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Biography
ref improve|date=February 2012Infobox musical artist| name = Sponge Cola| background = group_or_band|image = Spongecolaph.jpg|caption = From left to right: Gosh Dilay , Yael Yuzon , Armo Armovit and Tmac Cruz .|image_size = 250| years_active = 2002present| origin = Quezon City , Metro Manila , Philippines | genre = Pinoy rock ( Original Pilipino Music|OPM ) Alternative rock Pop rock | label = Sony BMG (2004-2005) Universal Records (Philippines)|Universal (2006-present)| associated_acts = Rampqueen White Chapel Chicosci Pupil (band)|Pupil TriAxis Arch1pelago Barbie's Cradle Happy Meals Out of Body Special Gary Valenciano Paolo Valenciano Salamin Tanya Markova | current_members = Yael Yuzon Gosh Dilay Armo Armovit Ted Mark "Tmac" Cruz| past_members = Chris Cantada | website = http://www.spongecolamusic.com Sponge ColaSponge Cola (sometimes spelled Spongecola ) is a Filipino people|Filipino Pinoy rock|rock Musical ensemble#Rock and pop bands|band formed in 2002 which produced many hit songs including "Lunes" (Monday) , "KLSP", "Jeepney" , "Makapiling Ka" (To be with you) and many others.
Original drummer Chris Cantada left the group due to worsening health condition.cite web|url= http://fangirlizm.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/chris-cantada-mr-drummer-boy-of-sponge-cola-will-be-leaving-his-band/|title=Chris Cantada (Mr. Drummer Boy) of Sponge Cola will be leaving his Band|accessdate=2008-08-26|publisher=Fangirl Machine Machine Pupil (band)#Wendell Garcia|Wendell Garcia of bands Archipelago and Pupil (band)|Pupil , and Ted Mark "Tmac" Cruz who plays drums for bands Happy Meals and The Out of Body Special fill in as session musician|sessionists after Cantada's departure. However in late 2009, Cruz was confirmed to be a permanent member of the band filling in as the new drummer. Cantada eventually went on to have his solo project in late 2011 with the debut album entitled Heartbeat , co-produced by Yael Yuzon .
History
Formation (19982002)
Between 1998 to 2002, Ysmael "Yael" Yuzon and Gosh Dilay|Reynaldo "Gosh" Dilay , both from Ateneo de Manila University - High School, met through the school's theater guild, Teatro Baguntao . Yuzon decided to form a band with Dilay and two other members of the theater guild. They named the group Sponge after R.S. Surtee's Mr. Sponge Sporting Tour . The band won in several high school competitions boosting their popularity not just in their school but in other campuses, as well.
Some members of the old lineup left and were replaced by Christopher "Chris" Cantada and Erwin "Armo" Armovit. The latter is the guitarist of another band Rampqueen, which was managed also by Sponge's former manager Raymond Fabul. Later however, they learned about a Detroit grunge band already using the name Sponge (band)|Sponge . " But we wanted to keep the word Sponge in our band name because people have already associated us with that name ," according to Yuzon. "''So we decided to add 'Cola', since it's an easy enough word to remember. " Sponge Cola was officially formed in summer of 2002 .
Early career (20022004)
They came up with a self-titled Extended Play|EP in the last quarter of 2003 containing five original songs: "Lunes" , "A Tear" , "Saturn" , "Cigarette" and "Jeepney" . The first and the last song penned in the vernacular caught the public's attention. "Lunes" , written by Dilay, begins with a bossa nova-esque beat that suddenly shifts to a heavy rock riff. Second single "Jeepney" was written by a classmate for a school project back in 2001 and is a reminiscent piece on young love during simpler, happier times. Yuzon's vocal range is evident in the song showcasing his ability to shift from mellow to screamo.
Through this Extended Play|EP , Sponge Cola got extensive airplay from several local pop and rock radio stations. A bootlegged copy of their version of Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna 's " Crazy for You (song)|Crazy for You " ended up on the Internet and became an underground hit, with some listeners believing it was a Sponge Cola original. Though this misconception helped increase their popularity, the band was able to avoid the stigma of being a cover band, pushing their original songs to the forefront.
Palabas (20042006)
In 2004, the band signed for record distribution and released Sponge Cola's first full-length debut album, titled Palabas , under Sony BMG|Sony BMG Philippines , an allusion to the boys' theater backgrounds. The album features a definitive voice in unadulterated rock, reminiscent of 90s alternative rock|alternative but mixed with enough sing-along pop sensibility-as based on the band members' individual influences. Dilay was weaned on classic OPM from the likes of Basil Valdes and Martin Nievera; Armovit lends to heavy metal and rock edge, citing bands like Deftones , Tool (band)|Tool and A Perfect Circle as influences; Cantada likes pop-rock bands like the Beatles and Athenaeum (band)|Athenaeum ; and Yael Yuzon trips on everything from novelty songs to bubblegum-pop, from 80s power ballads, to The Smashing Pumpkins . They admitted to have been also influenced by Pinoy rock icon band The Eraserheads .
