Sugarfree is Ebe-free

I barely, totally liked Spongecola. I don't give a damn about Callalily or Shamrock, and even Hale. Parokya ni Edgar, Bamboo, Orange and Lemons I listened to, yes. I definitely loathed Cueshe. Eraserheads, is a different story. 

The only Filipino band, I truly loved is, Sugarfree. To an extent, I even showcased acts of fangirling (I was caught on video in Myx Mo! 2009 singing along to Sugarfree as they play). Hell, I'm proud (actually I CAN'T watch the thing myself). 

I think it was on my third year in high school that I heard Tulog Na. Also friend told me how she loved Sugarfree and informed me that the vocalist was Ebe. From that moment, Sugarfree and Ebe had occupied a space on my brain. 

I was only 9 when they started their career and it was in 2003 that their first record label album Sa Wakas came out, I was 13. I was 15 when I heard Tulog Na. I think I grew up some more and started looking for Sugarfree's other songs. 

To sum up the history, I loved each Sugarfree song that I heard. Mariposa, Burnout, Prom, Kwarto, Hari ng Sablay, Kung Ayaw Mo Na Sa Akin, Sinta, Ciuda, Makita Kang Muli, Batang Bata Ka Pa, all the hits. I hate overrated stuffs but Sugarfree is exception. I liked them even more when everybody else was liking something else. Then I grew up some more and I downloaded their albums. Ralph gave me Mornings and Airports as a Christmas gift. 

Gosh, I can't comprehend the love for Sugarfree myself. Musically, there's no doubt that they're good. Maybe not in terms of super awesome instrument-playing, I've heard better bands. But the way the message gets through, it's a genius. It seems as though the songs are life and love itself. The way the heartaches sink deep down your own heart. The way the joys sprout out of your own soul. And just the way every freaking words appear as if they are your own words!!

I attribute most of that to Ebe Dancel. The vocalist, the songwriter, the heart, the soul, the life, of Sugarfree. His words and his wails, he's the master of it. 

Now, he's going solo. I've read his FB post last year about this thing. I even hoped that he'd go solo without leaving Sugarfree, which is kind of stupid. But it's official. Sugarfree will be Ebe-free. 

It breaks my heart. I haven't totally gotten over the loss of NU and now I'm losing yet another love. 

But what can I do? What can we do? We are the fans, the listeners, the market, yes. We are the ones that grow fond of, and to an extent, we develop certain attachment. But the decision, CAN never be ours. We have to let go when things come to their end. This is the end for Ebe of Sugarfree. 

Still, I'm keeping my hopes high, with the new Sugarfree, and the new Ebe Dancel. After all, it's the good music we're after. 

P.S. A good Ebe Dancel interview. 

Told you I'm a fan.