This is from one of his famous songs, “Alapaap”.
Vocalist, songwriter, now producer, these are only a few of what and who Ely Buendia is. Born on November the 2nd, 1970, in Naga, Eleandre Buendia always have loved music even from a young age. This love for music was then finally seen by everyone when he and his group of friends started a band while they were studying in the University of the Philippines. Their band reached heights that people can only imagine, and only a few can reach. Their band, the Eraserheads, is arguably, if not the greatest Filipino band ever. Being dubbed the ‘Filipino Beatles’, the ‘Heads stole the hearts of men and women, young and old, with their very relatable and touching music.
One thing that I always loved about them is they proved that, coming from their own words, you don’t need to be “pogi” or handsome, you don’t need to be very skillful in playing instruments, and you don’t need to have the best voice in order to reach and achieve your goals. You just need to put all the effort and dedication in what you’re working with. However, just like any great band, they broke up. Surprisingly, despite the demand from their millions of fans, old and new, they have not reunited. The main reason? Their lead vocalist and arguably the most charismatic member of the band, Ely. The 3 other members, Raymund, Marcus, and Buddy have reunited and actually have performed together a couple of times already. Ely on the other hand, has always refused. The only reason? He doesn’t want to. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ely always believed that it is good to reminisce and relive the glory days, but always have wanted to move forward and grow. That is actually what I admire about him. This is the reason why they broke up, they wanted to grow. It is very harsh, even for me as an avid Eheads fan. But as a fan also of Ely, I see where his reasons are coming from.
“Gusto mo bang sumama?”
Yes I would like to go with you, Ely! That’s if you take it literally. But in reality, I have always chosen to be inspired by his mindset. Using the past experiences, good and bad, but not really dwelling on it to the point where it will stop you from growing and improving as a person. I can go on and on telling why I idolize his singing and the way he writes their lyrics, but it is really more than that. Ely has always helped me in having a mindset that is similar with him.
Like him, I want to inspire others to be better. I want to get better everyday. I also admire that he does things in his own ways, and not needing to explain why I do things, as long as I don’t step on other people. I would like to meet him, and ask him how to get better on these things. Finally, I wanna ask him how I can be better than him, ’cause that’s what he wants. He doesn’t want to inspire people just to be like him. He wants to inspire the next generation for them to be better.
I wasn’t born during their heydays, but from Ultra to Carbon, and if there would be a new album in the future, I will always go with you. I would always say yes to everytime he would be asking: “Gusto mo bang sumama?”
And if I do, but not succeed, it’s okay!
“You can’t win at everything, but you can try.” 🙂
Diving Deep 