Pupil: A walk on the wild side

Deep within each of us lurks a wild side struggling to be free. Some manage to keep it deep, deep within,  where no one but the closest to them can see. The lucky ones manage to show this emotional rawness without hurting a fly.

Pupil — Ely Buendia and Yan Yuzon on vocals and guitars; Dok Sergio, bass and vocals and Wendell Garcia on drums — belongs to this rare breed. The guys are not even shy about flaunting it on their newest and second album.

Wildlife (SonyBMG) has what else — wild animals — on its eye-catching cover. Their faces don’t stare at you on the cover with a building and a police car on it as well. But the guys own up to the wildness in them.

In fact, Ely admits he’s the wolf. Yan says he’s an eagle (hi there, Atenean!). Doc would be the panda while new drummer Wendell (after his predecessor Bogs Jugo left to pursue something else) is the shark.

The road less traveled so intrigues these music-loving guys they call their album a celebration of wildlife. As Yan says, “Chaos can be good or bad. We’d like to think we’re in control. But life is a series of unforeseen circumstances. We are the voice of the minority, the disenfranchised.”

If wild, therefore, means going against the grain, of embracing chaos with open arms, Pupil is the band to see and hear.

Carrier single Sala rocks with lyrics that scream freedom: Walang makakapigil sa akin/Malayang ihahayag ang damdamin.

Yan’s Talon urges: Talon na/Wala kang makikita/Kundi buhay mo sa kabila/‘Wag kang mabigla/Wala nang nakaharang/Kundi ang hanap mong walang hanggan.

Ely and wife Diane’s Matador cries out, I want to be left alone/On my own to write her song/I’m running away from this paradise/Before I tell the truth of my lies.

This all-original album of 12 tracks may be a short one as per Ely’s standards. But it doesn’t necessarily shortchange the listener, who will hear the band perform the tracks live in an album launch at Eastwood Central Plaza, Libis, Quezon City on Nov. 9.

Work was done in record time: One-and-a-half weeks ahead of schedule, in fact.

Ely, looking none the worse after his heart attack, says, “Making the album was a breeze. We found it easy to talk to each other about it.”

Even the newest guy in the group, Wendell, fit in like he was a Pupil member since Day One. He is, after all, no newbie in the field. The former Barbie’s Cradle member played session for other bands, did music chores for the just-concluded Celebrity Duets and writes for Goin’ Bulilit. As a tri-athlete, Wendell’s stamina is above par.

This stamina will serve Wendell in good stead when Pupil spreads its wings some more as Animax’s music partner. The band has signed a one-year contract with the TV animation giant which has commissioned it to do the Animax theme song. The result is the album’s final track, Set Me Apart.

As the lyrics of Set Me Apart proudly proclaim (No one can stop us now/No matter where or how), Pupil is bent on eyeing the top and changing the face of local rock music. And it seems to be on the right track. The band’s Animax video, filmed in Manila, animated in Malaysia and aired from Singapore, is calculated to bring Pupil’s music to Southeast Asia.