Hilera with the new Eat Bulaga co-host Cassy Legaspi and guest co-host Yasser Marta. Image from the official page of Paolo Contis and TAPE Inc.
Nothing warms my heart more than to see local bands that cover both the indie and mainstream hemispheres of the local scene get major exposure on a daily basis in a segment provided for them in the best version of Eat Bulaga now.
It is a much-needed development for the longest-running noontime show in the Philippines because it provides valuable and much-needed time for these bands to get the attention they deserve which they were never given before on a nearly consistent daily basis. And it works both ways. Firstly, this move gives the credit to the revamped Eat Bulaga for providing an additional platform on local television for these bands. And secondly, those minutes wherein the bands can perform a shortened version of their hits or most popular songs that consist of two to three songs in medley form serves as a sampler in more music lingo of what they can do is important for many reasons far beyond the television exposure.
For me, I have always said for the longest time that all of these bands only need the opportunity to show people how good they are and how they can do well on television, too!
What really sold me that this ultimate new version of Eat Bulaga has a directive when it comes to this segment was when they invited Hilera to perform. This is a pop-punk band that I have been very familiar with since the mid-2000s. Never in a million years did I ever imagine I would be able to watch them on this noontime show — until it was reformatted, overhauled, and changed for the better — than the chances of them being invited to perform become a possibility and then ultimately, a reality now.
I was already a music aficionado when Hilera rose to fame; I got to see them perform a handful of times during those early years of their rise in the local scene; I got to purchase their first two CDs. Therefore, it was quite incredulous for me to see them perform a few days ago because it brought me back to my youth and convinced me that this new version of Eat Bulaga is doing their part in having bands from different music genres, eras, and styles play and be given the television time that they need.
In fact, after Hilera had performed their two-song medley, which included my most favorite song from them entitled “Define” from their major record label debut from 2006, the vocalist and guitarist Chris Padilla said right after performing, quite choked up, “Thank you to Eat Bulaga for opening the doors and allowing bands like us to perform.” You really can tell it meant a lot to him and his bandmates. They were moved to have been invited. It mattered to them to be acknowledged. Many times do we forget that these bands continue to perform because this is their passion which runs in their vein and they want to share their music with as many people as possible.
Additionally, I am particularly happy that the brand-new young hosts of Eat Bulaga are being exposed to all the upcoming, iconic, and well-established local bands because I see in their faces their genuine excited reactions when they get to watch them up close and the questions they instinctively ask the bands are all manifestations they themselves look forward to the segment that features local bands. To mention some that have been invited are Color It Red, Hilera, Magnus Haven, Tanya Markova, Mayonnaise, Lily, and Barbie Almalbis.
I can certainly relate to such joy and exhilaration because I had the same positive feelings when I was much younger when I would be able to watch live a few of the aforementioned bands during their gigs in the early-to-mid 2000s when there was an explosion of bands which period would be dubbed as the “Second Pinoy-Rock Boom”. Fortunately, a good number of them that have remained intact have become mainstays of the local scene and have reached iconic status.
Let me get personal for a second here. When I write, I write for the people to also be informed, aware, and in-the-know of what was then in the local scene, and I will say this: In the early-to-mid 2000s when there were so many amazing astonishing astounding bands that could have been featured in a miniscule segment of a two-hour previous noontime show, imagine what that would have served to give it a massive spike in ratings during that segment. But that is not the important matter for me, mere ratings. Far more important would have been the proper and rightful introduction of these iconic bands to millions of Filipinos who did not have the opportunity to see them perform “live” albeit via television medium only.
Well, thankfully now, the management and production of the new Eat Bulaga see beyond mere ratings. When it comes to the music industry, they see they have a two-pronged clear glaring responsibility and the final say to enable it: to our local musicians who have to be given exposure and attention; and to all their viewing public to raise their awareness to value our homegrown musicians.
If you think the quality of the bands that have been featured thus far in the new version of Eat Bulaga has been great, then imagine had it been during that past era, it would be like comparing night and day. Imagine then bands and artists like Hilera, Barbie Almalbis and Mayonnaise that are at least twelve years younger than now.
I got to see these two bands that have been featured in the segment of the new Eat Bulaga when they were at their most youthful stage of their music careers. Until now they still pack a punch and have that “angas factor” about them which are the very reasons why they became big in the first place.
To quote what Tirso Ripoll of Razorback once said in an interview on a music channel many years ago, “Pinoy Rock will never die!”
I mean, when I reflect, think, and come to terms with how impressive the longevity of a few of the bands that have been featured, time has flown indeed. I got to watch Barbie Almalbis in 1999 in a music festival. In the middle of her set, a young chubby shirtless teen-aged boy who clearly had a crush on Barbie like a lot of other teenaged boys at the time, suddenly went up to the stage to impulsively hand her a bouquet of flowers. It was funny! All the crowd burst out laughing. It was still the 90s and Barbie Almalbis was the prettiest young artist in a band at the time. I am sure she will recall that moment because it sure got everyone’s attention.
For the youth now who got to see Barbie Almalbis perform yesterday, there was a time she was the biggest female artist in a band and that was when she was still with her band called Hungry Young Poets then, and eventually it became called Barbie’s Cradle. That is how successful the music career of Barbie Almalbis has been; it has spanned generations already. Barbie Almalbis was featured in the music segment of the new Eat Bulaga yesterday, and she still has “IT!”
This new segment featuring our local bands on television brings things full circle. It makes you reflect on what an awesome time it is now to be a music aficionado once again because the overhauled version of Eat Bulaga has a segment that features local bands on a daily basis. Indeed, the new Eat Bulaga is in good hands both behind the scenes and on camera and shall continue to provide attention, exposure, and most importantly, time for all these bands, whether they are mainstream or indie and everything else in between. Clearly, the management and people who make the decisions in the new Eat Bulaga have very good taste in music.
Here are some of my recommendations of bands and artists that would be perfect for the music segment of the new Eat Bulaga. Some of these bands and artists I have gotten to watch and interview over the years. I look forward to seeing in this segment the following: Rivermaya, Autotelic, Kat Agarrado, Nicole Laurel Asensio, December Avenue, Basti Artadi, Kevin Roy, Chicosci, Typecast, Over October, Talata, Run Dorothy and Bita and The Botflies. Truly, there are many other local bands to discover and re-discover for the new Eat Bulaga to feature in their daily music segment.
It is clear that the longest-running noontime show has a very specific purpose when it comes to our local music. I applaud them for that.