The Case (band)

The Case were a Filipino pop band from Olongapo, Philippines, formed in 2014 and disbanded (hehe) in 2029. The group went through several lineup changes, but the last lineup consisted of Paul Cesar (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Louis Messina (lead guitar), Erin Peralta (baritone guitar), Alex Nadir (bass guitar), Kim Cineus (saxophone), and Morgan Martins (drums).

## Formation

The Case were formed by friends Paul Cesar, Rene Simeon, Rachel Burke, Alex Nadir, Adrijan Rijavec, and Jed Liberman, all aged 7 to 8, in 2014 while studying at Rykeworth Academy. Kim Cineus was later recruited by Nadir upon finding out that she plays the saxophone. Cineus founded the band's record label, Apocalypse Records, which was managed by her cousin Matt Starkman.

## Take Us To Your Leader (2014)

Upon the band's formation, the members immediately got to work on a record. They wrote 9 songs, 8 of which became their debut album, "Take Us To Your Leader". The songs were primarily 1-to-2-minute tunes, with Nadir later arguing that it was an EP rather than an album. They gained local popularity around Zambales, Bataan, and other nearby provinces following the record's release.

## With The Case (2015)

Over the summer of 2015, the band hung out at drummer Jed Liberman's house, working on their follow-up album. The album, titled "With The Case", released in July. Upon the album's release, they quickly went viral across the Philippines and other countries, being featured on several talk and variety shows across the country, even performing lead single "Pack It Up" on SNL.

"With The Case" was the band's final album to feature the entire inaugural lineup, with drummer Jed Liberman, keyboardist Adrijan Rijavec, and percussionist Rachel Burke leaving a few days after the album's release. Liberman left due to academic concerns while the reason the others departed is unknown. Around this time, replacements Jay Lambourne, Miguel Velasco, Jim Wellard, and Alice Shaw were introduced; however, they were largely only featured on the album that followed. Speaking of—

## Yard Sale (2016)

Yard Sale. ~~Yeah, not too sure about this one.~~

Following the massive spike in the band's fame from the release of With The Case, Rykeworth Academy's support towards the band was on full blast, with some of the school's extra budget being spent on helping the band with their next release.

Thanks to Rykeworth's contributions, The Case were able to speed up the release of their third album, titled Yard Sale. Yard Sale was the first album of theirs to have music videos come with their singles. The music video for "Electricity", which was a tribute to The Strokes' "You Only Live Once", went viral quickly, which contributed to the wide success of Yard Sale, immediately charting at #1 in The Philippines.

## Legacy

The Case were major pioneers of, and arguably the inventors of the student rock genre, influencing bands such as Helsinki Border Patrol, Trouser Architects, and The Locrians. Martin De Jesus of Helsinki Border Patrol argued The Case to have "revived alternative music and brought back creativity to the Philippine music industry."

## Discography

### Albums

* Take Us To Your Leader (2014)
* With The Case (2015)
* Yard Sale (2016)
* The Forum (2017)
* Young (2018)
* Atmos (2019)
* Quirky (2020)
* Change (2021)
* Life (2022)
* Rock! (2023)
* The Day (2025)
* United (2027)
* Hello (2029)

## Members

### Initial members

* Paul Cesar: lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2014-2015, 2018-2029); died 2029
* Rene Simeon: lead guitar (2014-2017); died 2024
* Alex Nadir: synth bass (2014-2017, 2019-2020), lap steel guitar (2019-2020), sitar (2020), bass guitar (2017-2029)
* Adrijan Rijavec: keyboards (2014-2016)
* Rachel Burke: lyre, tambourine (2014-2015)
* Kim Cineus: saxophone (2014-2029)
* Jed Liberman: drums (2014-2015)

### Later members

* Erin Peralta: baritone guitar (2018-2020, 2023-2029), keyboards (2020-2022)
* Louis Messina: lead guitar (2019-2029), keyboards (2020-2021, 2021-2025)
* Morgan Martins: drums (2020-2029)

### Previous members

* Miguel Velasco: bass guitar (2015-2017)
* Jay Lambourne: rhythm guitar (2015-2018)
* Alice Shaw: drums (2015-2018)
* Jim Wellard: synthesizer (2016-2018)
* Jules Delaney: drums (2018-2020)
* Leo Rowe: keyboards (2019-2020)
* Stephen Chambers: bass guitar (2019-2020)