Ang MAGNA CARTA (Discography)

Our first... and last stint as a five-piece group was at a battle of the bands in San Pedro, Laguna. We just wanted to play for fun. We knew we played miserably that night, we were ranked 20th, out of 20 bands. We "discovered" that news from the organizer herself who had the guts to call us up the next day just to tell us that our performance was way beyond our league. Even told us we shouldn't be playing. The last thing we wanted to hear was a sarcastic way of insults, wrapped in a commenting manner. Some bitch huh?! What a way to lift our spirits. It was short-lived. The five-piece setup was too crowded for us. After that somewhat disappointment, Mark had to leave to pursue his career with his other band, Ridge. He let his cousin Julius to fill in but not as a bassist, but as a vocalist. Morris wasn't that active at that time and gave Julius the part. Danny had to shift and ended up as bass player. Mike, devoted his time to the band and left Diaspora. Papsy remained to initiate the gigs and instead of putting our instruments down for good, we vowed to kick some butt. That bitch was first on our list.

No one even had the thought of believing...

We practiced... and practiced. Though young, inexperienced, and haven't got enough money to finance ourselves, we started from scratch. We weren't blessed to be "rich" just to buy our way in and out of the music system. We played the game fair and square. Though we knew that we have our own personal careers to mind, we came into conclusion that our relationship as a band would not last that long, but we never wanted to end it prematurely, so we continued playing. We're just waiting for the time when the feeling would fade out.

It was mid-1994, a couple of months have passed since that "humiliation gig," we began experimenting on the heavier side of music... progressive. We were also thinking of a good name to call ourselves. MAGNA CARTA came after endless hours of staring at the paper with experimental names written on it, when Mike threw his history book and opened the page about Magna Carta. Papsy and the rest agreed proudly.

The Bitch's Memory is Haunting Us...

Our name became a statement which may justify our music. "A revolution against maligned authority and overpowering a force that is a sore to us...", as we may say. After awhile, the memory of humiliation incurred by that "bitch" gave us an ill-will to live by. We were mind-setting on the vows we made. Our music reached the doors of Thrash genre, and pursued it. Of course, we weren't born that talented enough to wake up telling ourselves "Hey, I'll kick you!" kind-of musical attitude, step by step, we progressed. It never happened in a day or two.

A concert in Taguig in the early 1995 gave us an overwhelming feedback, and started to lift us up on our feet again. But the sob stories were never ending, and that Julius had to leave due to personal reasons. Just as we were about to step ahead, our band activities were halted once again... a couple of months or so.

Nobody listened to the words we are saying...

Thought the band was falling apart, sent a letter entitled "Invitation to Rock" to former school mate, Ian Galdo. Accepting the role of being the vocalist of the group, we started to set it all up again. His first debut as a front man was playing at Club Dredd, in December 1995. After its success over a couple of deprivation in our musical stint, we have had offers from different musical productions, and it kept on pouring. We also had a share of a televised broadcast at RJ TV 29 playing at Junior Jam, at the same month of 1995. And for the very first time, bagging the first prize plum at the battle of the bands in Muntinlupa in the early 1996, the band were marking its name on the local underground scene. We started to record our compositions for radio demo, busy writing songs, and accepting almost every available gig in and out of town.

A chance of becoming...

A short taste of success however, had led to Danny's inability to continue what he has vowed upon us. Thus, making waves for the entry of bassist Alvin Flores. Alvin also brought us a number of accomplishments, from gig commitments to battle of the bands' winnings and citations. With him, the band experienced winning in two different provinces back to back, Bataan and Pampanga, in two nights! Up to the mid-1997, we were all going smoothly. Played almost every town and city, from Makati to Pasay, Sta. Mesa, Quezon City, Taguig, Bicutan, Paranaque, Alabang, Muntinlupa, Pacita, Laguna, and various clubs, Dredd, Yosh, Mayric's and Rockmore, places we were heard. Even collaborated some successful projects with Dahong Palay, Dominus Cross, and Native Tongue. All's well that ended up a "little" well. Though we were at a loss when our demo, written in English wasn't given the chance for air play at L.A. Rock 105.9, during the time when Danny was still our bassist. But we just let it be and our time shall come.

Unexpectedly, conflicting schedules thus paved the way for sessionists. We thought Alvin would stay for good. From then on, session-bassist Julius Aurelio came into the scene, but not long enough to continue what we have started.

...weakening... torturing...

The Last Piece of the Puzzle
Haven't got the urge to cancel a gig, we played as a three-piece group in a couple of competitions and productions. Ian, the vocalist and the bassist at the same time, even got the "luck" one time by winning best bassist in a competition in Pasay City.

Then there was this guy, a lead guitarist from another band, whom we usually meet and compete against at band competitions, looking for a company he would feel at home. Mark Valle was the last mark. Hooked with us and shared the same dream as the band was longing for. As we knew it, the transition was sour to sweet. And the rest, we are still doing it so we could have something to write about.

We vow to crush you...

Up to the present, our passion to go on is as good as ever. The only regret we have had was being that close to having signed-up by a major record label. Unfortunately, all deals didn't materialize. We've spent more hours burning our butts in McDonald's Galleria than spending the time talking with "that" guy in the business. Duh?! We are not in a hurry dude, we just wished you gave us a formal appointment. Boohoo! Besides, was there really a deal? Never mind.

(l to r) Paps, Mike, Ian, and Mark
You know, we don't believe in life as "written" or "destined." Those are bullshits, and a mere state of mind. We make things happen, and then writing comes next. The music may be in or not, you just have to keep on playing.

Thanx for the time reading this "sob" story of ours. And we never meant to give you a teary-eyed feeling staring at your monitor that long. This would mean nothing to you, or maybe, treat it as a piece of crap. It's ok. Well, any major or minor accomplishments? Nah! For us, it is how you accomplish it. It was simple and odd. We never experienced the joy of air play, nor seeing our faces on a cassette or CD cover, oh yes our time will come. But the BEST thing was we've been a fragment of the audience's memory. Go ask them. At least, we could go down with our heads up high. Time helped us to be what we are today.

Special thanx to that "bitch," if only you could hear us now...or maybe you did. >:-)