Combolata

The Ambassadors

The Ambassadors is a punk/pop-punk band from Cebu, Philippines.

Not new to the music scene, The Ambassadors proved that to exist and enjoy their place only takes patience, dedication and a whole lot of fun! With punk as the root of their lifestyle, The Ambassadors are serious and comedic. They are stoic and irreverent. They are “EXPN”; the ultimate adrenalinerush. Clean vocals mixed with crunch-guitars and choir-like backing vocals touched with a bassist who is one with the drummer’s complicated pounding of the drums, makes up this melodic-punk-unpredictable force.

By the time you read this, Philippines punk rock quartet The Ambassadors would have played in the massive Filipino rock festival Summer Slam 9 alongside luminaries like American metal heroes Shadows Fall, Hong Kong’s King Ly Chee, Malaysia’s Pop Shuvit and their own country’s rock flag-fliers like Typecast and Chicosci. They would have also just released their new album Life Goes On, and would be getting ready for an average of three gigs a week for the next several months.

And in all that busyness–plus the fact that they toured Singapore with Junksounds Awards 2008 Best Group Urbandub last year, share the same label (Sonic Shape Records) with Filipino rockers Faspitch and have already recorded four albums–chances are you’ve still not heard of them. For a band called The Ambassadors, that might seem rather ironic. But that’s also a tad premature, since this four-man delegation has hardly started its round trips from those fertile shores of Cebu to the rest of South East Asia.

Nevertheless, proper introductions are in order. The Ambassadors consist of Bai Nuñez (vocals, guitars), Joseph “Joyjoy” Agura (bass, backing vocals), Dennis Suarez (drums, snores) and Chris Janulgue (guitars, backing vocals). Their new 12-track album is actually the band’s fourth release, but first with the current lineup. “It’s inspired by the band’s struggles, experiences and some personal stuff,” says Chris. “For the longest time, we wanted to release an album that would define us. I think this is the album to represent what The Ambassadors truly have been over the years.”

So what are The Ambassadors, truly? Pop punk. Make no mistake; The Ambassadors are pop punk to the very marrow. Palm-muted lines run alongside snare-heavy drumming, and the band find little shame in shooting as much of pop punk’s fetish for harmonies (read: vocals, guitar licks) and “you’re not alone” lyrics (read: you’re not alone) into their own ditties. The NOFX vibes are so prevalent, you’d think Cebu were a suburb in California.

Yet it is precisely because of such shameless adherence that The Ambassadors have grown in size and stature. The sheer positivity of their tunes might grate to some, but they certainly deserve a fair spin amidst myriad global problems. “Do you ever think it’s possible to save the world/Change it peacefully?” wonders Bai on ‘Rescue The World’, and he is quickly greeted with replies of “I think it’s possible!” from his bandmates. Elsewhere, first single ‘A New Start’ might not set critical watchtowers alight, but its repeated declaration that “life goes on” through the bridge will surely strike a chord with teenage listeners who might tend to think otherwise. “It’s a song about starting over and trying not to make the same mistakes again,” says Bai. “‘Life goes on’ means moving on. It relates to the band’s experiences from the past with struggles of lineup changes.”

The band formed in 2007 out of a shared love for punk rock. Former vocalist Iping Morales christened the band The Ambassadors of Goodwill, “Because we wanted to spread goodwill through music,” says Bai. From there emerged the shortened name, and three albums in two years soon followed together with a solid on-ground following and some zany music videos (including one that involves a blue bear popping up everywhere, shot for the band’s single ‘Smile’ off the last album Question Mark).

Yet after the third album, the band was hit by the departure of Iping. (“Iping left the band for personal reasons,” says Bai simply. “But yeah, we’re all still friends.”) Regrouping, Bai took over frontman duties while the band recruited Chris to fill in the guitar void. And in true testament to the Philippines’ close-knit indie community, members from other acts soon joined in the project. Urbandub frontman Gabby Alipe helped produce some vocal parts, Ga Mendoza from Gabby’s side project Beachhead chipped in vocals for ‘This Is The End’, and the label staff together with other Faspitch and Urbandub members all added the gang shouts. “The Filipino independent music scene just keeps getting better and better,” says Bai. “There are a lot of great bands, musicians and new music. It’s awesome.”

As The Ambassadors get ready to traverse broader shores, they know it will take more than friendly handshakes and fine dining to smooth over the masses. Yet they seem to be all primed for the challenge of making new buddies. “We treat our fans just like we’d treat our friends,” says Joyjoy. “We drink, we hang out and sometimes we skate with them. We definitely respect and love them.”

Friends in high places making good music; those are the kinds of mates we all need. And The Ambassadors will see you now.

Current Members:
Bai Nuñez (vocals, guitars)
Joseph Agura (bass, b-vocals)
Dennis “Sua” Suarez (drums, snores)
Chris Janulgue (guitars, b-vocals)
Mark Padayao (vocals/MISSING)