Check Longganisa's Panibagong Simula (New Beginning) here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1K0TImK27UPWWcBljOxCCs (Spotify)
https://music.apple.com/ph/album/panibagong-simula-single/1836739036 (Apple Music)
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"To the Music Circle, keep rocking on!"
Longganisa after their Iconic Panibagong Simula
Longganisa after their Iconic Panibagong Simula
The Link, December 1, 2025
By Jose Joaquin M. Siwa
It was the dawn of an illustrious music journey. Longganisa, LSM’s most memorable band of SOL 2024, lives on, despite its members separated by college schedules and branching career paths. In an exclusive interview with their vocalist, Daniel Quibuyen, and drummer, Vernon Xedric, I was able to learn the story of their band’s origins, their significant memories, and their aspirations for brotherhood in the future.
Photos Courtesy of Longganisa | Dane Deladia (Guitarist), Juami Imperial (Bassist), Roland Juinio (Lead Guitarist), Daniel Quibuyen (Vocalist and Guitarist), and Vernon Xedric (Drummer)
Origin of 'Longganisa'
When getting into a band, many would get curious about the name. Kurt Cobain wanted a name that was "beautiful and nice and pretty,” so he settled on the band name, Nirvana. The Eraserheads got their name after David Lynch’s 1977 film, “Eraserhead.”
So how did the band come up with “Longganisa”? Well, according to them, “Longganisa” was supposed to be temporary. When asked about why they kept it, Quibuyen said,
We came up with the name during Grade 8. One day, we decided to pick a serious name for the band but we never agreed on any of the serious names. Tumatak lang sa amin yung Longganisa (Longganisa left a mark).
Well, there you have it. Apparently, the silly placeholder became too iconic to change and, perhaps, it was for the best.
Beginning of the Band
Another question one might ask when getting into a band is how the members initially got together. IV of Spades got together when Blaster, the lead guitarist of the group asked his dad to help him form a band. Similarly, Longganisa started the same way.
Xedric was stoked to answer the question. He recalled how back when they were in Grade 8, he approached Sir Ruben ‘RJ’ Bautista, asking if he knew any other students who played instruments. He wanted to form a band. That small favor led to the creation of Longganisa all the way back in 2020.
When asked about what got them all into producing music, Quibuyen recalled that ever since Grade 7, he always liked poetry—something that many songwriters start with. During the pandemic, he decided to learn guitar. He placed the chords and verses of his poems to create music out of it.
When the band formed, we started out as a cover band like most bands, but we got sick of it. So towards the end of Grade 12 when we were invited to play for High School Night, we began making our own compositions. Panibagong Simula (New Beginning) was a result of that.
Music Genre
Upon asking them which artists helped shape the genre or style of music that the band creates, Quibuyen, as the main songwriter, volunteered to answer,
OPM bands like Eraserheads inspired me most in the sense that most modern songs are all about romance or ligaw. We did not want to hop on that bandwagon, and I love how, if you notice, Eraserheads’ songs aren’t all about romance. Spoliarium was about getting drunk and Alapaap was an ode to freedom. I wanted to be like Eraserheads to make songs that could just be about anything. It could be about romance, friendship, or any random topic that would sound good as a song.
Music is a vessel where we can transfer our emotions and messages. So when asked what message or feeling they want their listeners to take away after listening to their songs, they said, “They should expect a lot of random topics or subjects they won’t expect to relate to.” Just like Eraserheads, their songs won’t be limited to love songs, though they would still write them.
“Our songs will be about a lot of things like friendship or politics—all aspects of life.” They ended off that question by mentioning how one of their band members had once mentioned that he “would like to have a conversation with the audience.”
Passion for Music
Everyone in the band has a story behind his passion for music. Xedric expressed,
I grew up with The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, … My music taste influences what I do in this band. Watching them perform stuff like that is cool and I also want to emulate the artists I look up to.
On the other hand, Quibuyen said,
Ever since I was a kid I was already good at singing and I loved it. Everyone in the family knew how to sing and my parents were a huge influence both on my singing and on my music taste. I call myself an old soul and choose older songs like in the 80's rather than the 2020's.
Panibagong Simula (New Beginning)
Like every high school band experience, core memories are bound to be made. Although they said that “some memories can’t be shared,” they were willing to share the writing of “Panibagong Simula (New Beginning).” According to Xedric,
We worked on it at the end of March 2024. It was a really bittersweet time in my life and we put that in the song, the inevitably of having to say goodbye and start anew. High School Night was the best memory for me since that was the first time we performed ‘Panibagong Simula (New Beginning).’
Since they mentioned that writing Panibagong Simula (New Beginning) was a core memory for them, I asked what the process was like. According to Quibuyen,
I had already made drafts of Panibagong Simula (New Beginning) before Sir RJ asked me to write a song for Graduation. It's a tradition for graduation songs to be original. There were many initial drafts and I focused on the memories and the saying goodbye part. But as my skills improved, I didn't want Panibagong Simula (New Beginning) to just be about graduation. I wanted it to be about new beginnings in life and to be relatable to anyone. I wrote it to say ‘meron pang pag-asa (there is still hope).’
And when asked about why it took so long to release the song on Spotify, they had this to say:
There were several reasons for the delay. It was mostly because no one was willing to mix it and because we were busy with college. It wasn’t until one day, Sean Torres approached one of our members to ask for a recording of Panibagong Simula (New Beginning), but we didn't have a recording. He approached a teacher and recorded the song in his house. It took us 2 months. We didn't expect it to be that good so we posted it on Spotify.
“Keep Rocking On!”
To wrap up the interview, we asked the two bandmates what they would like to say to all their fans. Quibuyen said,
Thank you for the support you've given us and without you di kami magkakaroon ng (we would not have the) drive to write more songs for people to hear. We also want to tell all our juniors who want to start music: follow your heart no matter what other people say. Don't listen to others and do what you're passionate about.
In addition to this, Xedric left his final remark,
If you like music na hindi katanggap-tanggap (that is not the norm), keep listening to it. Stick with it so long as you have a message. Music is a beautiful thing and don't be discouraged. Good luck sa allowance kasi mahal ang equipment. And to the Music Circle, keep rocking on!
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