The Itchyworms

Formed in 1996, the band consisted of Jazz Nicolas, Jugs Jugueta, Kelvin Yu (then on lead guitar) and Hadrian "Haji" Cruz (then on bass). The band performed at various school-based events and competitions with a handful of original songs and Beatles covers. Unfortunately, communication and scheduling issues forced Cruz to leave the group. This predicament forced Yu to take up the bass guitar vacancy, effectively making the band a trio.

The group continued as a trio until the middle of 1997, when a common friend in the Ateneo Musicians' Pool recruited Chino Singson to play guitar with the group at a school event. Singson eventually went on to become a permanent member, which solidified the group's current lineup.[1]

In 1998 the band put together Revenge of the Unsigned, their first official CD. They did this with the help of their manager, Earnest Mangulabnan-Zabala, the Eraserheads, Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala and Romel "Sancho" Sanchez (Loquy, Cynthia Alexander). The band intended for Revenge to be their independently released debut album in the event that no major record label would sign them.

As luck would have it, then-A&R manager at Viva/Neo Records Mike Dizon (Teeth, Sandwich) got hold of Revenge. He helped push for Viva executives to sign the band and eventually release Little Monsters Under Your Bed.

Little Monsters, the band's first major-label album, was released in 2001 and contained songs from Revenge and new compositions by Nicolas and Jugueta. The song "Antipara" was probably the most well-known song on the album. The release of the album was deemed somewhat ill-timed, as its glossy pop-rock sound was an aberration in the Korn-influenced OPM Rock landscape of the late 1990s to early 2000s.

On October 11, 2005, the Itchyworms released Noontime Show, which gave them modest national success and industry recognition. Buddy Zabala and Raimund Marasigan, by this time both former Eraserheads, co-produced the album with the group.

Most notably, the album went on to become Album of the Year at the 2006 NU Rock Awards, with Nicolas winning Drummer of the Year and the group winning Producer of the Year jointly with Marasigan and Zabala.

The song "Akin Ka Na Lang" has been used by KFC and Close-Up in separate television advertisements. In 2008, Pringles used "Salapi" for a nationwide campaign/songwriting contest. In addition, Enervon, Close-Up and San Miguel Beer commissioned the band to write original songs for their advertising campaigns.

The band also wrote and performed "Kabataang Pinoy", the theme song for the first season of ABS-CBN's Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition. This is arguably the band's most widely publicized song because of the series' popularity and media exposure. They also performed the station ID "Para Sa 'yo Kapatid" of TV5.

In early 2016, songwriter Davey Langit asked the band to interpret "Dalawang Letra", his entry to the Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs competition. The song won the top prize at the finals night in April 2016. In July 2016, the band's drummer/vocalist Jazz Nicolas, with songwriting partner Wally Acolola, won the PhilPop grand prize with their composition "Di Na Muli", also performed by the Itchyworms.

In August of the same year, the band released "Pariwara", a song written in collaboration with Ely Buendia. According to Buendia, the song had been in his chest of unfinished ideas since the days of the Eraserheads. The song remained unused until early 2016, when vocalist Jugs Jugueta asked about any partial songs Buendia may have had lying around. Buendia gave the Itchyworms "Pariwara", and Jugueta and Nicolas delivered more lyrics and a new bridge. Buendia and the Itchyworms then got together at his home studio, known as the Bunker, to hash out a final arrangement.

In late August 2022, longtime-lead guitarist Chino Singson announced his move to Canada with his family.[2] In a statement on Instagram, he said that he would remain a member of the band and possibly join in on gigs outside of the Philippines. Guitarists Mikey Amistoso of the band Ciudad and Weckl Mercado became part of the Itchyworms lineup in Singson's stead. In December 2022, a March-April 2023 U.S. tour was announced with Singson joining for the first time since Singson's departure concert in September 2022.[3] From July to September 2023, Singson joined with the band for one last time to sing some of their greatest hits, including Akin Ka Na Lang.[4]

• Little Monsters Under Your Bed (Viva/Neo Records, 2001)
• Noontime Show (Universal Records, 2005)
• Self-Titled (Sony BMG Philippines, July 8, 2008)
• After All This Time (Independently released, 2013)
• Waiting for the End to Start (Sony Music Philippines, 2020)

• And the Worm Jumped Over the Moon (Independently released, 2003)
• After All This Time (Independently released, 2013)

• "Happy House" - Songs from NU107 In The Raw (Sony Music, 1998, also re-recorded for Little Monsters Under Your Bed)
• Pulp Freakshow (Viva/Neo Records, 2001)
• Gimik Nation (Viva/Neo Records, 2002)
• "Awit Ng Barkada" - Kami nAPO Muna (Universal Records, 2006)
• "Season Of Smiles" - Close-Up Season of Smiles Christmas CD (Universal Records, 2006)
• Astig...The Biggest Band Hits (Universal Records, 2006)
• AYUZ! Pinoy Alternative's Power Cuts (Viva/Neo Records, 2006)
• SUPER - The Biggest OPM Hits Of The Year (Universal Records, 2007)
• "Princesa" - Kami nAPO Muna Ulit (Universal Records, 2007)
• "Kabataang Pinoy" - Musika Sa Bahay Ni Kuya: The Best Of Pinoy Big Brother Hits (Star Music, 2008)
• Gusto Ko Ng Rock (Sony Music, 2009)
• I-Star 15: The Best of Inspirational Songs (Star Music, 2010)
• "Maling Akala" - The Reunion: An Eraserheads Tribute Album (Star Music, 2012)
• "Dalawang Letra" by Davey Langit - Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs 2016 The Album (Star Music, 2016)
• Super Astig Hits (Universal Records, 2016)