by: Jade Veronique V. Yap 

In the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) hallways in Manila, the band, Pommelo, first realized what they truly wanted in life — to become a band. 

Recalling their band's youthful days, Pommelo's frontman, John Muñoz, shared to the Global Daily Mirror how the zestful music scene on the PUP campus started everything for them. 

“2016, nagsimula maging active ang banda, siguro dahil [na rin] mas buhay ang music scene sa PUP. (It was in 2016 when our band became active, maybe because the music scene in PUP was alive),” Muñoz said. 

Pommelo is a wordplay inspired by the word "pommel," which means the knob on the end of a sword, and the letter "O" came from the brand of a local juice in the country, "Zest-O," which, according to Muñoz, was his staple drink when he was still studying in PUP. 

The band, which consists of their frontman John Muñoz, Mher Pedrano for the bass, and Brayan Palma for the drums, started as an Eraserheads cover band until they found their sound and created their original compositions. Eventually, they performed in local gigs, in private events, produced their music video and songs on Spotify, and were invited to play in 70s Bistro, which Muñoz said, was a dream for them. 

"During that time ay puro lang kami cover song at walang original na kanta. Tumutugtog kami sa mga faculty event at iba't ibang colleges. "Eheads Cover Band" ika nga nila. Pero kalaunan ay naisip namin na bakit hindi namin subukan sumulat ng sariling kanta para kami naman ang mapansin ng mga nanonood at hindi Eheads lang. (During that time, we were just covering songs and we haven't produced original compositions yet. We play at various faculty and college events. We were like "Eheads Cover Band." But eventually we thought why don't we try to write our own song so that the audience will notice us and not just Eheads?)" Muñoz said. 

The downs of an indie band 

As an indie band with no big names behind them, challenges and rough roads are no stranger to them. 

Muñoz recalled the time when they produced a demo album in 2019, and it was met with a lukewarm response. 

"[Gumawa] kami ng Demo Album wayback 2019. Lahat ng pwedeng bigyan ng copy ay binigyan namin. Recording company, iba't-ibang management, mga sikat na artist dito sa Pinas ay binigyan namin para lang marinig nila music namin. Pero ni isa sa kanila walang response matapos namin bigyan ng physical copy. (We made a demo album wayback in 2019. We gave everyone a copy -- recording companies, various management, and famous artists here in the Philippines just so they could hear our music. But neither of them had a response after we gave a physical album)." Muñoz said. 

But this didn't break the band's spirit, and they continued to perform as they saw this challenge as expected in the music scene. 

"Inisip lang namin na normal lang ito lalo kung una pa lang ay alam mo nang sugal ang pinasok mo sa mundo ng music. Walang sigurado. Tuloy ang buhay. Basta alam namin na masaya kami sa ginagawa namin. (We just thought it was normal especially if you knew that everything is a rink when you entered the world of music. No one is sure. Life goes on. We just know we’re happy with what we’re doing)." he added. 

Where to next? 

As a band, Muñoz aspires to reach more audiences and to be remembered for their music. 

"Pangarap talaga naming maalala kami ng tao dahil hindi sila makatulog sa sarili naming kanta. (We have always dream for people to remember us because they can't sleep with our music)." he said. 

"[At siyempre] mas makilala pa ang music namin at patugtugin sa laban ni Pacquiao tuwing papunta siya ng ring. (And of course our music to be well known and for it to be played at [Manny] Pacquiao's fight everyime he goes to the ring," Muñoz jokingly added. 

Pommelo, who just dropped their "Sweet Imagination" album last June 25, revealed that the band has recently signed with a record label and management that supports band aspirants like them. They also plan to release a new album and music video this year. 

"2022 is the year!" Muñoz said.