04.27.2007
CHICOSCI'S TOP 10 FAVORITE ARTISTS
FROM THE DEFTONES TO JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, THE BOYS OF CHICOSCI SHOW SOME LOVE FOR THEIR MUSICAL IDOLS
Those of you who have watched Chicosci's live sets know that there's much more to the band than nu metal and emo influences, especially if you happen to catch them delivering a sudden unexpected rendition of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack." In this installment of Listomania, Mong, Miggy and Calde talk about their top 10 favorite bands and artists, and give us some insight into what makes Chicosci the band that it is now.
1. Deftones
Mong Alcaraz, guitarist: “We’re a Deftones cover band.”
Miggy Chavez, vocalist: “That’s the band that brought us together, basically.”
Mong: “You can hear it in every album, even today.”
2. Glassjaw
Carlos Calderon, bassist: “From the movement from nu metal to our sound now.”
Miggy: “Sila yung forefathers ng breaking out of the rap metal [mold]… Tsaka may Deftones influence sila, eh.”
Mong: “Deftones and Radiohead. ‘Yun ‘yung schtick nila nun, eh, linabas nila sa lahat ng press kits nila. [In exaggerated DJ voice] Imagine the Deftones breaking the mold of Adidas rap metal, with Radioheadesque swirly guitars and blah, blah, blah, comes Glassjaw. Parang lahat kami, ‘Whoa!’ Una di pa namin trip, eh. It takes a while.”
Calde: “Which is good. Ganun din sa banda, eh. Ayaw ko ng easily digestible. I want people to think while listening to the band.”
3. At the Drive-In
Mong: “Story ng Glassjaw, they were the first non rap-metal band to be produced by Ross Robinson, one of our favorite producers. Nu metal producer siya noon. Lahat ng nu metal noon, Korn, Limp Bizkit… nakatrabaho din niya ‘yung Deftones noon. He wanted to break out of that mold. Siyempre kami, being young and impressionable, syempre uto-uto kami, ‘Sige, Glassjaw, okay ‘yan!’ Biglang, ‘tang ina, wow, ang genius pala ng mga ‘to!”
Miggy: “Kung baga para sa amin, at that age, na narinig namin yung Glassjaw, parang, wow, pwede ka pala maging cool na hindi ka nu metal.”
Mong: “Masikip pantalon ng mga guitarista, may Chicano, tapos hip-hop yung singer. Weird, eh. Tapos At the Drive-In, yung may pinakamasikip na pantaloon, may Afro, nakita namin sumasayaw, okay lang pala sumayaw!”
Miggy: “You don’t have to be the tough guy.”
4. Blood Brothers
Mong: “The first [Blood Brothers] album we ever listened to was produced by Ross Robinson. We discovered the band through Ross Robinson’s connection.”
Miggy: “Followers kami ni Ross Robinson… Tapos, ang galing nito. First band ever na nagustuhan ko na dalawa ‘yung singer. Parang hate na hate ko yung concept na ‘yun dati. Tapos ang taas ng boses na sigaw. Not like, let’s say, Coheed and Cambria and all the emo bands na, is that a girl singing? No, is this a girl screaming? May halong art, may halong noise, tapos when we saw the art in the CD, oh my God, postmodern Salvador Dali stuff. Highly infuential siya—ang dami.”
Calde: “Lifestyle.”
Mong: “And then nag-evolve din sila in the sense na ‘yung producer nila naging producer ng Sleater-Kinney. Tapos the latest one was the guy from Fugazi na idol ng lahat ng idol namin. Parang [kung] nangyari sa amin dito, prinoduce kami ni Raymond Marasigan… na prinoduce kami ng Razorback na mga idols namin at the time.”
5. Eraserheads
Mong: “They taught us the art of songwriting, understanding Filipinos and touring Asia—the dream of touring Asia.”
6. Rage Against the Machine
Mong: “Memorize ko yung buong first album lyrics. Nanood kami ng buong concert.”
7. Nirvana
Mong: “Una kong napansin yung Nirvana, field trip namin, grade 7… may dala siyang [Miggy] book, Kurt Cobain. Di kami masyadong close noon, eh. Nakita ko lang ‘yung libro, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, tapos…”
Miggy: “Can I be your friend?”
Mong: “Hindi, hindi. Magkaibigan kami pero hindi kami tumatambay masyado. Sa kanya ko rin napulot yung—kasi ang trip ko noon, Toad the Wet Sprocket, tapos may pinakikinggan siya, Sepultura yata, tapos gumaganun siya sabay [holds an arm up and nods slowly to an imaginary beat]. Grade 7 ‘to, ha. Sabay, ‘’Tang-ina, cool tingan nun, ah!’ Sinubukan ko sa bahay. Nagpatugtog ako ng White Zombie, sinubukan ko rin. Puta! Astig!”
8. 311
Mong: “California vice. Parang all the bands na minention namin, meron silang East Coast vibe. Halos lahat, except for 311. Tsaka laid back sila. That Hollywood, laid-back thing…”
Calde: “More than 50 songs na yata sila, basta madami silang ginawa.”
Mong: “And they’re from frickin’ Nebraska, so that’s cool. Nagrelocate sila sa LA. They’re one of the few bands na, after namin narealize na reggae pala ‘yun. Ska pala yun. Kasi nung time na ‘yun, lahat, rock.”
9. Michael Jackson
Mong: “But not Wacko Jacko.”
Miggy: “When he was still part black. Magaling siya, eh.”
Mong: “Tsaka experimental wise, parang siya ‘yung Radiohead noon. Wala pang consoles na maga-accommodate ng maraming stuff, so they used two consoles, 24 tracks, lahat vocals ni Michael Jackson. 24 tracks of Michael Jackson singing the same song, the harmonies, blah, blah, blah, tapos ‘yung isang track, ‘Okay, do your thing.’ Kasi kapag kumakanta, meron siyang ‘Eh!’ [Does Michael Jackson squeaking, movements and slapping] Gumaganon siya kapag sumasayaw, may isang track na ‘yun lang ‘yung ginagawa niya. ‘Ah!’ So influenced kami noon, highly, by the experiments that go on in the studio.”
10. Justin Timberlake
Miggy: “The new Michael Jackson… he’s not afraid of anything.”
Mong: “He used to be black!”
