Mark Edward Penabella Escueta (; born 9 January 1976) is a Filipino musician and one of the founding members of the Filipino rock band

Rivermaya Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands that spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion. Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azar ...

. Escueta has been the only constant member of Rivermaya since its inception in 1994.

Early life

Escueta is the eldest of four siblings. He has two younger brothers and one sister. Escueta finished high school at De La Salle Santiago Zobel School and took

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

major in Computer

Applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a ...

at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. His father is lawyer Eduardo U. Escueta, a retired official of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM). Escueta's family originally hails from

Tiaong, Quezon Tiaong (), officially the Municipality of Tiaong (), is a municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,265 people. Tiaong is from Lucena and from Manila. Its name is derived from ...

Musical career

Rivermaya (1994–present)

Escueta began playing drums at the age of 13. He entered the Philippine music industry when he became the drummer of the band Bazurak where one of his bandmates,

Nathan Azarcon Nathan Peter Hachero Azarcon (born January 29, 1975) is a Filipino musician, nationalist, songwriter, and producer. He is currently the bassist, vocalist and one of the founding members of Pinoy rock, Filipino rock band Rivermaya. He was also a m ...

was the bass player. Azarcon introduced Escueta to another band, Xaga, where Azarcon also played bass. In 1994, he replaced Rome Velayo as drummer and percussionist of Xaga which eventually disbanded and was renamed

. He served as drummer of Rivermaya until 2011 when Ryan Peralta replaced him as the drummer. He gradually switched to guitars and became the lead vocalist of the band (along with Mike Elgar and later Nathan Azarcon). Peralta left in May 2018 and Escueta resumed his role as the band’s drummer. On his birthday at 9 January 2016, he re-united with his former

co-members, Perf de Castro,

and

Rico Blanco Rico Rene Granados Blanco (born March 17, 1973) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, endorser and entrepreneur. He began his career as one of the founding members, and served as the chief songwriter, ...

for a "surprise mini semi-reunion", following de Castro's gig at 19 East,

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

Other musical interests

Escueta is also the former drummer of the short-lived band, Planet Garapata formed by

Eraserheads Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ƎRASERHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino rock band formed in Quezon City in 1989. The band consists of lead singer and primary songwriter Ely Buendia, guitarist Marcus Adoro, bassist Buddy Zabala, and dr ...

drummer,

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 ...

in 1996.

Personal life

Escueta married singer-actress

Jolina Magdangal Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipino singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Philippine Pop Culture", she is credited for heavily inf ...

on 21 November 2011. The two have kids named Pele and Vika.

Discography

;Rivermaya * ''

'' (1994) * '' Trip'' (1996) * ''

Atomic Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

'' (1997) * '' It's Not Easy Being Green'' (1999) * '' Free'' (2000) * '' Tuloy ang Ligaya'' (2001) * '' Between the Stars and Waves'' (2003) * '' You'll Be Safe Here'' (EP) (2005) * ''

Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo ''Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo'' ( Filipino: "One Vein, One Blood") is the eighth studio album by Filipino rock band Rivermaya, released on October 10, 2006, through Viva Records. Except for original track "Isang Bandila (One Flag)", it is a cover ...

'' (2006) * '' Bagong Liwanag'' (EP) (2007) * ''

Buhay The buhay () (also known as a bugai, buhai, berebenytsia, bika, buga, bochka) is a musical instrument that is used in Ukraine and is classified as a friction drum. ''Buhay'' is the Ukrainian word for great bittern (Botaurus stellaris), and i ...

'' (2008) * '' Closest Thing to Heaven'' (2009) * '' Panatang Makabanda'' (2013) * '' Sa Kabila ng Lahat'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escueta, Mark De La Salle University alumni 21st-century Filipino musicians Living people 1976 births Musicians from Quezon Rivermaya members