It was supposed to be a replacement name adopted from J's former band Spoon (which was suggested by bassist Guido Inocencio). Our previous name was officially Rocketfish, which the original lineup used for around 4-5 years, with a different list of songs too.

Why the name? It sounds cool and unique...if you catch our full set, it's up to you to spell out how different we sound for each of our songs.

We've played regularly around town since 2004 around Watering Hole, Freedom Bar, Gasoline Alley, Kolumn, Saguijo, and Hellacious.

Playing at Amoranto stadium with Kitchie Nadal and Rivermaya was probably our best gig yet.

To say that the internet has changed the music industry is an understatement. It also changed the way people listen to music and experience what artists have to offer. It even changes how artists interact and update themselves, among their peers. It has its pros and cons, but it weighs heavily for the continuous evolution of music in general. Given a balance, the internet can benefit everyone not just pirates.

Sure.

We would've wished we had a break early on, but we didn't expect our story would be a long one, and would go along life's trivialities like getting our diplomas and tipping in and out of each other's lives. It's all good nonetheless.

1994
Spelling started out as any band did - in the practice studio, back in the heydays of grunge (1994 we think) with then Notre Dame High School best buddies Brian Reyes (guitar, vocals) and Anthony Masanque (bass) wanted to cover Nirvana songs. With no prior training in music, the emboldened bosom buddies enlisted the help of Brian's bro, J Lucas Reyes (drums, vocals), and formed Rocketfish. The three enjoyed a rotation of endless covers from Eraserheads to Nirvana, until they got fed up touring practice studios and realized that covers would only lead them nowhere.

1995
Inspired by the local fab four's (Eheads) penchant for infamous, witty, original songwriting in their rise to fame in the 90's, Rocketfish started penning their own songs around a year later. And with the addition of erstwhile angsty guitar hero Erwin Gabitan (guitars, vocals) in their songwriting arsenal, they recorded a home-made demo of a handful of originals until the group had a sudden hiatus due to each and everyone's focus on finishing high school...except J, who was already in college.

1996-1999
As J transferred from Ateneo to UP Fine Arts, he delved into a prolific deluge of songwriting in his personal time between 1996-98 and recorded personal 4-track demos of more than 20 songs with him playing all the instruments and doing the vocals. Unbeknownst to him, this would be the source of majority of SpellingContest's originals to this day.

Prior to rejoining the original lineup, J formed a short-lived side project with then ex-Alamid and ex-Color It Red drummer Jet Broas (drums) and best bud Guido Inocencio (bass) named Spoon, with J on guitar and lead vocal, doing covers of Popsicle and then, Spoon originals like 'Sorry, Goodbye', 'Everything Happens to Me' and 'Fountain'. Upon Jet's exit from the group, Guido suggested the name Spelling Contest as an interim name for the duo while a new batch of songs were being created. J and Guido parted ways after graduation.

2000-2002
Upon rejoining the original lineup in 2000, J decided to adopt the name 'SpellingContest' for the group and went back on the drums, along the addition of friend and raw guitar talent Dennis Dela Pena (lead guitar) into the band. The group won Malabon's 1st Songwriting Competition in 2001 with 'Only One to Blame' penned by Anthony, Brian and, Erwin who was on vocals. After a sleu of gigs, Erwin decided to leave the band in 2002 for personal reasons, with J following suit for work in 2003.

2003
SpellingContest boldly continued and enlisted new drummer John Cortez and survived as a 4-piece with Anthony at the helm and Brian on vocals. After a year of shaping up and a few gigs here and there, Brian and the band produced the two-chord power ballad 'Count On'.

2004-2007
In early 2004, the band welcomed J again into the lineup, this time on vocals, making way for new treatments for all the songs, addition of originals, old and new, from the melodrama 'Problema Ko'y Ikaw' (1997) to the upbeat 'Hilo' (1996) and the jangly 'Guadalupe' and 'Stuck' (2004).

Spelling actively gigged in various places in the metro, and had their 2-song demo (Hilo and Fountain) aired in NU107, with 'Fountain' (1996) winning a single deathmatch over Citrus Maple's in 2004. The band started compiling a 10-song album recording in 2005 over at Shinji's SoundCreation studio and is still presently finishing it with what their budget can muster piece by piece, along the tedium of ubiquitous day jobs.

On April 2007, Anthony reluctantly left for the states, leaving with the band opting to invite friend and multi-instrumentalist, handyman Erick David to man the bass.

We basically play song-based guitar pop rock.

We listen to a lot of stuff, but honestly, we don't sound like any of them : Popsicle, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Eric Johnson, Eric Clapton, Beatles, Coldplay, Dishwalla, Incubus, John Mayer, Jason Mraz

Saguijo has nice people and good vibes.

Old sk00l guitars, OD pedals and guts

Technical Rider
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2 DECENT Guitar Amplifiers
1 Bass Amplifier
2 Vocal Microphones
1 Drum Set w/ a DECENT 3-piece cymbal set
Backup snare drum
Monitors if possible
Good speakers

Yes, we're looking for a good manager. Please get in touch with us if you're interested.

Spelling Contest are (May 2007 lineup til present):

Brian Reyes (guitars/vocals)
Dennis Dela Pena (guitars)
John Cortez (drums)
J Lucas Reyes (vocals)
Erick David (bass)