Westdon Martin Abay (born April 5, 1971), popularly known as Dong Abay, is a poet and a
Pinoy rock
Pinoy rock, or Filipino rock, is the brand of rock music produced in the Philippines or by Filipino people, Filipinos. It has become as diverse as the rock music genre itself, and bands adopting this style are now further classified under more s ...
musician. He was the founding member, songwriter and lead vocalist of the bands
Yano,
Pan, and dongabay, which are now all defunct. In 2005, he pursued a solo career as an independent artist by releasing an album entitled ''Sampol''. In 2017, he formed a rock band named Dong Abay Music Organization or D.A.M.O. while having other endeavors such as a songwriting school.
Biography
Personal life
Abay was born on April 5, 1971, in Manila, Philippines to Manuel Abay and Susana Martin. He is married to Ninj Botor Reyes. They have a son named Awit (
Tagalog for "song" or "chant"), born on May 15, 2002.
In January 2021, Abay was accused of being the masked rioter holding a broom during the
storming of the United States Capitol. Abay was in the Philippines at that time, and has decided to file
cyber libel charges against his accusers.
Career
Yano days
In 1992, Dong Abay,
Eric Gancio and Larry Mapolon met in ''Patatag'', a progressive vocal ensemble. After a year, they decided to form a band called NG (pronounced as ''en-ji'' and derived from the
Ng digraph of the
Filipino alphabet
The modern Filipino alphabet (), otherwise known as the Filipino alphabet (), is the alphabet of the Filipino language, the official national language and one of the two official languages of the Philippines. The modern Filipino alphabet is ma ...
) with percussionist Renmin Nadela. Abay and Gancio remained and recruited musical arranger and bassist, Onie Badiang to the group. Eventually, the band's name was renamed to
Yano. They recorded their demo at the home studio of alternative artist
Joey Ayala
José Íñigo Homer Lacambra Ayala (born June 1, 1956), professionally known as Joey Ayala, is a Filipino singer, songwriter and former chairman of the music committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. He is well known for his ...
in June 1993. One of the tracks, "''Kumusta Na?''," ("How Are You?") a song about the "
EDSA Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
", found its way to a local radio station where the group was first heard. This paved the way for Yano to become active in the local club circuit. Mayrics, Club Dredd, 70s Bistro were among the first clubs that Yano performed in. Drummers for the band included Nowie Favila (Ang Grupong Pendong), Nonong Timbalopez (Put3Ska, Ex President's Combo), Jun Nogoy (Coffeebreak Island) and Harley Alarcon (Rizal Underground). In 1994, the band's
self-titled debut album came out and spawned classic Filipino rock songs such as "''
Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo''" ("Holy Dog, Saintly Horse"), "''Tsinelas''" ("Slippers") and "Esem" (wordplay for
SM or Shoemart mall). This was followed by a string of successful concerts around the Philippine
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
.
In 1994, at the height of Yano's popularity, Abay had to temporarily quit his schooling at 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 ...
, where he was an Arts and Letters student, to pursue a career in music. Yano released 2 more albums under
BMG, a major label : "''
Bawal
Bawal is a big industrial town located, near Rewari city in Rewari district in Indian state of Haryana. It lies in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India. It is located on national highway NH 48 (formerly called NH 8), 11 km from ...
''" ("Taboo") in 1996 and "''
Tara''" ("C'mon") in 1997. The eponymous debut album was first released under Alpha Records but was later re-issued by BMG (now Sony Music Philippines).
Hiatus and formation of Pan
During the late 1990s, Abay suffered from
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
for nearly five years. After this stretch, which he had written songs during, he linked back up with
Onie Badiang, former bassist of Yano, and the two would later go on to found the band
Pan. In 2002 or 2003, they released an album titled ''
Parnaso ng Payaso'' ();
the song "Hula" () from this album would later win Best Folk/Pop Recording at the 2003
Awit Awards
The Awit Awards are music awards in the Philippines given annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) to recognize the outstanding achievements in the music industry. The word "Awit" means "song" literally in Filipino ...
.
In early 2005, Abay left Pan to pursue an indie career, resulting in the band going inactive.
