Independent music thrives in Tacloban thanks to reopened bar Cerebro

Just a few turns away from Central Tacloban’s busy downtown market, a Balinese spa, 24-hour ‘silogan, and the ruins left behind by Typhoon Yolanda surround a conspicuously lively bar called Cerebro. 

 

Its bright yellow sign and filmic light box billboard (complete with changeable alphabet) perfectly match the crowd of young urbanites, alternative musicians, and cheerful regulars spilling out on to the street. 

 

It would appear that the city’s entire independent music scene is concentrated in this one bar. Each night is alive with animated chatter, the sound of motorcycles pulling up to the front, and live music pulsating from within.   

 

The Professor X to local musicians

 

“I saw the urgency to build a venue for the bands to perform and keep the scene alive,” said Cerebro owner Kendel Esperas as he explained how the bar was initially opened in 2011 after the go-to resto-bar for local bands in Tacloban closed down that same year.

 

The name is inspired by something Esperas picked up while watching “The X-Men.”

 

“I learned that it was a facility that amplifies Professor X’s powers to locate or find fellow mutants…there was a similarity on the concept I was thinking for the bar… also, Cerebro means brain. It connects fellow musicians.”

 

Indeed, the bar attracts all sorts of people in the music world—from artists to appreciators. Even the genres are varied, with Halloween night’s heavy metal set, the acoustic jamming sessions that occur in the wee hours past midnight, and the performance of what may be Tacloban’s one and only jazz band. Cerebro brings all of them together.

 

“Usually yung mga gigs namin, by invitation lang and that’s very seldom,” shared drummer Kevin Palaña of Tacloban-based Kwadro and The Guerillas, two among the pioneering bands behind Cerebro.

 

“Alam mo naman mga musicians, they are always eager to play even without TFs [talent fees], we have that kind of addiction to play. Kung pwede lang araw-arawin we would play,” he continued.

 

Thanks to Cerebro, they now have a place to perform regularly. 

 

“Local bands here are grateful to him [Esperas] cause at least meron ng avenue for them or us to do our gigs in Tacloban…so we thank him [because] he opened Cerebro and we’re all part of it,” Palaña concluded.

 

Sweeter the second time around

 

After Typhoon Yolanda, Cerebro had to close down. They reopened in a new location just last September. 

 

"The second location is way better than before," said Esperas, recalling how their old location in Leyte Park was too busy.

 

“May tugtugan sa loob tapos lalabas ka, may disko sa labas," he said.

 

Their new spot on Real Street is the first floor of a converted house (the owner’s own), sandwiched between a sari-sari store and Cerebro’s partner institution, Kbox studios. 

 

The charm of the location is in the neighborhood. And to match the surrounding establishments, Cerebro opens at lunchtime every day (except Sundays) and serves as a restaurant, a coffee shop, and a liquor store. In the evenings, the festivities begin.

 

Buzzing with activity

 

“We have scheduled the Cerebro anniversary on October, Kbox anniversary on April, Valentines on February, Christmas jam on December, and we also do music video launches, seminars, and exclusive parties…next year, we are planning to invite one band from the Visayas once a month to jam with the local bands in Tacloban,” said Esperas as he enumerated the many activities at Cerebro that can keep you booked for the entire year.

 

The little bar, with its dim black walls, is lit up by the warmth of the crowd. After the official program is done, anyone can go up on stage and say, sing, or play their piece.

 

Everything is very spontaneous and since the community in Tacloban is much smaller, everyone is also really quite friendly.

 

“If you see a bunch of musicians in Cerebro, expect some crazy jam sessions to happen!” said Esperas.

 

Tribute to the fallen

 

The highlight of this month is a tribute gig for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda, which struck the regions of Samar and Leyte last November 8, 2013.

 

“This is for our musikeros who perished in the storm—to name, Hector Cruz, Jonas Sustento, and Ivor—and this is also for the victims in Leyte and Samar. ‘Di pa kami nagbigay ng tribute na official, so we will just be playing acoustic, tapos may mga candles... medyo solemn siya," said Esperas.

 

The gig, dubbed “PAGHINUMDOM,” will coincide with the first anniversary of the tragic 

storm.

A central establishment

 

Upon visiting Cerebro, it is obvious how the bar’s patrons connect on a level that fellow music-lovers can recognize instantly. The crowd thrives on sound and the atmosphere is intoxicating. 

 

However this kind of success does not come without hardship. 

 

After Yolanda, Cerebro may not have reopened at all. Esperas expressed the difficulties behind running a business and having to restart from scratch. But playing the role of a true father to his “baby,” his main reason for reopening the bar was to take care of his fellow musicians.

 

“Naisip ko rin na kung may mag-open na iba, at least medyo... safe yung bands na meron pa ring matutugtugan… pero wala talagang nag-open eh," he said. 

 

In the end it was “worth it,” and it shows in the kind of company the bar attracts. As it turns out, Cerebro is not the brain, but the heart of Tacloban’s independent music scene. — VC, GMA News