Five-man band Sandwich has been delivering some of the tastiest morsels of indie rock since their debut in 1998. Yet, crafty hook-laden songs like “Butterfly Carnival”, “Two Trick Pony” and “Nahuhulog” couldn’t propel them beyond rock radio. They’ve also earned critical acclaim for their live performances and cool videos but they couldn’t seem to pull off a massive crossover to a wider audience.

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Sandwich has the right ingredients to be everyone’s favorite “clubhouse” fare.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Raimund Marasigan played drums for the Eraserheads, the only Pinoy band that mattered from the ‘90s. Drummer Mike Dizon did time with Teeth, whose “Laklak” defined grunge as a Pinoy experience. Bassist Myrene Academia was a prominent female jock on Manila’s rock radio and used to be in indie upstarts, The Aga Muhlach Experience, together with current rhythm guitarist Diego Castillo and drummer Mike.

After six years with the band, former vocalist Marc Abaya, whose major contributions included taking Sandwich to the edge of hardcore punk and rap metal, jumped ship. Marc was hoping to be a full-time MTV Asia VJ though his next big bang was a well-received debut in 2004 with his own band, Kjwan.

Guitarist Mong Alcaraz, whose been doing quality fretwork for emo wannabes, Chicosci, stepped in. Meanwhile, chief Sandwich Raimund found the joys of toying with a second-hand four-track mixer to kick-start a belated side trip into home-brewed electronica. Raimund took up the main spot vacated by Marc in Sandwich even as he assumed the guise of Squid 9 in his occasional electronica forays as well as doing vocals and sundry musical duties in Cambio, Pedicab, and Sun Valley Crew.

Electro-fueled Pinoy rock

Finally in 2005, Sandwich released the biggest album of their career. Bannered by the infectiously bracing “Sugod”, their fourth commercial release, Five on the Floor, would bring Sandwich beyond their core audience. The band’s music simply started popping up all over mainstream radio.

And the initial success wasn’t exactly a fluke. “Sugod” opened the floodgates for a hit parade consisting of “Walang Kadaladala”, “DVDX” and “Sunburn”.

A lot of the old music filtered in like ghostly sound bytes on the band’s breakthrough album. Played live, the new sounds mesh neatly with the back catalog of would-be hits in an alternative universe. But in place of Marc’s bark, there’s Raimund’s engaging vocals on top of pumping, electro-fueled Pinoy rock.

In an interview, guitarist Diego Castillo pinned Sandwich’s newfound glory down to their enduring musical brotherhood. He explained, “We don’t really let adversity affect us since we just wanted to make the best music we could as a band. Also, we had no commercial goals as far as any of our albums are concerned. It’s more important for us to make music we can comfortably play live!”

This year, that continuing collaboration as Sandwich enters its first decade on the heels of a new studio album, S Marks the Spot. The new release sounds like a better version of Five on the Floor in spots and a pleasing one, at best, in others.

In fact, S Marks the Spot contains a second CD of remixes of tracks from the earlier album. When it rocks, S tracks like “Procastinator”, “Ang Pagbabalik” and “Partner in Crime” sport “Sugod”s aggressive pull. Except for “Manila”, with its retro look back on mid-Seventies Manila sound, the slower songs lack the melodic tug of Five’s more emotive tracks.

Raimund can only clarify that S Marks the Spot is not really a 10-year retrospective. He says, “[The latest album] is a collection of songs on what we’re about as a band and as individuals.”

Between the previous release and the new one, bassist Myrene, Raimund’s better half, shared her instrumental and vocal abilities for the second coming of Imago. Raimund himself has formed yet another new group, Project 1, composed of members of The Dawn, Narda, and Itchyworms, who has been credited with Coca Cola’s “Buksan Mo” jingle this summer. These collaborations allow the musicians to jam with fellow rockers and then some.

Raimund elaborates, “I think the other bands are part of our extended family. We get to take a break from Sandwich as well as explore other ideas with other people.
At the same time, we have a pool of close friends who can substitute for any of us in all our bands. We have a little rule that when the singer has arrived, game na! Meaning, anybody can substitute for whoever isn’t available or late. We’d like to give credit to our managers for getting our crazy schedules together, ha-ha!”

Betamax

The new album not only echoes sounds from previous albums but also dredges up images and events from the past. Its sonic palette is littered with smudges of Manila sound, ‘80s Pinoy punk, Van Halen guitars, Daft Punk and present-day emo. The lyrics are a patchwork of pop details from the last thirty years – Jingle magazine, Kwarta o Kahon, Rico J, Gary V, Saguijo, even Raimund’s hometown of Candelaria, Quezon.

The Sandwich main man agrees: “Yes, ever since the first album, we always liked to name check and reference ourselves. That comes from us being hip hop fans.

“The song ‘Betamax’ in particular is a salute to our heroes who were a big part in molding our tastes and ideals as artists and as Sandwich. It’s not really, as some people mistake it, to be a tribute to Original Pilipino Music. The people name-checked are personal heroes.

“Listeners can switch names with their own. We’re intending to release a hip hop version soon featuring basketball icons like Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Samboy Lim. The present Sandwich feels like it hadn’t had its fair share of trials, despite the departure of Marc Abaya. They sound fresh rather than renewed despite owning a back catalog of equally formidable songs.

Raimund checks out how they have turned potential trouble into an advantage. He says, “Marc is an amazing musician, singer and an excellent performer. His departure forced the whole band to step up because Marc left some pretty big shoes to fill in.

“Mong’s (Alacaraz) arrival was nothing but perfect. He kinda sneaked into the band, jamming on some shows until we decided to pay him because he has this enthusiasm that brings everybody together. He also has unlimited ideas about music and got the whole band into skateboarding.”

So, any truth to the rumor that a decade of Sandwich could be curdling it into stale bread?

Raimund argues, “That’s not true! Just ask our friends and family and they will vouch that Sandwich is a family first before being a band.

“One of the lessons I’ve learned when the Eraserheads disbanded was to take care of your band ‘cause they’re family. And I will say that’s true with all my other bands – Cambio Pedicab and Squid 9. We hang out and take vacations together when we are not playing gigs. Somehow, we play better when we bond more.”