Urbandub

Background

Urbandub’s first album had trouble getting distributed because major record companies didn’t back it. Later that year, they put out their first single, “Come,” with a music video paid for by Sonic Boom productions. More singles from that album followed: “Boy,” “Give,” and “Would You Go.” The album didn’t sell huge numbers, but it made the band somewhat known around Cebu City. Even though the recording quality was rough, it picked up where the independent radio scene of the mid-1990s left off.

Influence (2003)

For their second album, Influence, released on Lighter Records (Backyard Studio), the band changed their sound and swapped drummers—Jed Honrado out, Jerros Dolino in. Jerros played on the tracks but left in 2003 for reasons that weren’t made public. The band then brought in JanJan Mendoza. This album set the direction Urbandub would take from then on.

It included radio singles like “Gone” and their biggest hit, “Soul Searching,” which won Best Song of the Year at the NU107 Rock Awards in 2003. The album itself took Album of the Year at the same awards in 2004. They also released a single called “A New Tattoo,” which they dedicated to a former friend, Juan Paulo Hidalgo.

Around this time, guitarist John Dinopol got caught up in the dangers of rival fraternity or gang conflicts in Cebu. A motorcycle-riding headhunter from an unnamed fraternity shot him by mistake. The bullet hit his left arm, and he needed a few months to recover. While he healed, Urbandub brought in Russell Manaloto from Faspitch and Mong Alcaraz from Chicosci to fill in. John stayed involved with the band despite the injury, and in less than a year he was back—shooting the “A New Tattoo” video and playing live shows with metal braces on his arm.

Embrace (2005)

With their 2005 album Embrace, the band stuck with Lighter Records as their management. EMI gave them the freedom to record the album in their home city of Cebu. The singles from Embrace—“Alert The Armory,” “Frailty,” “Endless, A Silent Whisper,” and the pop track “First of Summer”—ended up being some of the most played songs on local radio.

Hiatus and reformation

The band held a farewell concert titled "Endless" on May 9, 2015, at Metrotent Convention Center in Metrowalk, Ortigas. Later that year, Gabby Alipe performed briefly as a solo artist. In 2016, the band became active again, first as a trio and then as a quartet with Gabby on guitar and vocals, John on guitar, Russ Manaloto of Faspitch on bass, and Sam Saludsong on drums. On February 25 and 26, 2018, the original lineup performed at 70s Bistro and 19 EAST Bar and Grill, attended by 750 fans known as Dubistas.

Additional information

According to lead vocalist Gabby Alipe, the band's name has a story behind it. The music video for "First of Summer" depicts a girl rebelliously going out with her boyfriend. The band later released "Endless, A Silent Whisper", which shows events before and after those in "First of Summer"; both videos were directed by Marie Jamora and shot in three days. Urbandub was interviewed on Animax and later performed on the Animax show Mad Mad Fun.

The mark on Gabby Alipe's right eye is a birthmark shaped like Cebu island, not a scar or tattoo. In a second live performance on MYX, Alipe stated that the Urbandub way of making an album is to include exactly ten songs.

The band is sometimes referred to as "Udub" for short. Alipe made his acting debut in the 2015 film The Breakup Playlist, starring alongside Piolo Pascual and Sarah Geronimo. Musically, the band is heavily influenced by Deftones, Metallica, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Filter.