Awake

Name of band: Awake
Date formed: 1992
Registered in: Mp3Manila, Worldwide Band Name Registry
Headquarters: Santa Rosa, Laguna, the Philippines
Management: Spaghetti Enterprises, Inc.

Primary influences: Alice in Chains, the Beatles, Chicago, Dream Theater, the Eagles, Extreme, Led Zeppelin, Kansas, King Crimson, Megadeth, Metallica, Mr. Big, Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rush, Soundgarden, Toto, Van Halen, Yes, so many others

Trivia bits:

What type of music does the band play?
The band is primarily a hard rock band, but like so many of the greats, they go much more beyond, as long as the songs are within their technical and instrumental capacities. The few songs they have composed have a progressive sound to it, with lots of key and time changes. They do not like to categorize music.

Did the band members attend music school?
All four members are either Julliard or Berklee graduates. No, seriously. Leklek is a computer programming graduate of STI College in Binan, Laguna. Aji is an electrical engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Tanits studied computer technology in AMA Computer College in Paranaque. And Liloy is rich enough not to go to college.

Do the band members have any musical background?
Aji and Leklek were choir members in their own churches when they were kids. Liloy comes from a very musical family. His grandfather was Santa Rosa’s maestro Mario Alojado, who composed high-school SREI’s school hymn, "Santa Rosa High", in 1947. He is also a multi-instrumentalist. Aji studied classical guitar and music theory in U.P. Tanits was a music theory "student" of Aji. (See their profiles for more.)

Any previous names used by the band?
Before the name "Awake" was adopted, the Bengz-era lineup of the band used the name "Neverheard", which is sort of self-explanatory.

What were the band’s first equipment?
Liloy’s first electric guitar is a Steinberger copy, which he bought from Aji for P2,000 ($50). It had a one-way tremolo and a neck as thick as a giraffe’s. Leklek bought his first drum set from a friend for P6,000 ($150). It included a crash cymbal that is so malformed it looks like a clamshell. Tanits had what the band called a "boat paddle" bass. And Aji owned a ukulele…

The band wanted to make an album in 1994. What happened?
The band planned to woodshed for a month at Mindoro’s Puerto Galera beach, and also stage their first concert there. But on the day before they were supposed to leave in 1994, Mindoro was hit by an intensity 7.2 earthquake. Tanits owns a resort-hotel in the area.

Who chooses the songs the band will cover?
The band is very much a democracy, but in a drinking session all three complained that Aji commands 90% of the songs. Aji denies this even today. Oh well…

What’s this "wacky harmonization thing"?
It’s this game the guys play where for a certain melody line they sing along with the ugliest possible harmony line. They call it the "5th voice".  Try it with the next song you hear on FM radio. It’s so fun!

Where do the guys usually hangout?
Their favorite drinking places are: Cesyl’s at Tagapo, Handaang Pilipino at Balibago, and Kalesa Kape at Burol. When they have time to go out of town, they usually go to Puerto Galera, Tagaytay, or Nagcarlan, Laguna. They especially like Villa Sylvia Resort and this small karaoke bar in Nagcarlan. They hate disco bars — they can’t dance. And about those girlie bars…

How much did the band earn in their stints at Beefeater and Bottle City?
On the average, the band earned P1,000 (about $25) a night. They would play three one-hour sets every Saturday which would start at 8 p.m. and end at 1 a.m. During the Bottle City days, good friend Tadeo was recruited by the band to play keyboards. He was later dropped.

Any hilarious stories from their performances?
Leklek broke a drum stick at the Perpetual Help PROM concert.  They were playing Nirvana’s "All Apologies". Aji broke a string in the middle of "Come Together" at the Nissan Christmas Party. Liloy was electrocuted on stage at Rockfest ‘97. He’s still alive, though.

What is "Asleep"?
This is the nightmare alter-ego of the band, with Tanits on lead vocals, Leklek on guitars, Liloy on bass, and Aji on drums, which is basically each band member on his weakest instrument. They never did a single public performance.

Who is Mayo Articona?
Mayo is a longtime friend of the band, even before there was Awake. He (supposedly) takes care of the business aspect of the band, and manages Spaghetti Enterprises, Inc.

Who are the band’s crew technicians?
They are all buddies of the band. They are: Ap Villamor, Louie Cruz, Joeyboy Batino, and Gail Tatlonghari, and some others more.

There is some other band named Awake somewhere. Is this true?
Yes. Apparently, there are some. There is this band in Germany playing Dream Theater and Marillion covers. And there is also one in the Netherlands playing progressive rock music. The band figured that for the very same reason they picked the name, others somewhere else in the world who were inspired similarly would do the same. Awake is a local band and so there should be no problem. More power to progressive rock!