"DAR"

Darius Gerard Laluna Semaña is the lead guitarist for Filipino band Parokya ni Edgar and is the oldest member of the group.Semaña went to University of the Philippines in college and he along with Vinci Montaner, are the only members of Parokya ni Edgar who have earned a bachelor's degree. He is a member of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity in the Philippines along with band mate Buwi Meneses.
Semaña is mostly seen playing a Fender Stratocaster. He is married and has a son.

"GAB"

Gabriel Ignatius "Gab" Juan Chee Kee is a guitarist and singer, as well as one of the founding members of Filipino band Parokya ni Edgar
Chee Kee is one of four members of Parokya ni Edgar who attended Ateneo de Manila University during their grade school to high school years. In 2003, Chee Kee married his girlfriend and former FHM model Apple Umali. According to several sources, it was to her that he dedicated his composition, Parokya ni Edgar's hit single, "Your Song". They separated some time in 2010.

"BUWI"

Meneses is the second of four children and only son of breast cancer activists Danny Meneses and the late Rosa Meneses.He took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. When his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Meneses stopped schooling to concentrate on aiding her. During this period, he also started pursuing a career in the music scene and joined Parokya ni Edgar.He won the "Bassist of the Year" award at the NU Rock Awards in 1999. He also wrote the topseller Parokya ni Edgar song “Mr. Suave” in their 2003 album Bigotilyo.Meneses was one of the castaways for GMA-7's Celebrity Edition of Survivor Philippines in August 2010 where in he became the 4th castaway to be voted out.
Personal life
Meneses is married with 2 sons. He is a member of Tau Gamma Phi fraternity in the Philippines along with band mate Darius Semaña.

"CHITO"

Life and career

Miranda attended grade school and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University where he met Gab Chee Kee, Vinci Montaner, Jeric Estaco, and Mikko Yap. They formed a garage band during their high school years.

The group was known in school to be class clowns. Normally in shows, they would show up in women’s clothing to entertain victims of earthquakes and typhoons and sing off-key in poetry readings.

They eventually landed the role of front act band for the locally well-known Filipino alternative rock band The Eraserheads. Later on, Buwi Meneses and schoolmate Dindin Moreno joined as bassist and drummer, respectively. When they graduated high school, Estaco and Yap decided to leave the group to pursue other interests. Shortly thereafter, Darius Semaña (lead guitar) joined to complete the sextet.

Originally, Parokya ni Edgar was called "Comic Relief". However, they decided to change the name in homage to a Noli Me Tangere joke in their student days.

Later on, Parokya ni Edgar performed regularly in Club Dredd, one of the famous clubs in Manila during that time. The band slowly gained popularity during the height of the Filipino rock explosion, with the local rock community opening up to the influence of foreign grunge acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

Eventually, the late managing director of Universal Records, Bella Dy Tan, signed them as contract artists after witnessing one of their performances at Club Dredd. The band garnered a triple platinum award for their first album Khangkhungkherrnitz.

One of the band's songs, "Buloy", has lyrics inspired by a friend Miranda met in Batangas. He was a Fine Arts student at Far Eastern University and committed suicide some time before "Buloy" was released and this caused some controversy among fans and non-fans.

Miranda is a member of Alpha Kappa Rho fraternity in the Philippines. He is good friends with fellow Filipino artists, the late rapper and singer Francis Magalona, and rapper Gloc-9.

Miranda previously dated actress Kaye Abad from the early 2000s until their breakup in 2009.Miranda is currently in a relationship with actress Neri Naig.

