Six students from Manila’s Ateneo High School first came together to make music as Comic Relief, a group focused on crafting sharp, playful parodies of famous songs, laying the groundwork for the wit and creative irreverence that would define their later work as Parokya Ni Edgar, the Philippines' reigning court jesters of pop. The band’s oddball stage outfits and loose, goofy stage antics turned them into local favorites soon after they began performing at Club Dredd, Manila’s defining hotbed for alternative music, in 1994, drawing crowds that spanned both underground punk circles and mainstream Filipino music fans. Their cross-appeal caught the attention of Richard Tan, manager of prominent Philippine punk groups the Youth and Teeth, who helped secure them a record deal with Universal.