The original members of the Philippines' first punk band, The Jerks, talk about their journey and the band's impact on Philippine music.
It happens to be frontman and bandleader Chickoy Pura’s birthday and the Jerks’ 45th anniversary since its founding in 1979. From left: Nitoy Adriano, Boy Matriano, Chickoy Pura, Heli Umali and Flor Mendoza. Photo from a Jingle magazine feature on the band by SoundStrip columnist Tony Maghirang Flashback to the late 1970s. Bass player Boy Matriano had just returned from Japan and was gigging with a folk group at Shakey’s and Bodega when he asked his buddy Flor Mendoza to join him.
On some nights, Jun Lopito, then lead guitarist of Joey Smith and the Airwaves, would watch Boy and jam. Jun and Flor then talked about forming a rock band, Boy recalled, noting he would meet two of its future members, Nitoy Adriano and Chickoy Pura, at the folk joints, Hobbit House and TGIF, respectively. It was at TGIF where the new band would also play its first gig, but without Jun who had to temporarily leave for a stint abroad. The original Jerks lineup consisted of Chickoy on vocals; Boy, bass; Flor, drums; Gils Dauag, harmonica; Nitoy, guitar; and Heli Umali on second guitar in place of Jun. While thinking of what name to call their band, Boy recounted, “Nabanggit ni Chickoy na may banda sa US na Teenage Jesus and the Jerks ang pangalan. Sabi ko, ‘Puwedeng Jerks lang tayo,’ at yun ang napagkasunduan.” At the start, the Jerks’ repertoire was mostly Rolling Stones and blues covers. But then punk was sweeping England and the US, and the Jerks’ members had access to tapes of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Clash — whose fast and aggressive music fit the name of the Jerks and the image it wanted to projec
Punk Rock The Jerks Philippine Music History Of Music Band Anniversary
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