You hear the wailing siren from a distance and it immediately sends your adrenaline levels shooting up. From behind your car, the sing-song scream gets louder as the vehicle speeds closer. Then, you realize you aren’t being tailed by the cops but by an emergency vehicle. You let it pass you, and you relax a little as you slow down and watch it speed away.
Then, just like a slap in the face out of nowhere, it rams head-on to a brick wall. Up goes the adrenaline once again as the applause and the roar of the crowd help bring sense into this awesome spectacle. The scene fades out with a huge roar from the audience as the members of the band start unplugging their guitars and gets off the stage. Oh... so it's ust another Crash Ambulance gig.
Quite the oxymoron, Crash Ambulance is actually just your average, boys n' d' hood-next-door kind of band that thrives for musical variety and does not lock themselves to just one particular genre.. “If we feel like doing a song which somehow alienates ourselves from our musical direction, Hell, then why not go for it?” says lead vocalist/ bassist Pepper Diao. “It's all about the feel, actually"
Each CA band member hails from different contact centers based here in Metro Manila. So just imagine how they juggle both call center work with the rock-and-roll lifestyle, so it must be really heavy and taxing to stay awake most of the time, doesn't it?
Twenty-five-hour days make up most of the urban owls’ lifestyle, so how did they find each other to form the band? Simple. Pepper, along with guitarists Luigi Figueroa and Earl Calunsod, and drummer Erickson Cerezo all hail from the same high school. The drummer came up with the name to sound “cool, heavy, and fast with a sense of urgency.
Ah high school. The glory days. Back when you listened to anyone and everyone. Those days when your confused record collection consisted of CDs and cassette tapes (classic) by KISS, Wolfgang, Aerosmith, Bob Marley with some VST & Co. and RJ and the Riots thrown in. The perfect time to start a rock band.
This current lineup is already a product of the test of time. Lineup changes left and right , musical style and direction blurs from one form to the next, but the drive has never gone from them. The journey up the rickety ladder of rockstardom has just begun, but these boys have already started to rattle those rungs.
Crash Ambulance hails from Lourdes School Of Mandaluyong, Philippines. Featuring an All-Alumni ensemble:
Christopher "Pepper" Diao on bass & lead vocals
Erickson "Kosa" Cerezo on drums/ percussions
Earl Calunsod on guitars
Luigi Figuerroa on guitars.
Crash Ambulance started out as a hobby of three high school students from Lourdes School of Mandaluyong (batch 1995), Philippines. It was originally founded by Pepper Diao, Erickson Cerezo, and Brian Enriquez.
Over the years, it has been through several band name and lineup changes, as with it's quest for identifying their own sound. From Classic Rock, Punk, Grunge, Emo and a bit of Metal-- the various influences of each member shaped and defined the Crash Ambulance sound. They made a demo EP entitled: Songs From A Basket Factory, recorded on June of 2004 with their original guitarist, Brian Enriquez.
Featuring seven (7) tracks of hard rock songs flavoured by their Grunge, Metal and 80's Hair Band influences. Now overhauled, and refreshed with new blood, the band welcomes Nu Metal, Funk and Emo enthusiasts Earl Calunsod and Luigi Figueroa, who by chance are also schoolmates from LSM lower batch (1996), as the new guitar tandem of the band.
From time-to-time, they also gig with sessionists from two of their dearest peer bands: Ron Catalan of Shotgun Project (a band which Pepper Diao is also a member of) and Jerico Concepcion of Redlead 65. Crash Ambulance is still unsigned and is currently doing things independently in producing & promoting their own stuff, and getting local gigs from select productions in the Manila underground Indie scene.
The band is an active member of three distinguished Indie productions in the Philippine underground scene: AgAmA; No Front Act; and Brown Cow Night. They're also a registered member of Indie Pilipinas and Rakista. Also known as "CA" they frequently share the stage with the likes of other great and notable local indie bands like: Redlead 65, Shotgun Project, Fancycakes, Thumbs & Big Toes, The Purplechickens, Nerveline, Spoon, Bok 76, and more... They always gig in the Quezon City area, particularly at Eastwood and Timog Avenue Area.
It varies from: Alice In Chains, Metallica, The Beatles, Van Halen, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, The Police, Guns N' Roses, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Yellow Card, Creed, Godsmack, Juan Dela Cruz Band, Razorback, and Wolfgang.
Ibanez GiO Strat; Fender Bullet Reverb amp; Washburn Lyon Series Strat; Max Paul guitar; Fernando Strat; Fender Squire Jazz bass; Rage Bass Amp; Fender Telecaster; Peavey amps; Hot Cabs amps; Zoom multi-effects pedals; Boss pedals; Fernando Drums; Zildjan Cymbals.
Check out our singles: "I Will Reign", and "She (Got Me Hangin' on the Edge) only here, exclusively here at www.soundclick.com
you could also join our forums at
http://crash-ambulance.rakista.com
All songs written by B. Enriquez and C. Diao
Philippine Copyright 2004. All Rights Reserved.