Marcus Adoro
Encyclopedia
Marcus Antonius Corpuz Adoro (born December 31, 1971) is the former lead guitarist of the Eraserheads, one of the most popular bands in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 during the 90's alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 explosion.

He currently goes under the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 or band name, Markus Highway.

Eraserheads

During his days as lead guitarist for the Eraserheads, Adoro only had a few contributions when it came to songwriting. He would compose one song per album, which were usually album fillers, like "Punk Zappa" in the album, Circus, and "Southsuperhiway" in the album, Natin99. The most contributions he had ever given to the band was in the album Carbon Stereoxide, in which he wrote the songs "Pula", "Wala", and "Escalator Alligator".

Marcus' style of lead guitar was a very significant piece to the Eraserheads' sound, and to a greater extent, the sound that came to define Pinoy alternative rock. His minimalist approach contrasted with the more "flashier" style of most local guitarists of the time. Instead of long, epic solos, Adoro preferred "pretty little ditties" that often complement the tone of the song. His "less is more" method resembles that of many guitarists from Manila's
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 80s underground punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 scene, particularly Bobby Balingit (The Wuds) and Resty Cornejo (Identity Crisis). During the band's later years, Marcus began to acquire a fascination with electric guitar noises and environmental sounds which he would incorporate to his style as the band's music progressed and became more experimental.

One of the best examples of Adoro's lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

 skills from his Eraserhead years would be in the song "Maskara" where he played backwards in one take.

"Kamonkamon"

After the band released their 8th and final album, Carbon Stereoxide in 2001, Adoro started working on a solo project called "Kamonkamon," which tells the adventures of his pet dog with the same name. The compilation of songs were mixed and produced by Marcus himself. Ranging from electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

, to folk
Filipino folk music
Traditional Music in the Philippines, like the traditional music of other countries, reflects the life of common folk, mainly living in rural areas rather than urban ones. Like its counterparts in Asia, a lot of traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature...

, and alternative music, most of its tracks were collaborations with artists, such as 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,...

 legend Pepe Smith
Pepe Smith
Joseph William Feliciano Smith is a Filipino singer-songwriter, drummer, and guitarist. More commonly known alternately as Joey Smith and Pepe Smith, he is an icon of original Filipino rock music or "Pinoy Rock"....

, Dong Abay
Dong Abay
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...

, and an artist named Dangwa. Its EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 version, available only cassettes in Sarabia Optical, a shop in his collegiate school, University of the Philippines, Diliman
University of the Philippines, Diliman
The University of the Philippines Diliman , is a coeducational and public research university located in Quezon City, Philippines. It is the flagship university, seat of administration, and the fourth oldest constituent university of the University of the Philippines System...

, was released in 2002. Adoro stated, in an interview, that part of the reason why he created the project was to make money that will hopefully be enough to buy himself a surfboard
Surfboard
A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...

, a sport he picked up during his stay in La Union
La Unión
La Union or La Unión may refer to:-Colombia:*La Unión, Antioquia*La Unión, Nariño*La Unión, Sucre*La Unión, Valle del Cauca-Peru:*La Unión Province, Peru...

.

Adoro explains in an interview with Philmusic.com that Kamonkamon was "meant as a hype." According to him, around 2002, 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...

 records had already bought the whole work, consisting of a comicbook, the comicbook soundtrack and a video documentary CD. The album, though, was not to be released until 2005. In addition, BMG would only publish the work if the comicbook is shortened, which according to Adoro, defeats the purpose of the comicbook soundtrack and the idea of the whole work. He says that Kamonkamon "is a highly philosophical work," so he declined with the condition. "The eventual release of Kamonkamon would be just the tip of the iceberg so to speak," says Adoro.

Marcus was not the first Eraserhead to produce his own solo project. In 2000, lead vocalist Ely Buendia
Ely Buendía
Eleandre Basiño Buendia, popularly known as Ely Buendia, and also once adopting the stage name, Jesus "Dizzy" Ventura, is a Filipino writer and musician who gained fame as guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist in the popular Pinoy rock band The Eraserheads...

 released his album, Wanted: Bedspacer.

