Take home an Eraserhead
Out comes the expected wisecrack from Buddy Zabala, bassist and once-and-forever Eraserhead as he holds a limited-edition vinyl figure of himself roughly 4 inches tall. Boxes of his and his bandmates' little likenesses adorn the facade of Secret Fresh in Ronac Art Center along Ortigas Avenue in Greenhills, ready for purchase and shipment.
A few 'Heads fans hand Buddy and Raimund Marasigan their respective figures to be autographed. "We finally get to play with ourselves!"
For a band whose influence remains unparalleled, it's about time.
Two years in the making
You too can play with an Eraserhead of your choice, thanks to BigBoy Cheng and his partners in Secret Fresh. Cheng, a lifelong Eraserheads fan, said he wanted to make vinyl art toys of and for the band. The process took two years and included input from each band member.
While Cheng intended to commemorate the 20th year of "Ultraelectromagneticpop" (the Eraserheads' first album which changed the local music scene and industry forever) with a "period correct" look, the band members requested a few details which probably reflected their own fantasies: guitarist Marcus Adoro, for example, wanted a Flying V guitar for his figure even if he wasn't clearly associated with the instrument in Eraserheads history.
The figures are cute with moveable arms and removable instruments. (Raimund's green-headed figure has a snare drum and drumsticks.)
It’s like they never left
One set of all four toys will set you back PHP 11,200. There's a limited, once-and-for-all production run of only 500 sets so this is, indeed, an important milestone in the curious ongoing history of the band.
While Eraserheads officially broke up more than a decade ago, they have delivered wildly successful reunion concerts locally and abroad (last year's US tour, and Dubai and Singapore this year).
Individually, they never left the public eye, of course.
In lieu of the elusive (PH) reunion
Ely Buendia has Pupil, The Oktaves and a burgeoning filmmaking career. (“Bang Bang Alley,” the movie he directed along with Pupil’s Yan Yuzon and music video director King Palisoc premiered recently at Cine Adarna of the UP Film Institute.)
Raimund Marasigan leads Pedicab, which played at the toy launch, and Sandwich. (He actually had to rush off for the latter's epic 40-song 15th anniversary gig later in the evening.)
Their collective Eraserheads public, however, will never leave them.
While a new set of Eraserheads songs and a proper full-on regrouping remains elusive (international reunion gigs notwithstanding), perhaps these toys can fulfill fans' fantasies of having the Filipino Fab Four in their own homes, their hits playing in the background, harkening back to a time when you can go to a 'Heads gig anytime you want.
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