It's Time We Talk About The Lemonheads

A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown

Parallel Planets in collaboration with Pinoytuner present

It's Time We Talk About The Lemonheads

Story & Interview by Mayee Gonzales

Mentioned: Lemonheads influence, Dando-Hatfield singalongs, songs without spiels

* * *

The anxiety is getting closer as American alternative rock band The Lemonheads arrived the shores of the Philippines for their show later at Whitespace Makati.

It is the first time for The Lemonheads, fronted by long-haired charmer Evan Dando, to visit the Southeast Asian country. The Manila audience is no doubt psyched to witness the band as they perform all-time Lemonheads favorites.

But before we build more excitement, better calm our eager selves with this interview from two-thirds of the front-acts for tonight. Both from the Philippines, we caught independent bands Ciudad and Ang Bandang Shirley in a short yet sweet interview.

Now two decades in music, Ciudad is composed of Mikey Amistoso on bass and vocals, Jeff Cabal and Justin Sunico on guitars and Mitch Singson on drums. Ciudad's sound is a pleasant mix of indie pop and rock -- not too sweet but not too harsh either. "Hanging out and [having] conversations over coke and cheese puffs” are just two of the band's many interests, 

Photo from Ciudad's Facebook page

On the other side of this interview, we have Ang Bandang Shirley, a seven-piece band that sings of love and heartbreak, Shirley is composed of Owel Alvero and Selena Salang on vocals, Ean Aguila and Joe Fontanilla on guitars, Jing Gaddi on bass, Zig Rabara on drums and Kathy Gener as band manager and occasional singer. Signed under local record label Wide Eyed Records, Ang Bandang Shirley has released two albums with the recent entitled “Tama Na Ang Drama” which directly translates to “Stop the Drama.” It’s all heart on this one.

Photo from Ang Bandang Shirley's Facebook page

Just like us, Ciudad and Ang Bandang Shirley are excited to see The Lemonheads perform live tonight. Read all about it and know more about the bands in our interview below.

* * *

Hi Ciudad and Ang Bandang Shirley! Can you please tell Parallel Planets something about your band? A bit of history or some trivia would be great.

Ciudad: Ciudad formed 20 years ago, when we were all in high school. We were classmates. The Lemonheads was a big, big influence. We've released five albums and two singles since then. Check them out on Bandcamp, iTunes or Spotify.

Ang Bandang Shirley: Ang Bandang Shirley is a seven-piece band from the Wide Eyed Records Manila stable of artists. Each of our members have other bands and side projects: Ean  sings and plays guitar for Stomachine. Owel makes noise as Grand Pricks. Joe plays guitar for Halik ni Gringo. Jing lays down the bass for Blidit. Kathy is headmistress of Attraction! Reaction! and Wallflowerparty. Selena is the secret sauce of Slow Hello. And Zig plays drums for The Purplechickens. But together, the band is bigger than the sum of its parts.

When did you guys start listening to the Lemonheads?

Ciudad: We started listening to the Lemonheads when we were in first year high school. We haven't formed Ciudad yet then, (but would do so in the near future.) I was 13 years old, and I bought the cassette of “It's A Shame About Ray,” and then a few days after that, “Come on Feel The Lemonheads.” During lunch breaks in school, I would grab the guitar in the classroom and sing “Into Your Arms.” Soon enough, I got some of my friends and classmates to listen to the Lemonheads.

Ang Bandang Shirley: Jing is the eldest member of the band and he started listening back in 1992. OG Lemonheads fans club members over here!

Jing says: “I was a senior in high school. By that time Lemonheads album "It's A Shame About Ray" had just come out and it was one of my most essential albums at that time and still remains up to now. But I think the first time I heard them was in 1991 from a compilation of 90s bands covering 80s tunes called "Edge of Rock." Lemonheads did a feedback-laden version of Susanne Vega's "Luka."

What is your favorite song from The Lemonheads?

Ciudad: Probably “Rudderless” or “It's About Time.” We've covered those songs maybe about a thousand times throughout our career. Personally, my favorite is “My Drug Buddy.”

Ang Bandang Shirley: We can’t agree on a favorite song since we love the whole Lemonheads discography. We’re super excited to catch them live!

Did the Lemonheads influence the band in any way?

Ciudad: YES! Ciudad's existence owes itself to the Lemonheads. When I picked up two of their albums when I was 13, that's when I realized that I wanted to write my own songs and form a band. A few months later that year, Ciudad was born.

Ang Bandang Shirley: The Lemonheads aren’t The Beatles or the Velvet Underground, but they played a gigantic role in shaping the music of our formative years as musicians. Our boy-girl harmonies are majorly inspired by Dando-Hatfield singalongs.

If there are three songs you would like to request to The Lemonheads, what are these songs and why?

Ciudad: “My Drug Buddy” because it's my personal favorite. “Rudderless” and “It's About Time” because they're Ciudad cover song staples and we'd like to hear how it's really done.

Ang Bandang Shirley: There are so many songs that the band could play that would blow our collective minds. "If I Could Talk I'd tell You," "Great Big No," "Dawn Can't Decide,” "Being Around,” "Rudderless,” "Allison's Starting To Happen,” and we could go all night. Fingers crossed for a “Frank Mills” or “Mrs. Robinson” rendition too. AAAAAAAAAA!

Ciudad shares their experience with The Lemonheads when they took a trip to New York in 2009.

Ciudad went to New York five years ago to play some shows and have a well-deserved vacation. We were fortunate enough to be billed in the same music festival (CMJ Music Marathon 2009) with Evan Dando. Being participants in that festival, we got free passes to his solo show.

He was slated to play for just one hour and he wanted to sing as many of his songs as possible. For his set list, he brought a huge manila paper with ALL of his classic songs scribbled on it in different directions. So before each song, he'd just look at it and spot a title and then just play it. Sometimes, in the middle of a song intro, we would shout out a request and then he'd just stop whatever he's playing and then switch to that request. He'd breeze through every song without spiels and when it comes to every instrumental part, he'd strum his guitar as if it's on fast forward and then quickly move on to the next part of the song. It was hilarious. And fun.

Photos c/o Marian Hernandez-Amistoso

After the show, I handed a copy of Ciudad's “Bring Your Friends'” to him. No words. Just my hand reaching out to give him the CD. He took it without saying anything, and without even looking at me, and walked away. LOL.

How excited are you guys in playing tomorrow? Is there anything from your set that we should watch out for?

Ciudad: VERY EXCITED. We started this band because of our love for the Lemonheads, and it's really perfect that on our 20^th anniversary (yes, the band is 20 years old this year)  we get the opportunity to share the same stage with them.

For our set, watch out for the classic Ciudad songs that people loved throughout the years.

Ang Bandang Shirley: VERY excited; "excited" is quite an understatement.

What should we look out for from the band in the coming future?

Ciudad: We just released two back-to-back singles, “S.I.F.I.L.” and “You Shouldn't Wait.” We want to put out more songs out there. Releasing singles is fun, and I think we want to do more of that.

Ang Bandang Shirley: We’re currently writing songs for our next full-length release. If life cooperates, it should come out next year!

So if you're around Manila, don't miss The Lemonheads live as Pinoytuner brings them close tomorrow, December 4 at Whitespace Makati. Also catch Ciudad, Ang Bandang Shirley and The Itchyworms perform. Tickets are still available at all Ticketworld outlets.

More from Ciudad: Facebook. Twitter. Bandcamp.
More from Ang Bandang Shirley: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram, Bandcamp.