06.20.2007
FATHER MARCUS SAID TO ME
MARCUS ADORO OF THE LEGENDARY ERASERHEADS SPEAKS TO ALDUS SANTOS ABOUT HIS CURRENT BAND, HIS UNRELEASED MASTERPIECE, AND GETTING ON THE INTERNETS
PROLOGUE
Once in a while, a masterpiece gets suppressed.
Still reeling from in-studio bouts with his cousin Mike Love about the oddity that would later prove to be the Beach Boys’ finest moment on record (Pet Sounds), Brian Wilson upped the ante further and wrote an epilogue to his grand “teenage symphony to God”—a certain lost record called Smile. However, its adventurous retelling of the plight of the American Indian, told in a virtual mini-concerto of sorts, shook the pants off Brian’s label bosses. They would never release Smile, except for a couple of singles, most notably “Good Vibrations.” It would even be touted as the “best unreleased album in rock.” Of course, we all know that in 2005, it was finally released. Three decades of solid frigging wait, with no traces of “I-told-you-so” in Wilson’s now-wrinkled countenance.
But, once in a while, when a masterpiece gets suppressed, the master fights back.
Frank Zappa’s Läther, the four-suite LP that’s practically the crowning glory of New York’s avant-garde, was allegedly suppressed by Warner Brothers. The Duke of Prunes tried patiently waiting it out. And waiting it out some more. Until he could no longer wait. Not anymore. He went on-air at KROQ and addressed his fans. He implored them to prepare their home recording equipment, because he would be playing Läther in its entirety. Oh, yes. The celebrated lawsuit that followed, needless to say, was the cherry on top.
ACT ONE: “MAY HAWAK-HAWAK NA GITARA; BA’T ‘DI MO MATAPOS ANG KANTA?”
“1999 ‘yun, eh. Nag-release ng comics si Arnold Arre, [‘yung] Trip to Tagaytay. Ta’s, sa credits niya, pinasalamatan du’n ‘yung mga ka-banda ko—lahat—pati ‘yung mga girlfriend, ganu’n. Eh, wala akong kasama nu’n; kasama ko lang si Kamon. So, nu’ng tinitignan ko—nasa studio ako—‘Uy, wala akong partner, Kamon,’ sabi ko sa aso ko, ‘Gawan nga kita’ng album.’”
This was the genesis of Marcus Adoro’s painstaking teenage symphony to his dog, to paraphrase Brian Wilson (or his publicists). More than being Marcus Adoro’s first proper post-Eraserheads project, it is an assault to the senses, the most mind-blowing smorgasbord of stoner folk and pink noise this side of the UP Sunken Garden. The journey is now eight years long (and counting), yet the resulting multi-media opus dubbed as Kamon Kamon is still nowhere in sight and sound. Hipsters and scenesters have ceaselessly name-dropped the unreleased effort like they’ve all seen and heard it, but really, they’re all bluffing. Sadly, Kamon’s highest distinction to date is not its aural complexity, but, rather, its absence on store shelves.
“Meron pa’ng ‘Heads [nu’n]. [Tapos,] lumuwag bigla ‘yung sked ko, tapos, napa-trip naman akong mag-shoot-shoot, mag-edit-edit; habang mini-mix ko ‘yung Kamon, ginagawa ko, nagho-home recording ako. Paminsan-minsan, may gig ‘yung ‘Heads,” Punk Zappa himself recounted, bumming some smokes from this writer. The final piece was a hardcore cross-over gem: an experimental rock CD, a video collage, and a comic book illustrated by award-winning graphic novelist Arnold Arre and his wife Cynthia Bauzon—all in one, as they would say. Also, in a way, Kamon Kamon is a producer’s album, with Adoro handling most of the technical aspects—editing, scoring, directing, and graphic design—with a little help from his friends. “Ang konsepto ko sa Kamon, parang pilosopo kong sagot sa piracy. Ang [point] ko, gumawa ka ng produkto na ‘yung papel is equally important as the CD. So, gumawa ako ng comic-book. Walang [speech] balloons, walang usapan; ang k’wento niya is, nandu’n sa sound—sana ganu’n, ‘di ba? Tapos, may kasamang video. So, ‘di ba, makuha mo man ‘yung dalawang CD, hindi mo makukuha ‘yung collectible na comic-book. So, ‘yun nga, ‘yun ‘yung sagot ko sa piracy. Sana, collector’s [item] din ‘yung—ano’ng tawag du’n?—‘yung inlay,” he explained further. Adoro may have many qualities, but one of them is not a simple, stoic mind. When the Eraserheads disbanded, he could have easily hitched on its cloud and made catchy, tongue-in-cheek rock tunes, which he proved he was capable of doing in his humble songwriting discography for the Pinoy Fab Four. Instead, he shot non-sequitur videos, conceptualized a non-talking comic-book, and made sound collages from AM newsbits.
