article - pulp issue # 23

Article: The E-heads Are Dead

Magazine: Pulp

Year: May 2002

Volume: No. 23

Catalog: 

Writer: Banana

Updated: 22-June-2020

THE E-HEADS ARE DEAD

We were expecting glittering marching band outfits and long languid seafaring trips on yellow submarines, smashed, as it were, with a little help from Lucy. But sadly, after a decade of Beatlemania Pinoy-style, one of the most enduring and hardworking pop acts of our time has dissolved, fizzled out, and, indeed, been swallowed by time.

Having slowly fallen deeper into sonic obscurity after the release of Sticker Happy, PULP learned of the band's dissolution when our organizers began the arduous task of putting together the PULP SUMMER SLAM II. The band's management informed us that their singer would be in the United States, presumably for a vacation, failing to mention that it was in fact a permanent one.

Buendia's departure and the reasons surrounding his decision to leave the band have, of course, been shrouded in rumors and by the reticence of others involved. But text spreads information like a forest fire: ELY QUITS EHEADS. Sad, unfortunate news really, if, like many of the band's followers, you first discovered wood with a girl named Toyang or the joys of barkada beer-bonding with "Pare Ko." "Everyone in the music industry knows," manager Sammy Samaniego says. "But Ely left the band for reasons only known to him."

Industry pundits wonder if the 'Heads can go on without the voice and, more importantly, its chief lyricist, the one generally acknowledged as the "soul" of the band. Insiders compare Buendia's departure to Lennon's decision to leave The Beatles, citing a scuffle with management and a scheming girlfriend. If 2000's Wanted: Bedspacer was a portent of things to come, then this new development shouldn't even be a surprise. Ely supposedly had a fight with Samaniego and threw in the proverbial towel. A shady Yoko Ono subplot also began spinning to reveal that his girlfriend had supposedly "goaded" the frontman into the decision, giving the green light to the prospects of a permanent solo career or even the choice of putting up his own band. "Someone should remind him what of happened to John Lennon," came another text message. Or Wency Cornejo, for that matter.

As the gods of rock n' roll would have it, Wanted: Bedspacer only received a jittery fraction of success of his works with the Eraserheads, which prompts the question of how far he can torpedo his way to a spin-off success. In the same breath, can the remaining three 'Heads hold the fort even as outsiders suspect a looming custody battle for the name? Buddy, Marcus and Raimund are now left to El Bimbo their way out of the band's last few engagements, which, according to an industry insider, were well-received regardless. But the 'Heads are moving on. "We already have a new singer," Samaniego confirmed in early April. They later launch Kris Gorra (the female singer of the now-disbanded Fatal Posporos) at an April 19 show to mixed reactions, a move that surprised even the most seasoned industry insiders. So, is the Eraserheads really dead? For now it seems they have bought themselves some time.

Banana