This is How Lola Amour Survived 10 Years Together

Lola Amour, known for their fun and tongue-in-cheek take on funk rock music, has become one of the Philippines’ most recognizable live acts over the last 10 years. Last May, they celebrated their first decade as a group with a two-night performance in 123Block, Mandaluyong City, bringing together old and current members for a reunion that, they said, took two weeks to pull together. 

Backstage, the band’s current members (vocalist Pio Dumayas, guitarist Zoe Gonzales, drummer Raffy Perez, bassist Manu Dumayas, keyboardist David Yuhico, trumpet player Angelo Mesina, and saxophonist Jeff Abueg) sat amongst all three former bandmates (keyboardist Martin Kim, saxophonist Joxx Perez, , and drummer Renzo Santos) as if to prepare for a class picture. The members jokingly introduced themselves alongside the former member they “destroyed” or eventually replaced after that person left the band, and the gag had the boys chuckling like they were in a high school locker room.

“We didn’t feel so up there na we had to be serious, you know?” Pio told Rolling Stone Philippines as he looked back at a time when the band comprised eight members. “We didn’t feel like people were taking us that seriously anyway, so why would we take ourselves that seriously?” He added that a four-piece band might’ve made the gravity of one’s career more easily felt. But with eight boys whose version of hanging out was jamming and making music, “Joke time lang talaga most of the time you’re together,” Pio says.

“Testosterone. Too much. “Right, Mika?” Zoe asks their manager, Mika Ordonez, who sat across the room. 

“Yes,” Mika quips, clearly knowing it all too well. 

How Did Lola Amour Get Their Start in the Philippine Band Scene?

The original members of Lola Amour first met in De La Salle Zobel High School after coming together from two rival bands: Sinigang na Baboy (Pio, Renzo, Joxx, Mico) and Decaf (Raymond, Zoe, Martin, Angelo). They acknowledged Zobel as a training ground for musicians, producing notable alumni like Mayonnaise vocalist Monty Macalino, fitterkarma guitarist Mikee Mendoza, and Cup of Joe’s Cairo Peralta, among others, and that tradition mattered as they grew into their new roles. 

Lola Amour cut their teeth into the local band scene in November 2016 when they joined Wanderbattle, a competition and talent search organized by music festival Wanderland. It was a canon event for the band as they rushed to create new songs just for the competition. It paid off, earning them a slot in the 2017 edition of the festival, alongside international acts like HONNE, LANY, and Explosions in the Sky.

“We wanted to join the competition just for fun ‘tas nung nanalo kami na parang, ‘Hala totoong banda na tayo, anong gagawin natin?’” Pio tells Rolling Stone Philippines.

That rush of adrenaline led to their debut EP, Don’t Look Back, which they debuted at Mow’s Bar in May 2017. Even with the new credentials, the boys continued to rely on their small network of connections, booking groups like Over October, Tom’s Story, Sofa Sky, and Ang Bagong Luto Ni Enriquez pro-bono. In 2018, they followed up with “Pwede Ba,” a lush, brassy single that cemented their place in the mainstream charts, later launching the music video at Route 196 in 2019. In the same year, bigger shows like Oddisee Festival in Clark, Pampanga, and Rakrakan Festival in Ayala Circuit, Makati helped build momentum for the band. 

Yet, Pio points out that Lola Amour never aspired to reach a level of success in those early days; they simply juggled college while finding ways to fit the band into their lives. The band’s goal was simply to make the next step forward. 

How ‘Raining in Manila’ Changed Everything for Lola Amour

But as their goalposts were moving towards a new milestone, life had other plans for them. The entire music industry was hunkering down from a global pandemic that, at the time, had no end in sight. What’s more, Martin had to go back to Korea due to COVID but would eventually leave the group in 2021 to pursue mandatory military service, and their first full-length album faced delay after delay. 

