Darius Gerard Laluna Semaña (born June 30, 1973) is a Filipino musician. He is the

lead guitarist Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...

of the band Parokya ni Edgar and is the oldest member of the group.

Biography

Semaña grew up in

Mataasnakahoy, Batangas Mataasnakahoy, officially the Municipality of Mataasnakahoy (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,621 peopl ...

and attended Fine Arts in the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. He, along with

Vinci Montaner Francis Vincent Rosales Montaner (born November 27, 1976) is a Filipino singer best known for his work with the band Parokya ni Edgar where he served as a backup vocalist and one of its founding members. He left Parokya ni Edgar in late 2012 ...

, are the only members of Parokya ni Edgar who have earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

. It is also publicly known that he is one of two band members who did not attend Ateneo de Manila University, the other member being bassist

Buwi Meneses Buhawi "Buwi" Francia Meneses (born June 4, 1976) is a Filipino bassist for the band Parokya ni Edgar, and formerly for Franco. Biography Meneses is the second of four children and only son of breast cancer activist Danny Valenzuela Meneses a ...

who is lesser known as a non-Atenean graduate and is a childhood friend of

Chito Miranda Alfonso "Chito" Yanga Miranda Jr. (born February 7, 1976) is a Filipino singer and songwriter, best known as one of the founding members and lead singer for the band Parokya ni Edgar. Early life and career Miranda attended grade school and h ...

instead. Semaña and Meneses were former bandmates before joining Parokya ni Edgar. Semaña is a high school alumnus of Ateneo's rival school, De La Salle (Lipa City, Batangas branch), which serves as material for many of the band's running jokes in their songs. Semaña is mostly seen playing a

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

. He is a member of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity in the Philippines along with bandmate Buwi Meneses. Semaña is married to a make-up artist and they have a son.

Discography

With Parokya ni Edgar

* ''

Khangkhungkherrnitz ''Khangkhungkherrnitz'' is the debut studio album by Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in 1996 under Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group o ...

'' (1996) * ''

Buruguduystunstugudunstuy ''Buruguduystunstugudunstuy'' is the second studio album by the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya Ni Edgar, released in 1997 under Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal ...

'' (1997) * ''

Jingle Balls Silent Night Holy Cow A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

'' (1998) * ''

Gulong Itlog Gulong ''Gulong Itlog Gulong'' ( English translation: Roll Egg Roll) is the third studio album and fourth overall album of the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in 1999 by Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (oft ...

'' (1999) * ''

Edgar Edgar Musikahan ''Edgar Edgar Musikahan'' ( English translation: Edgar Edgar Musical Show) is the fourth studio album and fifth overall album by the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in 2002 by Universal Records Universal Music ...

'' (2002) * ''

Bigotilyo ''Bigotilyo'' is the fifth studio album and sixth overall album of the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in 2003 by Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Unive ...

'' (2003) * ''

Halina Sa Parokya ''Halina Sa Parokya'' is the sixth studio album and seventh overall album of the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in May 26, 2005 by Universal Records. The album contains the singles "Para Sa 'Yo", "Gitara", "Papa Co ...

'' (2005) * ''

Solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

'' (2007) * ''

Middle-Aged Juvenile Novelty Pop Rockers ''Middle-Aged Juvenile Novelty Pop Rockers'' is the ninth studio album of the Filipino alternative rock band Parokya ni Edgar, released in 2010 by Universal Records. This was Vinci Montaner's final album as a permanent member; he left the band in ...

'' (2010) * ''

Pogi Years Old ''Pogi Years Old'' is the tenth studio album by Filipino rock band Parokya ni Edgar. The album was released on October 17, 2016 nationwide and on digital format through Universal Records. Long-time member and backup vocalist Vinci Montaner appea ...

'' (2016) * ''Borbolen'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semana, Darius 1973 births University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Musicians from Manila Musicians from Batangas Lead guitarists Living people 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Filipino musicians 21st-century Filipino musicians 20th-century Filipino male musicians 21st-century Filipino male musicians Filipino rock guitarists 21st-century Filipino guitarists