07.01.2008
DO THE HELIPAD DANCE: DIEGO MAPA AND JASON CABALLA ON PEDICAB’S SOPHIE OUTING
PEDICAB DOES NUMBER 2 WITH SHINJI...AND ENDS UP POST-DANCE PUNK GIDDY AS EVER.
Pedicab’s arrival in 2005 as a superband of sorts was absolute cause celebre. I mean, hell, the merry band of punksters counted, in its roster, Diego Mapa on vocals, Raimund Marasigan on bass synth, Mike Dizon on drums, and Jason Caballa on guitar. That’s really having the best of eight or so bands both alive and dead—Eraserheads, Teeth, Monsterbot, Twisted Halo, Cambio, Squid 9, Eggboy, and Blast Ople—give or take one or two more. Meanwhile, lauded film and video director R.A. Rivera has recently made the transition from video-projectionist to sound-effects guy in-studio and onstage. Three years after Tugish Takish and ad infinitum associations with Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, and bands of the sort, Pedicab puts out its second record, Shinji,
“Simulan mo na ang dapat mong ginawa nu’ng umpisa…” [Diego Mapa speaks.]
Pulse.ph: The title sounds like a studio in-joke; where did it come from?
Pulse.ph: What do you think is the main difference between Shinji and Tugish?
Diego Mapa: ‘Yung Shinji, mas pinag-isipan namin ‘yung songs, matagal na namin siya d-in-emo—mga halos two years naka-bangko siya after Tugish. ‘Yung Tugish, lahat ng music, sa kanila; pumasok na lang ako sa lyrics. Itong Shinji, nagsulat na rin ako ng music. R.A. plays an instrument [now], and there is a lot more singing here. And [we tried] na lumayo sa Tugish Takish na drum sound.
Pulse.ph: It’s more organic now, yeah? I mean, drum sound-wise?
Diego Mapa: Well, yeah, maybe that’s because Mike plays like a real drummer. Sa Tugish, may effort siya na hindi masyado maglaro, parang drum machine lang ba. Pero ‘yung tunog nitong album, I mean technically, mas gusto ko kaysa sa una.
Pulse.ph: Is it safe to say that it’s your material now that’s the centerpiece?
Diego Mapa: Well, I got more material in Shinji, but I couldn’t have executed it better without the band. Si Raimund occasionally arranges stuff. He is a real arranger; when I’ve got an idea that’s too whacked, he kinda tweaks it para mas malinaw. For example, marami akong notes na gusto i-hit, pero binabawasan niya [depende] sa capability ko. And Jason tweaked all the guitars; I just gave the chords, but he delivered it his own way. I would utter some [ideas about the] drum [parts] to Mike but he would play them his way.
Pulse.ph: Between Pedicab, Cambio,
Diego Mapa: Regarding the bands, hmm, it’s kinda an accident why I have so many bands now—parang tanggap lang ako nang tanggap dati, parang gusto ko maging kabanda lahat. Before, I used to think, “Okay, sa Pedicab lang ako sasayaw, tapos sa Cambio, dito ko ilalagay mga mainstream pop ko, tapos M-bot, dito lang ako sisigaw, tapos Eggboy, kahit ano.” Pero ngayon, parang, lahat p’wede na!
Pulse.ph: R..A.’s inclusion as instrumentalist this time, using the Kaoss Pad, etc.—from being a kind of video-projectionist—how did that come about?
Diego Mapa: Ang hirap kasi mag-live ng projector parati. ‘Pag o-order ka sa organizer, minsan darating si R.A. pero walang ma-project, or masyado masikip, lalo na ‘pag puno ang saGuijo, so nag-isip din siya at tinulungan din namin siya na makapag-jam musically. So, [‘yung] projector, for special shows na lang. Ayos din ang mga pinapasok niya, eh. ‘Eto, trivia kuno, ‘yung moaning sa “Ang Pusa Mo,” warped Maria Osawa porn ‘yun [routed] through the Kaoss Pad [laughs].
Pulse.ph: About the “dance punk” branding—when you formed the band initially, was it an explicit focus, so as to differentiate Pedicab from your other bands? I mean, where do you stand in that now?
