In the early 90's, having a band is not much of a feat to muster. it's how would your band fare and how big a chink your band would have in the music armor. One such band that made a mark in that era is HALF-LIFE HALF-DEATH. Lyricist , percussionist and front man Alfie Vera Mera reminisced how his love for music and how his band came about and fared out
“I discovered Punk Rock and New Wave music for the first time (as a 10-year-old) via RJAM 100’s Howlin’ Dave radio show”, recalls Alfie.
Born and raised in Pasay City, Alfie went to Stay.Clara Parish School in Pasay. This is where he would meet his future band. With Pet de Jesus rhythm guitarist and Rain Paggao as lead guitarist and Joel Reyes as bass player.
“In one of our memorable early gigs in 1988 in Makati called SEED OF PARANOIA, I remember Ronnie Reyes, when he was still with his group MAJOR MINOR, while we were singing HIGH SCHOOL (LIFE), he suddenly went up to the stage and grabbed a microphone started to perform with the band, that was a good night of jamming”, recalls Alfie
In 1990, they became one of the forefronts of Duke of Charlez Rock Against Drugs Campus Tour. And on 1992 they entered the club scene, playing their first gig at Club Dredd - Timog in April.
By 1993, Inspired by DWLA 105.9 FM, they went to record original songs “Alimango” and “Butterflies”; “Alimango” entered the station’s Daily Top 10 Countdown.
“Ed Formoso, who was one of the consultants of DWLA105, invited us to join the compilation album A Dozen Alternatives (released by Viva Records)—the first compilation album that featured us—“Kapit-Tukô”; this was followed by another compilation, Christmas on the Rocks, which featured our original arrangement of S.Y. Ramos’s “Sa Paskong Darating”; I suggested to Formoso that we produce a compilation album that would feature Alternative Rock versions of Filipino Pop songs/ballads, with our version of Sharon Cuneta/George Canseco’s “High School (Life)” in mind; Formoso pursued my idea.” Quips Alfie.
As if not enough, Viva Records asked HLHD to do the Original Soundtrack of the film Okey si Ma’am, starring Paco Arespacochaga and Geneva Cruz. This is where they recorded a cover arrangement of Sampaguita/Enrie Virtuoso’s “Nosi Ba Lasi?”; and finally, HLHD was signed to Viva Records with the support of The Dawn’s Jett Pangan to record what became their one-and-only full-length album, co-written by Rain Paggao, Pet de Jesus, Ramil Aznar and Alfie Mera entitled “Pymyth Prahn”.
“Jett Pangan was a record label manager at Viva during the time, and he was the one who suggested us to Viva after seeing us perform on Chibugan Na our original song “Alimango,” saying that our image and music struck him as New Wave, The Smiths and The Cure rolled into one”, marvels Alfie. They also guested in other shows like; ASAP, That’s Entertainment, SST, GMA Supershow, Inday Badiday’s See True.
By 1997 the band disbanded. But by 2000 they reformed, planned to make second album; did club gigs again; but in 2003, Alfie had to immigrate to Canada, breaking up the band for good. In Canada, Alfie never stopped writing, not as a musician but a literary guru in his own right.
“I pursued poetry writing which I started as early as fourth-year high school, started writing blogs, scribbling any literary works I can muster, in my free time. In 2005, i became a contributor to Filipino Journal – the leading local Filipino community newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The newspaper gave me my own columns—to be able to tackle articles on Culture & Lifestyles, Languages & Literature and Music & Genres. I entertained the idea of compiling all my newspaper articles into a proper book; worked on this for years—writing, rewriting, and editing, plus laying out the actual book myself, having a background in layout works.
In 2016 – Alfie Mera published Book 1 of his Essay Series via McNally Robinson Booksellers. “Joe Pintauro, E.E.Cummings, JRR Tolkien, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, Jonathan Swift, Virgilio Almario, Jose Rizal, Daniel Steel, Og Mandino, Paolo Coelho, are some of my influences in writing.” he adds.
Still the musician in him Alfie recalls his collaboration with the late Gary Ignacio (he wrote YOUR LOVE with his band ALAMID), when he contributed vocal tracks to a song Alfie wrote (“Buhay-Karnabal”) and recorded with his band “haLf man haLf eLf”.
“Myra Ruaro of Pu3ska contributed vocals in my own arrangement of a song by Lea Salonga/Roger Williams, which I retitled as “I Am Not a Small Voice (Anymore)”; True Faith’s Medwyn Marfil contributed vocal tracks to my original arrangement of Eraserheads’ “Ang Huling El Bimbo” and The Camerawalls’ “Ignore My Weakness, Don’t Ignore Me”—all yet to be released”, adds Alfie.
“In 2013, I went to the Philippines to watch the concert of Modern English and The Alarm; during the pre-gig press conference, I jammed with Modern English’s guitarist Gary McDowell with the venue’s house band to sing “Hands across the Sea” In 2017, I jammed with Dodong Cruz of The Youth, Cookie Chua’s Color It Red, and the rest of Grin Dept. during their Canadian tour. In 2018, I joined Introvoys and Rivermaya’s Perf de Castro onstage to sing a number of New Wave covers during the band’s Canadian tour.” Adds Alfie.
He was asked by Jeremy Kelly of The Lotus Eaters to write the text for the sleeve of the Special Vinyl Edition of No Sense of Sin (2017). Asked by Paul Skillen of the English band This Final Frame to contribute an article to his book Scouse Pop, published in Liverpool, England, in 2018. He have been writing album reviews for CrypticRock.com since 2015. Releasing of another Poetry Series middle of this year, titled Pag-ihip sa Dahon ng Kahapon . And if those does not qualify as accomplishments, I don’t know what is.
Alfie, just very recent, was accorded the Canadian citizenship. At 47 and living with his son Evawwen in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is the very definition of life for this Elfman.
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