BAND OF THE WEEK
Join the Club: The ‘emo’ kings

Like any other kid of his generation, Paul Roman Santiago, 22, loved to listen to all sorts of music. So much so that he wished to be in a band. Not just any other band, mind you, he wanted to be in one that is exciting and different. Eventually, he got to form his own. Is it exciting? Different? Well, let him tell you their story himself. Kids, Join the Club.


What’s your role in Join the Club?
I’m the drummer.

How did you guys got together?
Migz (Mendoza, guitarist, 24) and I knew each other from school. We always wanted to be in a group. Unknowingly, Chris (Renia, singer, 23) and Congie (Lulu, bassist, 23), both from another school, are dreaming of doing the same thing. In due time, Chris transferred to our school, we met, got to talking music and decided to join forces. And here we are.

What’s with the name?
There’s a funny story behind that. Some of the guys were listening to the band Alkaline Trio one day. They have this song that has a line, ‘bloodied up.’ We were singing along mistaking the lines as, ‘join the club!’ When we found out what the lyrics really were, we laughed so hard it became an inside joke for our group. Later, we decided to call ourselves exactly that: Join the Club.

Who are your musical heroes?
Lots. We all just love listening to different types of music. On top of our list is the E-heads. Next in line, of course, are VST and Company, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. Among the newer bands, we like, Rooney, Yellowcard and the All-American Rejects.

Describe your music.
Basically, we try to incorporate everything that we love in creating our own sound. It’s rooted in punk with a bit of emo (emotional rock) and classic ‘manila sound’ to it. Our music is very Pinoy and very alternative. In short, it’s different and quite exciting.

Currently working on… We are almost done with our Padi’s Point Bar tour. We are now busy working on the repackaging of our album, Nobela. This time it will contain acoustic versions of some of our popular tunes and some videos as well.

Where and when can we catch you live?
Nothing concrete yet but to get updated with what’s happening visit our site at yahoo groups. Just type in groups.yahoo.com/group/jointheclub. For bookings and more info just ring up Redrum Music at 3712322 and 3713734. You should see us live. You will surely love it.

>>NRJ Ramos