The Pin-Ups, formerly The Pin-Up Girls, is an independent band formed in 1995 by Mondo Castro along with Keltscross members Pamela Aquino and Jennifer Tan.”

Dubbed the “first Philippine-based band to sign with a U.S. Label,”. The Pin-Ups are also included in a U.K. -based compilation album.,”

Early years

Starting out as a garage band in 1995, the band recruited guitarist Ramses Dela Torre (Mass Carnage) and drummer John Carpio (Tame the Tikbalang, Goo, and End of Man) and started jamming at an abandoned hotel. The then unnamed band went through names that never stuck, including Ebenezzer Blue Cow, Blue Juice, Mushroom, and Bubblegum Crisis.

Guitarist Ryan Nachura and musician Noel Garcia (Ethnic Faces, Eraserheads

The Eraserheads

Eraserheads, or E-Heads was a Filipino rock band of the 90s, formed by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. The band is one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and significant bands in the history of OPM...

 and Color It Red sessionist) eventually joined the band, replacing Dela Torre and Carpio. They were without a permanent name until Tan wore a Bettie Page

Bettie Page

Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...

 T-shirt to a rehearsal at then-Eraserheads drummer Raimund Marasigan's

Raimund Marasigan

Raimund Emmanuel Parcon Marasigan, or simply known as Raimund Marasigan, is a ballad musician and record producer in the Philippines. Oftentimes, his first name is misspelled as Raymond, Raymund, Raimond and other variants. The breadth of his projects has made him one of the most well-respected...

 house. Marasigan suggested they name themselves after Page, one of the most famous pin-up girls from the ‘50s.

Hello Pain (2001)

After a few rounds of Mayric’s garage sales to raise money, The Pin-Ups wrapped up recording their debut album “Hello Pain” under their own label, Broken Records. Executively produced by ABS-CBN News Anchor Liezl Castro and actor Diether Ocampo

Diether Ocampo

Diether Ocampo, born in July 19, 1974 in Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines is a Filipino actor, singer and model.-Background:Ocampo's elementary education and high school were spent in Bacoor,Cavite and he attended his college education in De La Salle University-Dasmarinas. He has German and Chinese...

  (he loaned Castro money for CD manufacturing), produced by Marasigan and engineered by Shinji Tanaka at Sound Creation studios.

The album includes Witching Hour that hit number one on NU107's

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...

 Midnight Countdown for seven weeks, Broken, A Cold & Better Place, and Ride Rocket Wild.

The album’s artwork was created by Filipino graphic artist Leinil Francis Yu

Leinil Francis Yu

Leinil Francis Yu is a Filipino comic book artist, who began working for the American market through Wildstorm Productions. In an interview published in Marvel's Daily Bugle newsletter, he described his style as "Dynamic Pseudo-Realism."-Career:Leinil Francis Yu was first recognized after winning...

.

The music video for “Down”, directed by Quark Henares, won “Rock Video of the Year” at the 2002 NU 107 Rock Awards.

Taste Test

Michael Sutton, a writer for the All-Music Guide, discovered them by accident on a random NU-107 air check mailed from the Philippines by music fan Denis Batungbacal. Sutton signed The Pin-Ups to Tacoma, Washington’s Know-It-All Records in 2002, making them the first Philippine-based band to be signed to a U.S. label.

Aquino left for the U.S. and was replaced by Jaja Manuel (Girl In Park, who eventually signed with Know-It-All Records and released and album internationally) and Garcia was eventually replaced by Mitch Singson (Ciudad, ex-Sugarfree) as the Pin-Up Girls released their 6-track U.S. debut, "Taste Test," in 2003. "Caress", written and produced by Castro, hit the top ten on NU-107 number one on Flashback Alternatives in New Jersey.

Also in 2002, The Pin-Up's Drummer Noel Garcia died from an accident.

In 2004, Taste Test was reissued with several bonus tracks as Taste Test: Expanded Menu, receiving reviews in the U.K. It was during this time that Manuel left the band and was not replaced.

Take On The Weakened Sky

In 2005, Sutton took The Pin-Ups with him on his own label, Sutton Records (later renamed Sutton Music Group), which released a Philippine-version of Taste Test in the form of “Take On The Weakened Sky.

