“The Story of the Inverted E” part 2

An article by Redel Ramos from PILLBOX: The Official Eraserheads Magazine vol. 1 no. 1 *******************************************************

STUDENT NUMBERS

Since the band’s formation in ’89, their pathetic “alternative” lifestyle was built around a world of small campus gigs, borrowed guitars, demo tape peddling, limited bottles of beer and restrained dating at SM. Raymund would always find a way for the band to be included in programmes, practically applying to show-concert organizers rather than being invited. When they got accepted, these free shows and mini-gigs became red letter days in our gimik calendar.

These org-sponsored events were venues for talented, young bands from UP. In the late 80’s, the E-heads had great contemporaries. These guys’ musical prowess were probably as good as their minds when inside the classroom. They knew how to tune their guitars and they played tight – Chanting Wind were the guys from the Conservatory of Music and were big fans of the Big Country; Giant Step were pop jazz masters who were also music majors; Eyeless Vision was a Fine Arts-based group who sounded like Replacements meets Neil Young; Aftermath was into U2 and Rush; Game Over and The Clouds among others. The E-heads can be separated from other bands who constantly annoyed my ears with staples like Van Halen’s “Jump” and Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me”. They had a more respectable repertoire consisiting of songs by The Cure, The Cult, Beatles, etc. Unfortunately, the ‘Heads may have gotten A+ in their reports and papers but they always got a C- in their playing. That was why they would always be assigned to the last part of the show, when almost everybody had finished their set and when the crowd had already dwindled. Nevertheless, they always had always had this small but solid following who understood and loved their being deficient.

To be continued…

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