20/20: Wolfgang’s 20 great moments in 20 years
When Wolfgang mounts the stage at the Irwin Theater of the Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday, Nov. 28, they will be celebrating "Dos Ekkis (XX)" or 20 years of hounding audiences everywhere with their brand of hard rock.
In looking back, Basti Artadi, Manuel Legarda, Mon Legaspi and Francis Aquino share with Yahoo! OMG! 20 of their best moments as a band:
1. Bassist Mon Legaspi joins the band in 1992.
2. "Summer Rolls," the first song we ever wrote as a band, never made it to any album but it showed we were capable of writing music together as a unit.
3. "Halik ni Hudas" in 1992 was the first song Mon Legaspi wrote for the band in Tagalog and showed all of us that we had another weapon in Mon's caustic words.
4. The first time we ever boarded a plane to play a gig in another part of the country. We thought that day would never happen and one day it did.
5. We could never truly describe the feeling of recording and putting out our first album in 1992.
6. Our first overseas gig.
7. Playing before 36,000 people in Cebu Sinulog.
8. Francis Aquino and Lizza Nakpil join the band in 2008.
9. The first ever live-streaming concert at WhiteSpace in May 2010 and the Metropolitan Theater concert in July 2011.
10. Winning Best Rock Group in Asia in 2010 by Asia Voize, the biggest indie music awards group in the world.
11. Playing the Mosaic Music Fest and Baybeats Festivals in Singapore in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and playing in Dubai Rakrakan and Dubai Tres Kalibre in 2010 and 2012.
12. Winning Artist of the Year at the 1998 NU Rock Awards
13. Going to the U.S. and Japan on tour.
14. The Acoustica concert, played with chorale.
15. Featured by Rolling Stone magazine, Indonesia in 2010.
16. Alive 2007: The Reunion concert started the ball rolling again, after a 6-year hiatus
17. "Villains," our the post-hiatus album, written across three continents, via exchange of digital files in 2008.
18. Joining the biggest national rock tour, The Tanduay First Five: 30 cities in 2011, 25 cities in 2012.
19. A major concert every year.
20. Releasing our 2012 album in three stages, just like a rocket launch!
Fans and observers also weighed in on why the band has lasted this long.
The Jerks' Chicoy Pura and aspiring rock star Allen Mercado point to Wolfgang's rabid fan base and commitment to their music as reasons for their longevity.
Paul Leobrera, Bleu Rascals vocalist/ guitarist said it's their shard love and respect for the music and for each other. "'Cause without love and appreciation for your band members, di magtatagal ang isang banda," he said.
Aspiring blues guitarist Ray Mogarte said Wolfgang manages to "bridge the taste of the tisoys, the laborers and the masa as well."
For photographer Eddie Boy Escudero, it's the presence of Basti Artadi that has kept the band "hot" throughout the years. "And though the band has gone through personnel changes, they are still one very tight unit that can burn the stage with their music," he added.
