artiha jud aning Lemon oi ..........
Friends sing for Ely Buendia
By Pocholo Concepcion
Inquirer
Last updated 08:04pm (Mla time) 02/08/2007
WEEKS BEFORE suffering a heart attack, Ely Buendia was said to be “depressed.”
The 35-year-old former leader of the country’s biggest and most influential band reportedly felt so isolated, he blurted out one night after a gig with his new group Pupil at Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City: “Where have all my friends gone?”
Eastwood City would be the same venue of “LivEly”—a hastily prepared concert held Jan. 28 to help Ely defray hospital bills and other medical expenses.
The organizers included former Eraserheads road manager Julie Pacanas, Shirley Asignacion-Elgar (Buendia’s ex, now married to Rivermaya guitarist Mike Elgar), ‘70s Bistro manager Renard Bartolome, MTV Philippines PR officer Lizette Claudio, DJs of FM radio station DWTM 89.9 and others who came together as concerned friends volunteering their services.
The motley lineup consisted of Chicosci, Ciudad, Dicta License, FrancisM, Itchyworms, Join the Club, Julianne, Kamikazee, Kitchie Nadal, Makatha, Moonstar 88, Oppressed, Paramita, Parokya ni Edgar, Rivermaya, Rocksteddy, Salindiwa, Sponge Cola, Swissy, True Faith and Up Dharma Down.
Former E-heads lead guitarist Marcus Adoro made a surprise appearance as the last performer.
The bands played three songs each and then went down the stage to approach the Sunday crowd with donation boxes.
Some P70,000 was raised, with the artists themselves pledging more.
Backstage, the vibe was relaxed. “Walang rock ‘star’,” Bartolome observed. “Everybody is waiting patiently for their turn to play.”
A few talked about their relationship with Buendia and the E-heads.
“To me he is a kuya,” Itchyworms vocalist-guitarist Jugs Jugueta said. “Not only did the Eraserheads influence my band’s music; they even helped us record our first demo in Ely’s home studio. The E-heads also got us to open their gigs.”
“We were pretty close in the 1990s and hung out a lot,” True Faith front man Medwyn Marfil recounted. “I know Ely’s brothers and sisters because I lived in Parañaque which was near their place in Las Piñas. But mainly I was a big fan, even when I was already with True Faith. I’m the type who would profess love for music that I admire. Ely’s music was tops, very artistic.”
ABS-CBN’s Ricky Lee and Joyce Bernal were roaming around, coordinating with volunteers distributing the collection boxes.
“Estudyante ko si Ely noong nagtuturo pa ko sa UP,” Lee explained. “Nakasama ko siya ... sa grupong Cineastes. Hindi pa malaman ni Ely noon kung ano talaga ang gusto niyang gawin sa dami ng talent niya. Kinuha ko siyang assistant, taga-research, kasama sa workshops ko sa bahay. I remember gusto niyang iparinig sa amin yung demo songs niya ... wala pang pumapansin. Pero alam ko malalim siyang tao at seryoso. Kahit nga naglalaro yan ng video game, sobrang seryoso.”
According to FrancisM, Buendia was playing Tekken, an exciting computer game, when he first felt chest pains while on the road to a Pupil gig in Laguna.
However, friends believe the heart attack was the result of a buildup of stress from more serious physical and emotional factors.
What could have caused that outburst in Eastwood?
One theory involves an incident where Diane Ventura, Ely’s live-in partner and one of two managers, allegedly doused water on the owner of Big Sky Mind, an art gallery-music joint in Quezon City, which led to the banning of Pupil from the establishment.
At the fundraiser, some of the participating bands were said to have made one request: that Ventura should not show up.
Also, it looks like Buendia still has to mend some fences, especially with his former band mates. There was talk that E-heads drummer, now Sandwich front man, Raimund Marasigan is still smarting from the way Buendia broke up the band via text message. Marasigan didn’t bother replying to the invitation to play at “LivEly.”
Oh well, as the Stones loved to say, “It’s only rock ‘n’ roll…”
FrancisM is holding his own fundraiser for Ely on Feb. 24 at Zirkoh, Timog, Quezon City featuring various artists. Meanwhile, Ely himself is slated to perform Feb. 23 at Star Mall in Las Piñas to raise funds—for a school!