Hector Avanceña Zabala (born November 13, 1971), popularly known as Buddy Zabala, is a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
musician and producer. He is currently the bassist of Filipino pop band
Moonstar88
Moonstar88 is a Filipino rock band formed in Manila, Philippines in 1999.
History
Moonstar88 was formed in February 1999. They were signed to Sony BMG by 2006, and later to Ivory Records in 2012. Previously under Backbeat Management, they are n ...
and indie band
Cambio, and widely known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band,
Eraserheads
Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the most ...
. He also served as bassist to
The Dawn and
Hilera.
Early life
Zabala was born in
Zamboanga City
Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region ...
, Philippines and attended
University of the Philippines Diliman
, image = University of The Philippines seal.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman
, motto = Honor and Excellence
, established = February 12, 194 ...
in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
.
Career
Eraserheads bassist (1989–2003)
Zabala only began writing and singing songs as an Eraserhead starting with the band's 1996 Christmas album, ''Fruitcake''. The album contains "The Fabulous Baker Boy" and "Fruit Fairy." Buddy later also sang and wrote "Tama Ka" and "Kahit Ano" in the 1999 album, ''
Natin99
''Natin99'' is the Eraserheads' sixth studio album. It was released by BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc. in 1999 and the first Eraserheads album that came out of a non-linear recording approach, in which most of the musical parts were recorded separ ...
''.
Buddy's bass-playing is prominently featured in the
drum & bass
Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
opening track of the ''
Natin99
''Natin99'' is the Eraserheads' sixth studio album. It was released by BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc. in 1999 and the first Eraserheads album that came out of a non-linear recording approach, in which most of the musical parts were recorded separ ...
'' album, "Sinturong Pangkaligtasan". In ''Aloha Milkyway'' (the band's first international release), the songs were heavy with his bass work.
Post-Eraserheads (2003–present)
A few years after the dissolution of the Eraserheads, Buddy Zabala continues to be a prolific musician. He played bass for
The Dawn until joining MoonStar 88 in 2016 and, of course, the renamed Eheads,
Cambio. Intervening bands in which he was played were the Sun Valley Crew (together with fellow Eraserhead, Raimund Marasigan) and Twisted Halo (with Vin Dancel, Jason Caballa, Joey Odulio, and Mon Lopez.).
For his bass work for Cambio (''Derby Light'') and Twisted Halo (''In Loving Memory of the Fearless Exploits of the Bolo Brigade''). Zabala was awarded by the
NU Rock Awards
The NU Rock Awards was an annual accolade presented from 1994 to 2010 by the Metro Manila-based radio station NU 107, known for prominent performances by the most influential pinoy rock artists of each year.
History
The first NU 107 Rock Awa ...
as 2004 "Bassist of the Year".
Aside from playing with his bands and doing session work, he focuses his energy in helping younger generation of
Pinoy rock
Pinoy rock, or Filipino rock, is the brand of rock music produced in the Philippines or by Filipinos. It has become as diverse as the rock music genre itself, and bands adopting this style are now further classified under more specific genres or c ...
bands by way of producing their albums. Some of these are Boldstar's "''You Must Have Been a Beautiful Something/What Are You, Really?''",
Itchyworms
The Itchyworms is a Filipino rock band. The band is composed of Jazz Nicolas on drums, Jugs Jugueta on guitars, Kelvin Yu on bass guitars and Chino Singson on lead guitars. The group made their name in the OPM (Original Pilipino Music) scene in ...
' "''Little Monsters Under your Bed''" (with Romel Sanchez),
6 Cycle Mind's "''Panorama''",
Moonstar88
Moonstar88 is a Filipino rock band formed in Manila, Philippines in 1999.
History
Moonstar88 was formed in February 1999. They were signed to Sony BMG by 2006, and later to Ivory Records in 2012. Previously under Backbeat Management, they are n ...
's "''Todo Combo''", and
Imago's "''Blush''".
He also works as co-producer with his Eraserheads and Cambio colleague, Raimund Marasigan; such as on Itchyworms' "Noon Time Show," Twisted Halo's "Twisted Halo EP", Fatal Posporos' "Paper View," Sugarfree's "Dramachine," Cambio's "Derby Light," and Imago's "Take 2." He was also involved for Marasigan's recent "
Five on the Floor
''Five on the Floor'' is the fourth studio album released by the Filipino alternative rock band Sandwich in 2006. The album contains the singles "Sugod" (which was inspired by Juan Dela Cruz Band's ''Kahit Anong Mangyari''), "Sunburn", "DVDX" and ...
" album for
Sandwich's.
Zabala had also scored a number of movies, TV commercials, documentary shorts and stage plays.
In late 2015, Zabala replaced Hilera's bassist, Ivan Garcia who left the band due to personal reasons. A year later, Zabala left The Dawn due to unknown reasons and was replaced by the returning
Carlos Balcells
Carlos Balcells is a Spanish Filipino bass guitar player, businessman and former politician, most notable for his work as the bass guitarist of Filipino rock band The Dawn.
The Dawn
An heir to an affluent family, Balcells joined the band in 198 ...
.
Started July 2017, working with Raymund Marasigan, currently working as producers for Coke Studio Philippines. Coke Studio Philippines is a brand new musical program that brings artists of different backgrounds and genres together to fuse their music into unique, new Pinoy sounds, shown on YouTube.
Filmography
Movies
*
Run Barbi Run
''Run Barbi Run'' is a 1995 Philippine comedy film directed by Tony Y. Reyes. Joey de Leon reprises his role as the titular character and is joined by Maricel Laxa and Eraserheads. It is third installment of the ''Barbi'' trilogy, which started ...
as himself (
Eraserheads
Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the most ...
)
*
Tulad Ng Dati as himself (
The Dawn)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabala, Buddy
1971 births
Living people
Filipino rock musicians
Filipino bass guitarists
People from Zamboanga City
University of the Philippines Diliman alumni
21st-century bass guitarists