All traffic jams on punk rock highway

All Traffic was formed September of last year, but they refused to call their grouping then a band yet, as they were still without any stage performance for exposure and the like.

The "trafficmen" of Kinasang-an, Pardo-Patrick Dumale on vocals, Mark Lawrence Badayos on lead guitar, Paolo Brent Navarro on bass guitar and Edward "Loi" Burgos on drums-shared that they were still hanging out and trying their hands on original songs that time born out of a desire to be part of the bulging circle of local independent bands here.

"That time dili pa gyud mi matawag ug banda kay wala pa'y klaro kay jam-jam pa man to," says Loi.

That time Mark already had a load of compositions and invited Paolo to join him in the formation of a band. Needing other members, they asked Loi to play the drums and then Patrick joined the pack as vox.

Loi said that before they bolted in, they were from other bands. Mark and Paolo were ex-members of underground punk/ska band "Seven Months". Patrick was then vocalist of another underground band "Legacy of Brutality". And Loi was former drummer of "Alkansiya" better known today as "The Ambassadors", the voice behind the Bisrockers community anthem "Ulipon" which goes by its pet name in parenthesis "gugmang giatay".

When asked on how they were able to derive on a very "traffic-ky" group name, Patrick explained that they picked such name from a sign near their "tambayan" which they find cool, representing a bottleneck of musical endeavors that created a virtual traffic jam in their rocking heads.

All Traffic has already completed writing 10 songs mostly by Mark who dabbles working with his other band, "Cut Off Poet"; and has a new member moving in, Rommel Bacalan, on rhythm. Though the song "Akong Kalipay" written by Loi was first to have picked up audio appeal among their other nine songs, obviously for its Sugbuano lyrics, All Traffic already came up with "So Be It" first played over 93.1 Smash FM, a song about unspoken love/feelings-"Your face is shining like the stars/this moon will guide us so it will be done/and so be it/whatever rain comes on our side/bear in mind I will just be here/until it ends."

"Akong Kalipay" is about Loi's daughter, Joy-Joy, expressing his joy as a father by having her in his and his wife Emely's lives. "Aduna ko'y anak, siya akong kalipay/kalipay ko si Joy-Joy.

Also, the group zooms on local music highway with "Jeepney Joy Ride" which is about the joy of commuting. This hasn't been given airplay yet, but the group would want this for a carrier track in an Extended Play album in-the-making of same title scheduled for release either this month or August. "Enjoy this time/enjoy this ride/don't get too anxious/don't be scared coz you're with me/ beep!beep! It's nice to have you in this jeepney joy ride."

Other songs include "I Don't Know U"-a song on individuality, "Sa Panganod" on call for acceptance, "Leaves" on nature and sentimentality, and "Life" on honesty of intentions, which adopted the punk rock style to conform to the group's musical influences-Dashboard Confessional, MxPx, NoFx, Misfits, and The Ambassadors.

"Traffic-kers" Patrick, Mark, Paolo and Loi are neighborhood friends in Kinasang-an while Rommel, a friend of Paolo, is from Talisay. Patrick took up vocational studies at the Don Bosco Technology Center. Mark and Paolo are both Carolinians taking up Psychology and Business Administration, respectively. Loi is a product of Cebu Institute of Technology. Rommel is still in high school, but he and Paolo hang out with same crowd at the University of Cebu main campus being active members of Lozers Team, a bunch of skateboarders.

All Traffic jammed in a recent performance with other local indie bands Puppy Eyed Kirtmen, Fervent, At Fault, Jawbangers, among many others for the "Battle of the Band" last June 16 at the Handuraw Events Café in Mabolo and yearns to do more gigs this year.

Get to know more of them as they create a bottleneck on local music highway through [email protected]. Use [email protected] in case you would want to add them to your Friendster account.