coast2coast

Words by Ven Garrote

Ever since I attended my first gig in 2022, I’ve seen and gotten to know a lot of artists and bands from different scenes. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for music in general, regardless of genre. While I only started going to gigs on a regular basis this year, I’ve always been familiar with Cebu’s local music sphere. Because of this, I’ve grown a desire to involve myself even more in the local music scene. This is where the beloved Cebu-based record label PAWN comes in. Even before I started attending gigs, I was already familiar with the label. This was because they used to host Garage Days, which was a quarterly event where people would buy and sell vinyl records, CDs, cassette tapes, etc. These days, however, the label has expanded to promote the artists under their label, the most prominent way being through live gigs. 

On the evening of November 9, PAWN held what was possibly the biggest gig they’ve ever held thus far: DISPOP XL. The gig featured local PAWN artists, including emo-and-shoegaze lovechild Awkward Dancer, indie pop darlings Coney Reyes on Camera, punk rock firestarters The Pervs, and many more. Alongside them were three acts that hail from outside Cebu, namely shoegaze band Pastilan Dong! and indie rock band Modry-Modry from Manila, as well as budots pioneer DJ Love from Davao. 

To learn more about DISPOP XL, the planning process behind it, as well as the background and history of PAWN in general, I spoke with Erik and Rae Tuban who are in charge of running the label and gig.

The first move

“PAWN basically started around 2017. I was involved with another record label before but I started PAWN around this time,” Erik recalled. 

Erik further explained the meaning behind PAWN, saying, “PAWN, to me, was something that was easy to recognize because it’s one word and has meaning behind it. A pawn is something used to advance you forward in chess, and for us in a metaphorical sense, it’s something we use to forward our agenda as a label with Cebu bands and music.”

When it comes to the artists under PAWN, they typically fall under different styles of rock but the label doesn’t limit itself specifically to rock music. “We don’t usually have a specific genre when it comes to our artists,” Erik explained. “We may use ‘rock’ as an umbrella term but it doesn’t mean that it’s just rock music we promote. It could be anything. It mostly started as an outlet to release music, both personally and from friends. I would just want to showcase music to others and listen to bands we like and then make other people listen to it as well. That’s basically the mission and vision of the label for its bands.”

Rae added to this sentiment by speaking from her perspective. “This is coming from somebody who wasn’t there at the beginning of PAWN, but looking at it both as a consumer of their music and now getting into the community, it’s about having all these like-minded folks come together.”

She further elaborated, stating, “While yes, there are similarities when it comes to tastes in music, you can say that generally, ‘rock’ is used as an umbrella term as we have some punk and some shoegaze in there but I think most of it really is ‘What is it they want to explore, these artists?’ and they can be as experimental as they want. And if that’s where they’re headed, we can support them to help them get their music out there.” Generally speaking, the artists under PAWN have the freedom to dabble and experiment with different varieties of rock music and explore different directions and ideas to potentially take their music into. Due to this, PAWN’s artists fall under a multitude of subgenres, such as shoegaze, punk rock, indie pop, and many more.

Due to the level of creativity and artistic freedom that PAWN’s artists display, Erik went on to describe the label and its artists as “forward-thinking.”

“The term I’d like to use to describe us and our artists is ‘forward-thinking’ because we try not to stick them into a single lane and they could explore any genre they like.” Erik further added, saying, “we also see to it that the bands we bring to the label have the same ideologies and values as us. That’s very important to us.” Rae shared the same sentiment, saying “Yes, values are very big for us.”

A look into DISPOP XL and beyond

When it comes to organizing gigs, PAWN doesn’t have a fixed timeline of gigs to hold and instead opts to plan and organize them when there is time. “We don’t have a regular schedule,” Erik said, “but we aim to hold gigs quarterly like with Gazing Into The Abyss or at least what we can accommodate with the time we have.”

Rae added, “We have a lot of bands this year. They came out of the pandemic especially, and a lot of them came up with really good music and started putting their music out there then we started having these shows more often. So if any artist wants to release new music and plans to hold a launch party, we try to support them and organize a gig for them. But mostly it is in partnership with the artists.” Due to this, PAWN has gotten to hold more and more gigs over the years with the emergence of up-and-coming artists and bands after the pandemic with the intention of promoting their music and bringing attention to them.

However, promoting new and up-and-coming artists and bands was not always PAWN’s mission statement when it came to holding gigs. Erik went on to reminisce on the origins of DISPOP. “The first DISPOP gig was held back in 2017, and it started as a political statement, like it was our way of saying ‘We’re tired of the regime and everything and want to make as much noise as we can to make our statement. We’re tired, fed up, angry, and want to make noise to release our anger, frustration, everything.’”

 As it stands, DISPOP XL is the third DISPOP that PAWN held in the gig series. It was also named so because it was Erik’s 40th birthday when the gig was held and XL stands for “forty” in Roman numerals. “We also named it XL because it’s bigger in scope,” Erik added, with Rae jokingly remarking on his modesty of its scale.

