General Luna – what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name? Is that the general who fought for our country alongside other heroes a long time ago? Or is that the street in old Intramuros? If you say it’s none of the above mentioned, but indeed the name rings a bell, you’ve probably heard them on the radio, seen them on TV, or came across their video on the world wide web. To save some trouble of looking them up on google, General Luna is the newest all female, all Filipino rock band, a group of seriously gifted and drifted individuals who have both the looks and skills that kill.

During the infant days of General Luna, NU107 served as home to their music. With pure talent and a fresh take on rock music up each member’s sleeve, plus the pretty good response the band was getting from the listeners, NU107 made General Luna its first ever Rock Recruits for the month of April.

General Luna is composed of Alex Montemayor on bass, Audry Dionisio on rhythm guitar, Bea Lao on drums, Caren Mangaran on lead guitar and Nicole Asensio on lead vocals. The band was born, one may say, out of luck and perfect timing. Just as they were starting out, Warner Music was scouting for a group who can really rock out and at the same time, give a new face to the usual façade of rock n’ roll. But why the name General Luna? Vocalist Nicole Asencio says, “It has nothing to do with Gen. Antonio Luna.” It’s a combination of the words General which is masculine, and Luna which is feminine - a balance of the 2 concepts.

One good way to sample General Luna’s music is by the single “Red Heaven” – a combination of loud guitar riffs and catchy melodic verses, which tells about the stomach churning experience of a nightmare. With the single’s steady climb to number 1 on NU107’s chart Stairway to Seven, the band and listeners alike proved that their music truly deserves a spot in the local music scene along with other serious rock acts in the country.


Speaking of serious, some serious work was exhausted to put together General Luna’s self-titled debut album which was crafted together with topnotch artists and songwriters. Among them are Typecast frontman Steve Badiola for the 1st single “Red Heaven”, Mayonnaise vocalist and guitarist Monty Macalino for 2nd single “Nandito”, a song which talks about parent-child relationships and the struggles they share or cannot share with each other. Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree wrote the song “Maria”, a personal favorite of bassist Alex Montemayor. The track’s melody and lyrics aim to inspire hope to all women who are experiencing violence or oppression, plus “it’s a feel good kind of song” adds Alex, with lines like “Hangga’t may pag-asa at naniniwala.. Hangga’t may kamay na handing umalalay.. Bumangon ka Maria..” “Walang Bintana”, produced by Typecast guitarist Pakoy Fletchero, offers very unique drum parts to the repertoire while Rivermaya bassist Japs Sergio helped produced two tracks of the album, both with a socio-political theme – “Dala Ng Ulan” with its lines which goes “Tama ng pagdurusa / Tama ng kalokohan / Tigilan nang pagpapanggap / Tigilan muna ang eksena” and “Pagmulat,” with lyrics “Magkaisa / Tayo na / Ibalik ang alala / Na kahapon nagbigay ng kapayapaan”. Along with them are musician and NU107’s Francis Brew Reyes and multi-awarded recording engineer Angee Rozul who helped create the album.

Aimed at sharing their music mainly to today’s generation, General Luna is very fortunate to be in the time of glory of handy-dandy internet. What with Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and various online blogs, the internet became one of key tools to get their music to the public. With the use of the famous Youtube channel via GeneralLunaTV, anyone can easily access videos of General Luna’s latest gigs and TV appearances. The channel has already gotten more than 60,000 hits since it was put up last March of this year. Alongside that success, today’s number 1 music channel in the Philippines – MYX, premiered “Red Heaven” on MYX Premiere and thru their online channel MYXph.com. With a rather notably fast pace, people are discovering the talent and the undeniable beauty of the femme fatale band which is evident with their fan page on Facebook, already 7,000 strong after only a few months of inception. As a return favor to General Luna’s supporters, the band is now currently working on a website, which will be filled with photos and videos of gigs, trips, or little trivia that one may want to know about every member. www.generalluna.com is sure to keep you hooked and informed at the same time.


General Luna is currently able to play their music around gig pits like Saguijo, Obsidian and Capone’s to name a few. But for a fairly new band, General Luna was thrilled to do a number of shows in June of this year’s Tanduay The One Tour, getting their first taste of out-of-town gigs and playing for a huge crowd while fronting for, well, the band to whom they are often compared to, and to which idea they can only blush with flattery, Bamboo. Some fans even dare call General Luna the female version of the popular band.

Having been invited to appear on various TV shows, such as ABSCBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda, Music Uplate, GMA7’s Party Pilipinas, Eat Bulaga, and MYX Where U At, is another milestone for the band. Its audience being more wide and diverse, General Luna is happy to be sharing their music to people from all walks of life who could be relating to their music and the stories behind it. With the second single “Nandito” for instance, guitarist Audry Dionisio felt an unexplained high when she heard the driver of the taxi she’s riding humming along the melody of their song being played on the radio. To which most FM crossover stations are pleased about as well, that even if these girls are blessed with super good looks, they still do create music with sense, with a message that touches the common Pinoy, living and roughing it out on the streets. Furthermore, the girls are currently working on the music video to give their own interpretation of the 2nd single. As the song goes, “Oh inay / Ito ang aking buhay / Hanggang saking paghimlay tumitibay / Wag magtampo iniintindi ko kayo”, the track has a bittersweet sound much like current relationships within families, enveloped in disagreement, pain but also still bound by love.

Currently being tagged as the new Sampaguita of 2010, General Luna can only be humbled by such insight. “She was my mentor when I was a kid. We talked for hours about music,” Asensio shares. Well, maybe it’s too early to tell if they can make it big like their mentors and idol Pinoy rock legends. For now, General Luna is thrilled to hear a cab driver sing along their songs, for someone to say that, “hey, these girls are just like me.” For now, General Luna all wants to do is play good rock music, have fun while at it, and it’s an added bonus when someone actually relates to it.

So if one night you’re not busy, catch a General Luna gig and see for yourself the perfect balance of beauty and talent. For General Luna videos, visit their official Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/GeneralLunaTV, or visit www.generalluna.tumblr.com or www.facebook.com/WarnerMusicPhilippines to know where to find the band perform live.

General Luna’s self-titled debut album is available at all record stores nationwide. Also, General Luna’s caller ring tunes can now be on your phone when you want it! Take your pick!, just text GL to 5677.