Solo career
In early 2005, Abay became an
indie artist and initially released an
EP called "''Sampol''" ("Sample") at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
as part of his undergraduate thesis. This work consists of acoustic tracks, which were later reborn as full-band pieces in "''Filipino''," released in May 2006. The album was produced by Robin Rivera, Abay's Art Studies professor in U.P. and album producer of
The Eraserheads who eventually hired ex-Eraserheads
Raimund Marasigan
Raimund Emmanuel Parcon Marasigan (born May 22, 1971) is a Filipino musician and record producer. He is best known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Eraserheads. Marasigan has been described as "the busiest man in the Pinoy music scen ...
and
Buddy Zabala
Hector "Buddy" Avanceña Zabala (born November 13, 1971) is a Filipino musician and producer. He is currently the bassist of Filipino pop band Moonstar88, and widely known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the alternative rock band the E ...
to play in the entire album. "''Flipino''" proved Abay's relevance to Philippine music by releasing songs such as "''Perpekto''" ("Perfect"), "Bombardment" and "''Tuyo''" ("Dry")". A month before that, Abay finally earned his degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Studies (Areas: Creative Writing in Filipino and Humanities) from the University of the Philippines after 18 years.
2013–present
In 2013, he released a conceptual album called ''Rebulto'' ("Bust"), which focuses entirely on the
Rizal Monument
The Rizal Monument (original title: ''Motto Stella''; Latin: "guiding star") is a memorial in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines built to commemorate the executed Filipino nationalist, José Rizal. The monument consists of a standing bronze scu ...
along
Roxas Boulevard
Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a tradem ...
in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, and written from the perspective of
Jose Rizal
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph.
Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean
* Jose ben Halaft ...
, considered one the
Philippine National Heroes, for which the monument stand, in the present day. The lyrics are mostly written in the first person, except for a couple of tracks; notably, the first track "Kilometro Zero" ("Kilometer Zero") is a collation of facts about the Rizal Monument, all lifted from Wikipedia. (In the Philippines, the highway system uses the Rizal Monument, or kilometer zero as a reference for metric distance to any point in the country.) The album was also produced and performed by Raimund Marasigan and Buddy Zabala.
In 2017, he formed a band called Dong Abay Music Organization or D.A.M.O. and they plan to release an album entitled ''Humanidad'' funded through
crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...
. the album were released in October 2017. and a vinyl format were released in August 2021.
Discography
Yano (album)
#Kumusta Na (How are You?) – 3:28
#Tsinelas (Slippers) – 2:44
#State U – 2:47
#Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo (Holy Dog, Saintly Horse) – 4:25
#Trapo (Pejorative term for Traditional Politician;Tra+Po. Literally translates to "dust rag") - 3:23
#Iskolar Ng Bayan (The Nation's Scholar) – 2:57
#Kaka – 2:03
#Esem (wordplay for
SM) – 3:38
#Travel Times - 4:47
#Mc'Jo (wordplay for
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
and
Jollibee
Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) which serves as its flagship brand. Established in 1978 by Tony Tan Caktiong, it is the Philippines' top fast food restaurant and is among the ...
) – 2:51
#Coño Ka P're - 2:21
#Ate (Big Sister) - 2;58
#Senti (short for Sentimental) - 4:44
#Naroon (There) - 3:16
Bawal (album)
#Metro – 2:25
#Dayo (Foreigner) – 4:15
#Askal (
Filipino wordplay for "Asong Kalye", literally means street dog) – 3:25
#Bawal (Prohibited) – 3:48
#Lahat (All/Everybody) – 4:58
#Ate (Big Sister) – 2:59
#Astig (
Filipino slang for Cool) – 3:08
#Sana (I Wish) – 5:07
#Diosdiosan (Fake God) – 3:10
#Pyutcha (
Filipino slang for
Son of a Bitch) – 4:23
Tara (Yano album)
All tracks by Dong Abay and
Eric Gancio, except where noted.
