13 hours ago
4
Published March 20, 2025 5:58pm
For Ely Buendia, watching the documentary film “Eraserheads: Combo On The Run” is a learning experience.
“Combo On The Run” chronicles the journey of Eraserheads from their humble beginnings in the University of the Philippines leading up to their success, not skipping their rifts, their breakup, and their eventual reunion in 2022.
"I think it was the right time. I mean, I'm 54, turning 55. And when you reach that age, you kind of think of the legacy. And kind of trying to right the wrongs that you did. I know that's impossible. And you have lots of regrets," Buendia told reporters.
"But you can do — Of course, you can do a documentary. Right the wrongs. And I think one of the wrongs was you know, not claiming my identity early on, and not expressing myself," he added.
Buendia admitted "Combo" was the first time he the sentiments of his bandmates about their whole Eraserheads journey.
“I think I watched the very first cut kasi ako 'yung pinaka-available (I was the most available) to watch it. The thrust of the narrative was different back then. But even then, I was already moved by the nostalgia thing, looking back on our past,” the band’s frontman said.
“But most of all, it was what the other guys had to say about the experience. Because I never asked them and they never told me. So this was the first time that we actually got to hear what the other person had to say,” he said.
Buendia shared his takeaways after hearing his bandmates’ side in the documentary, saying "I think I became more generous in hearing out from other people."
"When you're young, you think you're the man and you think you're a rock star. You don't care about anything. It's just me, me, me, me, right? And for years, kaming apat ganoon talaga 'yung (the four of us had that) attitude. So it didn't work and it made things worse as our careers went on and there was that backlash and you couldn't cope with that."
According to Buendia, "I think I [became] more willing to listen. And have a conversation, no matter how difficult it is" because it was after hearing his bandmates that the Pinoy Rock Icon realized how listening can help in their healing process as a band.
"It's a small thing to just hear the other person out. But it goes a long way in the healing process," he said, as he candidly recalled a recent rift with an unnamed bandmate that they were able to fix simply by talking.
"As a matter of fact, I just had one a few weeks ago with another member of the band because we had a very, very huge issue with something. And there was a danger of things happening again, almost breaking up the band again. But good thing we had this experience with the documentary and we were more open to it."
"It was the first time the four of us sat together in a room just to discuss things and iron out our differences. So that was the lesson learned from the movie," he added.
Asked for his advice to other artists, Buendia said: "The best thing I could want for them is to really just empathize with your partner or whoever you're working with because that goes a long way."
— LA, GMA Integrated News
