THE REBIRTH OF MUSIC FRONT: Finally Coming Home

Allow me now to speak to you as a fan of one of Pinoy punk's most enduring icons, Arnold Morales.

It is not very easy to talk about the merits of a man whom I personally regard as my idol, friend and role model, the way I look up to an older brother which I never really had. It seems that until now, Arnold does not realize the impact he has left in the consciousness of several generations of punks. In all likelihood, he will refuse to believe that I mean every single word I have written here, probably preferring to think that I like (*insert name of another punk band here*) instead. But that's another story.

Such is the humility of this man.

Suffice to say that when I first heard a voice over the radio many many years ago, a voice reeking of danger dared say, "Ano'ng sabi mo? Ikaw o ako? Ba't sino ka ba? At sino rin ako?", I was stunned. And intrigued.

Who the hell is this band? And who is this man who seems to summon the demons with his unmistakable derring-do?

The voice belonged to Arnold. The band: Urban Bandits. Aggression-filled, angst-ridden, all-testosterone. My life has never been the same again....

Fast forward to 1987. Arnold Morales formed Music Front, his post-Urban Bandits and pre-Put3Ska outfit. Of all his bands, Music Front is the least known, having only played in two venues before they finally disappeared. And although a full-length album had been recorded, the songs landed in the hands of nary but a very few people in the underground scene. Because of this, and because of the paucity of written materials about the band (I can only recall a single article about Music Front which came out in Jingle Chordbook magazine), Music Front has been regarded by many as a unicorn of sorts.

To rephrase this unicorn metaphor into a simpler query: Did Music Front ever exist?

Most people learned the answer to this question last Friday at Weslu's tribute gig at the Purple Haze Bar, as they came face to face with THE unicorn.Music Front reformed for the occasion of Luis Guiang's death anniversary and played to a highly-charged audience. The line-up consisted of Arnold on vocals, ex-Deceased Jun Quiane on drums, ex-Absolute Zero/Betrayed Je Bautista on bass, and prolific guitarist Albert Ascona, who also plays for The Beauty Of Doubt, Throw, NoFuckingMorals and 217 more bands, as he would jokingly say. The inclusion of Jun and Je has been described as providential. Roughly twenty years earlier, Deceased and Betrayed actually opened for Music Front at Puesto Legarda, which was said to be the better of Music Front's only two gigs ever.

The blistering set started off with "Let's Dance," a sharply edged song whose riveting melody echoes post-punk influences reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen's heavier works. The audience, which had started to sing along with the chorus, shortly went wild as Arnold bellowed "Mga kapitbahaaaaay!!!", essentially announcing the segue to "No Future Sa Pader."

Music Front also did "Start A New Day," whose opening line, "There's nothing wrong between the earth and the blue sky," is the most creative line I have heard in a while. They also played "What Is A Friend," a sentimental ditty rumoured to have been recorded by Put3Ska for what would have been a third album, making it timely given the occasion of the death anniversary of the band's dear Weslu.

It is a pity Music Front did not play the anthemic "Jolly Dominique," a song which was redone by Put3Ska in the 90s, as well as Arnold's ode to one of the world's cheapest forms of communication, "Radio." Three more Urban Bandits hits ("Manila Girl," "Nagpapapansin, Pansinin," and "Blood In Every Heart") completed the electrifying set.

Arnold and his crew were more than warmly welcomed by friends and supporters who slammed and jumped furiously throughout the set, with some even trying to literally grab a piece of the lanky frontman in excitement. Never mind that there were technical mishaps, including a bass string that snapped in the heat of the set (how do you really break a bass string unless you are playing to a highly intensified outburst of passion.)

There is truth to THE unicorn.

And Arnold Morales? He has finally come home.

We saw each other soon after the set. He was beaming as he approached me, and I promptly extended my hand. He took my hand and enveloped it firmly in his palms, and that moment seemed to have lasted an eternity filled with unspoken gratitude, trust, and fraternal bond. No, I will never forget that humbling instance of humanity which has left me dumbfounded up until now. My idol, my friend, and my older brother has remained steadfast after all these years.

Welcome home, Arnold.And as for you, keep faith in the scene.

A Reunion Of Old-School Punks at Weslu's Tribute Gig

Time and again I would aver that, even though I enjoy listening to ska and watching ska gigs, I am not by all means a rudie. For most of my formative years as far as music appreciation is concerned were spent listening to punk songs and attaching a fork or a stiff alambre to the radio antenna just to get a decent reception of "Capital Radio" off XB 102. (Then again, that does not make me a punk, either.) I could not get myself to see the lovely concerts over at places like Rock-ola and Katrina's (I had only seen a handful then) for I used to live really far and my mother was extremely strict. So I sought consolation by playing music really loud in the house till my mom actually learned to appreciate the noise that her deprived young child was drawn to. See, (bless her soul) she was a very cool woman after all.

Anyway, the line-up of the bands that played in Weslu's Tribute Gig at the Purple Haze Bar last January 18, 2008 is an aggregate of the old and the new school, of punks and rudies and the younger set, of punk and ska music. It is a great combination. The late Luis Guiang, after all, has left an indelible imprint in both the punk and ska scene. This time, however, I lost some sense of objectivity and suddenly hungered for the old hats. In fact, it seemed that a lot of people missed the so-called old guys.

I saw how the crowd started slamming during G.I. and the Idiots' performance, and how a mad flurry of slamming bodies formed at an alarming rate during Music Front's set. When it was Al Dimalanta and Throw's turn on stage, people were simply slamming silly, especially during the part when Al was singing his anthemic songs "New Life" (a punk song that figured prominently in my young life) and "Don't Drop Your Guns/Noise Barrage."

One of the night's highlights was the appearance of Mr. Tommy Tanchangco, guitarist for Chaos and more popularly known as the man behind the Twisted Red Cross label. He seemed just as amazed at how people have continued to live the punk lifestyle after all these years.

That night saw a impromptu gathering of most of the members of the Class of '84. It was a joyous sight.

I hope my friends in the ska scene will forgive me for gushing no end, but I got to say this. At some point in one's life one has to go back to where he started. Such is the circle of life. For many, it was a night of various homecomings, with the biggest homecoming alumnus being Luis Guiang. And the night, no doubt, belongs to the old-timers.

Captured by Canon: The Mandalondon Crew; Hilboy Raymundo of Bisikleta Productions; Erwin Romulo; Mae Ilagan of Shuffle Union shaking her booty; the audience; Tommy Tanchangco with Arnold Morales, later with some alumni of the Class of '84.

G.I. and the Idiots


Music Front

Throw


A sort of homecoming: Japo, Arnold, Al, Rogel, Je, Aji, Bobby, Russell, Homer, Rodil, Albert