If Adoro was in the habit of keeping a journal, this would have been it, obtuseness and psychedelic story-telling aside. The video component of Kamon retraced his steps well: his adventures with the people from Fourth Wall (a Baguio artists’ collective), joining an installation art exhibition using plant life, driving around with Joey “Pepe” Smith—the whole shebang. “Parang magical ‘yung time na ‘yun, eh, kasi, parang, ‘hinulog lahat ng kailangan ko—parang ganu’n—parang, nagdire-diretso,” Makoy said of the experience. The audio component, meanwhile, was in-your-face, a virtual raised middle finger: cassette, four-track, loops, found sounds, studio recordings, live recordings, and many other alternate (read: non-digital) formats. “Gusto ko ‘yung iba-ibang gaspang ng tunog, iba-ibang klaseng recording. Para ring ano—corny, eh—pero, parang buhay: hindi lahat, maganda,” he thought out loud. He also found himself collaborating with WDOUJI, Pepe (as already mentioned), Dong Abay (in an ad hoc band called Sunken Gardener), and a host of other musicians.
Now, if only the world could hear it.
ACT TWO: “NGUNIT AKO AY UUWI NA, ‘PAGKAT WALA NA, WALA NA…”
Because great art shouldn’t be kept a secret, Makoy found himself on Eraserheads turf once more: BMG Pilipinas (pre-merger with Sony Music). “May matindi akong presentation nu’n na multi-media rin, sa BMG. Linagay ko lang sa isang VHS, ‘pinakita ko. Na-trip-an nila; tapos, nagpa-draft ako ng kontrata sa lawyer. So, kumagat sila, nagka-[ayos] sa usapan.” He may have been speaking in a haze, in elusive partial phrases, but he was thinking clearly. Kamon Kamon was now signed, and, reportedly, even paid out for. Adoro’s initial demands included a mascot, a website, and, well, a time-frame for release. At peace and feeling accomplished, he decided to bail from Manila: “Humiwalay na ko sa ‘Heads; lumipat na ‘kong La Union [habang] inaantay ko ‘yung release. Tapos, binigyan ko sila ng marketing plan.” Yes, you may remember this episode as the straw that broke the camel’s back—Adoro finally quit, sealing the rich fiction that was the Eraserheads, who, at this time, were helmed by good friend Kris Gorra-Dancel at the mic. The year was 2002.
Meetings became promises, and promises became postponements, and—you all know the routine.
“Tapos, pumasok na ‘yung 6Cyclemind; na-busy na sila. Parang, ‘Ano, ser, kelan ba ‘yung…’ Hanggang uminit na ‘yung ulo ko, kasi, wala akong representative, eh. Nag-away na kami, ta’s next year uli, ‘Ser!’ Bati na kami uli. Tapos, hanggang, ‘eto’ng huli, ‘O, sige, ire-release na natin, pero kailangang bawasan ‘yung pages, eh’! [Sighing] Sabi ko, ‘Ser, ‘di ba, ‘yun nga, ‘yun nga ‘yun, eh!” It is perhaps not half-odd to bring up a vignette from the Prologue at this juncture—Frank Zappa’s Läther battles with Warner. I mean, after all, this is “Punk Zappa” we’re talking to here, right? However, Makoy modestly offered, “Parang ang laki naman ng self-importance na binibigay ko sa sarili ko nu’n [‘pag ginawa ko ‘yun].”
And then, like a subtle omen, copies of a VCD with a Xeroxed cover started appearing in Nella Sarabia’s optical shop at the UP Shopping Center. It was called—you guessed it right—Surfer Nando, and it contained short excerpts from the video component of Kamon Kamon. “Nag-eksperimento ako sa ka-indie-han nu’n. Sinubukan kong maging record company na maliit. Hindi ko siya kinarir; ‘yung, [basta] makapaglabas lang ako. Nu’ng una, naglabas ako ng press release na kailangan ko’ng mag-raise [ng perang pambili] ng surfboard. Pero, hindi naman talaga ‘yun, eh; may surfboard na ko nu’n,” Adoro confessed, claiming that this particular move of his, as he later told BMG, was a “marketing strategy,” not a rebellious bootlegging spree. In addition, it was also hard proof that Makoy still mattered to ‘Heads fans, among other people. A limited cassette-only release of Kamon Kamon audio excerpts (priced at a steep, steep 500 bucks) also sold very well. “Five-hundred [pesos] para sa isang cassette; kung ayaw mo, ‘wag!” he kidded lightheartedly. To honor his mock I-want-a-surfboard press release, he stopped selling the cassettes when he reached revenues amounting to the price of his much-coveted “toy.”
