Dong Abay
Encyclopedia
Westdon Martin Abay popularly known as Dong Abay, is a poet
and a Pinoy rock
musician
. He was the founding member, songwriter and lead vocalist of the bands Yano
, Pan, and dongabay, which are now all defunct. As of January 2008, he is pursuing a career as an independent artist.
, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the date of Abay's birth was also the day when American rockstar Kurt Cobain
of Nirvana
killed himself in 1994. He is married to Ninj Botor Reyes. They have a son named Awit (Tagalog
for "song" or "chant"), born on May 15, 2002.
) with percussionist Renmin Nadela. Abay and Gancio remained and recruited musical arranger and bassist, Onie Badiang to the group. Eventually, the band's name was renamed to Yano
. They recorded their demo at the home studio of alternative artist Joey Ayala
in June 1993. One of the tracks, "Kumusta Na?," ("How Are You?") a song about the "EDSA Revolution", found its way to a local radio station where the group was first heard. This paved the way for Yano to become active in the local club circuit. Mayrics, Club Dredd, 70s Bistro were among the first clubs that Yano performed in. Drummers for the band included Nowie Favila (Ang Grupong Pendong), Nonong Timbalopez (Put3Ska, Ex President's Combo), Jun Nogoy (Coffeebreak Island) and Harley Alarcon (Rizal Underground). In 1994, the band's self-titled debut album
came out and spawned classic Filipino rock songs such as "Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo" ("Holy Dog, Saintly Horse"), "Tsinelas" ("Slippers") and "Esem" (wordplay for SM
or Shoemart mall). This was followed by a string of successful concerts around the Philippine archipelago
.
In 1994, at the height of Yano's popularity, Abay had to temporarily quit his schooling at the University of the Philippines
, where he was an Arts and Letters student, to pursue a career in music
. Yano released 2 more albums under BMG
, a major label : "Bawal
" ("Taboo") in 1996 and "Tara
" ("C'mon") in 1997. The eponymous debut album was first released under Alpha Records but was later re-issued by BMG.
after quitting Yano. He only stayed in his bedroom for five years. Although, Abay describe this episode as a self-imposed hiatus. He came out of depression while writing new songs set into poetry
. He later called Badiang to borrow a guitar and jam.
" ("Parnassus of a Clown"). Some notable songs from the album include "Dumpsite", "Hula" ("Prediction", which won as Best Folk/Pop Recording at the AWIT Awards in 2003), "Mabuhay!" ("Long Live") and "Rebolusyon" ("Revolution"). Pan played for the local rock circuit with bassist, Milo Duane Cruz and drummer Melvin Leyson.
In 2003, Abay decided to go back to school to finish his bachelor's degree. Thus, the demise of Pan. Aside from his music, Abay got busy exploring other medium and art forms like installation work, visual arts
, photography
to name a few. He also became busy lecturing and giving workshops around the country.
artist and initially released an EP called "Sampol" ("Sample") at the University of the Philippines as part of his undergraduate thesis. This work consists of acoustic tracks, which were later reborn as full-band pieces in "Flipino," released in May 2006. The album was produced by Robin Rivera, Abay's Art Studies professor in U.P. and album producer of The Eraserheads
who eventually hired ex-Eraserheads Raimund Marasigan
and Buddy Zabala
to play in the entire album. "Flipino" proved Abay's relevance to Philippine music by releasing songs such as "Perpekto" ("Perfect"), "Bombardment" and "Tuyo" ("Dry")". A month before that, Abay finally earned his degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Studies (Areas: Creative Writing in Filipino and Humanities) from the University of the Philippines after 18 long years.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and a Pinoy rock
Pinoy rock
Pinoy rock, or Filipino rock, is the brand of rock music produced in the Philippines or by Filipinos. It has become as diverse as the rock music genre itself, and bands adopting this style are now further classified under more specific genres or combinations of genres like alternative rock,...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He was the founding member, songwriter and lead vocalist of the bands Yano
Yano
Yano is a folk/punk rock band in the Philippines formed in 1993. The band members were originally composed of vocalist Dong Abay and Eric Gancio on guitar. Onie Badiang later joined them as bassist; Nowie Favila was the usual drummer but declined to join the group due to commitments with Ang...
, Pan, and dongabay, which are now all defunct. As of January 2008, he is pursuing a career as an independent artist.
Personal life
Born on April 5, 1971 in Manila, Philippines, he shares his birthday with the former Philippine PresidentPresident of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the date of Abay's birth was also the day when American rockstar Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
killed himself in 1994. He is married to Ninj Botor Reyes. They have a son named Awit (Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
for "song" or "chant"), born on May 15, 2002.
Yano days
In 1992, Dong Abay, Eric Gancio and Larry Mapolon met in Patatag, a progressive vocal ensemble. After a year, they decided to form a band called NG ' onMouseout='HidePop("69419")' href="/topics/Filipino_alphabet">Filipino alphabetFilipino alphabet
The Modern Filipino alphabet , otherwise known as the Filipino alphabet , is the alphabet of the Filipino language, the official national language and one of the two official languages of the Philippines...
) with percussionist Renmin Nadela. Abay and Gancio remained and recruited musical arranger and bassist, Onie Badiang to the group. Eventually, the band's name was renamed to Yano
Yano
Yano is a folk/punk rock band in the Philippines formed in 1993. The band members were originally composed of vocalist Dong Abay and Eric Gancio on guitar. Onie Badiang later joined them as bassist; Nowie Favila was the usual drummer but declined to join the group due to commitments with Ang...
