First off the person doesn’t exist. The name is an anagram for the Ilocano words for “dead” (natay) and “neighbor” (karovam or karubam). How the band calls themselves is only the beginning of the world of whimsy and weirdness attached to one of the most original groups to rise out of the woodwork in years.
The old adage, “the more the merrier” doesn’t ring truer than in the case of Tanya Markova. Eight individuals make up the band: Harlon Agsaoay and Angelo del Pilar are the pillars and main cohorts. Vocalists and co-songwriters, they are known by their aliases Norma Love and Iwa Motors. The rest of the band have also been christened with head-scratching nom de guerres pulled from pop culture influences: keyboardist Jasper Borbajo is Heart Abunda, drummer Edu Broce is Rufa Mae Milby, guitarist EJ Guevarra is Jennylyn Sucaldito, second guitarist Florante Sabas is Rez Curtis, bassist Francis Chavez is Skrovak Iskopanjo and Philip Alejandro aka Mowmow is, well, lets just say his official function in the group is “back-up singer and entertainer.”
Even if you’ve never heard of the group, you must have some idea of their work. Their introduction into the mainstream came via that hard-to-escape ditty, Picture Picture. A quick scan of the rest of the song titles in their all-original, all-Filipino debut album under major label MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines) reveals a group with quite a twisted, almost demented sense of humor. There’s Mag-Exorcise Tayo, Hoy Bampira Ako (Takot Ka Na?), Linda Blair, Nay Sama Ko (Monster Mommy) and PA Roadie Fernandez. Already there is some idea of how the band approaches songwriting, and their place in the local musical landscape.
It would be too easy to dismiss the band as yet another novelty act that would disappear just as quickly as they have barged into the scene with their wild getups and even wilder genre of music, but strangely, their appeal transcends the momentary and the superficial. The fact that Picture Picture manages to cut across class and genre—having been played in almost all Top 40 radio stations catering to everyone from the A to E markets—suggests that the band has crossover potential, something that not a lot of music acts these days can claim to have.
Even the band’s style and getup is out of the ordinary. Live shows are a mixture of the bizarre and the hysterical. The crazy costumes go with the hilarious song topics, but underneath, there are moments of lucidity and hints of an ulterior message. It may be too presumptuous to suggest the album is a commentary on just how ludicrous local Philippine media and entertainment have become. It’s either that or the fellas are just simply having the time of their lives. Either way the fun’s just starting for the boys of Tanya Markova, and all of us listeners are here just lapping it all up.
For more on Tanya Markova, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/markovatanya.