#Ako (Me)
Eric Gancio – 04:48
#Paalam Sampaguita (Goodbye Sampaguita) – 03:39
#Tara (Let's Go) – 04:46
#Kaklase (Classmate) – 04:45
#Abno (short for Abnormal) – 04:36
#Mercy – 04:27
#Going Home – 04:30
#Me Mama (There's A Man)
Dong Abay, Eric Gancio and Onie Badiang – 04:37
#Shobis (Showbiz) – 02:01
#War
Eric Gancio – 03:49)
#Isa (One) – 02:35
Parnaso ng Payaso
#Mabuhay! (Long Live!) - 3:37
#Kahimanawari (God Grant) - 4:11
#Rebolusyon (Revolution) - 4:36
#Hula (Prediction) - 3:32
#Kawatan (Thief) - 4:12
#Dumpsite - 4:38
#Eko (Echo) - 4:28
#Gusto (Want) - 4:38
#Precious - 3:44
#Tayo (Stand Up) 2:59
#Huling Hiling (Last Wish) - 2:59
#Totoy T. - 3:21
#Himig (Melody) - 2:35
#Tagpuan (Tryst) - 4:23
Solo career
#Awit ng Kambing (Chant of the Goat) - 2:48
#Kukote (Occiput) - 3:50
#Perpekto (Perfect) - 4:23
#Tuyo (Dry) - 3:50
#Ay Buhay (Oh Life) - 2:44
#Wwii - 3:23
#Solb (Solve, worldplay for Solvent) - 4:53
#Segundo (Second) - 4:35
#Espasyo (Space) - 3:30
#Akrostik (Acrostic) - 1:32
#Aba-Aba (Poor) - 2:18
#Perpekto (Perfect) - 4:51
#Kukote (Occiput) - 4:13
#Awit ng Kambing (Chant of the Goat) - 3:32
#Tuyo (Dry) - 3:42
#Mateo Singko - 3:49
#Dyad - (Two) 3:53
#Bombardment - 2:31
#Ay Buhay (Oh Life) - 4:14
#Segundo (Second) - 4:57
#Solb (Solve, worldplay for Solvent) - 5:06
#Wwiii - 3:40
#Kilometro Zero (Kilometre Zero) - 3:01
#Kikilos (Act) - 3:03
#Par Que - 3:01
#Anonymous - 3:16
#Rizal Day - 3:35
#Bagumbayan - 5:59
#Titigas (Harden) - 3:57
#Hikahos (Insufficiency)
from the video-documentary "Ilehitimong Utang" (Illegitimate debts) - 2:19
#Dasal (Prayer)
from the album Balangiga 1901 with his previous band Pan - 4:41
#Ang Kailangan Gawin (The Things We Must Do)
from the album "Anti-Corruption Songwriting Competition Finalists", written by Gary Granada - 3:09
#Casadores (Cazadores, Soldiers from Spain. Literally means hunters, huntsmen, shooters, or destroyers)
from the album "ock Ock or OCK may refer to:
* River Ock (disambiguation), three rivers in England
* Ok (Korean name), also spelt Ock
** Ock Joo-hyun (born 1980), South Korean K-pop singer and musical theatre actress
* Océano Club de Kerkennah, a Tunisian football c ...
Supremo", with The Tanods - 3:23
#Ama Namin (Acoustic) (The Lord's Prayer. Literally means Our Father)
Written by Dong Abay for the Filipino crime-drama film " Honor Thy Father" by Erik Matti
Erik Matti (born December 21, 1970) is a Filipino filmmaker. He is known for directing ''On the Job (2013 film), On the Job'' (2013), ''Honor Thy Father (film), Honor Thy Father'' (2015), ''Seklusyon'' (2016), ''BuyBust'' (2018), and ''On the Jo ...
starring John Lloyd Cruz
John Lloyd Espidol Cruz (born June 24, 1983) is a Filipino actor. Regarded as the "''King of Contemporary Cinema''" by the media, Cruz has top-billed several box-office successes. He has more than ten films with box office grosses of ₱100 mill ...
- 2:30
#Ama Namin (The Lord's Prayer. Literally means Our Father)
The orchestrated version for the ''Honor Thy Father'' film trailer at the Contemporary World Cinema premiere of the Toronto International Film Festival in Ontario, Canada - 2:21
#Nasa Puso Ko (In My Heart. Inspired by the words & adapted from the popular music of Psalm 118:24, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.")
the first musical collaboration of Dong Abay & Lourd de Veyra
Lourd Ernest Hanopol de Veyra (; born February 11, 1975) is a Filipino musician, emcee, poet, journalist, TV host, broadcast personality and activist who became famous as the vocalist of the Manila-based jazz rock band Radioactive Sago Proj ...
- 1:38
#Prometheus Unbound
words by Jose F. Lacaba, 1973 and music by Dong Abay, 2015 - 6:24
#Aleluya (Halleluyah)
Filipino version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", translated by Carina Evangelista - 6:57
Awards and nominations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abay, Dong
Filipino rock musicians
Filipino singer-songwriters
1971 births
Living people
Musicians from Manila
University of the Philippines Diliman alumni
21st-century Filipino male singers