Diego Mapa: Well, actually, [‘yung] dance punk branding, I think accident lang din ‘yun. Actually, ang iniisip nila Mike and Jason nu’ng una, [The] Strokes and Franz [Ferdinand]—post-punk nga ‘ata ang iniisip ni Jason. And then, nu’ng pumasok ang album, “dance punk” na or “electro” na ang tawag sa Spin or Rolling Stone, so I guess du’n na kami inilagay, at medyo, I admit, sumakay din kami sa branding, dahil ang hirap din i-explain. Anyway, mas gusto ko ang branding na “post-punk” [laughs].
Pulse.ph: Didn’t you want to be a live instrumentalist for the band? Or are you more like an Eggboy kind of personality for Pedicab, as compared to, say Cambio?
Diego Mapa: Well, I’ve never been a lead singer before without playing anything, so ito ang outlet ko ng lead-singer frustrations ko [laughs].
Pulse.ph: Ah, the lyrics! It appears that, despite the “borrowed” musical form, you seem to be pushing yourself to be really Filipino in your references. Is that conscious? Like, say, on “FX”?
Diego Mapa: Ah, yes, parang nakaisip ako ng formula na medyo orig. Parang bagay na bagay talaga ang Taglish sa electro, eh, parang sobrang astig ng music, pero babaduyin mo ‘yung lyrics na todo, so, parang bumabalanse. ‘Yung Filipino attack naman, gusto ko talaga na Filipino ang context dahil gusto ko mag-contribute sa genre natin—medyo cliché, pero at least,
Pulse.ph: Yeah, that makes sense; I have to admit—and I feel guilty about this—that I realized your lyrical gift late. Your handle of the vernacular is amazing, man.
Diego Mapa: Wow, thanks man! Coming from you, that’s for the books.
Pulse.ph: Honored. Anyway, name me a song that we can maybe take apart lyrically. Something you’re particularly proud of from Shinji.
Diego Mapa: Wow, ang dami, p’wede several tutal nagkwe-kwentuhan lang tayo.
Pulse.ph: Sure, sure, say on “FX,” it’s flowing and kind of like a Pinoy Jack Kerouac, almost.
Diego Mapa: Sige, “FX.” First ko ‘yun
Pulse.ph: Okay, how about “Ang Pusa Mo”?
Diego Mapa: ‘Yung “Pusa,” music kay Raimund, tapos nu’ng time na ginagawa ko ‘yun, parang gusto ko gumawa ng Lito Camo [na type of song] na bastos talaga. ‘Di ba, si Lito Camo, parang tago pa ‘yung “Spaghetti Pababa” at “Jumbo Hotdog”? So, ito, totoo na talaga [laughs]! Tapos nu’ng time na ‘yun, kakapanood ko lang ng Blue Velvet ni David Lynch, so du’n pumasok yung S&M.
Pulse.ph: Uhm, do you think yours is humorist lyricism? Like not Parokya but more absurd maybe?
Diego Mapa: Well, in the end, gusto ko pa rin nakakatawa most of the time. But I like making the serious stuff, too.
Pulse.ph: Okay, in your eyes, briefly for each person, what roles musical or otherwise do the Pedicab guys play?
Diego Mapa: Ah, Mike is quality control; he is kind of the one who says to Raims after a gig, “‘Wag masyado magulo, wala akong maintindihan.” That’s when Raims is rocking too much and forgets to play. Jason is kind of like the cool checker, I’ll ask him “Baduy ba ‘to?” like with lyrics, or, “What do you think is better to cover?,” when choosing a song to cover. Raims is definitely the arranger, and he balances the weird to the mainstream so that it’s understandable in a sense that only he can figure out. Si R.A. is all-art, he is very influential in the second album. Tatanungin ko siya, “Masyadong wasak ba ‘to?” Sasabihin niya, “Okay ‘yan!”
Pulse.ph: Pedicab’s constructed, semi-Gorillaz, kind of cartoony-but-real-people image, what does that stand for, for you? The uniforms, the code names, the tongue-in-cheek humor, the absurdity?
Diego Mapa: Well, for the uniforms, they’re really a visual element; I really like bands that dress alike, like The Ramones, Flaming Lips, Beastie Boys, sometimes Red Hot [Chili Peppers], Interpol—ang sarap nila tignan ‘pag pare-pareho ang suot nila. Ay, pati pala Beatles!
Pulse.ph: What use would you like Pedicab to have for the listeners?
