mainstream scenes of the Philippine music industry. By fusing different
musical styles, such as alternative, pop, rock, reggae, and synth rock, the Eraserheads helped change the sound of Pinoy rock.
The band found that they weren't good at covering other people's hits,
so they concentrated on writing their own materials instead. "After all, if we committed a mistake, no one would recognize
it since they don't know the song, right?" Buendia explained.
Their original songs live soon earned them a cult following in their
school, which gradually spread outside the campus. One of the songs, a pop song entitled, "Pare Ko," became very popular,
partly because of its lyrics that included a few obscenities.
The band recorded a cheap, nine-song demo tape in Marasigan's garage
on January 6, 1991. They then shopped the demo around record labels, clubs and radio stations, hoping to have their songs
reach the public. However, they were rejected at every turn, with a recording studio deeming that their demo was "not pop
enough." In May 1991, a friend professor from their school, Humanities professor Robin Rivera, helped them record and mix
a better version of the demo on a four-track recorder. The demo was named Pop-U!, in response to those who turned
them down.
Meanwhile, Buendia was employed as a student copywriter by BMG Records
Pilipinas (now part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment). He worked with BMG during the day and wrote songs with the band during
the night. Eventually, the songs of Buendia and the band caught the attention of BMG A&R Director Vic Valenciano. Valenciano
listened to the songs and then commented that they were very raw technically, but that there was something promising in them.
Subsequently, BMG gave the Eraserheads' songs a try. In 1992, BMG signed up the Eraserheads for a three-year record deal |