Ask Glenn Jacinto why a song he wrote as a teenager still gets entire crowds singing three decades later, and even he does not have a neat explanation.
“To this day, I don’t know why Laklak still resonates with people,” the TEETH frontman admitted during a recent press conference. “I can’t explain it, but the work that we did when we were teenagers is still relevant now that we’re in our 50s.”
That unlikely staying power has followed TEETH since the early 1990s.
Formed in 1993, the band broke through during the height of Manila’s alternative rock boom, with “Laklak” spending 12 straight weeks on top of the charts of alternative station LA-105. More than 30 years later, the same song remains one of the tracks most closely associated with the group.
This September, TEETH is putting that longevity to the test once again with Year 33: TEETH The Reunion – Legacy Tour, a five-city run that brings the band to the SM North EDSA Skydome on September 5.
Joining them in Manila are Kamikazee and Agaw Agimat.
The reunion brings together Glenn Jacinto on vocals, Jerome Velasco and Dok Sergio on guitars, Pedz Narvaja on bass, and Mike Dizon on drums — the lineup closely associated with the band’s self-titled 1995 debut album.
And that record sits at the heart of the tour.
Released during one of the busiest periods in Philippine alternative rock, Teeth introduced listeners to songs such as “Laklak” and “Prinsesa.” The album eventually earned Double Platinum recognition from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry and sold more than 80,000 copies.
For a Filipino rock band in the 1990s, that was no small feat.
But what makes the group’s story unusual is that its audience did not simply disappear when the decade ended.
TEETH’s music found another life online. Songs originally written for radio countdowns, cassette tapes and compact discs eventually reached streaming platforms and younger listeners who were not around when the band first became popular.
For bassist Pedz Narvaja, hearing people continue to sing those songs remains one of the more surprising parts of the band’s return.
“Isipin mo ‘yun, sa tagal na ng mga songs na ‘to, pinapakinggan pa rin nila at kinakanta pa rin hanggang ngayon,” he said. “So, it’s very special for me.”
The Manila concert will be the second stop of the group’s five-city reunion tour.
TEETH opened the run in Singapore on August 30 before heading to Manila, followed by shows in Davao, Iloilo and Cebu through late September.
The Skydome date carries an extra layer of significance: it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the release of the band’s debut album.
For members who have spent years living in different countries and pursuing separate projects, the tour is also one of the rare opportunities to perform together again across several cities.
And the reunion is not limited to the stage.
Three decades after its original release, the band’s debut album is also being pressed on vinyl for the first time.
The project is a collaboration among TEETH, Backspacer Records and Warner Music. The album was freshly remastered by engineer Shinji Tanaka, while visual artist Nix Puno created new artwork that reinterprets the original cover instead of simply reproducing it.
Demand came quickly.
The first vinyl pressing sold out within a day, prompting a second pressing that remains available for pre-order.
Early buyers also got a preview during a closed-door gathering on September 2, where the band performed a short set as part of the celebration.
For TEETH, the timing gives the reunion an almost circular quality.
The songs that first made their name in the 1990s survived several changes in the way people listen to music — from radio and physical albums to downloads and streaming. Now, the record that introduced them to a generation is arriving on vinyl for the first time just as the band returns to the road.
More than three decades after “Laklak” first took over the airwaves, Jacinto may still be unable to explain exactly why people refuse to let the song go.
At this point, TEETH may not need an explanation. The crowd still knows the words.
TEETH performs at the SM North EDSA Skydome on September 5. Tickets are available through SM Tickets and SM malls nationwide. The second pressing of the band’s debut album on vinyl is available for pre-order through Backspacer Records.