The Corporate Bands of ePLDT

ePLDT is like a big family. We work hard, but we play harder. We have company outings and sports events. We also love to party. That is why it was no surprise that we were invited to perform in our 2006 Christmas party. Wait, who we?

App Dev has a few guitarists. Our head of corporate sales is a drummer. Two others can play bass. We have singers from HR and Sales. Operations have their own talents to boast. Best of all, the big bosses are supportive. When we were asked to play at the party, all we had to do was send an email blast asking who else can play or sing. The response was encouraging.

We have a pool of musicians and eager singers. The first step is to ask the singers for a list of songs they want to sing, and then we decide who will play in what song. Not everyone has been in a band before, hence, hours of practice is essential. That would not have been feasible if we will practice in the studio. We had to improvise.

Bring your own gear

Our conference room becomes a practice studio after office hours. We push the long table to the side and bring our personal instruments. Initial setup was very basic. We started with a Yamaha digital drum, a pair of acoustic-electric guitars, and a Yamaha electric guitar. There were only two amps and both were for acoustics. We used a pair of computer speakers as an electric guitar amp. Somehow, we managed to survive while adding better gears over the years.

The parties

We normally gig twice a year: at the anniversary and Christmas parties. Sometimes we play at the sports fest. We never ran out of new talents. Do you think the fun ends when we have played all the songs we practice? No, it only signals the start of the open jam. Here, anybody can grab a mic and sing with a live band as back up. It did not matter if we were playing in Vitro, PLDT gym, Strumms, R&D, or Bagaberde. We always had fun!

The members

Original Cast:

Andrew - drums
Arnold - drums
Demic - guitar, vocals
Jay - lead guitar
Josie - vocals
Lottie - vocals
Oamar - bass guitar, vocals
Mark D. - vocals, guitar
Mark L.- vocals
Marlon - guitar
Nelmar - drums, guitar
Robbie - vocals
Roy - guitar
Tom - vocals

2007:

Aby - vocals
Cris - vocals
Joey - vocals
Nikki - vocals

2008:

Jun S. - vocals


2010:

Kate - vocals
Len - vocals
Lilet - vocals
Rodmar - vocals

2011:

Harold - vocals
Nice - vocals, guitar
Ram - vocals
Rex - vocals, guitar
Rodel - vocals
Van - vocals
Von - bass guitar

Do you still think that corporate life is all work? Think again!

/royc