ABOUT
Originally named Comic Relief, the band’s initial members were a group of high school students composed of vocalists Chito Miranda, Jeric Estaco, and Vinci Montaner, along with guitarists Mikko Yap and Gab Chee Kee, all hailing from Ateneo de Manila University. They were regulars in after-school jam sessions, before performing an opening number for an Eraserheads concert. This served as their break in the music industry and prompted them to add a drummer and bassist – schoolmate Dindin Moreno and Buwi Meneses, respectively. Around the same time they changed the band’s name to Parokya ni Edgar. After high school, Mikko and Jeric withdrew from the band to pursue other interests. Soon after, the remaining band members invited their friend Darius Semañato take the role of lead guitar.
The band name’s origin has been a long time subject of disputes and debate from fans and audience a like as the band members has been evasive when it comes to the said topic since the group’s inception, but not until 2013 when Chito Miranda officially posted the subject matter and confirmed it in their Facebook page. The name “Parokya Ni Edgar” actually came from a joke by a classmate named Bambi Cuna during one of their high school classes. Sources state that the class subject was Filipino. When the teacher asked Cuna where Jose Rizal’s fictional hero, Crisostomo Ibarra (in the novel Noli Me Tangere), was educated, it was said that Cuna answered with the daft remark “sa Parokya ni Edgar”. For some reason, former vocalist Jeric Estaco then decided to declare “Parokya ni Edgar” as their band name during an introduction on one of their first live performances in an impromptu manner and got stuck by it ever since.