Mark Edward Penabella Escueta (; born 9 January 1976) 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 one of the founding members of the Filipino rock band

Rivermaya Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands who spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion. Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azarcon ...

. Escueta has been the only constant member of Rivermaya since its inception in 1994.

Early life

Escueta is the eldest of four siblings. He has two younger brothers and one sister. Escueta finished high school at

De La Salle Santiago Zobel School The De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, also referred to by its acronym DLSZ or De La Salle Zobel ( Filipino: Paaralang De La Salle Santiago Zobel), is a private Catholic basic education institution for boys and girls run by the Philippine Distric ...

and took

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

major in

Computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

Applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. His father is lawyer Eduardo U. Escueta, a retired official of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM). Escueta's family originally hails from Tiaong, Quezon.

Musical career

Rivermaya (1994-present)

Escueta began playing drums at the age of 13. He entered the Philippine music industry when he became the drummer of the band Bazurak where one of his bandmates,

Nathan Azarcon Nathan Peter Hachero Azarcon (born January 29, 1975) is a Filipino musician, nationalist, songwriter, and producer. He is currently the bassist, vocalist and one of the founding members of Filipino rock band Rivermaya. He was also a member of the ...

was the bass player. Azarcon introduced Escueta to another band, Xaga, where Azarcon also played bass. In 1994, he replaced Rome Velayo as drummer and percussionist of Xaga which eventually disbanded and was renamed

. He served as drummer of Rivermaya until 2011 when Ryan Peralta replaced him as the drummer. He gradually switch to guitars and also became of the lead vocalists of the band (along with Mike Elgar and later Nathan Azarcon). When Peralta left in May 2018, Escueta returned to playing drums permanently for the first time since 2011. On his birthday at January 9, 2016, he re-united with his former

co-members,

Perf de Castro Perfecto "Perf" de Castro (born August 14, 1974) is a Filipino musician currently based in Los Angeles, California best known for having been a celebrated fixture in the Philippine alternative rock scene during the 1990s. During the course of ...

and

Rico Blanco Rico Rene Granados Blanco (born March 17, 1973) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, endorser and entrepreneur. He began his career as one of the founding members, and served as the chief songwriter, ...

for a "secret mini semi-reunion", following de Castro's gig at 19 East,

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

Other musical interests

Escueta is also the former drummer of the short-lived band, Planet Garapata formed by

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 ...

drummer, Raimund Marasigan in 1996.

Personal life

Escueta married singer-actress

Jolina Magdangal Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal-Escueta (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipina singer, actress, television presenter, and entrepreneur. She is referred to in the Philippines as the Queen of Pinoy Popular Culture (or simply as Pop Icon) and is ...

on 21 November 2011. The two have kids named Pele and Vika.

Discography

;Rivermaya * ''

'' (1994) * ''

Trip Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...

'' (1996) * '' Atomic Bomb'' (1997) * '' It's Not Easy Being Green'' (1999) * '' Free'' (2000) * '' Tuloy ang Ligaya'' (2001) * ''

Between the Stars and Waves ''Between the Stars and Waves'' is the 7th studio album of the Filipino rock band Rivermaya. It has been released on 2003 under Viva Records. It has 15 tracks. A Special Edition of the album were released in December 2004 including bonus tracks ...

'' (2003) * ''

You'll Be Safe Here ''You'll Be Safe Here'' is an EP by OPM rock band Rivermaya that features the eponymous song first used as the theme song of the 2004 ABS-CBN TV horror-drama series ''Spirits''. The CD of the EP includes two music videos for "You'll Be Safe He ...

'' (EP) (2005) * ''

Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo ''Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo'' (Filipino: "One Vein, One Blood") is the eighth studio album by Filipino rock band Rivermaya, released on October 10, 2006, through Viva Records. Except for original track "Isang Bandila (One Flag)", it is a covers al ...

'' (2006) * ''

Bagong Liwanag ''Bagong Liwanag'' ( Tagalog for "New Light") is an EP and the 11th overall album of the Filipino pop rock band, Rivermaya. It has 5 main tracks, 5 instrumental tracks and 2 audio messages which also included demos of songs from their upcoming al ...

'' (EP) (2007) * ''

Buhay The buhay ( uk, бугай) (also known as a bugai, buhai, berebenytsia, bika, buga, bochka) is a musical instrument that is used in Ukraine and is classified as a friction drum. ''Buhay'' is the Ukrainian word for great bittern (Botaurus st ...

'' (2008) * ''

Closest Thing to Heaven "Closest Thing to Heaven" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. In the UK, it was released as the first single from their sixth studio album, ''Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'' (2004) and was the first single to feature both original me ...

'' (2009) * ''

Panatang Makabanda ''Panatang Makabanda'' () is the 11th studio album released by the Filipino rock band Rivermaya on March 19, 2013. It was their first album since 2009 and the first released without former members Jason Fernandez and Japs Sergio. This is also th ...

'' (2013) * ''

Sa Kabila ng Lahat ''Sa Kabila ng Lahat'' ''()'' is a 1991 Philippine political drama film directed by Lino Brocka. It stars Dina Bonnevie and Tonton Gutierrez. This is the last film made by Brocka before he was killed in a car accident. Plot A famous television c ...

'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escueta, Mark De La Salle University alumni 21st-century Filipino musicians Living people 1976 births Musicians from Quezon Rivermaya members