As the Filipino rock band celebrates its 40th anniversary, The Dawn members still ask themselves how they’ve lasted this long. The band consists of vocalist Jett Pangan, lead guitarist Francis Reyes, drummer Junboy Leonor, rhythm guitarist Rommel Sanchez, and bassist Bim Yance. With hit singles like “Salamat,” “Envelope Ideas,” “Iisang Bangka,” and “Tulad ng Dati,” to name a few, achieving 40 years together wouldn’t be possible without a couple of existential crises along the way.
From the very beginning, Pangan remembers the days when the band started out, playing at SM carparks and department stores, places that would most likely accommodate free shows at the time, but were accessible enough, which helped the band boost their popularity with the growing awareness of new wave and rock music at the time. Pangan recalls how punks and new wavers hung out in the same space. But when it came to the music, Reyes, however, would always like to think that the band was adaptive with whatever trend came through.
“Personally, I don’t like the feeling of, or I don’t even want to think, that my generation’s music was better than everyone else’s because it’s simply not true,” Reyes tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “The sentiments are kind of modified. The forms may change, but if you really listen, sometimes, it’s not the same.”
The Dawn has survived across different trend cycles in the music scene. Instead of going against the flow, the band would openly acknowledge how much genres and trends came to inspire them
“When the emo thing happened — whatever you want to call it — I was influenced by that,” Reyes says. “Because musically it comes from punk and metal and all of these things, but with more melody. I found that relatable.”
The Dawn: Loss, Change, and Four Decades of Resilience
Ever since the ‘80s, The Dawn had gone through changes, from their songwriting style, getups, to lineup changes due to the loss of the co-founder and guitarist Teddy Diaz, and all the conflicts in between. “Ang The Dawn umabot pa sa nag-umpisa na mauso ang banda tapos biglang [nung] nauso ang pop na set aside ang banda,” Sanchez says. “Then naging uso ang R&B, [tapos] nagkaroon ng acoustic ‘yong uso. Any artist’s challenge ‘yan ‘e. [Matutong] mag-adapt and survive.”
Pangan believes that it’s easier for artists to make their mark in the music scene today due to how fast everything moves online. But he cautions young bands on how everything can get misconstrued when a music scene-related issue comes out.
“Really, what’s going to save you at the end of the day is just believe in your music,” Pangan says. “Get a good manager, and never mind what the naysayers are saying. Because right now everything’s real-time, right? When somebody loves you, you’ll know it in a second. If somebody hates you for no reason, you’ll know it in a second also.”
Pangan also has some advice to bands who are in it just for the money: “It doesn’t make sense to be in this business if your first intention is stuff like money and fame.”
What is Next for The Dawn?
The Dawn saw firsthand how the scene evolved across four decades. Pangan namedrops bands like Introvoys, After Image, and Eraserheads as bands that ushered in a new era of rock music in the Philippines.
“We were there but [those bands] really railroaded the scene. And in some ways, we liked that,” Pangan says. “Back in the ‘80s, that’s a dream of ours to have the band scene really go mainstream. The caveat there was we didn’t really know how to navigate that.”
Forty years after their formation, Pangan, Reyes, Leonor, Sanchez, and Yance say it’s not worth burning bridges because the scene can get really small. There were moments where the band had to go through every single instance when they’d almost broken up and tested the band’s longevity, from Diaz and Mon Legaspi’s death to their age-old questions of whether or not it’s still worth doing 40 years after.
“Those moments tested our resilience,” Pangan says. “I think it’s no surprise to everyone here in this room that we had our moments of existential questions of should we go on? [It wasn’t] only the loss of our members, it was also the changing times.”
The Dawn’s 40th anniversary concert happens on June 27 at The Theatre in Solaire, Parañaque City.
Frequently Asked Questions
The current lineup of The Dawn is Jett Pangan, Francis Reyes, Junboy Leonor, Rommel Sanchez, and Bim Yance.
Jett Pangan has mentioned that bands like After Image, Introvoys, and Eraserheads that helped usher in a new era of rock music at the time.
The Dawn’s hit songs include “Salamat,” “Envelope Ideas,” “Iisang Bangka,” and “Tulad ng Dati,” to name just a few.
The title of the movie where The Dawn had to play as themselves is called Tulad ng Dati. The film is directed by Mike Sandejas.
The Dawn’s 40th anniversary concert will take place at The Theater in Solaire, Parañaque City on June 27.
