House of Beth...just call them...Radical!
Ahhh, the band called House of Beth, not necessarily a household name in Manila...but every collector I know seems to like (and cherish) their personal copy of the band's 7" single called "Radical". This single was quietly released independently in 1990 under Richard Tan's Backbeat Label. I always enjoy playing the vinyl whenever I get the chance to bring out the turntable (er, ofcourse that was before the time of mp3s and CDRs).
I don't have much information about the band...they started out around 1988 or so and was mainly composed of Jonathan Ong, Imo Quibilan, Jema Sy on Vocals and Bimbo Ballesteros on Drums and nowadays most of them reside outside Manila. If there are other members of this band that I failed to mention, I hope they can email me so I can re-post the correct info.
After they recorded this single, the band was supposed to release a Mini-Album with Backbeat called "Songs From Nowhere" but it never materialized. They also did a couple of small gigs in Manila together with the likes of Half Life Half Death, Sake, Dean's December, Jukebox, Mere Mercy, etc. , again no written review about it nor any personal stories from people who saw them live.
Manila radio station, NU 107, used to play one of their unreleased songs called"Starlight Starbright" which I never had the pleasure of hearing. The radio station also aired a 1 hour show that had House of Beth performing their original songs live around 1990 or 1991, unfortunately no one in the band has a copy of this. If you know someone in NU 107 or you work there or you're a head honcho in the station maybe you can have someone check the radio station archives (if they even have one) to unearthed some of the songs of this underrated Filipino band...if the songs are as upbeat and catchy as "Radical" then It would be great for the public and the collectors to hear them in the future. One more thing, if anyone out there knows the band personally, or taped this session from the radio, please get in touch and send me an email, maybe you can set the record straight on some questions I have about the band or maybe you can even send me a picture or two or even some unreleased songs, it's wishful thinking but that would really help. For now let's just enjoy this short, lovely tune from House of Beth.
House of Beth - Radical
(7" single/Backbeat Records/ BBT-001-A/1990/PH)
************************************
A Side - Radical
B Side - Radical II
posted by ourpeboritp!o!p! @ 6/09/2006 07:27:00 PM
12 Comments:
The first and only time my band Half Life Half Death got to perform withe them at the same gig was on Creepy Night II, the ticket of which you have posted here.
As far as I can recall, they didn't play "Radical" that night, to the disappointment of the crowd, including us who were waiting for that beloved single. One of the cover songs they played that gig that stuck on my mind was The Cult's "Love Removal Machine," sang by a male vocalist.
I had the privilege to hear "Starlight, Starbright" during their live session on NU 107 back in, perhaps, 1990. The song was equally great and catchy. I remember melodic keyboards playing heavily on the background. I remember taping the show, but unfortunately, I'd long lost such recorded tapes.
House of Beth's drummer Bimbo Ballesteros eventually became Half Life Half Death's enduring drummer. He is now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA, with his wife and a recently born daughter. We remain in touch with each other, especially that we've become best friends like the rest of our fellow bandmates. He's currently meaning to form a band there; according to his recent letter to me, he sorely misses the New Wave and Punk/Rockabily heydays.
I'll ask him to share with me any stories about HoB, and I'll e-mail it to you.
Keep up the substantial reviews!
I'm a fan since day one!
PS:
Oops...House of Beth didn't show up on this particular concert, Creepy Night on Friday the 13th, at Ali Mall Skatetown in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines. The gig I was talking about was Creepy Night II, at Plaza del Dilao in Intramuros, Manila.
According to Bimbo, since House of Beth was originally just a studio project of Jonathan, it had no other members yet during the time of Creepy Night 13th, thus the inability to perform live.
Jonathan began recruiting members who would join him live, in time for Creepy Night 2. And Bimbo was one of the recruits.
Don't worry, I'm soon planning to record my version of "Radical." Hahaha!
Thanks for the comments...and the added info, this will surely be handy for past and future people who might enjoy this song. Wow....we have one item that shows the existence of House of Beth and they didn't even play that night! hahaha, what a bummer! Any chance any of you guys have a ticket stub from this Creepy NIght 2 gig??
Thanks! I enjoy your blog too and your band's songs!
hey...here's an email from Imo Quibilan who co-wrote the song "Radical"....more stories about House of Beth soon...
Thanks, Imo, for the email!
I do hope you find that long lost tape in your old house!!!
-- ourpeboritp!o!p!
>From: imo quibilan
>To: ourpeboritpinoypop@gmail.com
>Date: Jun 19, 2006 2:53 AM
>Subject: Radical!
>chong,
>
>bumata ako sa post mo. i co-wrote >radical when i was still 3rd year
>high school, almost 2 decades >ago. whew!
>do i know you, by the way? i was >googling something when i chanced >upon your blog. thanks for >featuring house of beth. i'm >amazed that the
>song actually made an impact in >the early days of the pinoy indie >rock
>scene.
>
>on creepy night1:
>
>yeah we were there but didn't >perform. there was no band yet to >play live gigs. we stayed though. >I just remember watching mere >mercy play their signature cover
>("love removal machine" by the >cult) and dean's december's >rendition of u2's bullet the blue >sky.
>again, thanks for featuring us. >just email me if you have >questions about house of beth.
>
>imo
>
>p.s. though i still have the copy >of the 7' single, i have no way of
>ripping the thing to mp3. baka >naman puwede mo akong padalhan ng >mp3 ng radical II. I sang the guy >vocal part in that mix kasi. >salamat.
The power of the Internet! Bridging long-lost friends and would-have-been friends.
Never too late, though.
Have you tried contacting Quark Henares? He can probably help you out if possible with NU stuff, since Atom is his dad. Here's a link to his blog:
http://intrigero.livejournal.com/
Hi, I was the vocals on the recording of "Radical" by House of Beth. I was not really an actual member of the band but my sister, Jema, was. She was with a sore throat the day of the recording and I stepped in to do the vocals for the recording. It's nice to know that people appreciated our song that was released eons ago.... rock on!
Jean Sy
This comment has been removed by the author.
Oh, I should add that I did perform at the Intramuros venue contrary to the memories of others and that I did sing "Radical" that night.
Wow..I was there in plaza dilao. I sang cult songs that night..love removal..peace dog..and.sex and violence(sex pistols)..and we did have Jema that night to sing Radical..jon on guitar, bimbo on drums, and Raul Lavin on bass..
Hi jean..yeah my bad..it was you who sang that night..regards
-tec
Wow! i never realized one of my favorite local songs played in NU107 back then had this story behind it. Thank you. i never even knew the name of the band until now that i came across my old tape recording from NU107 in those days, so i tried to search on the internet. The effort is worth it. Jean Sy, you delivered vox excellently! 🙌🙇🏼
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