Diego Mapa: Pang-trip, ‘tsaka pang-sayaw, or p’wede din pang-inom.
“‘Pag sinasaktan mo ako, ‘yan ang gusto ko…” [Jason Caballa speaks.]
Pulse.ph: How is Shinji is different from Tugish?
Jason Caballa: Well, the songwriting process was different. For the first album, the music for the ten songs was written by Raims, Mike, and myself. We jammed for three days, made ten songs, and gave the demo to Diego so he could write lyrics for them. This time, the songs were written more synthetically—Raims made basslines and beats with his computer, as did Diego. Diego was more involved in writing music this time. He wanted to somehow deviate from the old sound, and it shows with the stuff he wrote. A lot of them are almost pure pop songs with a house beat, like “Good to Go” and “Deep Eyes,” which is originally an Eggboy song.
Pulse.ph: Ah, I get it. Oh, let’s talk about R.A.! What made him or you guys rethink his role in the first place?
Jason Caballa: Actually, I don’t remember how that came about. I think he discovered Garage Band. And then Raims told him to buy all these things, like the Kaoss Pad, and he did naman. So it more or less “officialized” his role as the sound-effects guy, since he bought all that gear [laughs]. ‘Yung Kaossilator was his own discovery. […] He actually bought it in
Pulse.ph: Okay, about the overlaps—I know this is a perennial question—between Pedicab, Cambio,
Jason Caballa: Siguro, back then, there was more of a distinction between the styles of music we make. Right now, hindi na masyado. I mean, Cambio has some dance-y songs, as does Sandwich, and we have some more straight-ahead punk songs, too. So, whenever people ask me about what makes us different from them, I usually say that we’re a different batch of five people; it’s a different equation altogether. Maybe Raims works a different way with me than he does with Kris or Ebe or Mong, for example.
Pulse.ph: That’s the optimal answer. Okay, tell me about your thoughts on the whole dance punk mini-revolution. And how you think you guys were partly—maybe even entirely—responsible for it locally.
Jason Caballa: Meron ba? I think a bunch of the new “dance punk” bands—and I use that term loosely—were more influenced by the
Pulse.ph: Yeah, that’s a reasonable fear.
Jason Caballa: It wasn’t so much as a risk of the sound being accepted by local fans or not. I mean, hindi naman mahirap sakyan ‘yung tugtugan, eh. I think we really had the intention of coming up with music that would make people dance as opposed to mosh, so that fewer people, especially women, would get hurt—para fun, good times lang.
Pulse.ph: Okay, how are you now, as a guitar player? This is obviously far from how you played with your former band [Twisted Halo]. And I’m sure in a way you had guitar comfort zones.
Jason Caballa: For sure, hirap ako noong una, but I think my biggest concern was to avoid making mistakes more than anything else. Kasi kung mag-isa ka lang, ‘pag sumabit ka, obvious na obvious. Other than that, steady lang ako. Minimalist naman tugtugan namin, eh. There’s no need to worry about filling up the gaps and such. It took some getting used to hearing just my own guitar.
Pulse.ph: Okay, in your eyes, briefly for each person, what roles do the Pedicab guys play?
Jason Caballa: Raimund is the kuya, for sure. Siya yung master arranger. He knows what works. Whenever we improvise live, siya ‘yung conductor; we just follow his hand! [laughs] Si Mike ‘yung goal-setter. He usually comes up with the ideas on how to market us, like shirts and stuff. He also determines which gigs are worth playing, which venues we should go to. Diego is the mad, creative guy. He’s always doing something musically, be it a new song or a remix project, and he’s always listening to new things. R.A. is the steady guy. Even when he seems to stress out during video shoots, parang wala pa rin siyang pakialam. He has this acronym, “P.N.Y.,” for “p’wede na ‘yan!” He’s also our unofficial P.R. guy. He handles the online stuff. […]
Pulse.ph: I think this is your most confident performance on record too; you were punk, but you were also technically sure.
Jason Caballa: I kind of like the progress I made when it comes to the guitar parts. I think I’ve recorded something that really represents my style and taste, and I’m extremely proud of the record and what we’ve done. People have already told me that it’s different from the first. Some friends have even remarked that they like the first one more, which is fine, because that only means we didn’t repeat ourselves this time.
TAGS: Pedicab Shinji Shinji Ilabas Mo Na Ang Helicopter Tugish Takish