"Belma en Luis"

In the same year Kamonkamon was released, Eraserheads vocalist, Ely Buendia, left the band to form The Mongols. Adoro, later, also decided to quit. He would eventually move to La Union
La Unión
La Union or La Unión may refer to:-Colombia:*La Unión, Antioquia*La Unión, Nariño*La Unión, Sucre*La Unión, Valle del Cauca-Peru:*La Unión Province, Peru...

 and was unheard from until the April of 2005. An e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 from him was sent to PhilMusic.com about a new project he was working on, called "Surfernando: The Adventures of Belma and Luis," with a poster art of a pencil stuck in a person's nose. The EP turned up once again at Sarabia Optical. It is also available in different album covers and titles: Urfer Magazine (Mag:Net Café), Duckdive (Bigsky), American Gurl (United States version), and Submarine (Marikina version)

In the interview with Philmusic.com, Adoro explains that "Belma en Luis" is half of all the songs for a "pinoy
Pinoy
Pinoy is an informal demonym referring to the Filipino people in the Philippines and overseas Filipinos around the world. Filipinos usually refer to themselves as Pinoy or sometimes the feminine Pinay...

 surfing album." Surfernando is a character. He wrote the songs in 2003 after three years of surfing. He recorded and released his work on major labels, and has now shopped for a deal with Warner Music. The Surfernando songs were recorded in his new band Markus Highway's debut album called Behold, Rejoice! Surfernando Is Hear Nah.
Behold, Rejoice! Surfernando Is Hear Nah.
Behold, Rejoice! Surfernando Is Hear Nah. is the major-label debut album by Eraserheads member Marcus Adoro, under the name Markus Highway. The album's full English translation is "Behold, Rejoice! Surfernando Is Here Now." According to Adoro, Surfernando is a character...

. The sound of Markus Highway ranges from just him and a guitar "to a big full band with horns section and all."

Career after Eraserheads

Adoro's current band name is "Markus Highway (a wordplay on "Marcos Highway," a Philippine road). Adoro explains that "Markus Highway" is just a rock and roll name that he likes and he wants to keep at the moment. He says that he's good with wordplay. He reveals that most of the Eraserheads album titles came from him. "I like changing names because it's an old rock n roll tradition. All the old travelling bluesmen used different aliases and my favorite cool bands do it. I like Markus Highway for the Surfernando song," says Adoro. Adoro had changed his stage name or band name quite often since 2001. His different band names since 2001 include Surfernando, The Gumamela Band, Kamonkamon, The Flaming Katols, Markus Regime (a wordplay on Marcos Regime), The Mamones (a name spoof of Mamon, a Filipino sponge cake, and The Ramones) and Talampunay Band. He eventually settled to Markus Highway since 2007.

Adoro along with former bandmates, 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 :...

 and 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...

 performed for an event at the Millennia Club called "Marooned", a production of UP bands from past and present. Buendia was invited to the gig, but was not able to attend. "Batch 88", from Belma en Luis, was one of the songs that was jammed by the trio.

When asked about his career plans in the Philmusic.com interview, Adoro said that he plans to get session musicians to play in the recording of the Surfernando album, get a band ready for gig tours, and work with other willing back-up bands as well. He said that he had been backed by artists such as Mano-manu and Sunflower Day Camp. He just finished a low-key bar tour with the band, Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (band)
Mayonnaise is a 4-piece Filipino alternative rock band. The band is fronted by Monty Macalino who due to his unarguably hefty body figure, makes him the most visible member of the group. The band is famous for winning the prestigious Red Horse Muziklaban in 2004.-History:The band was launched in...

 and Sunflower Day Camp.

Adoro unexpectedly appeared in "LivELY: A Fundraising Concert for the Benefit of Ely Buendia" on January 28, 2007. Though not in the list of performers, Adoro suddenly walked on stage before Rivermaya
Rivermaya
Rivermaya is one of the most influential, critically acclaimed and significant Filipino rock band formed in 1993. They are one of the several bands who spearheads the 90s Philippine alternative rock explosion...

 had finished performing. He then borrowed Mike Elgar's guitar and played a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 rendition of the Eraserheads song, "Huwag Mo Nang Itanong", and a song from his new album.

Marcus Adoro has a new band named Markus Highway under Warner Music Philippines, their first album "Behold, Rejoice! Surfernando Is Hear Nah." was released on February 2008.

Life after Eraserheads

Adoro was interviewed by GMA-7
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...

 newscaster Jessica Soho
Jessica Soho
Jessica Soho is Filipino broadcast journalist, documentarian and news director who received a George Foster Peabody Award and was the first Filipino to win the British Fleet Journalism Award in 1998.She has reported for the GMA network for over 15 years...

 on her show, "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho
Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho
Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho is a Docu-Educational and Lifestyle public affair television show in the Philippines hosted by Jessica Soho and it is aired every Saturday evenings by GMA Network...

