1999
Ebe and Jal recall their very first gig on August 28, 1999. “Ebe was sick and there were only five people in the audience,” says Jal. This was at Villa Romana in Baguio City.
Ebe went through a succession of bands in college and was ready to call it quits when he met Jal and, eventually, then-drummer Mitch Singson. “Sabi ko sa sarili ko, huling subok ko na. Kung mag-fail ‘to, siguro hindi talaga para sa’kin,” Ebe shares, “then everything just fell into place.” The band played in the underground and earned admirers and supporters by becoming mainstays in production nights such as Admit One in Freedom Bar and Sunday Grabe Sunday in Mayric’s, among others. By 2000, the band landed a record deal with Viva Records.
SUGARFREE managed to lay-in a few songs at Tracks Studio. Rico Blanco, then a member of Rivermaya, co-produced the album. But Rico eventually had to beg off due to the demands of his own band’s career. Tracks Studio’s in-house engineer Angee Rozul carried on. Over a year later, SUGARFREE was able to complete the 12 songs included in what is now known as their debut album Sa Wakas. The release of the record was put on hold. After a two-year tussle between band and record label, their contract was finally rescinded. With the help of Angee, SUGARFREE went on to sign a new recording contract with a different label, EMI.
Sa Wakas
Then-little known SUGARFREE quietly released Sa Wakas in January of 2003. During the launch, the album reportedly sold out in a span of 11 minutes. Soon, a string of SUGARFREE singles such as Telepono, Burnout, and Mariposa lorded the local airwaves. SUGARFREE went home huge winners from the NU 107 Rock Awards on the same year. They bagged two major awards: Best New Artist and Album of the Year for Sa Wakas.
Dramachine
SUGARFREE’s sophomore offering was released in July 2004. CalledDramachine, it churned out the singles Sinta, Hari ng Sablay, Prom, Kwatro (also included in the Pinoy Blonde OST), and Tulog Na. The album hit Gold signifying over 15,000 units sold by September 2005.
On the same year, SUGARFREE was chosen to record the song Makita Kang Muli written by husband and wife team Jimmy Antiporda andCymbee Antiporda. This was to be the theme song for Panday, a teleserye on ABS-CBN (based on the folk-tale with the same title) starring Jericho Rosales. This, along with the phenomenal success ofHari ng Sablay, undeniably brought SUGARFREE into every home. The song was later included in the repackaged edition of Dramachine.
Tala Arawan
After a change in management and band member (at this point, EMI stood as both record label and artist management; drummer Mitch Singson was replaced by Cebu-raised Kaka Quisumbing) Ebe suffering from writer’s block (he had to seclude himself in a condominium in Makati for six months just to compose new songs), SUGARFREE launched its third album in November of 2006. In it are 12 original all-Tagalog songs, authored by Ebe alone. The lyrics found on the album packaging were all hand-written by Ebe as one would on a ”diary” which is actually the English translation of the album title Tala Arawan. It won Best Album Packaging during the 20th Awit Awards. The songs Kung Ayaw Mo Na Sa Akin, Dear Kuya, and Wag Ka Nang Umiyak are all from this album.
SUGARFREE Live! with the Manila Symphony Orchestra
In September of 2007, SUGARFREE held its first major concert at theMusic Museum. With them performed a 33-piece Manila Symphony Orchestra. The unprecedented event was captured in a 2-disc live album entitled SUGARFREE Live! with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, released the following year.
Mornings and Airports
It’s been three years from the time SUGARFREE released its last studio album. Since then, SUGARFREE has found themselves stealing catnaps in nearly every airport around the country on route to their next destination. This is the reason for the title of their newest albumMornings and Airports.
Isang DEKADA
What a ride it has been. In ten years, SUGARFREE managed to carve its name in local music history. The band now enjoys the fruits of their hard work and perseverance through countless hit songs, commercial endorsements (San Miguel Beer, Pugad Dencio’s, AlactaGrow) and a continued steady line-up of gigs.
In celebration of its 10th year anniversary, SUGARFREE returns to the Music Museum with the Manila Symphony Orchestra. The 2-night concert aptly called DEKADA happens on August 28 and 29, 2009.
