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There’s an unspoken understanding that takes place among the members of alternative rock band Barbie’s Cradle the minute they set foot on stage together — like they just know what to do once they get a hold of their respective instruments minutes before a performance.
The harmony they have on stage isn’t something they heavily rehearse or talk about beforehand. It just happens, almost telepathically, and it’s been that way for as long as they can remember, even when the curtains have already been drawn.
The quartet is laid back in conversation, and they could probably go on and on about music and the time they’ve spent together if you asked them. It’s like seeing a group of longtime friends dig up years worth of memories as if only a day or two had passed, and they’re more than happy to let you in on it all. When one of them struggles to recall a past experience, another steps in to finish the thought.
Over two decades had passed since their last release, so it only felt natural for them to continue writing the chapter that was far from closed.
The making of Barbie’s Cradle
When the Barbie Almalbis-fronted Hungry Young Poets had transitioned to becoming Barbie’s Cradle in the late ‘90s, their current lineup had come in one by one. Rommel dela Cruz stepped in as bassist in 1998, and when drummer Franklin Benitez had to leave the band soon after, they held auditions to find his replacement.
Right in front of Franklin’s house, Wendell Garcia happened to be playing basketball. He came to jam with Barbie’s Cradle for a bit, then made his way back to the ring. He had no intention of auditioning anyway.
Still, he was invested. When Wendell later asked if they had found anyone, he was surprised to find out that they hadn’t. But their quick jam session had gone so well that the band asked him if he was willing to become their drummer. Within moments, Wendell would go from unassuming basketball fan to the latest member of Barbie’s Cradle.
“The moment he sat on the drums, it was like, ‘this is it.’ He really changed our sound, and it was the sound we didn’t know we were looking for. It was Wendell,” Barbie said about the drummer, whose first album with the band was Music From the Buffet Table.
Then came Kakoy Legaspi.
Still a member of Rivermaya then, Kakoy would occasionally brush shoulders with Barbie, Rommel, and Wendell at gigs. The three musicians would admire young Kakoy’s skills from afar, but had never really considered the possibility of him becoming their bandmate.
That is, until he one day spontaneously played a full set with the band at their gig in an open-air sports bar with zero practice beforehand. Unsurprisingly, he fit right in.
“We loved everything that he did. Improvisationally, we really loved it. So from then on, tuloy-tuloy na (it flowed continuously),” Barbie said.
And it really did flow continuously from then on. There are now many things that don’t need to be said when it comes to playing together — they just sense it from the get-go.
“When Barbie plays, it’s very easy for me because when we work together with the guitars, we don’t have to talk about it. There’s an ebb and a flow that’s nice. I think the same with Wendell and Rommel. I don’t think they talk about it too much,” Kakoy explained.
“It’s easier for everyone now because there’s a lot of space. When we were playing as a trio, you needed to fill the space up. When Barbie sings, when Barbie makes the solo, you have to fill it up. Now, you can literally just lean on the wall, and that wall, it’s a really reliable wall,” said Wendell in a mix of Filipino and English.
Arriving at their sound as a four-piece was a gradual process. With Kakoy’s eventual addition to the group and his almost instantaneous synergy with the rest, they were set for life — even when a two-decade hiatus got in the way.
Making magic together again
After Barbie’s Cradle dropped its Playing in the Fields record in 2003, life happened. Still, Barbie, Wendell, Rommel, and Kakoy kept in touch, so even in the absence of new music for over 20 years, they were simply picking up from where they left off when it finally came time to start working on some songs together again.
“Some of the files were from way back and they don’t know when they’re gonna be finished. You’re really picking up from where you left off, from the little bits of music we’ve been recording. Parang nagbaby steps kami (It’s like we took baby steps) a decade or two into now,” Kakoy mused.
BARBIE’S CRADLE. (L-R) Rommel dela Cruz, Barbie Almalbis, Kakoy Legaspi, and Wendell Garcia. Photo courtesy of Nyou Consultancy“Wala naman kaming plan to get together,” Rommel confessed. “Sabi namin, ‘record lang tayo ng songs.’ Batuhan lang ng files. We were able to [finish one] song, which would be the first single.”
