The story of Cueshé

How a local snack food inspired this homegrown band, now touted by many as Philippine rock scene's newest sensation.

These guys are definitely "staying" and hopefully for good. When we say stay, pun definitely intended as their first single entitled Stay, catapulted this band's popularity from the confines of their hometown Cebu into near national consciousness.

We are talking about pop-alternative band Cueshé that just a few months ago decided to drop everything here at home to start on a full-time musical career in Manila. "It was not an easy decision," they say, but dreams have a way of pushing one beyond their comfort zones.

There seems to be no more turning back for this band of six, composed of Jay Justiniani (Vocals), Ruben Caballero (vocals, guitar) Jovan Mabini (lead guitar) Jhunjie Dosdos (keyboards), Fritz Labrado (bassist, songwriter) and Mike Manaloto (drummer, songwriter). "We've practically traded our souls for music already," they say with a laugh.

They were doing okay here in Cebu-gigs and concerts galore around Visayas and Mindanao-but something seemed lacking, prompting the group to take the plunge. Which was to take on Manila.

Five years back, the band hooked up because of a common love for music. And like every other band, they harbored dreams of writing their own songs and recording an album. Yet sometimes, opportunities don't fall on one's lap that easily. One has to work his way to it. "We were young, inexperienced and had less to say about life and the world abound us. We lacked depth," says Mike Manaloto, bandleader, drummer and songwriter. Back then they even thought that they couldn't write songs at all. Worse, they didn't play instruments well enough to pass even as an average band in Cebu.

For a time they conceded to this self-imposed fact by relying on covers in gigs and performances. But they really loved what they were doing! They would volunteer to play for a friend's debut for free, or perform at some small local event or at a neighborhood joint. If the venue didn't have a sound system they would offer to bring in the band equipment and sound system themselves (the ones they used for rehearsals)-again for free, loading it all up in Mike's super lowered maroon gallant. Tiny step, truly so, for a band with big dreams. But let's just say, it was the beginning of something great.

While Cueshé was getting their act together, they used to jam in Mike's bedroom, which became the band's makeshift rehearsal studio. After practice, they would end up with banana cue for snacks-yes, nutritious and more so that was what they could afford as students. The "cue" comes from the banana cue and the "she," from the original vocalist who was a she. An accent was added at the end of Cueshé to make it sound "sosyal," they explain with a grin. A lot of playfulness and creativity was used to come up with the name, which now characterizes the Cueshé that we know today. They continue to keep up the spunk, especially in their music. It has become their attitude towards life as well. They are creative in making things easier and interesting. They know how to fool around creatively.

They did attempt to write songs before and even managed to recorded a few, but not one made them a local sensation back here at home. But they stood around longer than most other bands as they took constructive criticisms graciously, and dismissed what they thought was crap. They kept on playing regardless of the costs and put-downs by other bands.

Family pressure was also getting intense for the group as they were not getting any younger. But one always seeks out a true passion, and for Cueshé it was their music.

Even Jay Justiniani's (he replaced the girl) near-death motorcycle mishap in December 24, 2001 did not cause the band to break up. Jay fractured his right ankle, knee, elbow and wrist, while his right ear was nearly ripped off, only connected to him by a little piece of skin and cartilage. The band's trauma was immeasurable. Jay was bedridden for a year, while the rest of the members continued to practice on their own.

To make ends meet while not having gigs, Fritz decided to drive one of their family-owned jeepneys and ply the routes of Cebu while Jovan was his willing assistant as collector. Mike traded imported cigarettes to local bars in Cebu, while the rest focused on their studies. But they continued their weekly jamming sessions.

Now, when one says "In God's time," the band Cueshé definitely knows what it means more than anybody else, and for them everything was worth the wait. And the modest successes they enjoy today have given great meaning to all they have gone through.

Today, Cueshé takes pride as being one of the first Filipino Artists signed under the international merger between BMG Records and Sony Music, now known as Sony-BMG Music Entertainment worldwide. Such sudden twist of fate was brought about by a demo they sent to their now mother company who urgently signed up the band after hearing it. A hit song soon followed after that, and suddenly Cueshé headlined talks around the local band communities. Questions like "Who the hell are these guys?" were inevitably asked.

Cueshe's foray into the Manila musical landscape was met with both welcome and displeasure. While many have showed support, there are those who have dismissed the band as unworthy of even mere mention. But Cueshe' has taken it all with a laugh. "I think the proof of the pie is in the eating," retorts Mike. "We're just living our dream and having fun and we've paid our dues to get here so we don't mind what they say."

But on a sad note they comment, "Some people just don't get it. Hard work and determination pay off." While other bands would have to find day jobs to survive such as sell insurance, work at call centers, or be an agent for a networking business, Cueshe decided to stick it out and focus on music, and on improving their skills, even if it entails playing covers, and some top 40 hits at local bars to survive. "We didn't see anything wrong with that. In fact, it exposed us musically, it made us grow as a band and find our true musical selves. It served us well," says Mike.

Early on, the band was into stuff by groups like of The Smiths, Sound Garden China Crisis, Nirvana, U2, et cetera playing what they liked and how they liked to play it. "But when you grow older, you mature and see life differently, your tastes of music also grows-you realize there is a much bigger world out there so we have to be open- minded."

Their album, which they christened, "Half Empty, Half Full," is one full of these realizations and revelations, making it a very personal offering. "For some people life goes on only in their heads, so it's easy for them to say things and criticize," Mike says. And that could be painful for them, he adds, that's why the group decided on the title because they felt that it was the right way of expressing their apprehensions about the whole thing. "We would get to know the people around us by what came out of their mouths. What they say is a mirror reflection of their own self-image. When they say that you don't deserve to get into the scene, they are actually saying sila lang magaling. Double-edged siya. Double-meaning..."

You can actually hear what they've been through when they play live on stage, not just by the mere words of their songs, but by the timbre and color of their sound. The scratches and scars of their stories make their music all the more beautiful.

Cueshés album is flying off the shelves faster than they have expected and it's been an overwhelming experience for Cueshé. "Who would have thought that we'd end up where we are now? Not even us," they chorus. "We were just fooling around and living our lives."

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