“As artists and as businessmen at the same time, learning how to navigate that while keeping your artistry intact is a struggle,” Pio says. “It’s something that anyone who reaches that level of mainstream has to solve, or else that’s the end.”

The writing process for their self-titled debut album went on until 2024, involving drafts with little to no face-to-face discussions. “As you can imagine, if you are eight people, that means there are eight personalities, there are so many incompatibilities that come out of that,” Pio says. 

But one song stood out from the pile. “Raining in Manila,” the debut album’s happy-go-lucky lead single. According to Pio, it’s partly about band members leaving the country. Pio describes the song as “a lot of things put [under] one umbrella,” but at its core, it is a testament to the “Filipino spirit” of surviving unfortunate situations. 

“Raining in Manila” was a smash hit when it was released as a single in 2023, and the success was so drastic that it delayed their debut album even further. “There’s pressure for a song to succeed. And in some ways, projects are always better when you can feel the heart of it,” Pio says. “‘Pag binebenta mo with heart, you take time to do it. But because there’s pressure from people that we’ve never met before, sometimes you have to work under pressure.”

The band’s entire schedule blew up. Within the same year, they sang at Miss Universe Philippines, shared the Philippine Arena stage with Chris Martin of Coldplay, got spoofed by Michael V on Bubble Gang, and even brought in the internet’s favorite macho dancer Dante Gulapa to gyrate at their debut‑album launch at Circuit Makati. “Raining in Manila” skyrocketed the band to unexpected heights, yet success, as it always did, came at a price. Money was earned and time was spent, but not on personal leisure. 

“When you get success almost overnight like that, everything changes,” Pio says. “You can’t go like, ‘Yo, there are 20 gigs that want to book us today. Are we going to do that or not?’ You can’t go, ‘Can I tell you next month? Can I plan my life ahead first?’ So you have to adjust.”

How Does Lola Amour Navigate Conflict and Keep the Band Together?

Even as Lola Amour found unprecedented success, the pressure of managing an all-male troupe never went away since high school. “Boys need to learn how to talk,” Pio says. The room goes quiet, and even Mika silently nods. David added, “There’s more conflict than you think. It’s not just like we’re friends all the time.” 

A turning point in the band’s relationship with each other came while recording their 2025 album Love On Loop. Pio recalls making a demo that immediately made him cringe at the persona that was coming out: a suave guy asking someone out, or casually asking a girl about her star sign. What’s more, they finally held face-to-face meetings, something they had never done before — even before the pandemic. 

“What you learn over 10 years being with so many people is that, for the most part, people don’t change. You just learn their strengths, weaknesses, best sides, and ugliest sides, and you navigate that in the most mature way.” Pio says. David fondly recalls these initially uncomfortable circumstances that forced the band to share their vulnerabilities for the first time, especially after years stolen from the pandemic. It also made the band reflect on each member’s contribution, past and present. When a member leaves, David acknowledges that the “stewards” of those who left still leave marks that listeners continue to hear. 

“We don’t delete the ideas of the previous members,” David says. “We make sure that all the best parts of Martin still play exactly the same. All the parts that are not so good, I quietly erase [laughs]. Like the song ‘Sanity,’ [for instance], all of the solos are still the same. We keep their legacy alive through the music that we make and we add our own flavor to it.”

David adds that, after the countless adjustments resulting from members needing to leave, they trained themselves to be transparent about what their goals are as a band. “You learn how to voice out and you learn how to listen. You learn how to decide with everyone included,” he says. “And it’s good that you’re a big‑sized band. There are so many people to keep you grounded.”

After 10 years, the boys have come to understand what it means to pace. None of them are committed to still grinding in their 20th or 30th year together. Zoe jokes about a Lola Amour musical; Pio treats the idea seriously in a different direction. He’d rather see someone else champion music like theirs than force the band to keep going as themselves if it stops feeling true.

“I don’t think I want to be working this hard at the [age of 50],” Pio says. “This is something only people at this age can keep up with. So, the hard work you put in now can take care of you in the future.”

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