Who’s Edgar, Anyway?

The adage "laughter is the best medicine" is such an over-used prescription, it’s the one that needs medication. Let’s try to put it in the zeros, with all due respect to many doctors and literary geniuses that placed it in the cliché maps. Perhaps, more timely, laughter is the best drug. It’s legal, free, fun, promotes friendship, and leaves no trace (save for a little stomach cramps)—the best type of upper there is! And what do you know? We have the resident pushers in our airwaves all along.

Call them the clowns of Pinoy Music, but they’d rather be called Parokya Ni Edgar, thank you very much. And whoever Edgar is, or wherever his parokya leads, one thing’s for certain, it’s definitely worth knowing. Not that we haven’t an idea yet, with short a decade and five albums to date, they’ve got their music loud, out, and laugh-inducing as ever. And you thought that the fun ends there, but wait ‘til you hear how all the snicker started.

Perhaps the Catholic tickle to the title could be explained with the band’s debuting days at the Ateneo, under, of course, Jesuit supervision. Inside the high-school classrooms of the supposedly stiff all-boys high school, Chito, Din-din, and Vinci would hurl-out the relief goods (which were mostly used clothing) and play their own brand of music. That’s the rise of their first band, Comic Relief, which had braved many relief goods, unsolicited discouragements, and battle of the bands. Now that they’re in their mid-20s, and over-staying in the more inviting college grounds, we all know that they’ve already ditched the name, hushed the critics, laid-off the charity clothing, and face no other bands to battle wits with. The only thing that remains, after all these years, is their blunt, often misjudged as stupid, humor.

"That’s the funny thing. Di ko alam kung bakit tingin nila nakakatawa kami, eh! Serious naman ang songs naming," starts Chito, seemingly the new Cher in Clueless. "Siguro dahil mahilig tayo mag-costume before," adds guitarist Gab. "Di nga nakakatawa ’yun eh, kakaawa nga tayo nun eh," rebuts Chito. Need I contest? Once, they were in baby-doll dresses, and in all-out anime the next; they were Madonna in a lack of a better wardrobe. But they keep up in stellar power, just the same. They’ve won MTV Asian Viewers’ Choice Awards for "Harana" in ’99, bagged numerous Awit Awards—the Filipino Grammy’s—and became an annual staple in radio station grand prix. "And the fact that we’re still happily together is perhaps our greatest achievement," says bassist Buwi.

So how does "happily together" happen in a nine-year time frame? "Actually, pinakalabas nalang namin ’yung tugtog kasi halos araw-araw naman kaming may jamming. Kung wala, we just stay home," explains Vinci without a need to flash his gig guide. Oh, and they also study, Vinci and Chito at least, which makes their high-school teachers proud. Vinci is currently nearing the diploma race in PSBA, as Chito is on his—hold you breath—eighth year in UP. "Sobrang sarap mag-aral! I have transferred from BA to FA (Fine Arts) at nakuha ko na yata lahat ng subjects, eh! Pero I never stopped school. Tuloy tuloy ’yan," says Chito, who could perhaps be the next candidate for the Oblation statue.

And if ever the schedule’s free with sem break and band holidays, they find themselves feeling blue. They love to hangout in the swimming beach, and don’t ask me, I don’t know what they mean either. "It’s like swimming pool, pero sa beach," defined Din-din, the new Webster. When they’re free from sunburn and wipe-outs, they’d rather douse in a little porn, alcohol, nicotine, money, and "toys"—Action figures, that is.

But then after all the pleasure is the business, and let’s face it, they’re here to sell us the fun stuff. Or not. "We don’t take everything seriously. Ginagago lang naming ang tao at nag-eenjoy kami! Pero mas nag-eenjoy kami kung nakiki-ride ’yung audience," says Chito of the PNE Manifesto. And we couldn’t complain. We’re in for the ride, and we’re definitely stuck with the laugh trip. And it’s nice to know that the PNE Express isn’t stopping anytime soon.