The Stories from Fruitcake Heights!

12.01.2013 – Rarely children books don’t appeal to adults, but when you talk about the Eraserheads few who have seen or heard the iconic Philippine band would differentiate them for having written their own book. This was at peak of the band’s career in the mid-1990s back when they were just about to release their first ever Christmas album. The title of their fourth album was “Fruitcake” released in 1996, and it was accompanied by a book separate release with the same title.

Fruitcake was written by the Eraserheads, text by Ely Bunedia the lead vocalist of the band, which has the artwork of Cynthia Bauzon-Arre. Due to the height of the band’s first reunion in 2008 the book was reprinted in newspaper stock.



REPRINTED RETURN

The original print had a white cover instead of the Christmas themed red on the front and green on the back. This time the book has an additional message from Ely Buendia. It’ interesting Fruitcake the book became the merchandise that accompanied the album and any fan would pick it up.

Not only was it written by the band but also for its interesting stories and artwork. What makes it special is this was written by a band that wants to distant themselves from their previous albums that have hooks and a couple of swearing. They are basically four individuals who want to write good music and interested in children stories.



FRUITCAKE FOR EVERYBODY

Fruitcake was written to have some interesting characters in the book with the art provided by Cynthia Bauzon-Arre the wife of graphic artist and short film animator Arnold known for his works like Trip to Tagaytay, Andong Agimat and Martial Law Babies. This would be Cynthia’s work that definitely showed her artistic talents.

In the place of Fuitcake Heights Ely Buendia provided the text and decription of the characters. Cynthia Bauzon-Arre provides the artwork describing them in details. It contains 33 chapters and not has stories this contains some short poems too.



TAKE A BITE IT’S ALRIGHT

Some of the songs from the 22 track album make it to the book, which is why the Eraserheads is so special. Their creative ideas and being out of the box has sparked and inspired the Philippine music industry.

For a band who can write great music they also have their way in sharing their stories too, which appeals not only to those who followed their musical career. But they also caught the younger generation’s attention with this book.



LIFE IS A PIECE OF CAKE

Overall Fruitcake lived up to its potential as a children’s book that not only appealed to the young but also to the young at heart. It’s one of those Christmas themed books that never get old to share to the younger generation, who never got to see the Eraserheads in their prime but would definitely appreciate this book for its originality.

If you’re going to pick up this book why not accompany it with the album that inspired the stories from Fruitcake Heights. It would be great having the music playing in the background while sharing the stories with the kids.