Music was a bonding force for the five Garcia brothers – Kenneth, Dexter, Chris, Jamir, and Sonboy – especially when they migrated to Virginia in the United States in the early 1990s.
‘As familiar as we are with American culture, it is still different when you are here for the next stage of your life,’ reminisced Chris, the middle brother.
The alternative music scene exploded and actually crossed over into the mainstream. If the brothers only heard grunge, alternative rock, shoegaze, and Britpop on the radio or watched on music television networks, now they were smack in the middle of it.
They had a front-row seat to what also changed 1990s fashion and culture.
‘The first show that we saw here in the United States was Candlebox,’ said Chris. The Seattle-based band was chewing up the radio airwaves on the strength of their self-titled debut album and its singles ‘You’, ‘Far Behind’, and ‘Cover Me’.
‘We went to a lot of shows, including festivals such as Lollapalooza. Since I was the one working, I would pay for Jamir’s tickets. And mura pa kahit paano noon.’
Among the siblings, music resonated deeper with Dexter, Chris, and Jamir. And the three formed their band, Bruce Lee’s Curse, that started out with covers just like everyone else before they began performing originals.’
Dexter was on drums with Chris on bass, and Jamir playing the guitar and singing. Their music dripped with inspiration from bands such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.
‘Even then he could write songs,’ reflected Chris. ‘Magaling talaga.’
‘Jamir was dead set on making music his life,’ shared Chris, who is four years older. ‘After he finished high school, he thought of going back to the Philippines to make a go of it.’
‘And it was crazy in the Philippines. The scene also exploded. And Jamir felt that the time was right.’
‘When his band, Slapshock, became successful, I wasn’t too surprised. After all, he was locked in and determined.’
Chris did admit he was surprised and even happier about the band’s longevity and sustained level of success.
After his passing in 2020, there were a few songs that remained unreleased until the underground record label, Eikon Records, deigned to put them out as a legacy release.
So, Eikon Records put out Lean Jamir and Chi, four songs – ‘electric’, ‘Hiwaga’, ‘Kidlat’, and ‘Salapi’ – originally intended for Slapshock’s supposed new album, but the trio kept to themselves after internal struggles. The trio added back up vocalist Krystaline Arantza Martinez to give the finished songs a different shine from their old outfit.
‘All of us here – we were excited when we heard the news about the upcoming release,’ enthused Chris. ‘All of his releases were out in physical format. And now, the last songs have also been given a physical life.’
However, the word is Eikon Records isn’t done. If the Garcia family agrees to it, the first original songs Jamir penned with Bruce Lee’s Curse could see the light of day. And that would be closing the circle.