DOMINIC GAMBOA
Interview by Phil Go from 2003
of Betrayed
Can you tell me how you got into Punk and how you got together with the other members of Betrayed?
I remember back in '75 reading about an article on the Sex Pistols, and eventually hearing their music in '77, that stirred up my curiosity. It seemed to me, at that time, that Punk was the answer to the complacent state of rock'n'roll. Somewhere along the late 70's and into the 80's, a renegade disc jockey by the name of Howlin' Dave started playing punk on the airwaves.
I eventually hooked up with Buddy after a gig with my earlier outfit Absolute Zero. The original members of Betrayed had already left for the States and Buddy wanted to get Betrayed gigging again. So he eventually got me to do the vocal chores, Boyet Miguel on bass and Manny Pagsuyuin on drums.
The Punk scene in the Philippines was not widely known internationally when it existed, did the punks who were involved paid any attention to foreign bands or were mostly into the local stuff?
Well, at first most of the bands were covering stuff by the UK punk bands but eventually everybody started coming out with their own original stuff and eventually got signed up with the Twisted Red Cross label.
What did punk mean to you back then? I mean did you see it as a youth movement capable of making people question their way of thinking or was it more of a way expressing anger or even having fun? Also was does it mean to you today if means anything to you at all?
Punk, to me, meant questioning and confronting the status quo head on. It was also a mirror of the times. To some it was merely a medium to release all the anger and repression brought about by the Martial Law years. While others probably just had a fun time playing dress up and aping their Western counterparts. Yep, there were a lot of poseurs too who jumped on the bandwagon and cashed in on it.
I would say that it still holds the same meaning for me now as it did 20 or so years ago... taking direct action and less lip service.
I understand that you are currently the singer for a Reggae group, Tropical Depression. How's that like? Is the vibe different than being in a Punk group?
I've always been a fan of reggae music, and even during my stint with Betrayed, I would inject a couple of reggae songs in between. The medium may be different but the voice of the punks and the rastas are one in their struggle against the system. Maybe the only reason I went back to playing reggae was that I wanted to reach out to a more broader audience and not just to the youth.
The vibe may be a bit laid back as compared to the 1-2-3-4 in your face songs that I used to belt out, but the essence is still there.
Betrayed recently reformed and are putting out material, any chance of a renunion gig with the guys? Any news of a proper release of the older material?
I do join the guys onstage once in a while. I heard they recently came out with a 3 track CD with a remixed version of one of the last songs I wrote when I was still with them. I really don't know what their plans are as of the moment but there was talk about releasing an album within the year.
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