Greenwich’s ultimate ‘Bandkada’

MANILA, Philippines - Made up of Ernest “EJ” Lebrilla on vocals, Jay Aballe on percussion, and Joel Diche on guitar, this primarily acoustic trio was the only group of their genre who competed in the recent Greenwich Ultimate Bandkada competition. Their acoustic rock sound with no frills is what made their talents stand out and win the hearts of the judges.

The competition, which spanned six months, finally came to a close earlier this month at Valkyrie Nightclub where the trio took home the grand prize of P100,000, management contract with Viva Artist Agency, and a recording contact with Viva Records. The band had outsung everyone by coming up with their own rendition of a Greenwich song, which was written by award-winning composer, producer and singer Thyro Alfaro exclusively for Greenwich.

“We started jamming and have been friends even before we became a band. We all had our own bands,” said Joel. ”We found ourselves performing together in one gig until we eventually doing it regularly."

The style of the band is chill and suave but still impactful. They also write all their own songs. “We keep it real. Our music pretty much shows our personalities,” says Ernest.

They decided to audition for the Greenwich Ultimate Bandkada competition for fun. And out of the hundreds of bands that auditioned, B-Boys was called to be one of the semi-finalists. “When we found out that they will cut the finalists from 20 to 12, I was worried that we might not be included since we were just an acoustic band unlike the others that could play more instruments and have a wider repertoire,” expresses guitarist Joel.

Semifinalists attended weekly bandkada sessions with mentors like singer and songwriter Top Suzara and Pow Chavez, producer Jasper aka Kio Priest and members of Climax band who gave them tips and tricks in performing, song writing, and how to keep the passion burning.

The competition for the top spot as Greenwich’s Ultimate Bandkada then became less about proving anything to anyone, and more about their personal story of friendship and teamwork. “What stuck was the friendship we developed. I didn’t think about the competition anymore,” says Joel.  

The guys from B-Boys have decided to give their prize money to help support their families, while they pursue their own musical dreams. Jay even cites his father as his inspiration to make music, stating “He was the one who pushed me to pursue music. I inherited the music gene from him since he’s a musician himself."

 As a still very young band, they are focusing on practice and a long lineup of bar gigs, while they are in talks with Viva about their next step under their management. The future is looking bright for these three young men.