It was 1993. I was a high school freshman, and my father had decided that I was ready to watch my first rock gig.

Considering that the last show I watched was MC Hammer’s concert at Araneta Coliseum, Club Dredd along Edsa was unfamiliar, albeit intriguing, territory.

Installing egg trays on the walls and the ceiling for acoustic purposes was a foreign concept; long-haired scruffy men in Top 40 shirts were once part of a surreal, imagined universe. My only idea of rock’n’roll at the time was whatever my dad would play on the car stereo. I had no clue whatsoever of who was going to play that night, but if the crowd was any indication, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be playing bubblegum pop.

I half expected my ears to bleed from the noise, but they didn’t.

On the contrary, they were charmed and I, seduced into the local band scene. That gig made me realize that heavy, pounding rock music could be beautiful (yes, I actually said that), and that good music doesn’t always come from mainstream radio.

Fast-forward to 1999. I attended the NU Rock Awards for the first time and saw the same band that taught me to appreciate homegrown independent musicians win the Listener’s Choice Award. The band’s frontman, Basti Artadi, bagged the Vocalist of The Year award for the third time in a row.

By then I knew that Wolfgang had established a name in the Pinoy rock scene; won Album and Artist of the Year awards for 1996’s “Semenelin,” with Vocalist, Bassist and Drummer of the Year awards for Artadi, Mon Legaspi and Wolf Gemora respectively; earned platinum recognition for “Wurm,” which was released the year after; and had just released its fourth album, “Serve in Silence.”

The three albums were a major record deal, an acknowledgement from the music industry that the band had indeed crossed over from being obscure to pretty damn famous.

While the lyrical content of Wolfgang’s songs and the arrangements were much heavier than that of other then rising bands, this distinct feature may actually have been Wolfgang’s edge over the competition. Wolfgang will never be as amusing to listen to as, say, Parokya ni Edgar, and its songs will never be as easy to relate to as those of the Eraserheads, but one can’t deny that no other band from that era—aside from Razorback, perhaps—came close to being as hard-hitting Pinoy rock as this one.

Undeniable talent

With the meteoric rise of Wolfgang’s popularity came the recognition of each individual band member. Not surprisingly, Artadi, as the frontman, was one of the most recognized, and not merely for his quintessential rockstar good looks, but more importantly, for his undeniable talent.

His singing of the first few lines of “Mata ng Diyos” almost ceremoniously, and the effect his powerful, distinct voice brings to the song as it goes uptempo towards the chorus, is nothing short of climactic.

Artadi has ventured into other projects. “Brain Salad” was a recording project, a collaboration with Razorback’s Dave Aguirre, Brian Velasco and Louie Talan. The first live performance happened only this year at the Jack Daniels Indie Fest.

A local production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” saw Artadi in the title role. He returns to the stage this month in 9 Works Theatrical’s installation of “American Idiot,” where he plays the iniquitous St. Jimmy.

Given that the cast is headed by Artadi and other prominent figures in the local music scene, “American Idiot” is expected to draw rock and theater fans alike.

On stage at the Jack Daniels Indie Fest and during a one-on-one interview in the press conference for “American Idiot,” Artadi hinted that he wouldn’t be performing on stage much longer. At the Indie Fest, there was sadness in his eyes when he admitted that soon, he wouldn’t be playing in a band anymore.

While it may or may not have been connected to his previous claims, his Facebook post on Tuesday came as a shock to many. The post talked about his medical condition. Artadi has a benign facial nerve tumor that affects facial movement and requires a procedure to address it, albeit temporarily.

To help collect funds for his procedure and to financially support his family while he cannot perform, he is selling shirts through Jeepney Rockstop Philippines.

The shirt shows an image of his face, but it’s not there for vanity. “Its just a picture of my face which I thought would be a good symbol for me getting back the lost symmetry, so no, it’s not because I’m full of myself. I thank God every day because I’m lucky that this thing still left me with the ability to sing; what would have really sucked is if it took 100 percent of the motion from the get go,” he shares on the Facebook post.

To order the shirt and help Basti, visit https://www.facebook.com/Jeepneyrockstop/ or text 09156212189. Jeepney Rockstop will deliver nationwide and abroad. A Go Fund Me account has also been set up by his sister, Sabrina Artadi. Donations can be made through this link: https://www.gofundme.com/welovebastiartadi.