Club Dredd is back

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

“…WALA pa yung MTV… wala pa yung Internet.. wala pa yung iPod or MP3. Wala pa yung cable. Wala pa yung cell phone, wala pa yung CD or DVD. Meron lang Betamax!”

With those words, Raimund Marasigan of Filipino rock band Sandwich set the tone for what was going to be the night’s anthem. It was a new song Marasigan and his band had composed (it is not yet recorded) for this special night when a younger crowd witnessed the debut of Club Dredd in Eastwood in Libis, Quezon City.

For upcoming Filipino rock bands, Club Dredd was the place to launch a music career or something close to that. The names are now all too familiar: Eraserheads, Razorback, Rivermaya, Teeth, Wolfgang, among others.

“Sa Jingle magazine, natuto ka mag-gitara…”

Patrick Reidenbach, owner of Club Dredd, said it was nine years since this joint closed its doors. It was June 12, 1998, he recalls, adding that he was forced to shut down the place to take care of a family business.

“I had to concentrate on my dad’s business,” he said, as he took a puff of his cigarette in the Playroom, another new joint just above Club Dredd.

Reidenbach said he finally decided to partner with the Gweilos Group who agreed to take care of the F&D (food and drinks), while he took care of the “entertainment,” which meant lining up mostly original Pinoy bands that have already earned a name in the local rock music pantheon.

The new Club Dredd, however, is still sticking to its original philosophy of discovering new bands in the country.

“‘Di pwede cover bands dito (We don’t want cover bands),” he says, adding that he also does not want the new Club Dredd to end up as a “nostalgia club.”

But Marasigan and Sandwich were probably feeling nostalgic when they played “Sembreak” composed by none other than Marasigan’s old band the Eraserheads.

Reidenbach says that he official set up Club Dredd on June 1. It is located on the second floor of Gweilos Eastwood, which he says is a much-improved gig house compared to the old Club Dredd in Timog and later in Cubao. Club Dredd’s website explains:

What’s great about the place? Well we have improved the sound system, with the help of Stephen Lu of Loudhouse. Also, no more worries about the aircon and banyo that plagued the old venues. We have an excellent, high quality kitchen and bar provided by the Gweilos Group, which is headed by old Dredd habitues Raul De Castro and Marlo Benitez, plus 24-hr security and parking.

We have yet to put up the signage and dress up the place, but since we took over, already many of our favorite acts new and old have played there, and many, many more are scheduled to perform in the coming weeks and months.

The “oldtimers” of Club Dredd like Papa Dom, Jing Garcia and Marasigan all agreed that the new Club Dredd was way, way better looking than its predecessors.

“We were so excited when Patrick called us. There was no joint in the Quezon City Area. In Makati, you had Saguijo, and in España Mayric’s,” Marasigan said.

“It is quite nostalgic but this is a chance to do it better this time. Dati kasi parang naging Divisoria ng banda yung dati sa Edsa. Wala ng quality control,” Marasigan added with a laugh.

“As long as the bands are playing what they like, Club Dredd will always be different,” said technology journalist and former Jingle magazine writer Garcia, who started out as a sound technician when the joint was still in Timog.

Reidenbach said some people have said that Club Dredd has become sosyal. He stressed, however, that wherever you put this joint, it will always be Club Dredd.

He said the official launch of the joint might happen sometime in September. But he said he and his partners are still discussing this.

He plans to revive the old Club Dredd Jazz nights and poetry reading, dubbed Dredd Poets Society.

Other bands who performed at Club Dredd that night include Duster (a new all-female band), Manibela, and Pedicab. Here’s a photo of Duster.

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