In Bisaya, there’s a word called puhon. It’s a word that’s hard to translate directly, so you look for approximates — someday, maybe even somehow. It was a word that was founded on hope; a declaration to the world that something, by the grace of God or a higher being, will happen.
When you have a word as potent as puhon, it finds its way into the nooks and crannies of the culture that surrounds it. It was a word for the dreamers. Those who trusted the process.
I’d like to think that that was the case for Urbandub. They were dreamers in the truest sense of the word — Gabby Alipe, Lalay Lim, John Dinopol and even former members like Jerros Dolino, JanJan Mendoza, and Jed Honrado — all people who wanted to cling onto music by any means possible.
Lalay Lim (of Urbandub) photographed by Louis Anthony Duran, Executive Producer Andromeda Tan, Creative Producer Jonina Ramos, Project Manager Iris Manzano, Hair and Make Up by Eugene Tiongson, Styling by Jessica Cabuay, Styling Assistant Phoenix Cabuay.
Formed at the start of the new millennium, Urbandub were an eclectic mix of musicians who were already in different bands in the Cebuano underground scene. You had singer and guitarist Alipe, who played with former drummer Honrado in a band called Deus Ex Machina. Because the Cebuano music scene is — and I can’t stress this enough — very small, Honrado was also in another band with Lim and her brother Alex (now A&R for Warner Music Philippines) called Side Dish.
At that point, Honrado was poised to leave for the United States. As Honrado and Alipe searched for a bass player and vocalist, Honrado enlisted the help of Lim to play the bass. Dinopol — who was a schoolmate of Alipe and Lim at the time — was brought in to play guitar as well. As Honrado left the band, the trio asked Dolino (who was active in the punk and reggae scenes in Cebu) to sign on as the drummer for their breakthrough 2003 record, Influence.
“From that day on, I realized…this was going to last for a long time.”
This is the part where, for a majority of bands, people would say “the rest is history.” After Influence clinched the award for Album of the Year and “Soul Searching” for the Song of the Year at the NU Rock Awards, the band went on to release a slew of unforgettable albums such as 2005’s Embrace (which included the anthem “First of Summer”), Under Southern Lights in 2007, The Apparition in 2009, and Esoteric in 2013.
Then, on the band’s fifteenth anniversary as a group, Urbandub announced that they would be splitting up. Their farewell concert, aptly titled Endless, happened on May 9, 2015.
Gabby Alipe (of Urbandub) photographed by Louis Anthony Duran, Executive Producer Andromeda Tan, Creative Producer Jonina Ramos, Project Manager Iris Manzano, Hair and Make Up by Eugene Tiongson, Styling by Jessica Cabuay, Styling Assistant Phoenix Cabuay.
For Urbandub, there were no shortcuts. Yes, they were dreamers, but they had something to prove. It was the dream that pushed them to look for a sponsor to get them on a boat to perform in Manila for the very first time over two decades ago, coming back home with pictures of them waving the company’s banner on top of stages, taken with point-and-shoot cameras.
For many Cebuanos, it wasn’t just the end of a great band. Urbandub were the champions of Bisaya rock, from a region that gained little to no recognition in the Tagalog-dominated airwaves at the time. They were loudly, unapologetically, and proudly Bisaya.
“Grabe ug impact jud” (The impact was indescribable), Ian Sekong of Cebuano rock band Powerspoonz said, in a documentary about Urbandub’s 15-year career, also titled Endless. “Kay murag naa na sila didto…unya mu-undang sila.” (Because they were already there…and they’re just going to stop.)
Then, in 2018, they came back.
Russell Manaloto (of Urbandub) photographed by Louis Anthony Duran, Executive Producer Andromeda Tan, Creative Producer Jonina Ramos, Project Manager Iris Manzano, Hair and Make Up by Eugene Tiongson, Styling by Jessica Cabuay, Styling Assistant Phoenix Cabuay.
Alipe, Lim, and Dinopol started performing together again live. Where most bands would just pick it up where they left it off, Urbandub didn’t stop there. They’re dreamers, remember? And dreamers don’t just pick it up — they reinvent. Alipe, Lim, and Dinopol officially added frequent sessionist Russell Manaloto (also of Faspitch) on guitar and new drummer Sam Saludsong to the mix. They re-recorded their debut album Birth, aptly edited to be named Rebirth. They collaborated with the Manila Symphony Orchestra to create an orchestral arrangement of their biggest hits. Most recently, they finally re-released the album that broke them through a wider audience, Influence, now available on streaming platforms and vinyl 20 years after it first came out.
However, with all things considered, there’s a scene from Endless that still resonates in my mind. Dinopol is sitting in a rehearsal studio, his eyes bright and smile wide, like he’s seeing the memories as they happen in his mind. In this scene, he’s recounting what it was like playing at their first Manila show in Riverbanks, Marikina.
“From that day on, I realized… this was going to last for a long time.”
Puhon.
This cover story is part of Billboard Philippines’ Pinoy Rock series, where we define the sound the Filipino rock scene through 10 of the most influential bands in the country. Read more of the series below.
