" from Pretty Woman OST. He also shared his drumming skills for Rico Blanco's Your Universe album and he also plays for Archipelago and sessioned for Nikki Gil during her Myx Live performance. Garcia started playing drums at the age of nine and has won multiple awards ever since.[14]
Wendell Garcia is also a product of Malate Catholic School where singer Kuh Ledesma also attended and graduated.
Garcia left the band in 2016 and migrated to United States but later returned to the Philippines and re-joined the band in 2018.
Former members
Yan Yuzon
Born on March 7, 1978, lead guitarist Yan "Yanni" Yrastorza Yuzon is the older brother of
Being a very busy man, Yan is also a writer for
Yan also used to front for the indie neo-glam band called Cat Siamese.
He was also featured in an instrumental compilation called "Mga Gitarista" (The Guitarists), wherein it features various instrumental songs from Filipino guitarists from different OPM bands such as Barbie Almalbis, Francis Reyes, Mong Alcaraz and Mike Elgar. His song "Mount Ordeals" was inspired by Final Fantasy Series.
Bogs Jugo
Born on February 17, 1979, Drummer Ricardo Nicholas Bañaga Jugo is also the synth and beat programmer for the dream pop/electronica group Daydream Cycle, where he also recorded, produced and mastered the band's first album. Bogs is into video games, he once worked as an online customer assistance representative for an international videogame console company.
Playing “Hypersober” live was a different set-up for the band. Yan played the drums. Dok gets to play the guitars. Ely did the bass, and of course, Bogs on vocals. Bogs also used "d lite" and "Boga Man" as a nickname during the early days of The Mongols. He was also a member of the band Water No-nos, with Japs Sergio, and has played with other bands as guitarist and drummer.
On July 25, 2007, Yan Yuzon announced in Pupil's mailing list that Bogs Jugo left the band to pursue other things for his career. However, Yuzon said that Jugo had already expressed his desire to quit his duties for both of his bands, Pupil and Daydream Cycle, as early as the summer of 2007. Bogs, a pioneer member of the group since The Mongols, ensured smooth transition for Pupil into its current new lineup. He was replaced by Wendell Garcia, formerly of Barbie's Cradle.
Contrary to speculations, he did not leave the music industry at all. Jugo is still a musician, but more within the indie and underground scene; perhaps to give way to his other activities and new career. After he left Pupil and DDC, he also sessioned with Nina’s live band as drummer and also for Tawo band. Currently he is the drummer for Us-2 Evil-0, and he also played guitars for She Hates Ballet. Jugo recently joined Hit Productions as an Audio Engineer, a company that's also co-headed by Mike Villegas, formerly of Rizal Underground.
Other personnel
Patrick Tirano
Dr. Day Cabuhat
Dr. Day Cabuhat once managed
Diane Ventura
Aside from being a manager, she has co-written a number of the band's songs and has shared her singing voice as both lead and backing vocals.
Discography
Beautiful Machines
Hoodwinked Soundtrack
One of the band's songs entitled "Blow Your House Down" was featured in a Hollywood
Rockoustic Mania
Pupil and
The
Audio:
1. Nakakabaliw (E. Buendia, D. Ventura)
2. Must Have (E. Buendia, B. Almalbis, D. Sergio)
Video:
1. Nakakabaliw (Directed by RA Rivera)
2. Must Have (Directed by Pancho Esguerra)
3. MYX News Nakakabaliw by Barbie and Pupil (Behind the scenes)
During the Rockoustic Mania Press Launch at Phi Bar Metrowalk held on June 14, 2006, Barbie Almalbis and Pupil played their songs separately as they showed the crowd their own music styles and genre. They also jammed together and as a bonus, Barbie sang the Eraserheads classic “Overdrive” and on the other hand, “Alapaap” was performed by Pupil.
Animax
Pupil also made a new theme song for Animax Asia, entitled "Set Me Apart". The song had its exclusive Philippine-radio launch by NU107.[18] The song also gained no. 1 spot in NU 107's Stairway to Seven chart within just two weeks after the radio launch and the band was a prominent guest in Mad Mad Fun.
Pupil had been part of
The song had its official local launch Tuesday, May 22, 2007, in an exclusive Animax Party at the Hard Rock Cafe Makati, wherein 50 pairs of tickets were given away in a contest. The band had their first overseas gig on May 27 at the Bar None bar in
The production of the music video is a first of its kind for a Filipino band, most scenes and characters were done using traditional hand-drawn 2D animation subsequently softly blended with 3D and CGI. One of the famous anime films that used this technique is Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which is also a personal favourite of Ely (as evident with The Mongols' "Case Logic" lyrics and interviews). It was filmed in the Philippines, processed in Malaysia by Hue Visualab, and launched in Animax's ASEAN headquarters in Singapore.
The song won a Promax/BDA award in 2008, making Pupil the first Filipino band to win such award.
Wild Life
Wild Life, their second album under Sony BMG, features 12 tracks. It featured photography work by Francis Magalona. All 11 new tracks features Wendell Garcia as the band's new drummer, while the 12th track, "Set Me Apart", featured Bogs Jugo as the drummer, as his last song with Pupil. The album was recorded in Soundsrite studio in Kalayaan Ave., Makati City. Where its owned and operated by Boyet Aquino, the original drummer of Francis Magalona's band called Hardware Syndrome where Wendell Garcia used to play drums with. The special edition was released on July 10, 2009.
