Hastang

Hastang is a modern rock band based in Cebu City, Philippines. It is composed of members Tessa Manto (vocals), Raul Luche Jr (guitars), Roy Tutor (guitars), Guile Canencia (bass), and Mark Austin Ladanan (drums).

History

Hastang was formed in February 2005 when Mark and Guile (remnants of the now-defunct indie rock act [http://www.myspace.com/squirreltalk Squirrel Talk)] began jamming with Tessa and Roy with the sole purpose of writing all-original material. At that time, Roy had already ended his stint with the band Stage Crew and was actively looking for a more aggressive-sounding band. Tessa, on the other hand, came home to Cebu after a year-long stay in Cagayan De Oro.

The band’s first big break came in May 2005 when they made it to the finals of the MTV Hits Cebu band showdown held at the SM City Cebu Parking Lot. With their hard rocking song [http://www.myspace.com/hastang Oblivion] , Hastang went on to win second place over-all in the band competition. Since then, the band’s popularity in the indie scene increased as they made frequent appearances in music bars.

In 2006, the single [http://www.myspace.com/hastang Random] began enjoying regular air play - even rising to the top 4 of a local station's weekly countdown.

Hastang also proved to be instrumental in reviving [http://indiecultureonline.com/more.php?id=600_0_1_ POST NO BILL] , a series of gigs that showcases the best acts of the local music scene. Along with indie veterans [http://sheilaandtheinsects.blogdrive.com/ Sheila and the Insects] , Hastang has become a mainstay of this bi-monthly musical event held in various venues in Cebu.

Album Recording

In late 2005, Hastang commenced the recording of their debut album, which contains 11 original tracks they’ve written and arranged in the last eight months. It was at this time that guitar player Raul (formerly of hard rock band Eve’s Garden) joined in to complete the dual-guitar format.

During this time, the band recorded 10 songs in Phoenix Glide Studios with the exception of "Random", which was recorded earlier in the summer of 2005 at the same studio. The said song was later re-mastered with Guile doing minor bass guitar re-dubs.

In early 2006, after four months of studio tracking and mixing, the band wrapped up the recording of the album.

Musical Style and Influences

With uncanny deftness, the band combines an aggressive sonic style with lyrical sublimity (courtesy of master lyricist and frequent collaborator Julie Ann Redoble) in their songs—no doubt fueled by the diverse musical influences of each of the members.

While Mark and Guile came from a mainly pop-alternative oriented group (Squirrel Talk incorporated pop punk, ska, and new wave music elements in their style), there's an evident change in their musical preferences when they formed Hastang. Having early roots in punk rock (during their college years, Mark, Guile and incidentally, Roy, once played for a group called The Remedies, which played during punk shows organized by Struggle for Radical Action (S.R.A.), a Cebuano punk underground movement), both musicians are now open to incorporating new dynamics in Hastang's songs. Moreover, the band has taken full advantage of Mark's hardhitting style by structuring the guitar riffs around the drummer's aggressive approach.

Hastang also incorporates heavy distorted guitar sounds in most of its songs particularly in the chorus sections. Verse parts are complimented with either acoustic guitar strumming or echoing guitar riffs (achieved through digital delay or chorus effects). Deeply immersed in the song arrangement phase of most of the songs, Roy is credited with establishing these characteristic guitar elements. He also plays with different guitar styles--sometimes in one song. For instance, Random has single-line riffs common to late 90s emo-core music, classic rock fill-ins particularly in the chorus parts, and in the coda, digital delay riffs reminiscent of The Edge's style. When Raul joined the band during the recording phase, he incorporated some blues rock-based guitar solos particularly in the songs "Oblivion" and Midflight.

Singer Tessa is highly melodic in her approach. All songs are recorded with main vocals supported by multiple background vocal melodies as can be heard in Old Lovers' Mantra and Midflight.

It should also be noted that during its first few gigs, the band was rather fond of performing cover songs that were deliberately rehashed. These include decidedly experimental versions of Coldplay's "The Scientist", U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", Pearl Jam's "Rearviewmirror", Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and "Ray of Light", Stevie Nicks's "Edge Of Seventeen" (in which the band incorporated riffs from Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" within the song), and Eurythmics's "Here Comes The Rain Again", which the band performed as its official cover song in the MTV Hits Cebu band showdown.

Band Members

*Tessa Manto - lead vocals
*Roy Tutor - guitars
*Raul Luche Jr - guitars
*Mark Austin Ladanan - drums
*Guile Canencia - bass

Prior to joining Hastang:
*Tessa had played with Mark and Guile in several musical events held at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.
*Roy played lead guitars for The Remedies, Positive Aura, Reverb and Stage Crew.

Former members and session players:
*Jayson Ang played as rhythm guitar player for Hastang for a period of eight months in 2005. He left the band citing personal reasons.
*Murray Suson, former lead guitar player for Squirrel Talk, plays for Hastang as a sessionist rhythm guitar player.
* [http://www.friendster.com/paultcanadaPaul Cañada] , former lead guitar player for [http://www.myspace.com/frankbandcebuFrank!] (he currently plays for Uno), played for Hastang as a sessionist lead guitar player during a show in [http://www.handuraw.com Handuraw Cafe] .

Music Video

The music video for Oblivion debuted in MYX on February 3, 2007. The music video features all band members performing in an old, run-down house. The video was conceptualized and directed by Rember Gelera.

References

*dela Paz, Gino (2005). [http://news.inq7.net/common/print.php?index=3&story_id=37639&site_id=28 Cebupalooza] (http). "Inq7.net". Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
* [http://indiecultureonline.com/more.php?id=466_0_1_20_M1 Hastang: doing time in the studio] (http). "IndieCultureonline.com". Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
* [http://www.hastang.com/blog/?p=41 lights, camera ...] (http). "Blog.hastang.com". Retrieved on February 5, 2007.
*Tobias, Romina (2008). [http://ph.88db.com/ph/html/lifestyle/music_hastang_band.htm Extremely Rock: A Pinoy Band with a Different Kind of Music] (http). "88DB". Retrieved on March 31, 2008.

External links

* [http://www.hastang.com/ Official Site]