All Seats Are Taken

In 2006, the band fronted for Fra Lippo Lippi

Fra Lippo Lippi (band)

Fra Lippo Lippi is a New Wave band from Norway. They had several hits in the 1980s, such as "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That", "Everytime I See You" and "Light and Shade", and recorded a new album as late as 2002...

 at the Araneta Coliseum as "All Seats Are Taken” was released in the Philippines by Sony-BMG. The 16-track album features guitarists Kakoi Legaspi (ex-Rivermaya, Peryodiko), Kenneth Ilagan (ex-Violent Playground, Mulatto, The Dawn

The Dawn (band)

The Dawn is a Filipino rock band which first achieved commercial success during the late 1980s in the Philippines. The band broke up in 1995 with lead vocalist Jett Pangan forming another band, the Jett Pangan Group. The Dawn reunited in late 1999...

), and the late Francis Magalona

Francis Magalona

Francis Michael Durango Magalona , also known as FrancisM, Master Rapper, MC The Mouth and The Man From Manila, was a Filipino rapper, entrepreneur, songwriter, producer, actor, director, and photographer. He was the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to cross over to the mainstream...

. The songs were co-produced, mixed, and mastered by Angee Rozul.

Comic book writer and artist Arnold Arre

Arnold Arre

Arnold Arre is a Filipino comic book writer and artist.-Biography:Arre has won National Book Awards from the Manila Critics Circle for his graphic novels The Mythology Class , a four-part action-adventure miniseries that was re-released as a Special Collected Edition by Adarna House in 2005 and...

 was commissioned by the band to do the album artwork.

In June 2008, PULP Magazine

Pulp (Filipino music magazine)

PULP Magazine is a Philippine-based monthly music magazine that is published by the Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook Publishing Co. Inc. and which has catered to Filipino music fans in the country and other parts of the world for almost a decade now...

 featured The Pin-Ups on the cover.[add a citation and something from the PULP article content about why they are on the cover]

Manchester, U.K. Compilation Album

Chris Williams of Manchester, England’s Baby Boom Records contacted Castro through The Pin-Ups’ Myspace page. Williams requested for the band’s track “Jackson Pollock 9” for inclusion in the label “Baby Boom Sampler No.4.”. The CD was launched at the SXSW

South by Southwest

South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 Festival in Texas, U.S.A. and is still available in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 and through the Baby Boom Records website.

Jeepney Records

The Pin-Ups were included in the list of 7 winners of MTV EMERGE

MTV Southeast Asia

MTV Southeast Asia is a 24-hour music/entertainment television network, owned by MTV Networks Asia Pacific, a division of Viacom. The channel is shown in the Southeast Asia region including Singapore , Malaysia , Hong Kong , Indonesia , Thailand , Vietnam , Philippines MTV Southeast Asia is a...

 and set to sign with Apl D AP's

Apl.de.ap

Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr. better known as apl.de.ap , is a Filipino-American rapper, record producer, and occasional drummer who is best known as a member of The Black Eyed Peas.-Early life:Pineda was born in Belfast...

Jeepney Music. There are no updates as to whether this will push through.

Band Members

Current members

• Mondo Castro – vocals, guitars (1996 – present)
• Ryan Nachura – guitars, keyboards, vocals (1997 – present)
• Mitch Singson – drums, vocals (2003 – present)
• Raffy Bonifacio – drums (2009 – present)
• Tanya Singh – bass, vocals (2010)
• Jennifer Tan – bass, vocals (1996 - ?)

Former members

• Pamela Aquino – guitars, vocals (1996–2002)
• Noel Garcia (R.I.P) – drums (1997–2002)
• Jaja Manuel – guitars, vocals (2002–2004)
• John Carpio – drums (1996–1997)
• Ramses Dela Torre -guitar (1996–1997)
• Robby Mananquil ( July 2009 – January 2010)

Music Video

Videos	Directors
“A Cold & Better Place”	Erwin Romulo
“Down”	Quark Henares
“Love X Ten”	Edsel Abesames
“Ingay”	Ike Avellana
“The Five Minute Hallway” Flip and Hand versions	Alvin Tecson
“All Seats Are Taken”	Mondo Castro

Discography

• 2001: Hello Pain (Broken Records)
• 2003: Taste Test EP (Know-It-All Records)
• 2004: Taste Test: Expanded Menu (Know-It-All Records)
• 2005: Take On The Weakened Sky (Sutton Records)
• 2006: All Seats Are Taken (Sutton Records, distributed by Sony Music Philippines

Compilations

• 1999: “Ride Rocket Wild” - Songs From NU107’s In The Raw (Sony Music Entertainment)
• 2004:“Caress”-Jack Daniel’s - In Session Manila (Jack Daniel’s and The Gweilo’s Hour Release)
• 2007:“Nilamon Ng Gabi” - Band Trip 2 ( Sony-BMG Philippines)
• 2009:“Jackson Pollock 9” -Baby Boom Sampler No.4 (Baby Boom records, Manchester, England)