Limiters of the Infinity Pool
In an interview with the
Amanda Ling and Francis "Brew" Reyes are also part of the album. It is co-produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Pat Tirano at Wombworks, the band describes their new album "The sound is bigger, more experimental than the first two albums. There's a live string section", with influences from
Zilch
The band confirmed to a group of journalists that their next studio album is set for a January 2015 release.[22] The album's first single, Out of Control, is released on early August 2014.[22]
Studio albums
- Beautiful Machines – 2005
- Wildlife – 2007
- Limiters Of The Infinity Pool – 2011
- Zilch – 2015
Awards and nominations
Year | Award Giving Body | Category | Nominated Work | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Awit Awards | Best Performance By A New Group | — | Won |
Best Rock | "Superproxy 2k6" by Francis M & Hardware Syndrome feat. Ely Buendia |
Nominated | ||
MTV Pilipinas
|
Best Rock Video Award | "Nasaan Ka?" | Won[23] | |
Best Director | (Quark Henares for "Nasaan Ka?") | Won | ||
NU Rock Awards |
Bassist of The Year | (for Dok Sergio) | Nominated[24] | |
Producer/s of The Year | (with Patrick Tirano for "Beautiful Machines") | Nominated[24] | ||
Song of The Year | "Nasaan Ka?" | Nominated[24] | ||
Band of The Year | — | Nominated[24] | ||
Album of The Year | "Beautiful Machines" | Nominated[24] | ||
SOP
|
Breakthrough Recording Artist of The Year | — | Won | |
Best Vocalist (Pasiklaband Awards) | (for Ely Buendia) | Nominated | ||
Best Rock Band (Pasiklaband Awards) | — | Nominated | ||
2007 | Awit Awards | Music Video of The Year | "Dulo Ng Dila" | Nominated |
MYX Music Awards |
Favorite Media Soundtrack | "Nakakabaliw" with Barbie Almalbis for Juicy Fruit Rockoustic Mania | Nominated | |
Favorite Collaboration | "Superproxy 2k6" by Francis M & Hardware Syndrome feat. Ely Buendia |
Nominated | ||
NU Rock Awards |
Song of The Year | "Sala" | Nominated[25] | |
OPM Songhits Awards | Best Performance by a Group/Band | — | Nominated | |
Best Male Vocalist | (for Ely Buendia) | Won | ||
Best Song for a Movie/TV/Stage play | "Set Me Apart" | Nominated | ||
Rock Icon Award | (for Ely Buendia) | Won | ||
2008 | Awit Awards | Best Performance By A Group Recording Artist/s (Performance Award) | "Sala" | Nominated |
Best Performance By A Group Recording Artist/s (People's Choice Award) | "Sala" | Nominated | ||
Best Rock Recording | "Sala" | Nominated | ||
Best World/Alternative/Bossa Music | "Sala" | Nominated | ||
NU Rock Awards
|
Producer Of The Year | (with Jerome Velasco for "Wildlife" ) | Won | |
Drummer Of The Year | (for Wendell Garcia) | Won | ||
Album Of The Year | "Wild Life" | Won | ||
Artist Of The Year | — | Won | ||
Best Music Video | "Monobloc" | Won | ||
Vocalist of the Year | (for Ely Buendia) | Nominated[26] | ||
Bassist of The Year | (for Dok Sergio) | Nominated[26] | ||
Song of the Year | "Monobloc" | Nominated[26] | ||
Promax/BDA Awards (New York City) | Best Music Video | "Set Me Apart" | Won | |
SOP | Best Rock Band(Pasiklaband Awards) | — | Won | |
2009 | NU Rock Awards
|
Song of The Year | "Different Worlds" (Live Version) | Nominated |
Song of The Year | "Teacher's Pet" | Nominated | ||
Best Music Video | "Teacher's Pet" Directed by King Palisoc | Nominated |
References
- ^ [1] Archived June 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Legaspi, A. "Pupil: Always willing to start from scratch", GMANews.TV
- ^ "Coping with a reluctant icon" Archived October 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Balita.com
- ^ Panaligan, J. "Is Pupil being pressured by radio to blink?", The Manila Bulletin Online
- ^ [2] Archived July 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Malaya". Malaya. Archived from the original on April 30, 2005.
- ^ "News | India AXN". Axn-india.com. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "Redhorse RAKISTA • Information". December 9, 2008. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008.
- ^ "PUPIL is Back with "Out of Control" - MYX | YOUR CHOICE. YOUR MUSIC". Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ^ "6cyclemind in a panoramic return @ ClickTheCity.com Music". Guides.clickthecity.com. November 14, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Balita.com - Leading Filipino Newspaper in the USA | Filipino News | Philippine News | Pinoy". Archived from the original on October 18, 2007.
- ^ "MTV Philippines". Mtvphil.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "ReviewArchive". Jazzsociety.ph. August 31, 2005. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Wendell Garcia Artist Page". Zildjian.com. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "sonymusic.ph". sonymusic.ph. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ Animation World Network. "VFXWorld / Feature Articles". Vfxworld.com. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Pupilopolis | Home Of PUPIL - Bulletin Board". January 8, 2006. Archived from the original on January 8, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Mad about music - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos". Showbizandstyle.inquirer.net. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Animax East Asia". Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
- ^ "Animax Asia - Pupil".
- ^ "Animax Asia - Pupil Bar None". Archived from the original on May 17, 2007.
- ^ a b "Pupil attacks! New single is muscular, harder-edged - Yahoo Celebrity Philippines". Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- ^ All in the Family: The MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2006 Winners,[dead link] "TitikPilipino.com", Retrieved January 29, 2008
- ^ a b c d e Gil, Baby A. (November 24, 2006). "NU 107 Rock Awards nominees". PhilStar.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ "And the nominees are ..." Inquirer.net. November 26, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
- ^ a b c "The 15th NU107 Rock Awards Official List of Nominees". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2009.