Black Summer

Genre:Rock/Pop
Members: Allen - Vocals/ Guitars
Gboy - Bass/Backup Vocals
Ian - Drums/ Backup Vocals

BLACK SUMMER is a three piece pop-alternative contemporary trio brewing a myriad of influences. It's all about taking a break from all the routine, just as brothers Allen & Ian, together with good friend Gboy, takes a break from their alternate working lives.
As musicians, they’ve all grown on different musical paths. Equally multi-instrument musicians the three have each developed their musical cores. Keyboards for Allen, drums for Gboy and guitar for Ian. After countless musical whirlwinds in search for something different, they figured the only way to move forward is grow out from one’s comfort zone. To do that, they each took on the challenge of carrying a different instrument but bringing with them the stems of their musical influences. Hence Allen’s textured and droney guitars, Gboy’s syncopated grooves on bass, and Ian’s steady rock ‘n roll beats.
As it is, they've all been around playing in various gigs, productions and concerts onseparate bands and occasions. This time they team up together as one after forging a publishing deal (in 2008), for a two single release with a record label.
To date, Black Summer comes out with music from a new mold finishing their recent singles independently.Whipped up with pop sensibilities to top, their flavor of contemporary pop & rock based music, let BLACK SUMMER uncover your restraints as they woo you inside out.

Gerard Lazo Munsayac, or “G-Boy” to friends and family, is the bass player for Sisah Salad. G-boy was part of a band called AllenWrench, a trio that played an eclectic mix of 80’s music and light alternative tunes. G-boy and Allen Wrench’s frontman Allen Alesna decided to re-group and formed JIG, a quartet which played mostly original compositions with pop-jazz undertones. JIG has released a music video of an original song, “Assuming”, which can be seen and downloaded over www.youtube.com. The group was also able to have two of their original songs included in the movie soundtrack of “Angels”, featuring popular actress Angel Locsin. He also played bass for Daylight, an alternative rock band that delivers a vast array of musical styles in which he shares the stage with Herson and Boski on drums and guitars, respectively.
On a more previous event, Gboy regroups with Allen and merged together with Darrell and Herson(Fusebox/Solace) in a ‘pop-metal’ band Brood of Moons. Though short lived, it paved the way for the current line-up of Black Summer.

Ian is one force to reckon with, a versatile musician, he started playing since high-school back in Cebu. Fronting for a band called SUGAR-BARF, he played melodic bass lines while singing.

As he got into college, his interest in drums got the attention of his brother Allen, and together they formed a band called BLACK SUMMER, a post grunge band. In some unfortunate turn of events, BLACK SUMMER couldn’t go on due to acedemic priorities. Ian moved forward to drumming for a pop-rock variety band GUILTY PARTY. After playing acoustic sets on side with his brother, they figured it was time to move forward with the music and got a bass player to form the trio YOUTHSKY. With some eight unreleased tracks, they go around playing original songs in Cebu with their brand of pop-funk. Four years later, bass player Ceasar had to leave the country for a while and the four year stint of YOUTHSKY had to be put to rest.
Ian then joins SUNDOWN CAFFEINE in 2004, then ZARAH SMITH BAND in 2005 as a lead guitarist. Three full years later he rejoins his brother to fill-up the beats in the current band that is Black Summer.

In the later part of 2004, just round about YOUTHSKY wrapped up, Allen meets Gboy Munsayac(Soup/Sisa Salad) incidentally in KAHAYAG(Cebu City), a venue where YOUTHSKY had its heydays . This encounter would start a long journey with the formation of ALLENWRENCH, with Sonny Lopez(Rockbato) on drums. The light alternative trio would be gigging in various bars around Metro Manila and even reaching Ilocos Norte for a concert as well as guesting on radio and other exposures. This continues on till 2006 when Allen and Gboy redesigns it to be a four piece band delving into pinoy-pop with jazz embellishments. This lineup would finish a music video prepped-up to promote an EP entitled ASSUMING. A five track album worked on by Allen & Gboy together with producer Barney Borja (Raffi Quijano, 3rd Angle, Chad Borja). Though it never saw a release, two songs from that EP would later come out in a motion picture inspired soundtrack album for the movie ANGELS (album distributed by SONY). After an unplanned pause of their working projects, Gboy and Allen would go on hiatus for almost two full years yet gigging sporadically on different occasions with drummer Sonny, yet also working on a project band called Brood of Moons with Daryl Villanueva and Herson Fremista(Fuseboxx/Solace). On a twist and turn of events, a ‘singles’ deal with DYNA MUSIC Phils. for the songs ‘Sanay Dumating’ & ‘Tonight’ retunes their vision in 2008. Completing the current line-up is Ian as drummer and rehashing the name BLACK