Say Cheese

Rumor has it that the members of Cheese make for bad interview subjects. They could be dangerously blunt, and it’s either you take that against them or find them more appealing. To cut it short, I got my copy and didn’t mind the attitude. Besides, what are rock stars minus the inflicted headache?

And they gave the makeup artist a hard time, too. They didn’t want any loose powder on their faces, and besides, judging from their tattoos, they’re already overly made up. Maybe it’s not a bad thing. They spare no pretensions and they let their music speak for itself. If you find them loud, you can always press the stop button. Hardly anyone does.

They have good stash, so to speak. And though it may take them some three years to come up with a second serving, they didn’t fail to keep the Cheese name abuzz. It’s because they can’t be shelved as another disposable rap-metal band. It didn’t work five years ago, and it’s far from working now. With established anthems for the broadening rock underground, shoving the mainstream sound a little every time, Cheese had made "Mottaka", "10xKarma", and "Fine" a satire on the hardcore that became pop. But they became household names, nonetheless, and it’s not because of their calcium benefits.

Actually, come to think of it, they hardly fit their name. Contrary to their lactose counterpart, which melts in extreme heat, Cheese, the band stands up and becomes increasingly fine with noise the higher the mercury shoots up. From moshpits to fist fights, it only adds up to the hard-hit novelty.

"We started as an after-school band," says bassist 2ts (read: Toots), an original member since the band’s birth in ’95. He was with Enzo, the band’s guitarist, a classmate at the NCBA, together with two other classmates who became the vocalist and guitarist, with an open slot for a drummer. The fire engine hardly got started then and it didn’t help that the two other original members quit. But it rolled when lead guitarist Paolo joined the group and brought in cousin Ian, who became the vocalist. Ian on the other hand brought in another cousin, CJ, who became the group’s drummer.

They made it to Warner, and that was when the after-school band became the toast of the rock scene. They saw their first album become popular and they proved that their "10xKarma" wasn’t all that bad. And then, after a long halt, three years to be exact, that’s when they smacked "Pilipinas" right in our faces. "This country is the best."