Tool, Ashes Divide, Nine Inch Nails, Puscifer, Tapeworm, Smashing Pumpkins
Website
aperfectcircle.com
Members
Maynard James Keenan
Billy Howerdel
James Iha
Matt McJunkins
Josh Freese
Past members
Jeff Friedl
Paz Lenchantin
Troy Van Leeuwen
Tim Alexander
Danny Lohner
Jeordie White
Perfect Circle is an American rocksupergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums. The latest line-up features Puscifer and Ashes Divide live bassist Matt McJunkins, former guitarist for The Smashing Pumpkins, James Iha; and session drummer Josh Freese, who is best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Devo, and The Vandals. Despite having a varied cast since inception, the stylistic content of the songs has remained consistent with Howerdel as composer, and Keenan penning the lyrics.
A Perfect Circle has released three albums: Mer de Noms, Thirteenth Step and eMOTIVe. A CD-DVD set, aMOTION, has also been released and contains thirteen music videos in addition to a number of song remixes created by Danny Lohner, Robert Del Naja and other artists.
The band went into hiatus in 2004. Since then band members have worked on other projects; the most notable being Keenan's work on Tool's 2006 album 10,000 Days, and Howerdel's founding of the band Ashes Divide. In a September 2008 interview, Keenan announced that he and Howerdel have been working on new material, officially ending the group's hiatus.However, the band did not start to really become active until almost two years later, in September 2010, when the band announced touring and the release of new music which may or may not be in the form of a new album."
Kapatid is fronted by the iconic Karl Roy (Advent Call and P.O.T.), he is also brother of Kevin Roy of Razorback. The band was originally made up of some of the industry's heavyweights: Nathan Azarcon (Bamboo) on bass, J-Hoon Balbuena (Kjwan) on drums, Ira Cruz (Passage and Bamboo) on rhythm guitars and the late Chico Molina on lead guitars. The band went on to release their first self-titled LP with hits songs "Prayer", "Pagbabalik ng Kwago" , "Visions" among others, in 2003 to great acclaim.
Early Success
Through the years Kapatid has successfully weathered a seemingly never-ending string of trials. From the ever-evolving lineup to the death of a member, the band has managed to stay in the forefront of the industry, amassing a sizeable number of "diehard" fans.
Current Band Career
Today, Kapatid is, more than ever, a musical force to be reckoned with. Joining the inimitable Karl Roy is veteran musician and bassist Philippe Arriola (Weedd) causing the group to reach a new level of maturity balanced perfectly by gifted young bloods guitarist Anjones Elemos and drummer Paolo Rosal (Queso).
This formula has enabled a growth in their fan base, encompassing both sides of the spectrum: long time music aficionados and the youth. More than this, Kapatid has achieved the missing component to an otherwise successful whole: stability. Proof of their explosive musical chemistry and creative genius is evident in their second album Luha, with carrier songs Doon, Psycho Love, Sunday Shining (included in Pinoy Blonde soundtrack), released in February 2006 and distributed by Sony Records.
The group is now working on new songs for their 3rd album to be released soon.
With a solid lineup, a wealth of fresh material and a whole lot of attitude, Kapatid is once again taking the music scene by storm. Not wishing to be stagnant, their sound has evolved with the times and yet has retained the qualities, which make it Kapatid's own unique brand of music.
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. They are one of the most well known groups in West Coast rap and are critically acclaimed for their first three groundbreaking albums.
Formation (1988)
Senen Reyese (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) were brothers who initially lived in Cuba. In 1971 their family immigrated to USA, Los Angeles in a suburb called SouthGate. In 1988 the two brothers met with Lawrence Muggered (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Reese (also known as B-Real) and formed a hip-hop group named DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace, to start a solo carrer, and changed their name into a street in Los Angeles in South Central, Cypress Hill.
Early works and mainstream success (1989–1995)
After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.
Black Sunday, the group's second album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1993, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. Also, with their debut still in the charts, they became the first rap group to have 2 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. With "Insane in the Brain" becoming a crossover hit, the album went triple platinum in the U.S. and sold about 3.25 million copies.
Cypress Hill was banned from Saturday Night Live after Muggs smoked a joint on-air and the group trashed their instruments while playing their second single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". The band headlined the Soul Assassins tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest as support, then performed on a college tour with Rage Against the Machine and Seven Year Bitch. In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two tracks on the Judgment Night soundtrack, teaming up with Pearl Jam on the track "Real Thing" and Sonic Youth on "I Love You Mary Jane".
