Sandwich (band)

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Sandwich, one of the most prominent bands in the Filipino scene, was founded 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 (of Teeth) to play drums and Myrene Academia (of Imago) to handle bass duties, and Marasigan discovered Marc Abaya, who would become their vocalist, at a contest where Marc jammed to a Bestie Boys song with his band, Shirley Beans. Surprisingly, Raimund Marasigan was one of the judges and was impressed with Marc. They signed with BMG Records, now known today as Sony-BMG Music, and released their debut album, Grip, Stand, Throw, with much success, thanks to its carrier single, "Butterfly Carnival." Abaya was still in college at the time, and Marasigan would still tour occasionally with the Eraserheads, but these weren’t hindering factors for Sandwich, as there were many sessionists ready to take over in case of a member’s absence. The band won three awards at the 1999 NU 107 Rock Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Song of the Year. They released their second album, Four-Track Mind, in 2000; it was awarded Album of the Year at the Rock Awards in 2001. Sandwich then parted ways with BMG Records and released their third album, Thanks To The Moon’s Gravitational Pull, in 2003. It was under distribution by EMI Records. Abaya left Sandwich in 2005, in an effort to cope with the difficulty of juggling his job as an MTV VJ, and his obligations to his other band, Kjwan. Marasigan has since taken over the vocalist role. After Abaya’s departure, the band wrote songs for soundtracks, like "Humanda Ka," which was done for the online game, Tantra, and "Nginiig" for the ABS-CBN show of the same name. Mong Alcaraz of Chicosci joined the band to solidify Sandwich’s new sound and assume whatever guitar duties Abaya left behind. They released their latest album, Five On The Floor, in early 2006. The band Sandwich was formed in 1996. Although existing simultaneously with the Eraserheads, Sandwich provided a heavier, grittier sound, and built up their own fan base. Marc Abaya left the band in 2005 to concentrate on his own band Kjwan and Raimund Marasigan has since taken over sole vocal duties. They have released four albums: Grip Stand Throw (1999), Four-Track Mind (2001), Thanks to the Moon's Gravitational Pull (2003) and Five On The Floor (2006).