A line wrapped around Café 86 in Artesia, California, when Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia showed up for a meet and greet. Fans brought instruments to be signed, comic books for autographs, and most importantly: decades of devotion.
"I wanted to marry him," café owner Ginger Lim-Dimapasok, who grew up in Manila in the '90s, told Rolling Stone. "Everyone's goal was to marry Ely Buendia. I had to meet the one that got away!"
Eraserheads' legacy speaks to that intensity. The alt-rock band — Buendia, bassist Buddy Zabala, guitarist Marcos Adoro, and drummer Raimund Marasigan — formed at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1989 and became one of the most influential rock acts the Philippines has produced.
Their 1993 debut album Ultraelectromagneticpop! gave the world "Pare Ko," a smash hit that launched them into the stratosphere. By 1997, they were winning MTV VMAs International Viewer's Choice—Asia Awards, starring in films and commercials, and touring globally. Then came the split.
In 2002, Buendia abruptly left the band. No explanation. No closure. For two decades, fans speculated about what went wrong, and the band members themselves never discussed it amongst themselves.
Until now.
A new Netflix documentary titled Eraserheads: Combo on the Run, directed by Maria "Diane" Ventura (Buendia's ex-wife and current manager), addresses the fracture directly. The film traces the band's formation during national upheaval and the turbulent journey that led to their 2022 reunion at SMDC Festival Grounds in Manila — the biggest concert in Philippines history at that time.
Ventura explains: "We were coming off of the pandemic. The nation was wrought with political turmoil," and the timing felt right for catharsis and reckoning.
Eraserheads: Combo on the Run debuts worldwide on Netflix on May 30. After 24 years, the band is finally telling their story.