The group later played at Woodstock 94, introducing new member Eric Bobo, son of Willie Bobo and formerly a percussionist with the Beastie Boys. Rolling Stone magazine named the group as the best rap group in their music awards voted by critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza for two successive years, topping the bill in 1995. They also appeared on the "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons. Prior to Bobo joining the crew, Panchito "Ponch" Gomez sat in as a percussionist when not acting.
Their third album III: Temples of Boom was released in 1995, selling 1.5 million copies and reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit single "Throw Your Set in the Air".[citation needed] Cypress Hill also contributed a track "I Wanna Get High" to the High Times sponsored Hempilation album to support NORML.
The Youth is a Filipino rock band. Their music is a mixture of punk and alternative rock, influenced heavily by WUDS, a pioneering Filipino Punk band.
Current members
Dodong Cruz (vocals, guitarist)
Erap Carrasco (drums)
Robert Javier (bassist, vocals)
John Earl Gavaran (Water Boy)
Former Members
Pat Epino (lead guitarist)
John Olidan (bassist)
Raul Velez (guitarist)
Early years
First called ”Boyish Days”, the band formed in 1989 by Dodong Cruz (vocals/rhythm guitar), Erap Carrasco (drums), Pat Epino (lead guitar) and John Olidan (bass). They played music suitable during the time, alternative and punk music, which was common on the radio station XB102’s Capital Radio. The station saw the origins of what would be one of the most famous local acts of the early 90’s.
Epino eventually left the band to form his own band, H8red. Raul Velez joined and assumed guitar duties. Upon the arrival of Velez, the group’s name was changed to The Youth. With their diverse influences, The Youth was able to produce their very own signature sound.
In 1990, Richard Tan of Backbeat Records took them under his wing. They were able to record and release a self-titled independent album. Like any other indie productions, the album had limited success. It is considered a collector's item today.
The band started performing in different underground gigs. They even penned themselves as “Da Wol” while signing up for the 1990 RJ Battle of the Bands, a contest strictly for amateur bands only. That meant the band having not recorded an album yet. Even with the indie album under their belt, they made it to the top and won the contest. Shortly after, however, Velez and Olidan left the band. The departure of two members was immediately replaced by a single Robert Javier, forming the classic thee-piece line-up of The Youth. As soon as he started jamming with the band, he injected his own off-beat humor into the band’s songs and performances. Due to frontman Cruz’s persistence, Club Dredd finally agreed to book the band in 1991. Considering their high-volume, high-energy and highly-impromptu performances, the band slowly established a cult following after several months of gigs. Soon, they became a headliner of the club. Their shows were sold-out, sometimes twice a week or more. Thanks to their combined punk, alternative rock, hard rock and satirical humor, audiences ate up their irreverent humor and distinct musicality. People returned again and again, each performance having unexpected surprises.
Going Major
1993 witnessed the band’s signing to a major label. A few months after The Eraserheads were signed to Sony Music, The Youth was contracted by MCA Music. This started the so-called “alternative music boom”. In 1994, the band released their debut album, "Album Na Walang Pamagat" (lit. Untitled Album). It contained the carrier single, "Multo Sa Paningin (Multong Bakla)" which became an instant hit. Robert started writing songs. The five songs first recorded in the previous album were included. The Youth gained massive airplay on many different rock stations across the nation.
The follow-up album was delayed as the band performed concerts all over the country and their fist album sold around 100,000 copies. In 1997, the much-awaited second album, entitled "Tao Po" was released. Though the album sales were similar to that of their debut album, the reviews were mixed, partly due to alternative rock's decline. With lack of airplay and promotion, gigs slowly declined. The Youth gained a name for creating riotous concerts. One example was at the Araneta Coliseum where the band wasn’t able to play a single song due to riots breaking out whenever they started playing. The riots eventually stopped.
They also made three albums in 1993,1998 and 2008 as well as a number of singles under the name The Fireman with Sir Paul McCartney
Breakup/Post-The Youth/Reunion
Relationships between members were a stress especially for the two opposing songwriters whose influences caused the break-up of the band. Fans were in complete shock when frontman Dodong Cruz pursued a solo career and unexpectedly scored a deal with JML Records, marking the end of the band’s heyday. The two remaining members went ahead and formed Warehouse Club. Cruz's solo career was a moderate success as his debut album, Experimento hit gold status. As the label revamped into a newly-formed Star Records, Cruz faded into obscurity for several years.