." The topic is all about La Union
La Unión
La Union or La Unión may refer to:-Colombia:*La Unión, Antioquia*La Unión, Nariño*La Unión, Sucre*La Unión, Valle del Cauca-Peru:*La Unión Province, Peru...

 which is now popular for beach surfers in the Philippines. He is now based in La Union and he enjoys his new life as a local surfer.

In the Philmusic.com interview, Adoro says he surfs, but he doesn't join competitions. He does not compete because he says that surfing is not his profession, and he just enjoys the lifestyle. He has been making documentaries about surfing since 2002.

He also directed the short film "The Artist Is In" which premiered along with Ely Buendia's short film "Waiting Shed". It was followed by "Violator Copy," a compilation of Marcus' unreleased videoworks which featured various local artists and surfers, Jericho Rosales
Jericho Rosales
Jericho Vibar Rosales, is a Filipino cinema and television actor, singer, and songwriter....

, Dong Abay
Dong Abay
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...

, and Pepe Smith
Pepe Smith
Joseph William Feliciano Smith is a Filipino singer-songwriter, drummer, and guitarist. More commonly known alternately as Joey Smith and Pepe Smith, he is an icon of original Filipino rock music or "Pinoy Rock"....

.

Guitars

  • Fender Stratocaster
    Fender Stratocaster
    The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...

  • Fender Telecaster
    Fender Telecaster
    The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...

  • Fender Jazzmaster
    Fender Jazzmaster
    The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as an upmarket sibling to the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed at jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s...

  • Fender Mustang
    Fender Mustang
    The Fender Mustang is an electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models then consisting of the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced until 1982 and reissued in 1990.In the 1960s, it was used in Surf...

  • Hello Kitty Stratocaster
    Hello Kitty Stratocaster
    The Hello Kitty Stratocaster is an original series of electric guitar made by Squier . It is available in pink or black and is equipped with a custom pickguard in the shape of Hello Kitty's head....

  • Squier Telecaster
    Squier Telecaster
    The Squier Telecaster is an electric guitar manufactured and sold by Squier, a marque of Fender. While it is essentially a rebranded Fender Telecaster, it does not qualify as a Telecaster copy, as the Telecasters are still considered to be of original make since Squier is owned by Fender, whereas...

  • Squier Jagmaster
    Squier Jagmaster
    The Squier Jagmaster is an electric guitar marketed by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation under their Squier budget brand. It is based on the design of the classic Fender Jazzmaster and Fender Jaguar, but with several significant differences reflecting the tastes of modern guitarists,...

  • Danelectro
    Danelectro
    Danelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.-History:...

    12 String
  • Gibson Les Paul
    Gibson Les Paul
    The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...

  • Gibson SG Custom
    Gibson SG
    At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...

  • Gibson ES-335
    Gibson ES-335
    The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial thinline arched-top semi-acoustic electric guitar. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958, it is neither hollow nor solid; instead, a solid wood block runs through the center of its body...

  • Taylor Acoustic Guitars
    Taylor Guitars
    Taylor Guitars is an El Cajon, California‐based luthier, specializing in acoustic guitars, as well as semi-hollow and solidbody electric guitars. It was established in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug.- History :...


Amps & Effects

  • Vox Amplifiers & Multi Effects
    Vox (musical equipment)
    Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Continental electric organ, and a series of innovative but commercially unsuccessful electric guitars and bass guitars...

  • Carvin Amplifiers
    Carvin
    This article refers to a French commune. For the guitar manufacturer see Carvin Corporation. For the late New Orleans political consultant see Jim Carvin.Carvin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....

  • Boss DS-1
    Boss DS-1
    The Boss DS-1 is a distortion pedal for guitar, manufactured by the Roland Corporation under the brand name Boss since 1978. The first distortion unit made by Boss, it has become a classic effect, used by many notable guitar players. Boss produced a successor, the DS-2.-Circuit design:The DS-1 has...

  • Boss OD-1,2,3
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss SD-1
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss SD-2
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss HM-2,3
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss CE-1
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss CE-2
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Boss CE-3
    Boss Corporation
    Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...

  • Dunlop M-66
    Dunlop Manufacturing
    Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years.- Way...

  • Dunlop M-80
    Dunlop Manufacturing
    Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years.- Way...

  • Dunlop M-86
    Dunlop Manufacturing
    Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years.- Way...

  • Ibanez TS-5
    Ibanez
    is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...

  • Ibanez TS-10
    Ibanez
    is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...

  • Fender Multi Effects
    Fender
    Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...

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