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What’s in a name change? Ask Never The Strangers

On a humid night at Route 196 along Katipunan, Never the Strangers strode on stage at the appointed hour. They played five songs in a 30-minute set marked by rock and roll, new wave and aching ballads. The keyboards were as much in the play as the roaring guitars and the steady backbeat.

But you could barely hear the band from the rowdy crowd up front who sang along to every tune. Never The Strangers were serenading their audience as much as the guests were singing back to the band. No stranger in the house that night!

So I wondered, would Never the Strangers still have made it as far as they did if they had kept the name Leonecast? You’d be unsure of the pronunciation—Leo-nee-cast? Leon-cast? But then again the rock scene is littered with acts with strange names.

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New name with maturity

Still, midway through college at the Ateneo de Manila, Leonecast decided they were moving to a mature phase in their lives and junking their old name seemed like an appropriate move.

The name change proved fortuitous. Their live gigs started getting serious attention from regular denizens of indie clubs from Saguijo to Route 196.

Back then, the band was composed of Ace Libre on lead vocals and keyboards, guitarist JP del Mundo, drummer PJ La Viña and bassist Francis Victa, who left the Philippines shortly after graduating. Zach Riskin now handles bass.

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The Rico Blanco connection

A song they posted online caught the attention of another Atenean who has made it big in the music business.

Pasok, Rico Blanco.

“It’s not really because he’s a fellow Ateneo alumni. Sir Rico was actually searching for bands online a year or so ago and by a stroke of luck, he came across a demo we posted on our MySpace page,” Ace avers.

“Rico contacted us and he liked us enough to refer us to Warner. He continues to be our mentor.”

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Alamid + Eraserheads + Bamboo

The referral led to a self-titled debut album whose collection of songs reminiscent of Alamid, a dash of Eraserheads and a bit of solo Bamboo Mañalac. Ace’s amiable voice and keyboard runs provide what one song describes as “fireworks that light up the sky.”

“The songs on our first album included compositions I wrote in high school and recent ones,” chief songwriter Ace says. “You’ll likely hear in one song the sighs of a broken-hearted kid. The more polished ones naman he may be putting up a braver front.”

Offers PJ La Viña, “We also want to bring a new concept of OPM. Minsan OPM may negative connotation sa ibang tao, We’re saying, ‘We want to be part of the new generation and we’re bringing something new. Something fresh, something young.’”

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Music is their day job

“We have no day jobs but we have scoring projects. We’re really in our dream job. We do what we want and we still do a lot like attending to our hobbies now,” says drummer La Viña.

They’ve also made music on their own. Ace has been asked to interpret Adrienne Sarmiento-Buenaventura and Nino Regalado's entry, "Sometimes That Happens,"
during PhilPop’s Ako ang Musikang Pilipino Finals Night on July 20.

Guitarist del Mundo explains, “We feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to be full time artists. We’re committed to be in our gigs and promo campaigns. That can be difficult if we have day jobs. Right now, we consider making music to be our full-time profession.”