MANILA, Philippines – Another Eraserheads reunion may still just be a figment of our imaginations, but people came as close to it as could be on November 11, when Eraserheads drummer Raymund Marasigan and bassist Buddy Zabala jammed at the launch of Raymund’s custom acoustic guitar, Candelaria, made by D&D Custom Guitars.

The launch, held at Suez and Zapote in Makati, had Raymund on guitar, Buddy on bass, and Shinji Tanaka on drums. What made it even better was the fact that they invited everyone in the audience to grab a Candelaria guitar and play along with the band, as chords and lyrics were flashed on the wall.

As many a fan hoped, an all-Eheads set was played, with a bit of Moonstar88 thrown in for good measure. The best part was the jam to “Huling El Bimbo.”

In a scene that would have stirred all sorts of feelings in every Filipino who grew up listening to the song, every single person in the packed room was either singing along to the song, playing it on an instrument, or both – testament to just how much of an OPM anthem “Ang Huling El Bimbo” is.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, to be singing, like the church where you have the whole choir, the community singing,” Raymund told Rappler after the jam. “It feels familiar, it feels good.”

He shared that he wanted to hold the open jam for the guitar launch, because it reminded him of when he was learning to play the guitar in church in his hometown of Candelaria – which is also the guitar’s namesake.

Raymund said that the Candelaria guitar was designed according to his own playing habits.

THE D&D CANDELARIA by: Ray Marasigan November 11, 2017 3pm onwards Suez & Zapote, Makati Live Jam Sing-along Play-along Sessions Selling c/o The D&D Store. Special event price! (For November 11, 2017 ONLY) D&D Candelaria – Php 7,499.00 D&D Candelaria w/ Fishman pickup – Php 9,995.00 Live jam session with Raymund, Buddy and Shinji. *Setlist will be revealed soon* #localsforlocals #gustokongmaggitara #candelaria #ddcustomguitars

A post shared by D&D Custom Guitars (@ddcustomguitars) on Oct 26, 2017 at 2:41am PDT

“We got one of their popular and good-sounding guitars, the Django, and modified it according to my personal taste,” he said. “We took away the cutaway that the Django has. I wanted it to look more like a traditional guitar, I took out the pick guard kasi gusto ko nagagasgasan yung gitara (I like when the guitar gets scratched).”

“After a few years, ‘yung gasgas na ‘yun (those scratches) will make it more personalized, kasi magiging distinct, depende sa tugtog mo (it will become more distinct, depending on your playing),” he said.

The Candelaria guitar is available nationwide at D&D stores and through authorized D&D dealers. For more information, check out D&D Custom Guitars on Facebook. – Rappler.com