Taken by Cars
Encyclopedia
Taken by Cars, usually referred to as TbC, is a Filipino
indie rock
band composed of Sarah Marco on vocals
, Bryce Zialcita on lead guitar
, Derek "Siopao" Chua on rhythm guitar
, Isa Garcia on bass guitar
, and Bryan Kong on drums
and sampler
. They describe their sound as a mixture of electro, shoegaze, and new wave
.
, formed a rock
band in 1998 when they were high school
sophomore
s. In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer
, Zialcita said that their only goal was to play gigs
in saGuijo, a café
in Makati City
, Philippines
, which caters to indie rock enthusiasts. They performed during their high school and college
days under different names like "Kung Fu Benny," "Mexican Rice Bowl," and "Morning Wood" until finally deciding on the name "Taken by Cars" because of its association with the concept of movement and that they "listened to a bulk of their music in their cars." They also tried out several music genres before settling into its "classic rock-modern indie vibe" when Marco joined the group in 2006. However, after just one month of gigging in small audiences using original materials, the band took a hiatus due to what they described as "personal reasons." They made most out of this idle time writing and recording new songs in preparation for their return. Without a major record label
to promote them, the band uploaded
their music on MySpace
, where they garnered fan
s from different parts of the world.
Taken by Cars returned to scene in early 2007 and have become notable in Manila's indie rock scene that fans began to compel local radio stations for them to play the band's first single, "A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)." On February 2007, the band submitted a demo copy
of the single to NU 107
, a rock music
station in Pasig City
, Metro Manila
, for its segment "In the Raw." Despite its less-than-perfect audio quality, "A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)" received heavy radio airplay and has even reached the top spot of NU 107's daily countdown. Their next single, "Uh Oh," also reached number one in the station's charts.
In early 2011, as the band prepares to release their second album, Time Magazine has named Taken by Cars as one of the five new bands to watch for that year.
, which signed the group to a distribution deal. Their debut album
, Endings of a New Kind, was released in early 2008 under the production of Mong Alcaraz, who is also behind the music of Sandwich
and Chicosci
. Endings of a New Kind was received warmly by critics and fans. Entertainment writer Diego Rosano P. Mapa reviewed that he "can hear Bloc Party
, CSS and New Young Pony Club
in their music, but they are doing something that sounds different and refreshing. The drums party like a drum machine
, the riff
s are shimmering, the basses distorted like an analog keyboard, and Sarah Marco's vocals are gonna rip all the men's boxer shorts
to shreds." The album also includes a download card
that provides access to remix
ed versions of its tracks. They also released a mashup
version of "Uh Oh" entitled "Uh Oh It's Electro," which was collaborated with house
DJ
Funk Avy.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band composed of Sarah Marco on vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, Bryce Zialcita on lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, Derek "Siopao" Chua on rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, Isa Garcia on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Bryan Kong on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
. They describe their sound as a mixture of electro, shoegaze, and new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
.
Formation (1998–2008)
Zialcita, Chua, Yap, and Kong, who have been friends since elementary schoolElementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, formed a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band in 1998 when they were high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
s. In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
, Zialcita said that their only goal was to play gigs
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
in saGuijo, a café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
in Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, which caters to indie rock enthusiasts. They performed during their high school and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
days under different names like "Kung Fu Benny," "Mexican Rice Bowl," and "Morning Wood" until finally deciding on the name "Taken by Cars" because of its association with the concept of movement and that they "listened to a bulk of their music in their cars." They also tried out several music genres before settling into its "classic rock-modern indie vibe" when Marco joined the group in 2006. However, after just one month of gigging in small audiences using original materials, the band took a hiatus due to what they described as "personal reasons." They made most out of this idle time writing and recording new songs in preparation for their return. Without a major record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
to promote them, the band uploaded
Uploading and downloading
In computer networks, to download means to receive data to a local system from a remote system, or to initiate such a data transfer. Examples of a remote system from which a download might be performed include a webserver, FTP server, email server, or other similar systems...
their music on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, where they garnered fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
s from different parts of the world.
Taken by Cars returned to scene in early 2007 and have become notable in Manila's indie rock scene that fans began to compel local radio stations for them to play the band's first single, "A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)." On February 2007, the band submitted a demo copy
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of the single to NU 107
DWNU
DWNU, broadcasting as 107.5 Win Radio, is the music FM radio station of Progressive Broadcasting Corporation in the Philippines. The station's studio is located at the ground floor AIC Gold Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Rd., Ortigas Center, Pasig City and its transmitter is located at Crestview Heights...
, a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
station in Pasig City
Pasig City
The City of Pasig is one of the city municipalities of Metro Manila in the Philippines and was the former capital of the province of Rizal prior to the formation of this grouping of cities designated as the National Capital Region...
, Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
, for its segment "In the Raw." Despite its less-than-perfect audio quality, "A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)" received heavy radio airplay and has even reached the top spot of NU 107's daily countdown. Their next single, "Uh Oh," also reached number one in the station's charts.
In early 2011, as the band prepares to release their second album, Time Magazine has named Taken by Cars as one of the five new bands to watch for that year.
Endings of a New Kind (2008–2011)
The band's appeal has gotten noticed by Warner Music PhilippinesWarner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, which signed the group to a distribution deal. Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Endings of a New Kind, was released in early 2008 under the production of Mong Alcaraz, who is also behind the music of Sandwich
Sandwich (band)
Sandwich is a Filipino rock band that was formed in 1995 by Raimund Marasigan and Diego Castillo for the purpose of fulfilling their mutual desire to work together. Castillo recruited former band mates from The Aga Muhlach Experience Mike Dizon to play drums and Myrene Academia to handle bass...
and Chicosci
Chicosci
ChicoSci is a 5-piece Filipino rock band based in Manila. The band is composed of Miggy Chavez, Mong Alcaraz, Calde Calderon, Macoy Estacio and Ariel Lumanlan.-Formation and early days:...
. Endings of a New Kind was received warmly by critics and fans. Entertainment writer Diego Rosano P. Mapa reviewed that he "can hear Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
, CSS and New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club are an English electronic band from London, consisting of members from London, Hereford, Cambridge and Bromley. Their influences are prominently from post-punk and New Wave....
in their music, but they are doing something that sounds different and refreshing. The drums party like a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, the riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s are shimmering, the basses distorted like an analog keyboard, and Sarah Marco's vocals are gonna rip all the men's boxer shorts
Boxer shorts
Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
to shreds." The album also includes a download card
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
that provides access to remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed versions of its tracks. They also released a mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
version of "Uh Oh" entitled "Uh Oh It's Electro," which was collaborated with house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Funk Avy.
Dualist (2011–present)
The band released their second album, "Dualist", in April 15, 2011. The 11-track "Dualist" features a more personal and mature approach on TbC’s signature dance rock sound, which encompasses all the highs and lows the band has gone through over the past three years.Discography
| Year | Album title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Endings of a New Kind Endings of a New Kind Endings of a New Kind is the debut studio album by the Filipino indie rock band Taken by Cars, released in 2008 on Party Bear Records. Four radio singles have been released from this album including 'A Weeknight Memoir ', 'Uh Oh', 'December 2 Chapter VII', 'Shapeshifter' and 'Neon Brights'.-Track... |
Party Bear Records, Warner Music Philippines |
| 2011 | Dualist | Party Bear Records |
| Year | Single title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)" | Demo/ Endings of a New Kind |
| 2008 | "Uh Oh" | Endings of a New Kind |
| 2008 | "December 2 Chapter VII" | Endings of a New Kind |
| 2008 | "Shapeshifter" | Endings of a New Kind |
| 2009 | "Neon Brights" | Endings of a New Kind |
| 2011 | "This is Our City" | Dualist |
| Year | Music video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Uh Oh" | Nico Puertollano |
| 2008 | "Uh Oh It's Electro" | Pancho Esguerra |
| 2008 | "December 2 Chapter VII" | Pancho Esguerra |
| 2008 | "Shapeshifter" | Quark Henares |
| 2009 | "Neon Brights" | Wincy Ong |
| 2011 | "This is Our City" | Quark Henares |
Awards and citations
| Year | Award | Category | Title/ Member | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | NU Rock Awards NU Rock Awards The NU Rock Awards was an annual recognition program sponsored from 1994 to 2010 by the defunct Metro Manila based radio station NU 107.1. 1994 saw the birth of what is to become the biggest annual gathering of the finest rock musicians in the country—the NU 107 Rock Awards! The very first NU 107... |
Album of the Year | Endings of a New Kind | Nominated |
| Best New Artist | Nominated | |||
| Bassist of the Year | Benny Yap | Nominated | ||
| Drummer of the Year | Bryan Kong | Nominated | ||
| Producer of the Year | Mong Alcaraz and Taken by Cars | Nominated | ||
| Junksounds 2008 Regional Music Awards | Album of the Year | Endings of a New Kind | Won | |
| Biggest Star Power | 2nd Runner-Up | |||
| 2009 | MYX Music Awards | Favorite New Artist | Nominated | |
| AVIMA (Asia Voice Independent Music Awards) | Best Dance Act | Nominated | ||
| Most Mind Blowing Music Video | December 2 Chapter VII | Nominated | ||
| Best Overall Female Vocalist | Sarah Marco | Nominated |