They are also one of the few local rock bands that boast of using three part harmonies in a lot of their songs, supplied by Yuzon, Cantada and Dilay and as seen in tracks such as "KLSP" and " Una (song)|Una ". Sponge Cola also experiments with unconventional elements that are normally ignored in rock recording, like the samisen ( "A Japanese guitar" , Dilay boasts), the striking of amplifiers , cellphone ring tones and actual rain . The final track, "Closure", faintly features the sound of a door shutting, before transposing to a melancholic acoustic number.
During 2004, their songs Lunes and KLSP gained popularity. Also, Jeepney became popular in the beginning of 2005 along with their own version of Crazy For You . Spearheading the resurgence of Pinoy rock , Sponge Cola gained even more popularity from listeners with the Shakespeare-laced song " Gemini (Sponge Cola song)|Gemini " and especially the pounding " Una (song)|Una ".
Transit (20062008)
They recorded their next album just after they graduated from college. Sponge Cola released their second album entitled Transit (Sponge Cola album)|Transit in September with a launch party in Metrowalk, Ortigas , under Universal Records. The album turned platinum after less than three months of its release due to the success of the lead single "Bitiw", which enjoyed massive radio and TV airplay. The song also became the theme song of ABS-CBN 's show Pedro Penduko .
Sponge Cola have contributed on two tribute albums. They covered the 90's hit song by the Eraserheads , "Pare Ko", on Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music Of The Eraserheads|Ultraelectromagneticjam . The group released their cover of APO Hiking Society 's classic "Nakapagtataka" on the tribute album, Kami nAPO muna , as the next single.
The band won 4 awards in the 2007 MYX Music Awards besting other Original Pilipino Music|OPM acts in both Favorite Artist and Favorite Group categories. "Bitiw" was voted as both Favorite Song and Favorite Rock Video. The song was released as the first single off their second album Transit . "Tuliro" , was the second single and released in the first quarter of 2007.
The band was again contracted by ABS-CBN to create the theme song of the new season of Komiks 's Pedro Penduko: " Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao " , entitled "Tuloy Pa Rin" .
The band was featured in a MYX show, "Myxellaneous", where it showed the evolution of the band from young upstarts to icons of the Philippine rock industry.
The music video for their song "Movie" premiered on MYX on August 1, 2007.
Sponge Cola's version of APO classic "Saan Na Nga Ba'ng Barkada" for the Kami nAPO Muna ULIT album enjoyed massive radio airplay despite opting not having a music video for it.
On January 24, 2008 the band released a deluxe edition of "Transit" together with the single "Pasubali". The song was being used as the theme song to ABS-CBN's airing of the Koreanovela Lovers (TV series)|Lovers .
The deluxe edition includes a bonus AVCD featuring 5 tracks "Tuloy Pa Rin", "Nakapagtataka", "Tuliro (Semi-Emo Version)", "Pasubali (Acoustic Version)", "Intercept", and "Pasubali (Radio Edit)". It also includes the music videos of "Bitiw", "Nakapagtataka", "Tuliro", "Tuloy Pa Rin", "Movie", and "Pasubali". It became platinum a week after its release.
The band has released their highly anticipated third album this September 2008. The album's first single, Puso, was the theme song of the 71st season of the UAAP where the Ateneo Blue Eagles emerged victorious. They released the second single "'Di Na Mababawi" January 2009. They were also contracted by toothpaste brand "Closeup" to come up with their version of Gino Padilla's "Closer You and I" which became a major hit. They then released their third single "Ayt!" which features a collaboration with Filipino icon Gary Valenciano . Which followed by the release of the singles, "Wala Kang Katulad" and "Makapiling Ka."
Sponge Cola's albums on MP3 and MP4
Sponge Cola became the first Philippine band to release its new album in music player form. All songs, including those in the past albums are included in the music players which come in both MP3 and MP4 format. They launched said music players in January 4, 2009 with the single, "Di Na Mababawi", at ABS-CBN's "ASAP".
Araw Oras Tagpuan (2011)
Sponge Cola released its fourth studio album entitled Araw Oras Tagpuan on September 16, 2011 which turned Diamond record|Diamond shortly after its release.cite news|title=Sponge Cola single hits Diamond|url= http://www.malaya.com.ph/sep21/ent4.html|accessdate=2011-09-27|newspaper=Malaya|date=2011-09-21 It features the songs "Tambay", "Regal", "Kay Tagal Kitang Hinintay," "Stargazer" and "Araw Oras Tagpuan." Former drummer Chris Cantada appeared as a cameo guest for the music video of "Tambay". Fran of RX 93.1 , Kim Marvilla of defunct radio station NU 107.5 , film director Wincy Ong and singer Zia Quizon also appear in said video, which is, according to the band, an homage to the film Back to the Future.
Members
Yael Yuzon & ndash; Lead vocals , Guitar
Gosh Dilay & ndash; Bass guitar , Backing vocals
Armo Armovit & ndash; Lead guitar
Tmac Cruz & ndash; Drums , Vocals
Former members
Chris Cantada & ndash; Drums, Backing vocals, Occasional guitars
Discography
Album
2004 Palabas
2005 Palabas w/ Romeo and Juliet Experience (Repackage)
