Rubberband's 6th DIY release contains pure Fil-Am rock music, punk, alternative and pop- sung in Filipino.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: 90's Rock, POP: Pop/Rock

Details:
Rubberband's User-Friendly CD Review

Sweet Hysteria on a Suburban Block Party
By Pasckie Pascua
User-Friendly
Rubberband
All songs written by Gino M. Inocentes
Produced by Rubberband and Steve Rosen

1997 Original Tape: Executive Producer: P.M.P.
2005 Re-Issued On CD: Executive Producer:
Ed Sunico

THEREâS AN INSISTENT mix of sidestreet laughter, wounded valentines, and subversive romanticism in Gino M. Inocentesâ songs but these are not the kind that you hear in a nicotine-drowned downtown open mic or on a Friday night AM radio. Despite the accessibility of his tunesâ melodicism, and the illuminating simplicity of his words, this prolific songweaverâs genius doesnât border on high-handed populist histrionics, but on a very introspective, very intimate, person-to-person musical astuteness and brevity.
Simply put, Inocentesâ music is mass-oriented but not necessarily universal. His songs are not going to coax the world to shake their booties or prod the working class to launch into a maddening growl, but no doubt â these gems of pop-rock sorcery stand more chances at igniting sweet hysteria on a suburban block party, period. Itâs all about village-level, basement dalliances on a hot August night. Nothing heavy but itâs pure, unadulterated funâfrom dusk till dawn.

Most Popular Pinoy Combo in NY
No buts about it, Rubberband â vocalist/guitarist Gino Inocentes, bassist Ricky Tarriela, guitarist Warren Daya, and drummer Rommel de Leon â are your straight-down, no-chasers, bottoms-up musical embodiments of Pinoy-in-America community. The infectious Beatles-friendliness of their tunes can easily entice 20 hits an hour at a corner store jukebox, but thatâs not the real kick behind this trio of longtime Queens and Staten Island homeboys⦠Their magic lies on the rough-textured exclusivity, or local-ness, and oft-times aching subjectivity of the songs; deeply personal, unabashedly intimate, but very pleasing to the senses. Thatâs what matters.
That, I believe, is the foremost reason why Rubberband remains as the most popular, most effective, most sought-after all-originals Pinoy rock combo in New York City and north New Jersey. The ever-growing mass of supporters and fans who troop to their shows definitely expect to boogie-till-they-drop while chanting in ear-splitting unison each syllable and consonant of the songs â all no-holds-barred paeans to immigrant woes, neighborhood camaraderie, âtampuhan ng mag-syota,â and âbarkadahanâ spicks and specks.

Provocation and Pleasure
Rubberbandâs newly-reissued âUser Friendlyâ CD, resurrected from Ginoâs basement locker for almost five yearsâcourtesy of executive producer and new manager Ed Sunicoâarticulates the above reading. This collection of lovable Inocentes originals (except for one) is not for the self-deprecating loner or hard-nosed intellectual; absolutely not a recommended fare for politically-correct, gender-sensitive flag-bearers.
However, that doesnât mean this package is lacking in new-world humanity or everyday-people sensibility. It could be the most honest, most sincere pop-music journal entries that Iâve encountered in years⦠beyond Manila, of course.
âUser Friendlyâ is all about connection, straightforward communication link, âtomaan sa tindahan.â These dudes are the kind of kanto boys that harmlessly pester your ears with confectionary mischief, rife with sugary melodies and goosebump-inducing lyricism, at the end of a workday. But thatâs okayâI repeat, theyâre not heavy, theyâre only your brothersâ¦

Where most popsters rely on the oft-exploited albeit very effective Lennon-McCartney school of rock n roll subtlety, Rubberbandâs garage-textured chic and menacing backbeat that approximate raw Manila Sound tease and jerk, and grunge rock mayhem negotiate way beyond Brit-pop atmospherics â into a territory where pop rock can be about sheer provocation and downright pleasure. This triumvirate can easily fake a drunken, stoned-out melodramatic fit and gets away with it though that would make lesser talents sound awfully amateurish, if not silly.

Streetcorner Pop Dirges
Easily, the four most-loved and oft-requested tunes in âUser Friendly,â as well as in Rubberbandâs club gigs and concert engagements are âPag-ibig,â âAlam Mo Ba?â âLagnat,â and âKupal.â Which effortlessly makes this set a sort of âGreatest Hitsâ album.
Inocentesâ tuneweaving savvy comes in exquisitely hushed ache, as usual embedded on post-puberty playfulness, in the lilting sonata âPag-ibigââeffortlessly backstopped by guest musician (and producer) Steve Rosenâs seductive keyboards. âAlam Mo Ba,â featuring Tarriela and de Leonâs hammering tumbling-dice rhythm section â counterpointing Ginoâs mischievous singing â usually kickstarts the bandâs sing-along fervor on their gigs. The crowd pretty much knows whatâs nextâ¦
Whatâs next is, of course, the unmistakably naughty flair and punchy vocal chorus of âLagnat.â Then there goes âKupal,â a punk-rock anthem ably swooned by Rosenâs beautifully skewed wah wah guitar and Tarrielaâs robust bass grooves.
The rest of the songs are characteristically Gino Inocentes chuckle and groove, flailing streetcorner pop dirges that somehow gave voice to, say, Queens and Staten Islandâs Pinoy youths of this synthetic generation of iPods, balikbayan boxes, and low-riders. Rubberband isnât going to wax Shakesperean over lost loves and stuff but they do have corny dreams, too, that manage to hit target, as Gino moons (âGusto na kitang pakasalan, pero sabi mo, tiis munaâ¦â) in âKampana ng Ice Cream.â Believe it or not, that line works pretty good⦠even in downtown Manhattan on an unforgiving winter night. While their past Manila counterparts, The Eraserheads, made cussing a subliminal jab versus conformity, Rubberband makes fun of that flailing punch with sheer adolescent mischief, especially in âKumustahanâ (âKumusta na, madalas pa ba kayong humihitit ng marijuana? Ako ay okay lang, may combo kasi akong mapaglilibanganâ¦â). You donât castigate kids who speak to you like that⦠you just leave them alone, theyâre allright.
Almost all of the more significant Pinoy rockers in New York City have somehow graced or groovedâor participatedâin one way or the other in many a-Rubberband or Gino Inocentes recording foray or neighborhood gig. For âUser Friendly,â it was Bong Magasoâs (his skittering riff gave color and hues to Rosenâs wah-wah ministrations in âKupalâ) and Daisy Chainâs Ted Cacanindinâs (backup vocal chores to at least three cuts) turn to jam in.

âUser Friendlyâsâ ten cuts were written eleven years ago. At that time, Gino Inocentes has already penned more than 150 songs.

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