Parokya ni Edgar

Parokya ni Edgar

Parokya ni Edgar (English translation: Edgar's Parish) is a Filipino band that was formed in 1993 by a group of college students. The band is famous and most lauded for its original rock novelty songs and often satirical covers of popular songs. The band has since transcended musical genres, varying styles from one song to another - alternative rock to pop rock, funk to rapcore, and so on - while providing comic relief to their listeners. Despite having "Edgar" in the band's name, none of the members go by it.History

Before Parokya ni Edgar

Naming themselves Comic Relief, the band originally consisted of three vocalists – Chito Miranda, Jeric Estaco, and Vinci Montaner, and two guitarists - Mikko Yap and Gab Chee Kee. They regularly played in after-school jam sessions, before performing an opening number for an Eraserheads concert. This served as their break into the local music scene and prompted them to add a drummer and a bassist – schoolmate Dindin Moreno and Buwi Meneses, respectively. The same performance also marked the change of the band's name to Parokya ni Edgar.After high school, Mikko and Jeric decided to withdraw from the band to pursue other interests. As a replacement, the remaining band members invited their friend guitarist Darius Semaña (lead guitar) to their fold.
Parokya ni Edgar

Parokya ni Edgar during their early years.

The name Parokya Ni Edgar came from a class joke by Jeric Estaco recited in one of their classes in high school. Sources state that the class subject was Filipino, and it all started when the teacher asked him where the father of Jose Rizal's fictional hero, Crisostomo Ibarra (in the novel Noli Me Tangere), was educated. It was said that Jeric answered the teacher with the daft remark "sa Parokya ni Edgar". However up to now, the exact background behind this is unknown.
In the early 1990s, the band started performing regularly in Club Dredd, one of the famous clubs in Manila during that time. The band slowly gained popularity during the height of the Filipino rock explosion, with the local rock community opening up to the influence of foreign grunge acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Eventually, the late managing director of Universal Records, Bella Dy Tan, signed them as contract artists after witnessing one of their performances at Club Dredd.
Soon their initial recordings such as Buloy, Trip and Lutong Bahay were heard across Philippines through radio stations. Their first album, Khangkhungkherrnitz became a triple platinum hit in the Philippines having sold 120,000 units. The other 3 albums include Buruguduystunstugudunstuy (triple platinum), Jingle Balls Silent Night Holy Cow (gold), and Gulong Itlog Gulong (triple platinum).
They recently released their 8th studio album, Middle-Aged Juvenile Novelty Pop Rockers in 2010 with the carrier single "Paki-usap Lang (Lasingin Nyo Ako)". It is PNE's 11th album in total.
In 2011, Parokya joins the roster of Tanduay's First Five and RockFest replacing long running Tanduay endorser 6cyclemind who has recently left the group with Bamboo, who is now replaced by Wolfgang.
In 2012, the band released their 2nd live album Inuman Sessions Vol. 2 which is a follow up to their Inuman Sessions Vol. 1 released in 2004. This album mostly contains live versions of their second batch of singles. Tatlong Araw, Your Song and Alumni Homecoming were performed although these tracks were released from albums prior to Vol. 1. Mang Jose is performed as well in this album which also appears in the first live album. Artists featured on this were Yeng Constantino, Kamikazee, Gloc 9, Miggy Chavez of the band Chicosci, and the son of the late Francis M, Frank Magalona. This is also the last album released by Parokya ni Edgar with Vinci Montaner on it.

Band members

Alfonso "Chito" Miranda, Jr. (lead vocals)
Buhawi "Buwi" Meneses (bass guitar)
Darius Gerard "Dar" Semaña (lead guitar)
Gabriel Ignatius "Gab" Chee Kee (rhythm guitar / vocals)
Ferdinand "Dindin" Moreno (drums)

Former member

Francis Vincent "Vinci" Montaner (backup vocals / monologue / live comic relief) – left the band for personal reasons. He announced his exit last October 14, 2012 through the band's official page on facebook with lots of fans giving him their support for his new career path. His last gig with the band was on September 2012 at 70's Bistro. His former band mates respected his decision and they parted ways in good terms and still remain very good friends even though he said that he won't rejoin the band again.This is the second time Montaner left the group. Back in 2005, he also left the band to attend school and rejoined them in the making of their album, Solid, released in 2007.