You might as well have been living under a rock for the past two weeks if you hadn't heard all about the drama involving Ely Buendia, once the frontman for the legendary 90's supergroup the Eraserheads, since then the Pupil of his new band's eye. That's right, the heart attack (at the ripe young age of 36) in the midst of a gig, the twin angioplasties, the unwarranted charges of drug use (by rock icon Mike Hanopol of all people), the denials, the talk show guestings, the recovery, the text messages from well wishers, and the hospital visits by Francis M bearing trans-fat laden Krispy Kremes.

Sensationalism aside, less talked about are the grimmer aspects of surviving a cardiac arrest in this country: The paralyzing medical bills involving the procedure, confinement, and subsequent health care. Forget the veneer of the rock star life - in the real world, people who get very sick pay very expensive hospital bills, and in the absence of the cushion of health insurance, even so-called rock stars need a hand to get back on their feet.

The bills are nothing to sneeze at. We bumped into Pupil bassist Dok Sergio recently, and he let on that the cost of the first confinement at Asian Hospital, where Ely was first taken to, and underwent his first angioplasty to treat a blocked artery, was already pretty substantial. That bill alone was easily over 700,000 pesos. On top of that, Ely underwent a second angioplasty at the Heart Center of Asia. You can imagine that the bill has probably hit well over a cool million after that.

Factor in post-op recovery and rehab costs, plus medication and it all adds up even further. Ely might have struck an invincible figure on stage at one point, but in this instance he definitely needs help just to get back on track.

This fact hasn't been overlooked by his friends in the music circles he calls home. And so a group of them have banded together to put together a benefit show - for the benefit of their friend and fellow musician Ely Buendia. Billed as "LivELY" the show will feature 20 bands. Admission is free.

We first heard about the project from Dindin Moreno, drummer of Parokya ni Edgar on Saturday, January 20. He mentioned a free show on Sunday. January 28 at the Eastwood Central Plaza, at Easywood City complex in Quezon City. Dindin passed my mobile number to Rico Blanco of Rivermaya, who confirmed that Rivermaya was very much in the loop. Other names surfaced - bassist Japs Sergio, brother of Dok. Rivermaya guitarist Mike Elgar and his wife She. Julie Pacanas, the former Eraserheads road manager and "Julie Tearjerky" of the fabled song was lending her production experience to the gig.

By Sunday, we had heard that over fifteen bands had signed on. Here's the complete list as of Tuesday Night (now numbering twenty):

Parokya ni Edgar
Kamikazee
Rivermaya
Itchyworms
Spongecola
Chicosci
UpDharmaDown
TrueFaith
Cynthia Alexander
Dicta License
Join The Club
Moonstar88
Greyhoundz
Teeth
Ciudad
Paramita
Makatha
Salindiwa
Swissy
Julianne

And how will this help Ely? As of this writing, the plan is to pass the hat. It's a free show, but people are encouraged to donate money to help defray Ely's medical expenses. There will be designated sections around the performance area where people can make their donations.

For the well wishers who rooted for Ely to get out of the ICU, that task has been pretty much accomplished. Getting him out of the financial bind of those debilitating hospital bills is the next hurdle.

The musician community is pulling together to get one of their own back on his feet. Hopefully, the fans will continue to show their support. Musicians in this country may not be as amply compensated as their counterparts in other countries. But hopefully they can continue to count on the support of the fans who enjoy their music.

** Jim's Note: Latest Band Lineup and Schedules posted here.