COG

Cogs early beginnings reach back to 1999 when guitarists Joel Patricio and Eric Perlas started writing riffs together with the intent of forming a metal band. Yagi Olaguera joined shortly after and the three began writing original material. A few months down the line, Alan Po, then drummer of funk band Wild Waters, joined the lineup upon hearing some of the songs. Bass guitar duties were then taken by oldschool rocker Richie Ramos and by summer of 2000, the basic Cog lineup was complete. The band started playing live shows in August of 2000 and has since then played in different venues in and around Metro Manila.

The bands first big break arrived when they had the chance to record with Maly Andres and Angie Rozul of Tracks Studios for the No Seat Affair compilation. Of the two songs recorded for the release, Drone, a mostly instrumental piece, was graced by the saxophone playing of the bands friend and collaborator, Garon Honasan. Since then, he has formally joined the lineup and has integrated his sax playing into Cog's new material.



Shortly after the recording sessions for No Seat Affair, the band returned to the studio to track more material. Most of the songs written during those sessions can be found on the band's first EP, Contact, which was released in 2003. The band then began touring heavily to support the release while balancing day jobs and schooling at the same time. On top of that, Cog returned to the studio in early 2004 to continue writing and recording new material for their debut album. Nearly three years since their first independent EP, the band finally completed their album and has since begun supporting the release with several other shows. During this timespan, the band was also included in two other compilations namely, Pulp Summer Slam 3 and First Attempt.



After what has been almost four years of studio work and gigging, Cog continues to grow in its own unique direction. Having survived possible disbanding and lineup changes, the band has been able to maintain their original lineup and continue to challenge themselves with their material. Cog currently plays regularly for several productions in and around Metro Manila.



Hello, all!



Although Cog seems a bit quiet, we're actually doing quite a lot of preparation for the upcoming Summer Slam on April 17. While we're definitely playing after midnight, we're working on getting more songs from Culling to make our set more memorable. Please do contact our management if you want us to play your gigs - we'd love to just get out there and play for all of you.



And for those interested, Culling and our first album, Conflagration, are now available on iTunes and other iTunes-affiliated sites. As part of the Conflagration Internet package, two songs originally from a CD-keyed section of our old website are now available - "Dead Star" and "Eight of Cups."



On other personal stuff, I've just launched a new blog that's meant to consolidate much of my online presence in the past few years. Called The Eclectic Chair (http://the-eclectic-chair.blogspot.com), it's a combination for my love of cooking, mecha anime, ersatz photography, humor and political satire. And if anyone of you is playing the Castle Age game application in Facebook, add me up there!



Later this year, I'll also be participating in the National contests for Gundam model kit building. I'm not sure yet if I will be involved as a ground official or as a contestant. I still have to get used to using an airbrush, but we'll see.



So, we hope to see you all soon in our gigs. And don't forget to buy our album, hahah!



-Richie