Suburbia stays alive and kicking

Suburbia has been around for about four years now, invading the VisMin region and dominating the Cebuano band scene. I have worked with them on several occasions and have actually hosted a feature on them by ASAP's Banda Republic where they were flown to Manila to perform on the same show and got hailed as "Cebu's Best R&B Act." The last time I saw them was during the ABS-CBN and MOR's Lupig Sila 10th anniversary Kapamilya Fiesta where they once again wowed me with their usual energetic numbers that always get any crowd moving to their beats.

Very typical of Suburbia, I told myself. You can always count on them for putting up a good show. So what has been their formula for staying alive (and kicking) over the past few years? Josh Espina, one of the two male vocalists, attributes this to the theory on the Rule of Firsts. They are considered as one of those who started playing R&B in various metro bars and have since been a household name of the genre.

But unlike fly-by-night bands that have been changing musical types according to what is "uso," Suburbia is one of those who have remained loyal to their sound. And despite today's obvious popularity of OPM Rock and Alternative music, they have been keeping their repertoire fresh and thriving for those who still go for R&B. Consistency is, after all, a definite plus in keeping one's band alive in this day and age. But part of their success may be because they have infused their own flavor and musical styling to each rendition of cover songs.

The group, however, does not want to stop here. As we speak, the band is in the process of recording their 1st 10-track album to be released nationwide under Rene Mercado's SARUA Records. Aside from Happy Ending, which has been enjoying airplay since its release in 2003 (written by my brother K9 of Dice and K9), the album will also feature two revivals as well as original compositions. One of these is Kahapon, composed by Chow Canete, the band's other vocalist. Other songs are those of Gary Uy who plays lead guitars and that of Jok-jok Paca who mans the keyboards. Completing the pack are Kenneth Machacon on bass and William Menchavez, Jr. on drums. Reflective of their musical preference, their song Kahapon is truly an expression of their heart and soul. Josh says doing original songs is quite fulfilling. "There comes a time when every musician would like to create his own music. For covers you can only do so much as tweak it a bit, but singing your own song is very refreshing. There is so much room for creativity and it's highly personal," Josh says. Chow's inspiration for writing songs is his own experiences. He claims that maturity has dictated his current sound, which is having far more soul. When asked what it's like when he performs his songs, he has this to say: "It is really heartwarming when audiences applaud your original songs. You feel like you're on top of the world!"

Although R&B and Hip-Hop are the influences of the vocalists, their general sound epitomizes the rhythm section's diverse genres as Gary and Jokjok's backgrounds speak of a wide variety of music inclinations, as well as William's preference to rock and Kenneth to new wave. For all these to merge into one interesting package, enter Ilde Carillo, the band's manager. "Handling Suburbia is quite hard because the band has evolved a lot through the years. Imagine, there has only been one original member since we started (Ken Machacon). It is normal because musicians come and go. What's important is the name that you have established. I actually feel that every time we change members, the band improves. It's like upgrading every now and then."

Aside from gigs four to five times a week, once-a-week rehearsals and now, recording sessions of about three to four times a week, the band still finds time for bonding, stressing that it is very important to have a relationship outside their "tukar." This, they say, strengthens any band. They say gimmicks are necessary specially since they play almost every day and are sometimes tempted to look at this as just work since the gigs pay well. Then again for them it wouldn't hurt to stop and smell the flowers. Chow adds that spending time outside work is quite important especially now that they have new members. "You just have to get to know them better because we're not just band mates, we're family," says Chow.

As if it is not enough, Josh is also in school and is currently taking full units in Commerce at the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus, while Chow is on his final year at the University of San Carlos taking up Computer Engineering. (Recently, their female vocalist of two and a half years Liezle Urbiztondo has left the group to concentrate on Medical school. The band and the crowd miss her but understand her decision.) To them, being in a band is lucrative, but they are proponents to the reality that what they are doing now is not going to be forever. Chow offers, "School is still priority for me. But with the sked we have, time management and diligence are vital." Josh adds, "A diploma is always best." This is what they would like to share with newbies to the music business.

With the exit of Liezle, Suburbia from now on will be an all-male set-up and will have to rely on their tried and tested high-level performances. More importantly, they'll be enriching their repertoire with original songs that Cebu as well as the rest of the country should watch out for.