. They recorded their demo at the home studio of alternative artist Joey Ayala
Joey Ayala
Joey Ayala is a contemporary pop music artist in the Philippines. He is well known for his style of music that combines the sounds of Filipino ethnic instruments with modern pop music. His professional music career started when he released an album recorded in a makeshift-studio in 1982...
in June 1993. One of the tracks, "Kumusta Na?," ("How Are You?") a song about the "EDSA Revolution", found its way to a local radio station where the group was first heard. This paved the way for Yano to become active in the local club circuit. Mayrics, Club Dredd, 70s Bistro were among the first clubs that Yano performed in. Drummers for the band included Nowie Favila (Ang Grupong Pendong), Nonong Timbalopez (Put3Ska, Ex President's Combo), Jun Nogoy (Coffeebreak Island) and Harley Alarcon (Rizal Underground). In 1994, the band's self-titled debut album
Yano (album)
Yano, is the debut album of the now defunct Filipino rock band, Yano. It has 12 tracks and released under Alpha Records in 1994 and re-released under BMG Records Pilipinas in 1998 with additional two tracks from their second album Bawal.- Track listing :...
came out and spawned classic Filipino rock songs such as "Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo" ("Holy Dog, Saintly Horse"), "Tsinelas" ("Slippers") and "Esem" (wordplay for SM
SM Prime Holdings
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. or SM Prime is the parent company of the SM Group's shopping malls. It is the largest shopping mall and retail operator in the Philippines...
or Shoemart mall). This was followed by a string of successful concerts around the Philippine archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
.
In 1994, at the height of Yano's popularity, Abay had to temporarily quit his schooling at the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
, where he was an Arts and Letters student, to pursue a career in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Yano released 2 more albums under BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, a major label : "Bawal
Bawal (Yano album)
Bawal, is the second album of the now defunct Filipino rock band, Yano. It has 10 tracks and released under Alpha Records in 1996.- Track listing :All tracks by Dong Abay# "Metro" – 2:25# "Dayo" – 4:15...
" ("Taboo") in 1996 and "Tara
Tara (Yano album)
Tara , is the third and last studio album of the now defunct Filipino rock band, Yano. It has 11 tracks and also its first album for major label BMG Records Philippines, having moved from local independent, Alpha Records.-Track listing:...
" ("C'mon") in 1997. The eponymous debut album was first released under Alpha Records but was later re-issued by BMG.
Hiatus
During the late 1990s, Abay suffered from clinical depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
after quitting Yano. He only stayed in his bedroom for five years. Although, Abay describe this episode as a self-imposed hiatus. He came out of depression while writing new songs set into poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. He later called Badiang to borrow a guitar and jam.
Pan days
In 2002, Abay returned to the music scene and formed Pan together with Onie Badiang, former bassist of Yano. The outcome was an album titled "Parnaso ng PayasoParnaso ng Payaso
Parnaso Ng Payaso , is the only album of the now defunct Filipino rock band, Pan formed by former Yano members, Dong Abay and Onie Badiang.-Track listing:All tracks by Dong Abay.#Mabuhay! ...
" ("Parnassus of a Clown"). Some notable songs from the album include "Dumpsite", "Hula" ("Prediction", which won as Best Folk/Pop Recording at the AWIT Awards in 2003), "Mabuhay!" ("Long Live") and "Rebolusyon" ("Revolution"). Pan played for the local rock circuit with bassist, Milo Duane Cruz and drummer Melvin Leyson.
In 2003, Abay decided to go back to school to finish his bachelor's degree. Thus, the demise of Pan. Aside from his music, Abay got busy exploring other medium and art forms like installation work, visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
to name a few. He also became busy lecturing and giving workshops around the country.
Solo career
In early 2005, Abay became an indieIndie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
artist and initially released an EP called "Sampol" ("Sample") at the University of the Philippines as part of his undergraduate thesis. This work consists of acoustic tracks, which were later reborn as full-band pieces in "Flipino," released in May 2006. The album was produced by Robin Rivera, Abay's Art Studies professor in U.P. and album producer of The Eraserheads
The Eraserheads
Eraserheads, or E-Heads was a Filipino rock band of the 90s, formed by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. The band is one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and significant bands in the history of OPM...
who eventually hired ex-Eraserheads Raimund Marasigan
Raimund Marasigan
Raimund Emmanuel Parcon Marasigan, or simply known as Raimund Marasigan, is a ballad musician and record producer in the Philippines. Oftentimes, his first name is misspelled as Raymond, Raymund, Raimond and other variants. The breadth of his projects has made him one of the most well-respected...
and Buddy Zabala
Buddy Zabala
Hector "Buddy" Avanceña Zabala is the bassist of Filipino new wave band The Dawn, indie band Cambio, and widely known as the bassist of the now disbanded alternative rock band, The Eraserheads.-Eraserheads bassist :...
to play in the entire album. "Flipino" proved Abay's relevance to Philippine music by releasing songs such as "Perpekto" ("Perfect"), "Bombardment" and "Tuyo" ("Dry")". A month before that, Abay finally earned his degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Studies (Areas: Creative Writing in Filipino and Humanities) from the University of the Philippines after 18 long years.