CHIESTER

The lineup:

Arnold Kabiling - vox
Hans Gutierrez - lead guitars
Julius San Victores - drums
Yours Truly - rhythm/lead guitars
Rommel Reyes - bass
Nic Dungog - bass

This was basically a supergroup back in the day.

Arnold and Hans were from Force of Habit. They recognized me from my former band Pulpito. Arnold and I were classmates, so he introduced me to his friends, and there I met Hans and Julius. As far as I remember, they didn’t know Julius played drums. I recall I happened to see Julius on the same bus when I was headed home and I interviewed him. An interesting resume he had (jazz, Rush, Slayer and the obvious, Primus), he hadn’t been in a band in a while, he usually plays with his brother (and sometimes jazz with their dad). I know Arnold had a great voice (a Vedder fan).

I was kinda nervous coming in, I didn’t have my own guitar yet, so I would be in with different guitars at the time.

I was impressed on the first day. Julius kicked my ass! He played so good, that he knew the songs I threw at him. Especially Seasons in the Abyss from Slayer, Creeping Death from Metallica, and much more. Hans was great too, a natural if I may say so. You get those guys who can just pick up a scale and go doodley-doodley- doo… not this guy. He picks his notes well.

As usual, bass players were hard to find. I brought in my buddy Rommel, and it was chemistry there. We played Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Slayer, Sugar, before we decided to focus on Faith No More. They got me into liking FNM.

The name? There was this dormitory called Regency and they served food downstairs also. We usually eat at the other place, but we stayed there because there was this hot girl named Jenny (with the whole package if you know what I mean). That’s where we picked up the name. Sometimes we used Scarecrowe or Mind Riot, but it all came back to Jenny’s Regency.

Rommel had a hard time being with us because of family problems, so our friend Nic Adic or Dungog Durog gladly offered his services.

I think we played well with each other. The bummer part is that I think the problem was that nobody thought we can bring a crowd with us.

Hans eventually left us to join Mike’s band, then later on Candlefire Kills Four (these guys are great!!!). They did Red Hot Chili Peppers covers, and the latter Jane’s Addiction. I asked my friend Mark Baling from Loads of Motherhood to fill in Hans’s spot for one show which was a competition (where Hans’s band was there too!).

I remember clearly on one of our last shows (I was still recovering from an illness). We were able to ask Julius’s brother Jay to play bass for us (just this one time). We had three original songs, one was the brother’s music, the other two was mine’s. It was my first time to be the lead guitar player and it was scary. I played my solos on the two songs like a train wreck heading to a hurricane (think Kim Thayil playing a lounge song…yeah!).

It was fun being with those guys. It’ll be fun playing with them again.

I had another plan which unfolded later on…

The lineup:

Dexter “Dex” Aguda - drums
Wendell Charles Medina - rhythm guitar
Giuseppe Myrc Wilcom - bass
Yours Truly - lead guitar
Ryan Brion - vox
Mike “I forgot his last name!” -vox

How this band started was kinda unusual: we all met at P.E. classes just like the guys at Mary Wanna Crack. Our respective courses were bitter rivals: the Engineering Bldg hated Commerce Bldg and for years and years fraternity wars plagued the campuses. We avoided that s?!t and got along fine, since the music united us. Dex, Wendell, Myrc, and Ryan liked the same music scene as I did unlike the guys in MWC. We did Alice in Chains, Slayer, Megadeth, and these guys turned me on to Danzig (more on that later).

Dex is a punk rocker, Wendell (again with the southpaws) liked Megadeth, Myrc and Ryan were obsessed with the NBA and the basketball scene. It was a riot being with those guys, even my two sisters liked hanging around them. We would make fun of anything, and I do mean ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

Our music was just pure magic. When I auditioned, it was just Dex and Wendell. Ryan was in class and Myrc couldn’t get out of the house. I brought in my sorry excuse for a strat that I named Jasmine. It just clicked from the first note till the end of the 2 hour jam. Their song Palito was given a heavier touch.

Dex had a song written but no music: I figured that this was my audition given if I can contribute something. I always have music written, so one of them turned out perfect for this song. I told them where certain parts go and how I want them to hear. And that became Bad Trip, a song that will eventually be our signature song, a song that became known in the underground. It was an angry song, I guess it became an anthem in a way.

I remember when we auditioned to be part of their band contest in Engineering (or was that Fine Arts?). There was money to be won I think. I remember bringing Jasmine and I got stares from the crowd. We played Palito then Bad Trip. The crowd was stunned after we played that song… and we knew that it will be a moment we’ll all won’t forget. Going in that contest, we decided to f?!k with the crowd and play Sweet Child O’ Mine. During that time, that song was so overplayed, you know you’ll get booed (or probably worse). Then Ryan broke it up and we played Dirty Black Summer by Danzig. I couldn’t remember the next song, but we played Bad Trip last. We got the people’s attention. We didn’t win though, the band who won was called Force of Habit (more on them later). They played Porch from Pearl Jam and I forgot the other one.

Another one was playing at UP Fine Arts yearly event where the college hosts local students then the outsiders can play later…. they weren’t kidding when they said later because we played at 2:00 in the freakin’ morning! Ryan couldn’t be there so I sang. I saw Teeth for the first time and I knew they were gonna be big cuz they played great. They played What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes and another that I forgot. The 2nd guitarist saw my Grunge pedal (that I borrowed from classmate and former bandmate Norman) and was like ‘wow, is that really good like they claim it is?’. And I said yes and it’s definitely worth checking out. It was sucky cuz it was late and we were tired. And just when we thought that no one played Alice in Chains that night, the band before us did! F?!k I was pissed! Drummer was a show-off, had a double-pedal that wasn’t really necessary to use to AIC songs. So we had to change our set list: Dirty Black Summer, What The Hell Have I? and Bad Trip. People were basically asleep when we played since it was so late. That was a downer, I won’t forget it though. For one thing, I played through a one of a kind amplifier: a Roland JC stack. I have no idea what model it was, but it was nothing I’ve ever seen. Great sound.

Unfortunately, drama within the band slowly killed us (well, the five of us that is). Myrc, Wendell and Ryan were bickering with each other. The only regret that I did was agreeing to let him go, for I was not aware that were gonna do originals from this point on. I only agreed cuz he couldn’t sing high, but he has the voice for the originals. Ryan was replaced with Mike, a huskier-voiced singer who had the talent. He was the one you’ll hear on the compilation (more on that title later). I would later complain on why I wasn’t credited to writing the music to Bad Trip and Wendell for the music of Palito.

We were never able to support that single cuz I had failed Statistics at school. That was a real downer cuz that song made it to Number 4 on a local rock station, we even got interviewed over the radio! Myrc also got school troubles, so he stopped playing period. When he was replaced by this idiot named Doc (who lost our first demos when he was moving out… f?!@ng excuse) who can’t play s?@t, I left.

I was able to talk to Wendell few years after that. We were still cool. I haven’t spoken to Dex since then.

Such a shame. I heard later on (whether this is true or not) some guys claimed to be Pulpito and called themselves Galis Aso. I rather found that offensive, and I don’t think both Dex and Wendell would do that.

I wish I can talk to them again, maybe even getting that band together and make that album.