Having created a sizeable hype around Kamon Kamon the “punk rock” way, Adoro proceeded to work on a new batch of songs, the source of the material for a new indie EP which he would later release under the “Surfer Nando” moniker. It was called Surfer Nando: The Adventures of Belma and Luis. The said EP would be released with four alternate cover designs and titles: Urfer Magazine (released via Mag:Net Café), Duckdive (via Bigskymind), American Gurl (United States version), and Submarine (Marikina version). Adoro also started sporadically appearing in Manila, once even sharing the stage with two of his former bandmates—Raymund Marasigan and Buddy Zabala—jamming on Surfer Nando material at a now-defunct rock production, Marooned at Millennia (which, incidentally, this writer co-produced). This was 2004. (Oh, and by the way, just to correct an erroneous detail that’s slowly becoming a given in ‘Heads lore: no, it’s not true that Ely Buendia was invited and he refused; The Mongols were booked for a different month altogether.)
With Adoro’s fight for Kamon Kamon far from over (“Malaki kasi projection ko sa Kamon, pare; nangangarap ako…”), the restless guitarist channeled his energy into creating new music. If Kamon documented his life as a renegade ex-Eraserhead in the mountains of Baguio and Sagada, his Surfer Nando material sought to paint his new life: that of a surfer in the waters of La Union.
ACT THREE: “PARE, ‘DI NA MAG-START ‘YAN; BUTI PA, KAIN NA LANG TAYO…”
“Nawala nga ako ng ilang taon, ‘no? May sarili kaming ano du’n, may sarili kaming mundo; may sarili kaming tsismis. Mga [surfers], may sariling kultura ‘yun, eh. Ta’s minsan, nag-o-online ako, [pero] ‘di ko pinatulan ‘yung Friendster, ‘di ako nag-MySpace. Inimbita ako, 1999 pa—Friendster; ‘di ako pumatol, pare!” However, a turnaround started to take shape when he got to talk to colleague Mark Villena: “Nagblo-blog siya, pare. Tapos, sabi ko, ‘Ba’t mo ginagawa ‘yan?’ ‘Para meron akong Internet presence.’ Sabi ko, ‘Importante ba talaga ‘yun?’” Makoy recounted with childlike glee, like a hermit discovering the Internet for the first time, but not really. This, my dear friends, is where he’s taking the battle next.
He initially tried out Friendster, but was easily discouraged: “Gumawa ako’ng account, ta’s, hinanap ko [sarili ko]. Pagtingin ko, meron akong apat na accounts! Na hindi ko ma-access, [kahit] mga mukha ko nandu’n! Gago ‘tong mga ‘to, ah! Ang dami nilang mga kaibigan—four-hundred sila du’n; four-hundred ‘yung friends ko, ni hindi ko ma-access! Putsa, ang papangit ng picture ko du’n! Sana man lang, nakapili man lang ako!” No worries, though; everyone’s moving to Multiply anyway, which is where Makoy found home for his two sites: Sunnyrecords Records and Markus Highway. He got inspired further when he saw that his idols—such as John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers—were maintaining their own blogs. “Parang, ‘Okay, ‘eto ‘yung mga ginawa ko nu’ng ‘di niyo ko nakita, ah; hindi ako nagtago sa kuwarto ko ng limang taon,” he posited, mildly alluding perhaps to his friend Dong Abay’s reclusive episode. “Hindi ako naging idle. Ang dami kong ginagawa, ‘eto, gusto mong makita?’”
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the present-day incarnation of Marcus Adoro—Markus Highway, a folk-rock group whose strength lies in its jaded humor and driving rhythms. “Kung nasa’n ako, ‘yun ‘yung art ko nu’n. ‘Eto ‘yung art ko nu’ng nasa dagat ako. ‘Yun, ‘yun ‘yung konsepto. Kung gaano ka-artsy-fartsy ‘yung Kamon, ‘eto naman, folk na folk; maaintindihan ako ng mga mangingisda sa ‘min—parang ganu’n,” Adoro explained.
He hiked mountains and rode waves, and now, he’s back on the road, on the rock-and-roll highway.
EPILOGUE
Let me whip out a silly MacGyver-¬type cliffhanger for this section.
Apart from Kamon Kamon, Adoro has also sealed the deal for yet another project, one which will make you go “Pa-pa-pa” and “La-la-la” in giddy schoolgirl delight. It will bring back memories, he swears.
Aldus Santos sings, writes songs, and plays studio guitar for The Purplechickens, who just resumed cutting their sophomore CD called Girls, Etc.
Photos courtesy of Marcus Adoro, except for the photo taken at Seventy-Seven Café, by Marco Harder.
Learn more about Marcus Adoro’s projects in the following Multiply websites: Sunnyrecords Records and Markus Highway.
TAGS: Eraserheads Marcus Adoro Markus Highway Kamon
