‘Looking back, maybe those moments really fueled our passion to work more and make more art. It’s been one hell of a ride,’ keyboardist Xen Gareza says
MANILA, Philippines – Cup of Joe is shaping up to be one of the most prominent bands in the local music scene. If you don’t know them from “Estranghero,” chances are you’ve probably heard “Tingin” or “Misteryoso” at some point instead.
2025 already looks to be a busy year for the five-piece band. They’ll be staging their second major solo concert at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on February 8 and 9, and will be making regional stops this time around, too.
Besides this, the band has also just achieved a new milestone: the release of their first full-length studio album, Silakbo.
On ‘Silakbo’
In the cleverly crafted record, the band charts the five stages of grief across 10 songs. It became interesting to learn, then, that a handful of the tracks on Silakbo had been written years ago, even before the release of “Estranghero” in 2022.
But even then, each song on the album fit rather perfectly into its corresponding stage of grief, from denial all the way up to acceptance. While one can say that the conception of the album and the eventual inclusion of these songs on its tracklist was a natural occurrence, the band’s members view it as a symbolism for their growth as a group and as individuals.
“It can be a sign of maturity kasi most of those songs na na-start namin nung pandemic, natapos lang namin siyang isulat nung production na nung album, so from that time until nung natapos namin siya, nakaipon kami ng experiences na nag-translate doon sa mga works namin. Naging perfect timing ngayon kasi ibig sabihin there have been points in our lives, the five of us, na napagdaanan namin yung limang stages na feeling namin hindi namin mabubuo nung bata pa lang kami and we were figuring everything out,” Cup of Joe’s lead vocalist Gian Bernardino told Rappler, adding that they know they’re still bound to experience more heartbreaks in the future.
(It can be a sign of maturity because most of those songs that we started during the pandemic, we only finished writing them during the production of the album, so from that time until we finished the album, we accumulated experiences that translated in our works. It’s the perfect time now because it means there have been points in our lives, the five of us, that we went through those five stages, which we don’t think we could have done when we were just kids who were figuring everything out.)
Silakbo alone already gives listeners and onlookers a vast window into what it took Cup of Joe to get to where they are now. After all, the album’s release comes at a point in their careers where they’ve managed to break into the playlists of millions of listeners. What many people don’t see, however, is that all this didn’t come overnight.
The long road ahead
Taking the “students by day, band members by night” route isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Both affairs come with their own equally grueling demands, with the band often having to come all the way to Manila from the City of Pines to play at gigs as soon as the bell rings.
“Ang dami na naming sinacrifice na time…. For context, college students kami nung nagstart mag-gig and sa Baguio kami lahat nag-aral, so parang mas nadagdagan ‘yung hirap nun kasi may pressure na kami sa school, and dumagdag pa ‘yung schedule ng gigs. Ngayon, hindi kami makapaniwala na kinaya namin ‘yun,” lead guitarist Gab Fernandez shared.
(We sacrificed so much time…. For context, we were college students when we started playing at gigs and we all studied in Baguio, so that added to the difficulty of juggling everything because we already had pressure from school, and we had gigs on top of that. Now, we can’t believe we were able to handle all of that.)
The band’s rhythm guitarist CJ Fernandez also recounted the times he’s had to work on school requirements right before they were all set to go on stage.
“Ang mindset ko kasi doon, ayokong hindi-an ‘yung banda kasi isa rin sila sa priorities ko. Ang hirap kasing hindi-an ‘yung feeling na magperform sa maraming tao kahit na alam mong priority mo rin ‘yung school. Ang hirap [sa] pakiramdam na ‘di ka makakapagperform [kasi] ‘yun ‘yung best feeling, sobrang rewarding,” he told Rappler.
(My mindset there was, I didn’t want to say no to the band because they’re also one of my priorities. It’s hard to say no to the feeling of wanting to perform before many people even though you know school is a priority, too. It’s hard to sit through the feeling of knowing you won’t be able to get on stage because performing is the best feeling, it’s so rewarding.)
“We’re lucky we survived through that. Looking back, maybe those moments really fueled our passion to work more and make more art. It’s been one hell of a ride,” keyboardist Xen Gareza said.
And even with the pain of having to let go of numerous things — like spending time with their family and friends, for instance, as Gian admitted — Cup of Joe soldiers on, all for the love of the game.
“A chance like this doesn’t [always come]. Medyo once in a lifetime opportunity rin eh. Ito rin ‘yung dream naming lahat eh, to make music (It’s kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is also the dream for all of us, to make music),” the band’s co-lead vocalist Raphaell “Rapha” Ridao admitted, adding that the support of his friends and family has helped him surpass the hardships of it all.
Navigating these hectic schedules and essentially living two lives at once had never really held Cup of Joe back from pursuing their craft — and it’s a sentiment all its members share.
It’s the band’s sheer dedication to sharing their music with the world that has helped them keep at it all this time, and all of this only looks to signal even greater success for the Baguio-based collective. – Rappler.com