(We really had no plans to get together. We said, “Let’s record some songs.” We exchanged files. We were able to finish one song, which would be the first single.)
“Emergency” would mark the official return of Barbie’s Cradle. It was a song Kakoy had written in his 20s during his Rivermaya days to cope with the quarter-life crisis he was in. Rico Blanco, the band’s frontman then, was even able to write lyrics for it, but the band never ended up recording it.
The guitarist eventually finished the existential crisis anthem on his own and brought the demo Barbie’s Cradle all these years later. But the real breakthrough happened when Barbie suggested that they sing it like a duet with no spaces — making for a timeless satirical track that will still hit the same no matter what stage of life you’re in.
The members didn’t see each other again for a while, then hung out again a few times. That was when they hit the recording booth again on a whim, and managed to finish two or three songs right off the bat. In Kakoy’s words, the magic happens simply from all of them being in the same room together.
Rommel told Rappler that this comeback wasn’t something they thought long and hard about. It was just a “when and where” type of affair, but much to the joy of longtime Barbie’s Cradle fans. Music events agency Gabi Na Naman Productions had then stepped in to help the band celebrate this string of new releases with a one-night only concert on August 1 at the Music Museum in San Juan City.
They’ve been here all this time
There wasn’t really a “right time” for Barbie, Rommel, Wendell, and Kakoy to get together again. Just as life happens, reunions will, too. Their bond has never wavered in the first place.
“I think the real reunion is just us in the same room again. I think there’s an unspoken musical bond where the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. It’s always like that with us, masaya. Para kaming isip-bata rin. Walang pinagbago (happy. We’re childlike. Nothing has changed),” Kakoy told Rappler.
They’ve always viewed their own music as a journal, where the stories they tell show the things they care about and go through at that point in time. But still, Barbie can’t deny that they’ve grown quite a lot as musicians over the years. She’s always been her bandmates’ biggest fan — there’s no changing that — but hearing their new work again after over two decades has allowed her to see their artistry in a new light.
BARBIE’S CRADLE. Photo courtesy of Nyou Consultancy“I could hear the years that have passed because we all didn’t stop. We just continuously played and played, so I’m sure every person had new experiences to bring into the new stuff,” Barbie said.
Barbie’s Cradle returns at a time when their longtime fans have grown up with them, and at the same time, they’re being introduced to a new generation of listeners that will be experiencing them as established cultural icons.
Even then, the band simply wants to be known as fun-loving individuals who live and breathe music together, and revel in its creation.
“This is a band that loves to write songs, find parts for songs, and make it available for everyone to connect with themselves through the song. Bilang magkakaibigan, makakacreate kayo ng something that will outlast you, outlive you. Tipong 100 years from now, sa jeep tutunog pa rin ‘yung mga kanta, tapos abo na tayong lahat dito (As friends, you can create something that will outlast you, outlive you. The type where 100 years from now, you’ll still hear it playing in a jeep, when all of us here have turned into ash),” Rommel quipped.
BARBIE’S CRADLE. Photo courtesy of Nyou Consultancy“This band likes having fun and loves playing together and making songs. If you give us one big canvas, we’ll paint it, four of us, together. We trust each other’s strokes,” Wendell added.
The four of them truly understand each other. They’ve never felt the need to justify their quirks when they’re together — and that’s what’s kept them connected all this time.
“We embrace each other’s eccentricities. It’s like, ‘Yeah, you can be eccentric here. We love that. We celebrate that,’” Barbie shared, with the other three agreeing.
Clearly, it’s like Barbie’s Cradle never left. They’ve been here all this time, and that’s not going to change. – Rappler.com
A significant portion of the proceeds for Barbie’s Cradle’s ‘One Night Only’ concert will go toward covering the hospitalization and recovery expenses of their bassist Rommel dela Cruz, who was rushed to the ICU after suffering a series of heart attacks due to complications from diabetes. His temporary replacement for the show has yet to be announced.