In addition to DISPOP, PAWN has another gig series called “Gazing Into the Abyss”, which was first held in February of this year. The event initially started off as a way for the label and its followers to get to know the up-and-coming shoegaze bands at the time. However, after witnessing the impact that the gig had on the bands and the community it started, the gig developed into a full-fledged series with the second one held back in August and the intention for PAWN to discover and promote new artists and bands. “For the second Gazing Into The Abyss, we reached out to nearby regions and had bands from Dumaguete and Bacolod that played,” Rae explained. A rule was also set for Gazing Into The Abyss regarding its lineup of performing artists, which is that the succeeding gig will have a different set of artists from the previous one. Erik explained that this is their way of giving new artists and bands a chance to perform and promote themselves, as well as to add variety to Gazing Into The Abyss.

As far as choosing to recruit which artists based outside Cebu to invite to perform for PAWN’s gigs, Erik and Rae usually opt to invite friends of theirs or at least, artists that they are acquainted with. Like in the case of DISPOP XL, a lot of the artists invited were friends of both Erik and Rae that they haven’t seen in a long time. Rae further commented, explaining the history between DJ Love and Erik, as they have performed together in the past as DJs. “DJ Love and Erik went to Boiler Room together, so what better way to celebrate than to have the legend, right?”

However, most of the artists under DISPOP XL’s lineup were also under PAWN’s label, with Erik explaining that the gig was a way of showcasing the artists under their label and conveying their full support for them.

Erik also went on to say about DISPOP XL and its lineup, “This installment of DISPOP is more of showcasing artists under PAWN, and you may have noticed that a lot of the artists we invited are from our label. It’s our way of saying ‘thank you’ to them and conveying to them that we have their backs and they have our full support.”

Rae went on to explain that DISPOP XL was the first event where she and Erik had to seek more external assistance than usual to organize. A lot of friends approached them, asking if they needed help and they delegated more than usual to ensure that the gig would come into fruition, despite not being keen on asking for help when it comes to organizing events. “It’s just hard to ask for help because maikog mi (we become bashful),” Rae commented with a laugh. In addition, Erik and Rae avoid sponsorships for their events because they want the efforts behind organizing them to be a collaborative effort, so they end up relying on their friends to help them out and assist them should they need it. 

Checkmate

As of the moment, PAWN’s plans for its artists, events, and the local music scene moving forward are not yet set in stone aside from continuing to hold more gigs with unique concepts behind them. Initially, Erik formed PAWN with the intention to release physical copies of music under their label and the gigs came in later. “I guess the PAWN’s direction as of the moment is towards releasing more music and then putting up more curated shows. Not just of a random nature, but with a concept behind it.” 

Currently, there are no definite plans for PAWN to expand outside Cebu. Erik and Rae would prefer to get to know the artists first as well as their beliefs and values before they branch out. Rae further commented on how they run their label and why despite giving their artists full creative freedom, it is essential that the artists’ beliefs and values match theirs. “We’re very ‘punk’ in a way. Like a very DIY, mom-and-pop shop, you know? We may come off as control freaks but that’s only when it comes to the artists’ beliefs and values matching ours. They have to know what our expectations are for them because that’s how partnerships work.”

PAWN has also engaged in different types of events other than gigs, like workshops. Back in September of last year, Rae took part in a workshop called “DJ Workshop for Women & Gender-Expansive People”, which she explained was something that was really close to her and meant a lot to her. “I think women play a big part in the music scene and the community, so I think there has to be more push on that,” Rae expressed passionately. “It doesn’t have to be limited to music either, you know? It could be any topic that means a lot to the community. This is something I would like to see more of if we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity.”

Next moves

I asked Erik and Rae if they had anything they’d like to say to the readers of this article and anyone in general. Rae only had one thing to say: “Go to shows.” “If you want your band to play on our shows, come to our shows because that’s how it works here at PAWN. Just because you’ve already created music, doesn’t mean we automatically promote it for you. You have to immerse yourself in the community, the music scene, and get involved. It would mean a lot that you come to our shows because it shows that you want and care enough to get involved. It’s also more collaborative to come to our shows when you’re invited.”

Speaking from the perspective of an audience member, I can say that Erik and Rae’s sentiments rang true. DISPOP XL definitely struck me as being a collaborative effort made by people who genuinely care about the local music scene and the community of people within it, whether it be the artists or simply the audience members. Everyone appeared to feel welcome and fully enjoyed themselves that night, myself included. I’ve been to several gigs over the course of this year, and I can confidently say that not only DISPOP XL, but PAWN’s gigs as a whole, were the ones that felt the most familial and welcoming when it comes to the environment.

It was much easier to get to know the people within that community, as well as the artists. While other gigs I’ve been to organized by different labels and teams have also been enjoyable and accommodating, none of them quite match the hospitable atmosphere that PAWN’s gigs exude. I can confidently say that any artist or band that wants to exercise their creative liberty and freedom when it comes to their music and be appreciated for it can safely rely on PAWN to support them all the way. 

With how DISPOP XL and all their other gigs have turned out so far, I’m looking forward to their next one and have absolute faith that they will deliver the best for their audience.