Regarded as the longest-lived and most prolific Rock band in the Philippines, The Dawn has just released its 11th full-length studio album on MCA Music. Entitled Sound the Alarm, it is the band’s first album to feature their new guitarist, Kenneth Ilagan. Songs in the album that easily caught my fancy were “Lumulubog,” “Pedestal,” and “Tibay ng Pinas.”
Originally formed in 1986 during the peak of the so-called New Wave music invasion in the Philippines, The Dawn currently consists of Jett Pangan on vocals and guitars, JB Leonor on drums, Buddy Zabala on bass, and Kenneth Ilagan on guitars. Many subsequent and contemporary Filipino bands often cite The Dawn as one of their major influences. In its more than two decades of activity, The Dawn has so far recorded and released 11 full-length studio albums—The Dawn (1987), I Stand with You (1988), Beyond the Bend (1989), Heart’s Thunder (1990), Abot Kamay (1992), Puno’t Dulo (1994), Prodigal Sun (2000), Harapin (2004), Tulad ng Dati (2006), The Later Half of Day (2008), and this latest offering—and a string of hit singles: “Enveloped Ideas,” “I Stand with You,” “Salamat,” “Iisang Bangka,” “Little Paradise,” “Alam Ko, Alam N’yo,” “Babaeng Mahiwaga,” “Talaga Naman,” “Salimpusa,” “Harapin ang Liwanag,” “Tulad ng Dati,” “Laging Narito,” and “Change Is Breaking Us Apart.”
Aside from being the band’s vocalist, Jett Pangan is also a movie actor; during The Dawn’s inactivity from 1995 to 1999, he recorded and released a solo album, entitled Spell (1996); then he eventually formed his own band, named The Jett Pangan Group, releasing two albums—The Jett Pangan Group (1998) and Daylight (1999). In 1988, original guitarist and founding member Teddy Diaz was stabbed to death by allegedly drug-induced bystanders; he was eventually replaced by Francis Reyes of the Filipino band After Image. In 2004, bassist Caloy Balcells left the band to pursue a career in politics; he was replaced by Mon Legaspi of the band Wolfgang, and then by Buddy Zabala of the now-defunct Eraserheads. In 2006, The Dawn appeared as themselves in the independent film Tulad ng Dati, directed by Mike Sandejas—¬a partly fictional, partly documentary drama about the band’s enduring career. Recently this year, longtime guitarist Francis Reyes left the group due to creative and personal differences with the rest of the band. Kenneth Ilagan of True Faith, another commercially successful New Wave–influenced Filipino band, replaced Reyes.
Final Note
PUPIL: October 16 at PCCM
On October 16, be there at Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, 737 Keewatin St., where the Filipino Alternative Rock band Pupil will perform their brand of music as part of their North American tour. Pupil is the current band of Ely Buendia, the vocalist and the chief songwriter of the now-defunct Eraserheads. Local bands opening Pupil’s show include FourSight, Panditos, Side F/X, Tuldok, Life After Death, and The Half Gifts. For tickets and inquiry, contact Jason Paredes at 509-1765 or at jparedes@jaizendesign.com.
