By Sean Sy (Class 2023)
On the evening of Friday, 27 April 2018, the UP Medical Students’ Society (UP MSS) hosted Fridays at the East (FATE), the annual battle-of-the-bands competition of the College of Medicine. This year’s theme, entitled “Fusion”, had the participating bands perform their own song mashups as one of their two contest pieces.
After a night of stunning performances from bands representing the different classes, organizations, fraternities, and sororities of the UP College of Medicine, and the various departments of PGH, the title of champion was bagged by BENT, composed of residents from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, with their rendition of “Gising” by Autotelic, and mashup of “Touch” by Little Mix and “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.
The first runner-up, Phi Band, representing the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity and the Phi Lambda Delta Sorority, performed Bruno Mars’ “Finesse” and their own mashup of Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” and Taylor Swift’s “Ready for It”.
Representing Class 2023, Rubber Band’s rendition of “ILYSB” by LANY and their mashup of “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by Meghan Trainor garnered them second runner-up.
The judges also handed out several special awards. Pat Valdez (Class 2019) of Phi Band, was hailed as Best Vocalist, while Angelo Sumalde (Class 2018), who played for both BENT and NAWC, won Best Guitarist. Jed Golez from Rubber Band was the Best Keyboard Player, and Ryuichi Nakamura from Class 2018’s 1-8 Cheers won Best Drummer. Justo Santos of Class 2022’s Station 222 won Best Bassist of the night.
The “East” from “Fridays at the East” is named after the BSLR-East classroom, which served not only as a lecture hall, but also as the regular venue of the event until it was demolished in early 2016. Since its inception, the event has grown to include bands from PGH, and has taken on a bigger role for the UPCM community, becoming one of the most awaited and enjoyed events of the college.
“FATE is a night for med students and physicians to destress and serve their passion for music,” says Klang Diaz (Class 2020), Socials Committee Head of MSS. “I’ve also seen from the bands that FATE is becoming a reason for them to get together and bond with their classmates and friends from OFS. As med students and professionals, we all need an avenue to show our talents and have fun, and I think that’s what FATE is. That makes the event important to the UPCM-PGH community.”
Photos by Iya De Claro (Class 2023)