A taste of Chocolate Beef

Should dinuguan be called chocolate beef in English? Now, although lots of people find both dinuguan and chocolates mighty dishy and their colors are indeed very similar, I still think the idea of using the term chocolate beef as the English translation for dinuguan very, very unpalatable.

If this is the case then what are we to make of a rock band that calls itself Chocolate Beef? Do they have this secret recipe that cooks beef in chocolate? I don’t know and no answers are also forthcoming from the members of this new band. Apo Sta. Maria on bass; Ian Sta. Maria on lead vocals; Levy de la Cruz on rhythm guitar and vocals; Bon Sundiang on drums and vocals; and Billy "Gary" Reyes on the lead guitar. All Fine Arts students from the University of the Philippines, these guys just decided to form a band and call it Chocolate Beef because the term sounds good, interesting and definitely extraordinary.

The name Chocolate Beef does sound good, interesting and the competent work in the group’s self-titled album debut, makes one wonder of more music goodies that they would be able to come up with in the ensuing years. What I disagree with though is that the sound is also extraordinary. I hear rock in various get-ups in the ten cuts included in Chocolate Beef. There are Pinoy pop-rock ballads and it is mostly made up of punk with hints of the good old Beatles and even occasionally, the Eraserheads.

But barring not being extraordinary aside, what I find most commendable about Chocolate Beef is the fact that the album presents an all-original line up. As long as you have new, young songwriters making their music heard then there will always be hope for our piracy-besieged music industry. Album producer, by the way, is Chito Miranda of the famous Parokya ni Edgar, which is credited with having discovered Chocolate Beef.

First single out is the love song Di Makalapit penned by Ian Sta. Maria and Ryan Ignacio. Also geared towards the ballad market and listeners who want their music light and easy are Track 8 Regrets) and Cool (freezer). As for those who want something with more of an edge, Chocolate Beef has Alas, Coffee or Tea, Sige Na Nga, Kasama Ka, Slow, Gone Away and Prince.

I do not think even the greatest gourmet cook in the world can mix beef with chocolate and come up with a masterpiece but the rock mixture that Chocolate Beef serves up could be the beginning of great things to come.

The sound of Pido with Take One

If you have been one of those wondering how a Side A song would sound without Joey Generoso’s distinctive vocals, then wonder no more. I have found the answer. Pido with Take One is how Side A will sound without Joey. The new group has the same easy sort of R&B approach to material, hook-filled ballads and loads of pang-emote lyrics from a variety of songwriters.

The Side A sound does not really come as a surprise. Lead guy Pido was a long time ago part of Side A. He was also once upon a time a founding member of the funkier Artstart. Maybe with Pido with Take One, he gets the chance to fuse both these two sounds and come up with something that straddles a comfortable pop middle ground that will make him stay.

I do not know how the name of the group works. Maybe it is Pido performing with a group called Take One. If that is the case, then Take One is made up of Eva Poon, whose singing shows good prospects as a solo act; Tonet Lipana on guitar; Gino Cruz on keyboards; Benji Ijiran on drums; and Marlowe Mata on bass.

Pido with Take One is also mostly original with a cover of James Taylor’s If I Keep My Heart Out of Sight as its only concession to the revival market. The lovely ballad Another Rainy Monday by Noel Mendez is the best of the lost while Bakit di Mo Pansin, written and performed by Pido, With Me Forever and It Used to be Me also show chart potentials.

Other cuts included are Is There A Way, Sweet Memories, Stay by My Side, I Promise, Sweet Hello, Another Rainy Day, Cry of My Heart, Call Out My Name and True Love. Incidentally, the song Sweet Hello was composed by Side A’s Joey Benin with Dino Barba.