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By Maria Espie A. Vidal, Special to The
Manila Times
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Rocker and
surfer Markus Adoro |
The Eraserheads may have danced their “Huling
El Bimbo” in 2001, but still we can’t get enough of them.
Really. Tributes, covers and remakes of the band’s old hits aired
in the radio and so far fans still insist, “Nothing beats the
original.” Maybe this is the reason why each E-head are very
successful in their own respective careers.
The Dawn, Sandwich, and Pupil step aside and
make way. Behold and rejoice as the surfer from Ilocos, Marcus Adoro,
finally debuts with his own band, Markus Highway.
No crash to the sea
Unlike the waves in the sea, Adoro’s career
did not crash to the shores after the band broke up. “I never
stopped being creative,” says Adoro. He continued writing
compositions, produced records and independently studied film
making. But oftentimes, he’s battling the waves in La Union and
other surf spots in the country.
His enthusiasm for this sport began way back in
1998 when E-heads toured Australia. He says, “I wanted to buy a
surf board then but there was a festival and all the shops were
closed.” He was able to purchase a buddy board, which remained
idle for years because of his tight schedule. In spite this, his
interest in surfing never faded and he joined communities
afterwards.
His passion with surfing grew intense that his
first independently released album in 2004 is entitled Surfernando:
Adventures of Belma and Luis, obviously carrying the surfer theme.
This served as his appetizer for his fans. “I released that as
publicity for my come back,” says Adoro, “it contained five
songs which are also in the new album except for the instrumental
one.”
Behold and rejoice
A word play of the famous road Marcos’
Highway, the Markus Highway band launched their first studio album
Behold and Rejoice! Sufernando is Hear Nah in January. despite,
Adoro being credited as a solo artist he assures that his band are
his permanent music mates.
Obviously a sequel of Surfernando in 2004, the
album also carries the surfer theme, and is also dubbed as a
“Pinoy surfer album.” A combination of Filipino reggae, folk and
pop, Behold and Rejoice carries a relaxing mood that encapsulates
the serenity of the beach. This is also serves his advocacy for
surfing to be not only an active sport in the Philippines, but also
as a tourist destination.
“[I was inspired by] Surfing and the travels
from Manila to surf spots, the folks riding the bus and the scene of
our country’s beauty,” says Adoro.
Though the songs reflect his humor and laidback
attitude, Adoro’s sincerity and seriousness shines through with
his heartfelt songs and do-it-yourself punk aesthetics. He reveals
that he cried while composing songs that related to his personal
life. “It seems comic but some of them lyrics are really serious
stuff,” said he.
The ex-Ehead lead guitarist added that this was
his tribute to old school musicians whom he was gravely inspired
with, like APO Hiking Society, Juan dela Cruz band, Yano, Joey
Ayala, Sampaguita and even Eraserheads.
A long way to go
Since this is his band’s first studio released
album, Adoro plans to make two more CDs for his current music
company.
However, Adoro’s prior project, Kamon Kamon (a
multimedia CD), is still pending. He started this soon after making
the last EP of Eraserheads under new vocalist, Kris Gorra-Dancel.
“Currently, we are busy promoting the
album,” says Adoro. The band is also scheduled for bar tours with
Kadangyan and a long-standing underground band The Wuds soon.
Nevertheless for Marcus, there is no need for
competition not only in surfing but also in the music industry. “I
don’t compete because I don’t want to prove or show off my
skills. I do this for my own fulfillment,” says Adoro.
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