Then in November 1999, The Youth reformed and performed at Mayric’s. The gig was supposed to be a one-night reunion show only. However, the band’s magic was ever-present which inspired them to continue recording and get back into the mainstream.
Currently, The Youth is composed of Dodong Cruz as the band’s vocalist and guitarist, Robert Javier on bass and vocals, and Erap Carrasco on drums. In 2004, the band released a song as part of "Jack Daniel’s In Session…Manila" compilation.
The Filipino Grunge band Teeth was born during the alternative rock boom of the 1990s and exploded onto the airwaves with Laklak, a tale of youthful excess that became an anthem for drinking. The track topped the charts of the Philippines' adventurous alternative rock station LA-105 for 12 weeks. Teeth was formed in September 1993 by Glenn Jacinto (vocals), Jerome Velasco (guitars), Peding Narvaja (bass), and Mike Dizon (drums). Narvaja, Velasco, and Dizon were originally in a group called Riftshifta, while Jacinto was in Loudhouse. Signed to Warner Music Philippines, Teeth released their self-titled debut album in 1995; the LP went double-platinum. Laklak was re-recorded and crossed over into the mainstream, stirring controversy with its alcohol-fueled lyrics; it was voted Song of the Year at the 1995 NU 107 Rock Awards. The cheaply made video for Teeth's second single Prinsesa directed by Odin Fernandez was even played on MTV Asia. However, in 1996 Jacinto was hospitalized for a lung ailment; his illness left him unable to promote the album or fulfill concert dates for a year. The band attempted using other singers to temporarily replace Jacinto, but the group's chemistry was lost. In 1997, Jacinto recovered and Teeth recorded Time Machine. Although the alternative rock scene in Manila had begun to wane. When Narvaja left Teeth to move to the U.S., he was replaced by Andrew Sergio. In 1999, the band released I Was a Teenage Tree.The album contained the single Shooting Star, which was awarded Song of the Year at the NU 107 Rock Awards in 2000. In 2003, Dogs Can Fly (Teeth's Finest) was released.
After Teeth’s Greatest Hits, Dogs Can Fly (Teeth's Finest), was released, frontman Glenn Jacinto moved to California and he still performs regularly there.
Also during 2003, former-Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia formed The Mongols with Teeth’s Guitarist Jerome Velasco which was later joined by Teeth’s bassist Dok Sergio. As Jerome Velasco left The Mongols in 2005 to pursue a career in audio engineering and recording, it was later renamed into Pupil. Meanwhile, Jerome Velasco remained as a co-writer and producer for Pupil’s Beautiful Machines song from the album of the same name. As of 2007, Jerome Velasco is the chief musical producer for Pupil’s second album.
Jerome and Dok are both members of the dreampop / electronica band, “Daydream Cycle” with The Mongols’/Pupil’s Bogs Jugo and Rivermaya’s Japs Sergio.
After the short hiatus, Teeth still performs live without Jacinto and usually Dok Sergio takes the singing duties and sometimes other artists also take sessions as main vocals such as Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree. Sergio also sings Teeth songs with his current band, Pupil.
Franco started as a collaboration project between its members, who are veterans of the Pinoy rock scene. However, Franco's roots are traced from the Cebu-based band Frank, which Reyes formed in 1996. Frank was one of the bands that boosted the Cebu rock scene, In late 2008, Gabby Alipe, Mendoza, Toleran and Meneses collaborated with Reyes, who returned to the Philippines, to form Franco.
Mainstream Success
Franco started by playing songs from Frank and Inyo. In 2009, they released their self-titled full-length album under MCA Music. Music videos for “Cast Away” and their latest single “This Gathering” were aired on Filipino music channel MYX. Franco also dominated the 2010 NU Rock Awards by winning four awards—Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for “This Gathering”, Album of the Year for their self-titled album, and the Listeners' Choice Award.
Music
Though most of its songs were originally written by Reyes with Frank and Inyo, Franco's music is stengah to the ears and considerably heavier than the reggae-leaning sound of Frank and the alternative rock sound of Inyo. Interestingly, two songs—“Touch the Sky” and “Song for the Suspect”—have Rastafarian messages such as the spiritual use of marijuana and the belief in Jah, the almighty god of the Rastafarian faith.
Seasons Touch The Sky Castaway Memory Kill A Mass for the End of Time Last Waltz Next Train Out Song for the Suspect Tetrahydrochloridedub This Gathering For My Dearly Departed
